1 Kings 18, HE Shows Off Big Time

God has been doing some awesome things in my life lately. He has put people together for His purpose and lined up other things for His glory. Too much to explain in detail, but just know that He has it all laid out meticulously and its really cool to see how the Lord brings it all together. Sorry for the vague words...

I call this Showing Off! God does it all the time, but do we open our eyes to see it and then open our hearts to give Him the credit?

Check out 1 Kings 18: 20-40. The prophet Elijah is boldly demonstrating why Israel needs to get rid of their Baal worship (totally a false and worthless god) and turn back to their One True God. I will let you read it and get the thrill of seeing how God blows them away-literally! But, take a look at the description of what the Lord does and then the reaction He gets from His people:

1 Kings 18:38-39 (New International Version)
38 Then the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.
39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, "The LORD -he is God! The LORD -he is God!"

Oh that I would have this dramatic of a response to the Lord Showing Off as the Israelites did!

What ways has God blown you away and Showed Off His glory? Do you think you have missed seeing it by not simply paying attention?

Just a thought...

Read more...

1 Kings 10-11, He Gives and Takes Away

Take a look at this video. This is one of my all time favorite worship songs and I think it describes what happens to King Solomon perfectly. It is by the NewsBoys.



Solomon took His father's place as King over Israel and became known as the wisest man on earth. This wisdom came straight from God.

1 Kings 4:29-30
29 God gave Solomon wisdom and very great insight, and a breadth of understanding as measureless as the sand on the seashore. 30 Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the men of the East, and greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.

Did you catch the first two words of that verse: God GAVE Solomon the wisdom. He instilled this knowledge and wisdom in Solomon to bring Himself glory. When we use our gifts of talent in a pure and holy way, this pleases God greatly. Keep in mind, you don't have to just use your talent with in the area of ministry to please God. When we use our talent at work, or in raising our family and we do it 100%, this brings glory to God, too.

Solomon's wisdom was known to all around the world, when they came to visit him, you better believe that the visitors got a taste of who this Lord that Solomon worshiped. His talent and wisdom brought foreigners to God.

But...
God can easily TAKE away the things He gives. After warning Solomon of what would happen if he turned away from worshiping God alone, Solomon did in fact do just that. Solomon followed after his many wives(this is in and of itself wrong!) and began to worship their idols. Can you imagine?! The very God of the universe, who visited Solomon personally, was forgotten and mocked as he built temples and idols to these false gods. Here is why God TOOK it all away:

1 Kings 11:11 (New International Version)
11 So the LORD said to Solomon, "Since this is your attitude and you have not kept my covenant and my decrees, which I commanded you, I will most certainly tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your subordinates.

Our God is a jealous God. He demands nothing but full devotion from us. In return, because He loves us, God blesses us with material things (like the wealth of Solomon) as well as non-material things (like the wisdom of Solomon) But, because these things are the Lord's to begin with, He has all power and prerogative to take them away. Now, hear me on this, the Lord has His own reasons for taking away. It is not always because we are disobedient. BUT, if I have a gift from the Lord and I am misusing it, it is up to Him how He reconciles that with me. Oh man, I don't want to ever be in that position.

In the end, the Lord's Name should Always be blessed. It is all for His glory-what He gives us AND what He takes away. Blessed Be Your Name, Jesus!

Read more...

1 Kings 1-2, Well Done

Whether or not you are versed in the Bible or the Jewish Torah, you probably know the name King David. He made a name for himself so much that all these centuries later, we know who he is.

Is it human nature to want to be known for something? To want our life to matter to someone? I say, absolutely! Here's the problem: we will never measure up. There is always someone smarter, prettier, more talented, more this and more that than us. It is just a fact. When we try to measure up to those around us, we will never find ourselves where we think we should be on that scale!

But, I truly think that David strived not to be like this. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been called, "A man after God's own heart." (Could someone help me out with this reference? I couldn't find the Bible verse anywhere.)

You see, I am sure that David set out to live up to God's approval. Why else would he have written those intimate Psalms pleading and worshiping to the Lord? God's approval of us is the only one that truly matters. Don't you want the Lord to say this to you when you meet Him face to face:
Well done good and faithful servant! (see Matthew 25:23)
When all else fades away and the esteem of other wanes, God rewards those who esteem Him and live for His approval.

LIVE IT OUT! application:
Think about ways that you search for the approval of others and ask God to free you of that bondage. He can and He will! Just take it to Him.

Read more...

2 Samuel, David Gets Real

I just love how the Lord uses His Word to give me real examples of how He wants me to live. Although the whole big picture purpose of the Old Testament is to point the way to Jesus as The Messiah, I believe we can learn valuable lessons from the people with in the pages of this ancient book. David is a huge example, I mean, a guy after God's own heart! I pray that this would one day be said about me-oh how I long that this would sum up my life!

So, in 2 Samuel 15-18, David finds himself betrayed by his son, Absolom. Absolom actually wants David's place as King and goes after David's life with avengance. The beginning of chapter 18 describes Absolom's death as he was killed by one of David's men. Be clear, not killed by David himself!

What really struck me is how David was so real and raw with his emotions. He mourned, like any father would, but was chastised by his top officials for this grief. Take a look at how David outright writhes over the very son who sought to kill him.

2 Samuel 19:4
The king covered his face and cried aloud, "O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!"

You can just feel the raw emotion and almost want to cry with David.

Here is the lesson the Lord gave to me: as followers of Christ, we MUST be real with our emotions and how we express them. We must be real with others, and more importantly, we must be real with God! David didn't care that it was pretty much politically incorrect to mourn this wayward son of his. If we don't show our true emotions to others, we might miss out on an opportunity to share how the Lord ministers and tends to our emotions. Thus, we can't truly let Him in to tend to those raw feeling unless we are completely real with God. It all goes together.

The problem these days is that non-Christians think that we just try to be perfect. Oh how I wish this were not true. Too many of us put on that facade of "having it all together." My whole philosophy is that if I show that I don't have it all together and share something I am going through, then the Lord will use that situation to encourage someone else.

This past summer, after giving birth to my adorable son, I went through some major post partum depression. We are talking B-A-D. I felt so dark and alone. But, God led me to share this when I was teaching Sunday school. I had several of my friends come up to me saying how rare it was that people are truthful and outright about what they are going through. Oh I prayed so hard that one of those ladies related to my depression and was freed up to get real herself. In that situation, the Lord worked on my heart as well and started the healing process.

Get Real People! Putting on that mask takes too much energy and effort. Sooner or later, the real you will show up, and won't people be so surprised! Oh no!

Take it to the Lord. He so wants to nurture your soul and use you to bless someone else. Don't miss out on being a blessing!

Read more...

2 Samuel, David's Not Perfect

Ok, so I have not kept up with my blogging as I read through the Bible. Oh I pray that someone is following the reading plan with me. If you want to join now, go ahead, its never too late!

So, I'm now in 2 Samuel. Just some quick thoughts. First, I love to flip through the book of Psalms to see what Psalms David might have written as he was going through his trials recorded in 2 Samuel. Let's just say that King David didn't have it easy! Even his own son turned against him. Boy did David ever need the strength of the Lord.

Also, keep in mind how imperfect David was and God still used him in a mighty way. David is revered through out history, but he is definitely not perfect. Just like you and me. This should encourage us to recognize our sins and imperfections, repent and then move on to let Christ use us!

Here is one of the Psalms David wrote while in peril-check out how he was still praising the Lord.

Psalm 34

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the LORD at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.

3 Glorify the LORD with me;
let us exalt his name together.

In your trials and even in your sinful defeat, KEEP PRAISING HIM!

Read more...

1 Samuel, Your Mama Always Said...

Okay, so we've all heard it: "If so-and-so jumps off a bridge, will you do it to?" In the storm of our teenage angst, this is so not cool! I know you have been there too-just wanting to be like everyone else-even at the risk of losing who you are as an individual.

This brings to mind a silly little story of when I was in the 5th grade. The cool group of girls decided that Wednesday was going to be "Units Day." Don't you remember that early 90's fad of those cotton mix and match outfits with the colorful bandos to go with them? Well, Wednesday was going to be the day where everyone would wear their outfit. Here's the problem, it was Tuesday and I had already worn my own units outfit the day before! Uh OH! I decided that I would commit the cardinal sin of not wearing the same outfit in the same week and I would definitely participate in this fashion day. So, I had my mom wash my Units getup and I went on my merry way to school. I just know they were snickering when I showed up with the clothes I had just worn on Monday! The things we go through just to fit in-and it wasn't even that cute!

The Israelites were doing just this in the book of 1 Samuel. They were tired of having just a judge to oversee them and I am thinking that their worship in God was lacking. Check out the request they brought to Samuel:

1 Samuel 8:20

19 But the people refused to listen to Samuel. "No!" they said. "We want a king over us. 20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to lead us and to go out before us and fight our battles."

Let's just focus in on "be like all the other nations" right now. Here's the problem with that, the Israelites were the chosen people of God. They were to be holy and different from the pagan nations around them who worshiped false gods and rebelled against their Creator God.

This is where we, as Christians, fit into this picture. We are also chosen by God once we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior. We are set apart for Him and chosen to be different than the world around us.

Philippians 3:19-20 (New International Version)
19Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ

Why would God want us to go through the trouble of being different? Most of the time, being different hurts and is frustrating. Our citizenship is in Heaven with our LORD. This world is temporary, but our eternal Home is where we want to get comfortable.

God calls us to stick out like a sour thumb, to go against the grain, to just be different because this makes people want to know what it is about us that makes us stand out. When we show love for an unloving neighbor, forgiveness to a mean co-worker, compassion during a mission trip, boldness as we stand up for the underdog and bravery as we proclaim the Word of God, this makes people around us want what we have. We are being a witness of Christ when we are citizens of Heaven.

So, next time are tempted to just go with the flow-resist! Being a follower of Christ is not always popular, but you can rest assured your reward will come one day when you make it to your eternal home as a citizen of Heaven.

Read more...

1 Samuel 1-4, Oh Don't Miss It!

I am now moving on to 1 Samuel. No, don't worry, I did not skip the book of Judges or Ruth. I apologize for not blogging on those books, life just got in the way!

Our new friend Samuel is the son of Hannah who prayed diligently for a son and committed him to the Lord. So, in the beginning of 1Samuel, we find little boy Sam ministering to the Lord in the temple under Eli.

Then one night, Samuel heard a call:

1 Samuel 3:3-5
and Samuel was lying down in the temple of the LORD, where the ark of God was. 4 Then the LORD called Samuel. Samuel answered, "Here I am." 5 And he ran to Eli and said, "Here I am; you called me." But Eli said, "I did not call; go back and lie down." So he went and lay down.

Take note of who Sam responded after hearing the call from the Lord...he went running to Eli. Before we get to that, I have to love how Samuel got up and RAN. He was eager to respond, but he just responded to the wrong person.

As the chapter continues, Samuel goes back to bed and goes thru this routine 3 more times before Eli realizes that it is God calling Samuel. He instructs Sam to properly respond.

What struck me here is that, even though he was eager to answer the call, Samuel didn't stop to really think about who was calling. He almost missed what the Lord had to tell him.

This might happen to us all the time and we don't even know it! Yikes! The best way to not miss God's call is to stop and take time to pray over the nudging from the Lord. Take time to digest what the Lord is saying to you and pray for peace and understanding over it. When we pray in this manner, we put ourselves in a better position to do exactly what the Lord has planned, not what we might have on our own agenda.

About two years ago, my husband and I were joking about how we just weren't ready to have kids. We loved our life and the simplicity and quietness of it. Greg and I would happily take care of our friend's kids, but we would also happily give them back. Then, one day, I felt this overwhelming need to be a mom. I tell you, it came out of no where! I just felt the Lord speak to my heart and tell me it was time to have a baby. You can only imagine how surprised my hubby was when I shared this with him. He was quite confused, especially sense we were literally just joking the week before about "no kids for us!

I am so very glad that I did not miss this call from God. Our 10 month old has turned our life upside down and then rightside up again. God called me to be a mommy and He has blessed me for my obedience with a wonderful, healthy, energetic little boy.

Don't miss your call. Don't go elsewhere when you hear His voice. Take it right back to the Lord and ask Him to make His call known to you. You WILL be blessed for your obedience!

Read more...

Judges 1, Spring Cleaning

Moving on to the book of Judges. Here is a little background. Israel is now in Canaan, the promise land and they continue the vicious cycle of disobeying God and falling for the false gods of the Canaanites. Take a look at Judges 1:27-36 to see why they keep falling into this pit of disobedience. Here is one verse of the list:

Judges 1:29
29 Nor did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites living in Gezer, but the Canaanites continued to live there among them.

This is just a snipet of the list of tribes that did not force out the pagans, yet they let these people dwell in their Promise Land alongside.

What's the problem here? Isn't this the peaceful way to exist? The problem that I see is in the clue that these people were pagans-they worshiped FALSE GODS! The ONE and ONLY God is very jealous and demands undivided attention and worship. So, when the Israelites allowed these Canaanites to live among them, they were subjecting themselves to the temptation to fall in line with the pagans and worship these false idols.

And, yes, this is exactly what happened. Thus, we now have the book of Judges. The Lord appointed a Judge to basically watch over and protect the Israelites and whip them in shape. We will read more about how and why these Judges were elected by God.

So, back to these false idols...the lesson here is that when we do not clean house and sweet out things that divide our attention, these pesks can creep in and do just that. Just like fleas or vermin, they find cracks in our house and slither their way in to turn us away from our one true God.

The Israelites should have done some major spring cleaning when they took over their inherited land. Do you have some sweeping out to do for yourself?

Read more...

Joshua 17-21, Just Take Hold Of It Already!

Its amazing how on short verse in the Bible can stop you in your tracks and make you say, "hmmm..." At this point in the book of Joshua, the Israelites are in the promise land and Joshua has the task of alloting all the land to the 12 tribes. I would think this would be a daunting task since everyone would have their specific requests as to what land they want. Chapter 18 starts out with a few tribes that had not taken over their inherited land. Take a look at this verse and just picture the expression and body language that Joshua must have exhorted as he made this statement:

Joshua 18:3 (The Message)
Joshua addressed the People of Israel: "How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you?


I love how the Message says it-How long are you going to sit on your hands and take hold of the glorious land that your Gracious Lord has blessed you with! I can see Joshua with his hands on his hips and an irritated tone in his voice.

Is the Lord saying this to you with the same tone as Joshua had with the Israelites? Are you sitting on your hands not exploring the gifts of your earthly promise land?

Joy and Peace
Total fulfillment as your Serve your Lord in the "land"
Blessings the world doesn't understand
Relationship with the Creator
Redemption from past mistakes
Relationships with other believers
Wonder-full worship of your God

The list could go on. So...get off your tushie and grab hold of this blessed life that the Lord gives those who call Him Savior!

Read more...

Joshua 10; He Holds it all together

By today, I have read through Joshua chapter 16 and I hope those who are reading with me have kept up too! I want to jump back to chapter 10 which is probably my favorite chapter thus far in the Old Testament. I love it because it shows Joshua's faith, God's power, and God's control over His own creation.

Joshua's Faith:
Take a look at the whole chapter to get the jist of the events unfolding. Joshua is leading the Israelites in victory after victory as they are conquering the Promise Land and defeating the pagan nations in their way. Verse 8 says that the Lord told Joshua outright that they would defeat the enemy and not to fear one bit. Easier said than done, right? Not for Joshua for he had seen the Lord come through time after time and this instance was no different. So, to buy them more time for victory, Joshua just plainly commanded the sun to stand still-and it did!

Joshua 10:12-14
12 On the day the LORD gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the LORD in the presence of Israel: "O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon."
13 So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the LORD listened to a man. Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel!

Now, please don't miss read this. Joshua, in no way himself, made the sun stand still. He simply had the faith to speak it knowing God would make it happen.

God's power over His creation:
The Lord stopped that sun just as Joshua asked. But, think about it... He basically stopped the rotation of the earth and the orbit around the sun. You might be thinking: so what? So, what do you think happens when the earth stops its rotation and orbit-probably chaos! God made this earth to function so precisely. Its like the dials on an old car radio. He set the dial specifically to sustain life on this planet. Dials of gravitational force, atoms and particle size, amount of gases in the atmosphere, and many more factors, some that we won’t ever even know about. In Joshua 10, God adjusts these dials to accomplish His purposes-He is the creator and can do any thing He wants with His creation. So, instead of everything going haywire when the “sun and the moon stood still,” God held it all together, no major cataclysmic effects of this happened.

So, if the Lord can hold the complexities of the earth together, don't you think He can hold the complexities of your life together? Its no big deal for Him!

I thought back to when Greg first got word that the Army wanted him back. We had so many unanswered questions which was not unusual for the Army. The thing is, we used to be accustomed to uncertainty when we were still in the Army. But, over the years, Greg and I were blessed with a certain amount of simplicity in our life. Well, God threw a wrench in that and our life was almost up in chaos-not unlike Joshua's sun standing still! Over time, the Lord spoke to our hearts and ministered to our need for answers. Things fell into place and we are doing just great during this deployment. It took faith on our part to tell that chaos to "stand still" and we believed God would hold us all together during the potential turbulence!

I challenge you to take up bold faith like Joshua and believe that God's got you covered.

Read more...

Deuteronomy 29-31, The Road Ahead

As we are just about finished with the book of Deuteronomy, the Israelites are on their way to the Promise Land of Canaan. You will remember from Exodus that Moses did not get to step foot on the land because of His disobedience. So, before he dies, Moses commissions Joshua to be the new leader of Israel. I just love Joshua and his faith. It seems so simple and real. He was a real guy with real fears, yet he chose to believe God. The words that the Lord spoke over Joshua just always touch my heart and I think we can all glean some encouragement through them.

Deuteronomy 31:7-8

7 Then Moses summoned Joshua and said to him in the presence of all Israel, "Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their forefathers to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance. 8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Check out verse 8. "The LORD HIMSELF goes before you." Did you catch that? The LORD Himself! Not the Lord's messenger. Not the Lord's substitute. The LORD HIMSELF!

He did, in fact, go before us...Jesus walked this earth over 2000 years ago. Before He died on the cross for our sins, Jesus experienced everything we do as humans. He knows what it is like to be us. He is Emmanuel-God with Us! The very creator of the universe empathizes with us and we can draw great strength in that.

God with US:

Not God who creates and leaves us to fend for ourselves .
For Us, not against us (Romans 8:31), He only wants the best for us .

The gospels give many accounts of Jesus interacting with Us (humans, his creation, disciples, Israelites, etc).

Jesus cried, needed diaper changes and nursed his mother’s breast just like any other baby.


Jesus walked with Us along the dusty country roads of Judea; he nursed blistered feet as he preached, healed, and gave hope.


Jesus danced and celebrated with Us at weddings, hoisting the bride and groom up on the wedding chairs. He also took part in the Mitzvah dance with the bride.

Jesus mourned with Us over His good friend, Lazarus lying dead in a tomb before He raised that friend back to life.

Take heart and know that the LORD knows the road ahead and He goes before you. That road might, at times, take sharp turns or unexpected detours, but it will always be traveled by your LORD first.

Read more...

Deuteronomy 28, Pure Obedience

I have to be perfectly honest, I have had a hard time writing devotional thoughts around the book of Deuteronomy! I know that every word in the Bible is pertinent, but this has been a slow one for me. I just know the Lord will reward each of us for our diligence in soaking up His Holy Word.

Chapter 28 is a good reminder for us as New Testament believers. Please note that, as followers of Christ, we do not live under the same laws stated in Deuteronomy. But, these laws serve us well to help us always remember what kind of God we serve.

He is perfectly holy, unprecedentedly pure, and completely set apart from His awesome creation. He is above everything and everyone.

These laws in Deuteronomy were given to make the Israelites pure before their Lord. Because God is everything stated above and more, He requires everything in His presence to be pure as well. With out these laws, the Israelites were considered unclean and not presentable before God. Can you imagine trying to remember all the details laid out in the chapters of Deuteronomy! I would think that it was next to impossible for anyone in those days to remain pure and holy ALL the time!

This is why the work of Christ on the Cross is such good news for us! He makes us clean, pure and holy before the Lord. It is by His blood that we are allowed into the presence and before the throne of the King.

Now, this is not to say that we can be disobedient and go with out recourse. The Lord deals with each of our disobedience as He sees fit. But, once we have accepted Christ, all it takes is asking for forgiveness for the slate to be wiped clean. With a repentant heart ready to make changes, God forgives and forgets.

Be sure to thank Christ today for purifying you by His blood so that you are pure and in the presence of the one and only God.

Read more...

Deuteronomy, Just Shout It Out!

Take a look at Deuteronomy 6:4-5:
"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul , and with all your strength."

I just love this proclamation. In the Jewish temple, this is known as the Shema, which is Hebrew for "to Hear." If you have never had the privilege of hearing this recited by a congregation of Israelites, it is always said with a sense of zeal and exclamation. This verse is a Jewish confession of faith and it is recited by the devout twice a day. What a shout out! This is such a poignant statement of faith in the One who is our LORD.

Just for some background, Moses continues this chapter with a recap of the Ten Commandments. But, what I want to focus on is what is also said in Deuteronomy 11:16:

"Take heed to yourselves, lest your heart be deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them, lest the LORD's anger be aroused against you..."

Moses was concerned about what would happen to the Israelites' faith once they crossed into the promise land of Caanan. Keep in mind, this land was not void of other people who had very different religious practices than the Jews. In fact, the Israelites were about to conquer a land that was VERY pagan. We won't get into their specific practices, but it was quite gruesome. Moses warned them to steer way clear of these cultures so they would not be drawn in and away from the One True God.

This is why the Shema is such an important practice. When we make a bold proclamation of faith, we are not only telling others of our intentions, we are ingraining it in our own heart. The Israelites were reminding themselves to stay true to their GOD, no matter what was going on around them.

This is an obvious lesson for us as New Testament believers. We need to make this proclamation personal and say it boldly, with conviction! The enemy wants us to be drawn in by the world around us. He wants us to step away from our One True God and towards the earthly "gods" that distract us from loving Jesus with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength. It is so easy to get sidetracked by the latest gossip, celebrity worship, or allure of success. This is exactly what Satan wants; that we focus on these temporal things and not on our eternal King. Oh, I pray that we don't let this happen. Make the LOUD PROCLAMATION everyday. Let the enemy know that you mean business! Your God is LORD and the One and Only God!

LIVE IT OUT! application:
I challenge you to memorize these verses. In fact, go ahead and substitute your name as follows to make it even more personal.

"Hear, O (your name), The LORD our God, the LORD is one!..."

***NOTE: if you are reading thru the Bible with me, as of March 7, you should have read through Deuteronomy 20. I have not kept up with the devotions as the chapters go along and I appologize!

Read more...

Deuteronomy 1-4. A New Look Back

Ok, so I have to confess. I had to look back at my Bible to make sure that I am spelling Deuteronomy correctly! I am positive that I will be able to spell it in my sleep by the time we make it through the whole book. By the way, if anyone wants to join in my journey of reading through the Bible you can go here for the reading plan that I am following.

This book is written mostly by Moses before He dies and it is a recount of the Israelite journey through the wilderness thus far. The first four chapters are nothing new to us, but it serves a good reminder as to what we have read. I just love what Moses says to sum it all up in chapter 4:

Deuteronomy 4:39-40 (New King James Version)
39 Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. 40 You shall therefore keep His statutes and His commandments which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land which the LORD your God is giving you for all time.”

This moment of remembrance of what the Lord has done got me thinking about how we should also go through times of remembrance of our own. People often do an "inventory check" at the new year and then let it go by the wayside.

Today, let's take sometime to do a check of our own spiritual lives. Paul says that we should always be growing in our faith.

1 Corinthians 3:1-2(NIV)

1Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. 2I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. 3You are still worldly.

Paul is admonishing the Corinthians to not stay stagnant in their faith, but to instead grow and feed on more mature spiritual things.

Here are a few questions to meditate on. I hope you will take the time to read over them and put your answers to paper in order to solidify them in your mind.

**Where are you in your belief that "God is who He says He is" today compared to this time last year?

**What things are you doing more/less of in lieu of daily Bible study? If less, what could you do to enrich your time with the Lord on a daily basis?

**Has you concept of worshiping God changed and become more comprehensive lately? If not, define what worship is to you right now and if you think that definition is adequate.

**Do you commit more things to prayer AND believe that God listens and answers in His time? If so, what kinds of answers have you seen Him grant lately?

**Rate your spiritual temperature:

1=ice cold, blizzard alert/10=whoa-on fire-hair is smoking!

How can you move toward a 10?

I could go on and on... I hope you found this exercise to be helpful. Please feel free to post some answers as you feel comfortable.

Read more...

Read Thru The Bible-Numbers 32-33, Just Short

At this point in the book of Numbers, the Israelites are still wandering. I wanted to focus on chapter 32-the actions of the tribe of Ruben and Gad really intrigued me as I was reading today.



Basically, these people were satisfied with the mediocre! They were content with stopping just short of Cannan, the Promise Land, and settling in Gilead. Ruben and Gad just didn't want to cross over the Jordan River to experience the fullness of the Promise Land from God.



Number 32:5

5 If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan."



I am just guessing here, but I imagine that the land of Gilead was not as exciting and filled with beauty as the Promise Land of Cannan. Why in the world would they want to stop short and not go all the way? I really don't have an answer to this-do you?



But, I did start thinking about how we, as Christians, stop short of the abundant life that God promises us while we are here on earth. The biggest thing that keeps us from living this exciting life is lack of faith and not believing that God is who He says He is. We don't truly comprehend that God can and will do what He says He can do. Lack of faith...lukewarm belief...see what Jesus has to say about this.

Now, I have to warn you, this is a pretty rough verse. The context is that it was written in Revelation and to the church of Laodicea. Apparently, this church was not getting any props from Christ what so ever. Even though its quite harsh, I think this verse speaks to us in our topic at hand.

Revelation 3:16
15-17"I know you inside and out, and find little to my liking. You're not cold, you're not hot—far better to be either cold or hot! You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit.

Ouch! How would you like Christ in all His glory and fire to be saying this about you personally?!

He doesn't have to, though! Choose to be Hot! Let the Holy Spirit light a mighty FIRE in you to believe God and have flaming faith. No need to be lukewarm-that's no fun! You would miss out on all kinds of cool things God has planned for you.

LIVE IT OUT! Application:
Is there something in your faith walk that you are lukewarm about? Or, are you just plane frigid? Take it to Jesus, let Him de-thaw and light that flame.

Read more...

Read Thru The Bible Update

I hope and pray that some of you are joining me on the journey of reading thru the whole Bible in a year. It has been great getting the whole context of the scripture so far.

I do have to appologize for not posting a devotion for a while. To be perfectly honest, the Lord hasen't given me anything meaningful to write and I don't want to waste your time with fluff!

With that said, you should be have read through Numbers 29 by today! We are making our way!

Keep in mind that the Lord rewards diligence. Especially diligence in reading His entire word. Keep it up!

Read more...

Numbers 19-20, Don't Miss Out

Chapter 20 of Numbers is a hard passage to swallow with regards to Moses. Take a look at what God directed him to do and what he actually did.

Verse 8
8 "Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."

Verse 11
11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.

Read very carefully at the slight discrepancy of Moses actions. He struck the rock instead of speaking to it to bring water. Kind of a small detail. That is why this chapter is so hard to comprehend.

Here is what the Lord had to say about it:
Verse 12
But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."

Moses disobeyed God and lost His chance to see that very Promise Land that he was leading his people into. What is that all about?!!

This relates to us in a very real way. Hear me say this first, once you are saved and know Christ as your Lord and Savior, you can NEVER lose your salvation. Moses, with out a doubt went to heaven when he died. No question about that. But, when we do not follow God's direction, we can most definitely miss out on our earthly promise land. This earthly promise land is a life of abundance in God. Just like John 10:10 says that Jesus brings us life to the full, our abundant life in Christ is full AND fulfilling. We can miss out on that if we go our own way. If we strike the rock rather than talk to it as God directed, we separate ourself from God and miss out on the abundance and joy filled life He gives us.

So, here's the solution. Pay close attention to the LORD's guidance by staying plugged into the Holy Spirit. This Counselor will lead you down the correct road and right into the abundant life with Christ. Follow what the Bible says about how we should order our life. It is Truth, treat it as such! Finally, pray that you will have discernment when you are tempted to strike that rock. Don't miss out on the glory of the Lord while you are on this earth. Though it will pale in comparison to our eternal Promise Land, the earthly promise land with Christ is filled with joy, love, peace and abundance as you live in relationship with God here on this earth.

Read more...

Numbers 12-15, Don't be a Downer

Please take a look at Numbers chapter 13 and 14-the story about Caleb and Joshua. I just love those two guys! Out of that generation of Israelites, Caleb and Joshua were the only ones to see the Promise Land. These two chapters tell us exactly why-they BELIEVED GOD!

So, twelve spies were sent into the land of Cannan to check it out and report back. When they came to Moses with their report-boy were they Debbie Downers! All they could talk about was how scary the people were and how there was no way to conquer it. Did they forget that the had the Almighty leading them into their promised land?

Caleb and Joshua sure didn't forget:
Numbers 14:7-9
7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

These two gentlemen looked at the glass half full. They mentioned that the land was exceeding good-isn't that where the LORD always brings us when we follow Him?? Check out what they said in verse 9-BUT the LORD IS WITH US! These two were not very popular, in fact the Israelites picked up stones to kill them.

I see a parallel with this story and our tough times today. These rough economic times can be as scary to us as the giants in the land of Cannan were to the spies. We can doubt the Lord and forget who is our protector.

Let us not be like the spies!!! Let us be Calebs and Joshuas to the world around us. When we follow Christ and obey Him, He leads us into a land that is good. Yes, we might have to go through a battle to get there. But, do not fear, the Lord is on your side.

You might not be popular with those around you when you take this stance. Although, they probably won't pick up stones...hopefully! But, be that light to your world around you. Proclaim the Lord's goodness and protection. Have faith that the LORD is good and will bring His people into their promise land His way and in His timing.

Read more...

Numbers 8-9, Straight Paths

As they were traveling in the desert, the Israelites knew their end point. It was the promised land, the land of milk and honey, the Land of Opportunity. At this point in their journey, they had no real idea what direction they would take to get there. Does this bother any of you? If you are a "Type A" kind of person like I am, it would have driven you nuts. People like me always have a plan and always know where they are going and how they are getting there. Anyone relate?

But for the Israelites, they had God's physical presence guiding them at every turn. God guided them with a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 9:16-17
16 That is how it continued to be; the cloud covered it, and at night it looked like fire. 17 Whenever the cloud lifted from above the Tent, the Israelites set out; wherever the cloud settled, the Israelites encamped.

How nice would that be to have exact direction as to where you are going and where you must stop on a day to day basis. We don't always have our endpoint set out for us. We usually don't have the exact directions to take as well. This has been a big struggle for me these days. I have been thrust back into the role of Army Wife (quite unwillingly, but that is part of this whole mapped out thing) We are not sure where God will take us and how these next several months will pan out. Is there some uncertainty in your life right now?

Here's the deal...God knows where He is taking you and what route you will go TOGETHER. Noticed the bold print. You are not alone in this journey. God goes with you every step. Let me rephrase that. He has His plan for you, how about you join Him. Go together, not by yourself. Together the path is straight. By yourself, it's pretty rocky and you will get side tracked.

Proverbs 3:5-6
5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

In order walk that straight path, you must lean on His direction and His divine map. Through prayer and Bible reading, the Lord will take you where you need to go. My husband always has a time tested way to discern the Lord's will. After much prayer and reading, if He doesn't feel at peace about a situation, he either doesn't go through with it or he sits on it for awhile longer. Let God speak to your heart. If He is giving you the go ahead, you will feel at ease and the doors will open right up. On the other hand, if it is not the right turn and you don't feel that peace, don't try to manipulate the situation. Just stop where you are and go back to God for further direction.

Even though we don't have an exact visual like the cloud and the fire, the Holy Spirit is a very powerful GPS. Open your heart to God's guidance and He will lead you down His right and glorious road.

Read more...

Numbers 1-2, Are You Counted?

The book of Numbers starts out with God telling Moses to take a census of all His people and count them by tribe. No wonder they call it the Book of Numbers- duh! :)

Just a short thought on the idea of being counted. Christians are faithful followers of Christ...are you numbered in the faithful?

Standing up and being faithful is not an easy task as we are often called to do things (or not do things) that set us apart from the people around us. We are called to be pure and holy and a voice of Jesus to the world. Being counted as on of the LORD's is a big responsibility.

But, not with out rewards. When we stand numbered with God, we are automatically assured access to the King of Kings anytime, any place, 24/7. We are given the fruit of the Spirit which is better than any fruit a farmer can grow here on earth. Our Heavenly father plants the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control and faithfulness in our heart. He gives us His fruit in abundance as long as we accept Him and obey Him. This fruit will sustain us in any kind of battle we might face in our daily lives.

So, stand tall and be counted as Christ's own. Be bold and let other's know who Jesus is and that you are proud that He is your King and Savior.


Psalm 138
Of David.
1 I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart; before the "gods" I will sing your praise.
2 I will bow down toward your holy temple and will praise your name for your love and your faithfulness, for you have exalted above all things your name and your word.
3 When I called, you answered me;you made me bold and stouthearted.

Read more...