Day 255 – Let the Few rise up and rebuild.

Today’s Reading: Zephaniah 3, Haggai 1 – 2, Zechariah 1 – 2

Haggai 2:3-9 ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

One day, God will call us to Heaven and our time will be up for rebuilding His Church. As we reach the pearly gates, will He say, ‘Well Done’ or ‘So, what did you do.’ We’ve had an opportunity to rebuild and strengthen His church, yet it looks as though it’s falling away. More people are choosing to be complacent and allowing the world to dictate their decisions. Some of this comes from the same selfishness we saw in the Garden of Eden and some from The Fear that came after the fall. He sees those of us who are faithful and He is pleading with us to Rebuild. The Lord wants us to make an impact here on earth for His Kingdom in Heaven, promising He’s with us we have no reason to fear. He will provide all we need and make it even more beautiful than before. For we are the church, the people, not the buildings. We are called to heal the broken-hearted, care for the orphan and widow, provide for the poor, and love our enemy. Let’s Rebuild!

Day 254 – Even when the world is causes us to cry, God creates us to Rejoice and fills us with His Joy!

Today’s Reading: Habakkuk 1 – Zephaniah 2

Habakkuk 3:17-19 “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.”

Sometimes it’s just HARD! Oh, I’m not talking about life, yeah that can be difficult on any given day, I’m talking about rejoicing in the Lord when the going gets tough and having Joy when the tough gets even tougher. And truthfully because I find myself in those moments more often these days, I know what it’s like and I still look to Him.

The Lord always brings me through the HarD, moves me around the ToUgH, and still places me on SOLID ground. He fills my head with Hope for better times, He settles me with His Spirit of Peace and overflows my soul with His Joy. It’s these realities that get me to sleep at night and awake me in the mornings; it’s the promise that I need to get me to tomorrow and lead me all the way into Eternity.

Sometimes my head swims within the constant crashing waves of struggles around me. I’ve had to claim God’s promises even when I can’t always feel them there. I’ve been clinging to the Truth because I know it will set me free even when I can only see a dim light. However, even when I can’t feel…I seek, and even when I can’t see…I know. That’s where my Faith steps in, that’s why I rejoice, and that is where I feel my most Joyful.

Day 252 – So what is it that God really wants from me?

Today’s Reading: Micah 5 – 7

Micah 6:8 “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Have you ever looked around at all you had to do and wondered how in the world am I going to get this done. I may not have all the money in the world, but I sure do have passion where I lack finances. And I will give the Lord all of my time and energy, by saying “yes” to every request that’s made to me. But as this past couple of years has shown me, when I try to do all I wear my body out until I can do nothing.

Just like the Lord doesn’t require every bit of money we have or the finest of all the jewels. God also doesn’t require us to wear ourselves down until their’s nothing left. I catch myself in this same cycle all the time, but what I’m reminded of is that God wants us to be honest and fair, to love all with the greatest compassion, and to walk humbly with Him leaving our pride at the door.

I shouldn’t be worried about what I’m doing, but focus more on who I’m coming in contact with. My focus should be on love and not a checklist. God doesn’t want just my hands and my feet, but he wants my head and heart too. You see, this is what He wants from you too. We must always seek His will and not what we want his will to be. He has our best interest at heart and wants to bring them together. This is what God requires of us.

Day 251 – Till death do us part.

Today’s Reading: Micah 1 – 4

Micah 4:5 “For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the Lord our God forever and ever.”

20 years ago, as I took my vows to my future husband, I never realized while speaking them how much they would truly mean to our marriage.

Honestly, all those Disney films that I let mesmerize me, fooled me into believing marriage equaled Happily Ever After.

We would never be sick (so why in sickness and in health); we would never be poor (so what’s the use of for richer or poorer). For better or worse….wouldn’t it always be better, and until death do us part, we’re married now, why would we ever part?!

But what I quickly realized along this journey on the yellow brick road was we were heading into harsh terrain and we would need some help on the road ahead. We would need to cling to those vows like butter on bread and the only way we would ever be able to do that would be to walk on the road with Our Lord and not alone. When we got married we didn’t become a pair, we became one with God, and He is the only reason we’ve been able to continue on this journey and actually grow our marriage into something greater than we could’ve imagined.

Our marriage is meant to reflect Christ and the church, and we made a vow to walk with God until this yellow brick road turns into the golden road leading us Home. So even if death is when we part, it will be for only a little while and then we will be reunited again.

Day 253 – There is beauty and goodness that comes from the fulfillment of a vow.

Today’s Reading: Nahum 1 – 3

Nahum 1:15 “Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off.”

There are so many different vows we can take, but it is the ones we see through to completion that will magnify the Lord.

This year I made a vow to post a devotion every day for an entire year. But some days I’d like to kick myself for making this type of vow. It’s not a bad day that makes me second guess my vows, it’s days that start extra early and end extra late. That might not sound that bad to you, but for a girl who loves her sleep, probably a little too much, this is extremely difficult. Grouchy isn’t even the problem, more than that the problem I find is that I nod off in any place I find relaxing, especially if that place is reading, writing, or listening.

However, if I make a promise to the Lord, I’m going to keep it. And while I find myself complaining about my exhaustion, I know that someone somewhere needs to hear the words written even if I have no idea what they will say. Our verse today hits this same nail on the head. How beautiful are the feet of those who share the good news. They are beautiful feet, (not because they LOOK pretty) but because they carry the love of Jesus from person to person and across the world. And when we promise God that we will do this or that, we must fulfill the promise because it will glorify Him and bring beauty to His Word.

Day 250 – True Christianity isn’t keeping God’s Grace, Mercy, and Love to ourselves.

Today’s Reading: Jonah 2 – 4

Jonah 4:1-4 “But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was angry. And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and relenting from disaster. Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live.” And the Lord said, “Do you do well to be angry?”

Someone, somewhere, some time ago was told to “Go” so that one day You would find the Lord’s Grace, Mercy, and Love. What if they had been like Jonah and found you or someone else in your Family tree to be like Nineveh, so evil and gone astray, unworthy of saving? What if they hadn’t been obedient to the Call and were greedy with God’s love, would you be who you are today? The short answer is, yes, but it wouldn’t be through that person. Your story would be different, for it was that person who was called at that time to save you, but your salvation would come through someone else.

What if you are on the opposite side of the coin and you get called like Jonah to go into a city or a people that are so far gone, so full of evil, that you must decide whether to keep the Grace and Mercy that God gave to you or freely give as has been given to you, what will you choose? Isn’t Greed, even of Grace and Mercy, as much a sin as any other sin? We should be thankful for the Grace and Mercy shown to others because He showed that same Grace and Mercy to us when we were buried in our sins.

The Great Commission tells us to Go, so that those who don’t know, may find the Grace, Love, and Mercy of Christ to Grow.

Day 249 – Don’t gloat over someone else’s misfortunes.

Today’s Reading: Amos 9, Obadiah, and Jonah 1

Obadiah 1:12 “But do not gloat over the day of your brother in the day of his misfortune; do not rejoice over the people of Judah in the day of their ruin; do not boast in the day of distress.”

We all have our own issues, troubles, and down and dirty problems. My list is uncountable and probably as long as Santa’s “Naughty or Nice List”. But when I see someone else dealing with something hard, I lay down my problems to help them carry theirs.

Never should I or do I gloat over someone else’s misfortunes, not even if I think they are probably gloating over mine. Genuine concern to the point of tears tugs at my heart strings no matter who it is because of the compassion and power of Christ’s love.

Ill will towards another comes from Satan’s schemes. He likes to mess with our minds and deter our hearts trying to turn us away from Christ’s ways.

In the early 80’s Looney Tunes was one of my favorite cartoons to watch after school. Sylvester the cat and Tweety Bird were always getting into some kind of trouble. Every once and a while Sylvester would have a peaceful angel show up on one of his shoulders speaking goodness into the situation and on the other shoulder a spiteful rotten little angel would speak cruel thoughts into his head. I believe Satan is probably trying to sit on our shoulder or whisper into our ears, telling our head to be spiteful to those who have fallen on hard times, but thankfully our heart is full of the Holy Spirit encouraging us to speak love and truth like Sylvester’s angel.

Which do you want to relate with, the angel or the little devil? Don’t let me find Tweety in your mouth, those feathers are sure to choke you up, but the Words of Christ are sweeter than honey and much better for the soul.

Day 248 – As soon as you get comfortable be ready to be called.

Today’s Reading: Amos 4 – 8

Amos 7:14-15 “Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”

Can you imagine being in the 7th grade, just 12 years old, hanging out with friends, small crush on the local handyman’s son, not looking to the future just yet, living more in the now, and all of a sudden you have a visit from one of God’s angels. The angel tells you, “You are chosen and will be impregnated by God through the Holy Spirit.” That’s what I call going from comfort to called.

Mary wasn’t planning on having a baby at this time and most definitely not before she got married. Like Mary, more often than not God calls those He wants to use when they find themselves most comfortable in the here and now. You see, God doesn’t actually call any of His people to be comfortable, He calls us to be a witness and He will comfort us along the way.

The best way for us to be a witness is to allow Him to do amazing things in and through our lives.

There have been times in my life when things were going so easy and by the worlds standards my life looked almost perfect. However, in these moments I’ve stopped and looked around realizing the peace He’s given me in the moment is probably just preparation for the calling that is about to come.

This is true for all those that are His. So if you are His Be ready to be used by Him. Find rest in the comfortable times and allow God to use you at all times. For the calling will be greater than any comfortable time you could have found.

Day 247 – Don’t fear the darkness for it shall come, instead hold fast to the Light because it’s already Here!

Today’s Reading: Joel 2 – 3, Amos 1 – 3

Joel 2:1-2, 21 “Blow a trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains a great and powerful people; their like has never been before, nor will be again after them through the years of all generations. “Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice, for the Lord has done great things!”

Darkness is quickly sweeping across the world. Things are occurring that bring fear into believers and non-believers alike because they can’t comprehend it all. Plans are being made to hide from the evil, fearing what is still yet to come and how it will affect us. Caution is being taken to try and guard our children from harm and the evil one. Yet, what we should be doing is preparing our children for the darkness to be the light. We should be teaching them to seek “The Light” and reflect it around the world.

For how can the world see Christ if we do not point them to the Light? How can our children grow and become strong in their faith if we try to hide them from evil? We are to be a light on a hill not hidden under a basket. Let’s bring Light to the dark places, let’s show how God is working in each and every situation.

He’s already got an army fighting for us in the darkness, but if we don’t know it’s there it’s only because we are too scared to look. If we don’t look, will miss the miracle of His work and the opportunity to grow our own faith. I’m all for being prepared for what may come but to prepare for the dark we must seek the Light by prayer, studying God’s Word, and living by Faith by taking up our Cross daily and walking with Him. It will be good for no one if we choose to hide ourselves or hide our children from this dark world. So Go into the darkness and Be the Light!

Day 246 – The best way to teach the truths of life are to become an open book.

Today’s Reading: Hosea 13 – Joel 1

Joel 1:3 “Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children to another generation.”

Do you hide the truth from your children or do you speak openly with them about your struggles and ‘The Truth’. Are you afraid of the outcome if they see the real you?

When we become an open book of all the realities in our life our children will learn best about what Truth really is. They can relate to us when we choose to be real, they won’t think we are perfect, but we will point them to being made perfect through Christ. They can see how someone can mess up and make up for it with redemption and salvation.

When we hide behind the perfect facade of false truths our children will also hide the truth that we want them to share with us. But when we become an open book, our children for many generations will have an opportunity to point to God’s Grace and Mercy in our lives. It is in these moments that God will speak volumes.

Story telling was how Jesus spoke to his disciples and those he met on the road. We have this same opportunity wrapped in side of each of us to lead the next generation directly to Him. So what will you do? We have a huge cloud of witnesses watching us, speak truth, read from your Book into their life.