Day 325 – If we’re going to talk the Christian talk we better walk the Christian walk.

Today’s Reading: 1 John 2 – 2 John

1 John 2:4-6 “Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”

‘Think before you speak,’ I’ve been told this more times than I’d like to count. However, in most contexts it was so I didn’t say something I would regret, the whole toothpaste scenario. What comes out of the tube will never be able to go back in. Yet today, those same words, ‘Think before you speak,’ were not for words that you may regret saying but words that boast Jesus when your actions deny Him.

Think about this, are your actions representing your boasting of Jesus well?

Many times we turn people away from Christ because our words don’t reflect our actions or our actions don’t reflect our words. We aren’t here just for people to hear about Jesus but to also see Jesus in us.

Our mama’s got this one right, ‘Actions speak louder than words,’ and in this case if our actions don’t reflect the words we are speaking then our actions will turn people away without even hearing our words.

If you Love Jesus then Love like Jesus. All people. Even your enemies.

Don’t gossip or put down, instead encourage and remain true. Stay away from false accusations and manipulation of the Bible. Stand firm on the Whole Word of God. When someone’s doing good for the Kingdom of Heaven don’t put them down out of jealousy, help them to grow the good into something Great. Lastly, let the picture of your walk speak more than 1000 of God’s Words.

Day 324 – One day in Heaven is like 1000 years on Earth.

Today’s Reading: 1 Peter 5, 2 Peter, 1 John 1

2 Peter 3:8-9 “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

On earth we have a tendency to focus on “Time”.

We only have 60 seconds in an minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 24 hours in a day. No matter how much we try, there is no way to increase the number of hours before the new day occurs.

Each day we have to choose between 50 really good things for the Right thing that we should do. We have NO “Time” for Drama!

Our children are growing up before our very eyes and before the blink of an eye they won’t be babies anymore. Our loved ones will pass on when it’s their “Time” to meet the Savior. You know you’ve over stayed your “Time” when conflict and disturbance starts among the kids. It’s “Time” to go.

We don’t need to waste our tears or our “Time” on the small stuff, and that event you just did, well it went over the allotted “Time”. We have a countdown of days until the next Big thing, and there are only 365 days in a year with only 10 left until December and the 25 Days until Christmas movie countdown begins; you better make “Time” for shopping.

We have a calendar for every division in our life, and a different color code in our phone calendar. But with all of our focus on “Time” we may be wasting the precious “Time” God has given us on Earth.

On earth time may seem to fly by, but in Heaven it hardly passes. One day in Heaven is 1000, So, instead of fretting about our time on earth, we should fill it with Love and Joy, making the most of our Heavenly hours. Just think, our loved ones that have gone on before us will only be without us for mere minutes or hours. So I’ve decided to live on God’s time and not my own.

Day 323 – Don’t be shocked in the trial. Change your, Why me, into, For Thee.

Today’s Reading: 1 Peter 2 – 4

1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”

By now you’d think I’d be used to the trials that spring up on me. However, every once and a while, one sneaks up on me and shocks me to no end. It’s as though the ones I see coming or those that are completely out of this world I handle the best, but those that seem so minuscule and quite sneaky bring me to my lowest of lows. Put me in a tailspin and show me the ground because I’m about to crash and burn.

Yesterday, we surprised one of our daughters with her Christmas present early, a puppy she’s been asking for over the past 2 years. In the first 8 hours, my daughter learned how sweet yet difficult it is to take care of a puppy. By the end of the night, she could hardly keep her eyes open and someone was going to have to be on night duty for the crate training. She wanted to do it, but I could tell she wasn’t going to be able. So, instead of complaining and reminding her of her responsibility, I got a pillow and a blanket and laid right down beside the crate. Why me? Because of my love for my daughter. Same goes with God. When there’s a trial I don’t think I deserve, instead of saying, Why me, God?! I’m reminded it’s because He! He loves me, He chose me, and He died for me. So He needs me to Glorify Thee. That’s why me!

1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

The next time you feel like you got punched in the dark, knocked over out of nowhere, or shocked into disbelief because of the outcome, remember what He had to go through for you, and say, For Thee, Lord, For Thee!

Day 322 – Get behind me Satan!

Today’s Reading: James 4 – 1 Peter 1

James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Just this afternoon I claimed these exact words, ‘Get behind me Satan.’

I’m a listener, a thinker, and a reacter, in that order. Things that affect my head, affect my heart, and vice versa. So Satan is constantly trying to whisper lies into my head, so they will affect my heart, and cause me to react upon them. But when I resist him and tell him the One who is control of my life, he gets afraid and flees instantaneously.

About 18 years ago God truly revealed to me how this works so miraculously. I was having one of my flashbacks from my abuse as a child (this comes along with many forms of trauma) while sitting by my husband and mom in the middle of church. The preacher was preaching a normal sermon, but the vision began to occur.

Satan was trying to ruin my church service.

Tears flowed down my face. I was beyond tired of this happening and the exhaustion I would feel from it for the rest of the day. It was damaging to me and my family! In that very moment, God encouraged me to do what I had read and heard many times, claim the blood of Jesus and resist the devil. I told Satan he had no control over my life and only Jesus flowed through my blood. The flashback vanished and have been gone ever since. That’s doesn’t mean the devil doesn’t still try to attack me in other ways, but not in that way anymore. So now, I tell the devil to get behind me and he listens.

Do you struggle with the attacks of Satan? Tell him to get behind you. There’s only room for One King in your life and that’s Jesus.

Day 321 – Are you acting on what you hear?

Today’s Reading: James 1 – 3

James 1:22-27 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”

What are you doing today that God told you to do? Have you ever planned your day out that way? At some point throughout the day, week, month, or year, believers, read or hear God’s Word spoken, but don’t always put into action what’s been heard.

Maybe, like me, you’ve said to yourself, ‘What does God want me to do?’ Well if you are in God’s Word or hearing God’s Word, it is like a mirror that we are supposed to reflect. I’m more than positive when you look in the mirror in the morning you don’t walk away forgetting what you’ve seen.

God says when we just go through the motions of hearing the Word, like sitting in church on Sunday, but don’t act on what we’ve heard, like loving our neighbor, looking after the widow, or taking care of the orphan, we are acting like the world and not Him. But religion on the other hand is acting on the Words He speaks into our heart and reflecting Jesus to the World.

Day 320 – Its time we run our race.

Today’s Reading: Hebrews 11 – 13

Hebrews 12:1-2, ” Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a crowd of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

I guess you could say I’m a racer by chance and a runner by choice. I love to run so much that no matter where I am or where I go I always bring my running shoes and I always look to see how far and how long it will take me to get from point A to point B and back, by foot. Racing on the other hand is a different story. To race you must train, and depending on how long your race is accounts for how much you need to train.

Daily we are also running a race for Christ and we have to constantly be in a state of training. It’s physically, emotionally, and mentally grueling, much like a marathon. When I trained for my marathon, I would have to replenish my body fluids by drinking olive juice after the long runs. I’d lose so much salt through my sweat that I’d get physically sick if I didn’t. And in running this race for Christ the difficulties we endure will naturally cause us to lose the salt of life, but if we keep our focus on Jesus, the perfecter of our faith, by reading the Word and praying daily, He will replenish and grow our faith, making us as salt into this world.

If you just go for a run, nobody’s going to be out watching you, but if you are out running a race, there will be crowds on every side watching and cheering you on. They want to see if you’ll make it, some doubting and some holding out Hope that you will. It’s the same on our race with Christ. Everyone is watching your every move. “Will she fail? I think she’ll make it. How is she doing it?” All of these thoughts being thrown around. Ideas of how you’re doing swirling through the crowds. So what are you to do? Keep your eyes set on the finish line, Jesus. Push aside every reason to quit, and get out there and run your race!

Day 319 – Hold Fast to Hope.

Today’s Reading: Hebrews 8 – 10

Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful.”

I am reminded day after day why I have such Hope. You don’t even have to walk outside to realize the struggles that will come.

If we are to accept the world and the circumstances we find ourselves in as coincidence, everything would become dreary. Yet, if we cling to the Hope we have in Christ, in Eternal life, in the promise of Heaven, we will look through a filter of Joy and His Sovereignty, understanding that everything occurs around a specific purpose and that purpose is for Good.

When unexpected death occurs, like a child or a parent, when we lose our job at Thanksgiving or Christmas and we have a family to feed, or when our spouse leaves us after 30 years of marriage, we may have a hard time seeing the Good. But if we hold fast to our Hope before it flies out the window (among the tears), our confidence in the truth of Christ will fill us with a Peace that is unexplainable by anything other than God. And it is this Hope that will provide us the endurance we need to receive the promise of Good He has for us.

Hebrews 10:35-36, “Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.”

Day 318 – Learning and growing takes constant practice.

Today’s Reading: Hebrews 3 – 8

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives in milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5: 12 – 14

20 years of reading through the Word. 20 years of still not getting it all right. 20 years and still learning something new every day.

When I was a child, I learned the main Bible stories: Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David, Solomon, and Jesus, but the others….the in-between, I’ve learned these in my constant reading, my early morning devotions. Job, Esther, the Songs of Ascent, the women in the sand, the stone that wasn’t thrown, all of these have taught me huge life lessons. They’ve taught me how to love, perseverance, kindness, truth, justice, courage, and all in Christ. In the past few years I’ve learned to let go, to say no to good things when their are better things to say yes to, to listen before I speak, that even if I don’t agree with someone’s opinion or lifestyle I can still show them love, that good Christian’s can be wrong, that once saved always saved, but forgiveness, grace and mercy is always offered, and always way opinions under the Word of God. But I’m not done yet, God’s not finished with me. So I’m going to keep going.

Im going to keep searching the Word every morning, Im going to keep seeking Him. His Word is Alive, and when I stand on the simple principles and strive for more, He continues to reveal more of Himself to me.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

There is always a reason to keep learning and growing, to constantly go to His Word. As I often say, if you aren’t growing your dying, and I want to keep living until God calls me home.

Day 317 – Let’s STOP stirring up Hate and instead Pour on a heaping spoon full of LOVE.

Today’s Reading: Titus 2 – 3, Philemon, Hebrews 1 -2

Titus 3:8-11 “The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people. But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”

Have you ever made a pot of beans? You’ve got to stir them so they don’t stick to the bottom of the pot, but if you stir them too much they turn to mush. Everything must be timed exactly right and done with as little effort as possible so the beans don’t get ruined. The same goes for people. When one person or group stirs up division among a bigger group the whole mess of them get ruined.

It seems as though some people are just inclined to stirring up problems, constantly causing controversy among others, but God would rather us turn from these people than jump into their pot. The best attempt at squelching the controversy and salvaging the beans is to ignore the negative comments and speak love into the mix.

We all claim to want peace and unity, however, instead of showing each other love we keep fighting for our own opinions. It’s exhausting to say the least and like the plastic spatula that stays in the pot a little too long, ones bound to get warped. So let’s stop stirring up the beans causing an even bigger mushy mess and let’s add a dollop of love, focusing on ways to help and bringing Joy to each other’s lives.

Titus 3:14 “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”

Day 316 – Fight the Good Fight and Finish the Race with even Greater Faith.

Today’s Reading: 2 Timothy 3 – Titus 1

2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Some days are hard as soon as I turn over in my bed and slip my feet out of the covers. It’s as though the war begins, not a real war of course but a spiritual one, that actually may be even more difficult. And while this war is going on you’re still running the marathon of life and just trying to make it to the end.

Do you ever feel this way? Do you ever start the day just waiting for it to end? Or maybe you are hoping today was just a dream and you’re waiting to wake up from it?

I’ve felt this way one too many times. Thankfully, on these days I put all my dependence on God to get me through and my faith grows by leaps and bounds.

The fight and the race can be draining, and when you hit mile 20 in the marathon you might be ready to give up but you fight on. When you finally finish the race and experience the joy you’ve been hoping for. You have fought a hard fight and amid all the trials you have the kept the faith. And the greatest reward of all was all those people seeing you fight and run with a strength that can only be from the Lord. They have witnessed your faith and your behavior and they believe. So don’t give up, no matter what comes your way. Keep running on, finishing the race strong and keeping your Faith even stronger.