Spring Clothes

“Do not lie to one another, since you

have put off the old man with his deeds,

and have put on the new man who is

renewed in knowledge according to the image

of Him who created him. . .Therefore, as

the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on

tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,

longsuffering; . . .But above all these things,

put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”

     Colossians 3:9-14 (NKJV)

Spring is finally here and I’m looking forward to putting away my thick sweaters, heavy coat and other winter gear, and putting on my spring clothing.  In the above passage, Paul talks about putting off the old man and putting on the new man, as if they are garments.  And he makes it seem easy, like we just go to the closet and get rid of our old clothes, take our new outfit and don it. 

I don’t know about you, but I often struggle with living according to my new nature and not letting my old flesh have its way.  Thankfully, Paul admits he struggles with this too:  “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” (Romans 7:18-19, NKJV)  This gives me encouragement.

True believers have the Holy Spirit living within us and that gives us power in this putting off and putting on.  And when we stumble and make a mistake, go to the Lord and tell Him about it.  But don’t stay in defeat—that’s a tactic the enemy likes to use to keep us down and ineffective.  Trust that Christ, who is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2, NKJV), has begun a good work in us and He will complete it (Phil. 1:6). 

Our sanctification in His hands.  So let’s rejoice in our gracious Lord as we put on our new clothes daily—tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, love.  Spring is a season of hope and our spiritual garments should reflect the blessed hope we have in Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13).

Thursday Devotional - Easy Victories?

After the sun stood still, I think God used that to also give Joshua added confidence for all the next battles he would face. If God could stop the sun to help Joshua defeat enemies, then nothing was too difficult and no army too strong. 

Joshua 10:40-43 ⁴⁰ So Joshua subdued the whole region, including the hill country, the Negev, the western foothills and the mountain slopes, together with all their kings. He left no survivors. He totally destroyed all who breathed, just as the Lord, the God of Israel, had commanded. ⁴¹ Joshua subdued them from Kadesh Barnea to Gaza and from the whole region of Goshen to Gibeon. ⁴² All these kings and their lands Joshua conquered in one campaign, because the Lord, the God of Israel, fought for Israel.

⁴³ Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.

God was the one who gave the victory to Joshua. Joshua did have to work and work hard, but God gave him the strength and help needed. God could have defeated all the Canaanites on His own, but He had Joshua and the Israelites participate for their own benefit and blessing.     

I’ve learned over the years to change the way I pray about some things. Instead of always asking God to fix this or do that, I often stop and ask for wisdom and direction to know how to be part of the solution. God wants to include us in His work. We grow and mature as we experience God’s help through challenges. As Joshua learned, we can learn to trust God, go to Him for help, rely on His strength, persevere to accomplish His purposes, and then experience the joy of God’s victories!!!

Where are you and I asking God for the easy way out? Let’s be like Joshua, willing to persevere and work hard, relying on God’s strength. God then let’s us share in His victories!!!

Alice

You're Special

Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.  He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession.  James 1:17-18

Do you ever question what God sees in you?  I do.  There are days where I feel lost and tired, and my connection with Him seems way off. My confidence is shaken, and nothing seems to fit together.  This does not occur often, but it has occurred as of late.  On those rare occasions, dark thoughts of the person I once was pop in.  Usually it is after I have not quite met either my own expectation or that of God.  “I am not worthy of the grace I’ve been given,” I will say to myself in my head.  The funny thing is it that even when I myself may feel low, God sees me as valued and worthy.  I think of Psalm 139:17 where it says, “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered.”  It is finding that value in God (i.e. those precious thoughts) that I find my own worth.  I am not perfect, but as one of my favorite sermons once said, “It’s not who you are.  It’s whose you are.”  He thought enough to watch over me until the day I would acknowledge who He is.  When I think about that, I feel special, and the confidence and connections all come back!

When we lose sight of our worthiness, we must remember we are God’s prized possession.  God made us these amazing individuals.  Some might say we are the same ‘in Christ.’  That is true, but not in the sense you might think.  We are uniquely made with our distinct experiences that through fellowship expand knowledge beyond our own singular understanding of God, and yet we all are part of His Kingdom.  As such, some of us may not feel righteous because of our own shame or someone else’s questioning of us.  For me, I might venture into the valley feeling conceited or ambitious.  However, I think of Jesus’ greatest commandment to “love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39b)  It is a reminder that has become my guiding light.  It humbles me to remember If I treat those around me as well as I treat myself, I am indeed doing as God would ask of me.  Thus, it is important to realize that we too are important, and we should indeed remember to love ourselves.  It is that love I have for myself that pushes me to love others even more.

God sees the best in all of us.  Think of when Jesus was baptized, “And a voice from heaven said, “This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy.”” (Matthew 3:17)  There are many things that can get us down.  However, we should always feel good knowing that we serve an amazing God who loves us unconditionally.  Do not doubt this.  Move forward both boldly and with confidence that you are indeed a great wonder as He always intended.  Where are there doubts about yourself today?  How can you replace your worthlessness with God’s worthiness?  My prayer is that we can know that to God we are indeed ‘special.’  Amen.

Overflowing with hope

Romans 15:1-6; 13

We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.  Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.  For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Have you ever dealt with depression or anxiety?  Have you ever lived with someone who did?  If you have not dealt with either of these situations, you may not understand the disease.  It is a hard disease to live with, I know as I have a couple of people very close to me that battle this disease daily.  It is easy for someone that does not understand to tell the person to get over whatever they are battling at that point in time or to grow up.  I’ve seen both. 

Today I read the verses above and it made me think about who I have to help the most, who do I have to build up the most.  This is not something that I seek out to please myself.  Frankly at times, it’s rough and I don’t want to do it.  I then started thinking about times that God just may not want to deal with me.  Sometimes I have an attitude that is not as pleasant as it should be.  Yet he continues to give me endurance and encouragement.  Therefore, I am to do the same for others. 

When you pour out yourself for others, you need to find a way to refill so you do not run dry.  That is where we are to turn to God and allow him to fill us with joy and peace and so that we will overflow with hope.