Stayed on Him

“You will keep him in perfect peace,

whose mind is stayed on You,

because he trusts in You.”

    Isaiah 26:3 (NKJV)

“They looked to Him and were

radiant [lightened]. . .”

    Psalm 34:5 (NKJV/KJV)

It’s easy to get our focus off God.  He’s there in the background, but not always front and center where He should be in our hearts and lives.  This can happen when our schedules are busy or when our circumstances have us worried. But the Bible gives us the remedy. . .keep our mind stayed on our Lord.  That almost seems too simple, doesn’t it?  Yet God’s word is true and His promises are trustworthy.  We’re promised peace if we keep our focus on God and when we look to Him, our burdens will be lightened.  He is our rock, our refuge, our firm foundation. . .and His grace is sufficient for all our needs.

I can say from my personal experience that it works. My mind doesn’t always stay on Him, but I keep re-focusing and peace returns. I remember His faithfulness in the past and know He’ll always be faithful, today and every tomorrow. I think about His sovereignty, nothing is too hard for Almighty God, and know that He has me and all my circumstances under His control. I look to Him and my burdens are lightened. 

So when you find yourself caught up in busy-ness and need rest or when you’re fretful and fearful about your circumstances, follow this simple prescription to regain your peace by looking to the Lord Jesus for He alone is able to meet our every situation. Focus on our all-sufficient Almighty God and be radiant in His care and love.

Thursday Devotional - See You At The Pole™

See You At The Pole™ was started by a group of students in Texas back in 1990. It has grown to become a global event, the 4^th Wednesday in September, which is next Wednesday! I know Eagan, MN is planning a gathering at their flagpole from 12-12:45 pm, Wednesday, September 25, 2019. We, in the Ann Arbor office, are planning a gathering at our flagpole from 12-12:30 pm (see the Hub event: See You at the Pole).

I think I first heard about this event back in 1993. My family was living in Oklahoma and I had just started at a new high school. I didn’t know anyone at my school, much less any Christians. I nervously decided to go early to school that day to hopefully meet others at the flagpole. When I got there, no one else was there. However, eventually others came!   

This year’s official See You At The Pole™ theme verse is:

II Chronicles 7:14              ¹⁴ if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

Please join us next Wednesday, if you are in Eagan or Ann Arbor (or plan your own for other locations!).

In Ann Arbor, we will start with a song or two, and then alternate between Scripture reading and prayer.

A – Adoration - Praising God for who He is

C - Confession of sin (personal silent time and corporately for corporate sins)

T - Thanking God for what He has done

S – Supplication – praying for our company, leadership, bosses, co-workers, and ourselves

I hope to see many of you next Wednesday! Also, please pray for and encourage students you know to participate at their schools.

Alice

Know Your Value

So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. 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 1:16-18

This life we are given is so precious.  I think about my life.  There are moments of happiness and where things have gone well.  There are other moments of sadness and grief.  There are achievements and disappointments and successes and failures.  It is fair to say that life is indeed a roller coaster.  However, God has been a constant through all of it.  But if He is truly in control, why are there so many ups and downs?  Can’t there just be a level of consistency that one might consider ‘normal?’

The answer to that question is emphatically ‘no!’  The good times are those where we are enjoying God’s blessing.  The bad times are when God is shaping us for His will to be done.  You see when we take life as a gift, all that comes with it is of value. When my teenage daughter is pushing every button to get a rise out of me or my wife is asking the same question for the third time, somehow, I find joy because I love them so much.  It does not mean it is not a temporary source of irritation.  It means that there is a bigger picture to focus on, and if I am not careful, one can let the moment overwhelm the reality.  Jesus talks about this when He refers to storing our riches in Heaven (see Matthew 6:20-21).  We can easily get caught up into those things that are worldly and focus on those things as what we value.  However, God does not value our possessions.  He values us, and no matter how we may resist, defy, or challenge Him, we are still valued to Him.

We are God’s most prized possession.  Last week, I spoke of the prodigal son realizing he was lost as part of his (and our) journey of faith.  Today, we are to realize who we are to God, and as such, we must value all that He values.  One of the reasons Jesus said part of the Greatest Commandment is we are to love our neighbors as … ourselves is to acknowledge how valued we are to Him.  Our self-worth is not based on our sense of indulgence or vanity.  Instead, it is the worth God places on us.  Not some parts of us.  Not most of us.  All of us.  As such, we are to value God above all as Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.”  This require our taking God’s word to heart.  This is where the real struggle often occurs.  Our goal is to have a willingness to engage the struggle within prayerfully.  It is a struggle because we will often not agree with what the word says, but if we are willing to acknowledge the greater value of a closer relationship with God, we agree it is worth it.

You are worth so much to God!  So much so that even as we do not meet God’s standard, he sent His son Jesus Christ to fix it.  In prophesying the coming of Jesus, Zechariah said:

Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
    because he has visited and redeemed his people.
He has sent us a mighty Savior
    from the royal line of his servant David,
just as he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago. Luke 1:68-70

We are redeemed from sin because He loves us so.  Let us work to return the favor by loving Him and others as His most prized possessions.  What reassurance do you have knowing your worth to God?  How can you instill a sense of God’s value in others?  My prayer is that we know our value to God.  Amen.

How can you better yourself today?

Proverbs 31:10-31

A wife of noble character who can find?

    She is worth far more than rubies.Her husband has full confidence in her    and lacks nothing of value.She brings him good, not harm,    all the days of her life.She selects wool and flax    and works with eager hands.She is like the merchant ships,    bringing her food from afar.She gets up while it is still night;    she provides food for her family    and portions for her female servants.She considers a field and buys it;    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.She sets about her work vigorously;    her arms are strong for her tasks.She sees that her trading is profitable,    and her lamp does not go out at night.In her hand she holds the distaff    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.She opens her arms to the poor    and extends her hands to the needy.When it snows, she has no fear for her household;    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.She makes coverings for her bed;    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.Her husband is respected at the city gate,    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.She makes linen garments and sells them,    and supplies the merchants with sashes.She is clothed with strength and dignity;    she can laugh at the days to come.She speaks with wisdom,    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.She watches over the affairs of her household    and does not eat the bread of idleness.Her children arise and call her blessed;    her husband also, and he praises her:“Many women do noble things,    but you surpass them all.”Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.Honor her for all that her hands have done,    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

I realize that I just shared a very long passage when normally we just share a few verses.  I really didn’t feel there was just a couple that I wanted to share.  This passage was shared at my Aunt’s funeral last week.  She was a very strong, independent, woman of God.  She was the backbone to her family and was a staple to her husband and sons.  As they read through this scripture, I just kept thinking that I hope and pray that I can be half the women she was.  She was such a Godly example of what a woman is to be and as I read through this proverb, I see that the Bible clearly lays out for us how we are to be. 

There are other passages in the Bible that tell us how we are to live, act and simply be as a Christian, wife, mother, daughter, husband, father, son, etc.  While some may say these are not still relevant in this day and age, I must disagree.  While we are not servants, we are still called to be a servant of the King, which means being willing to live as we have been instructed.  I know that I have a lot to learn from the above passage for how to better myself. 

Where do you turn to find ways to better yourself?  I encourage you today to turn to the Bible first.  While there are many books available that we can read to help better ourselves both personally and in the workplace, we really need to start with the instructions we find in the Bible.

Idols in Our Heart

2 And the word of the LORD came to me saying,

3 "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them?

4 "Therefore speak to them, and say to them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Everyone of the house of Israel who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity,

and then comes to the prophet, I the LORD will answer him who comes, according to the multitude of his idols,

5 "that I may seize the house of Israel by their heart, because they are all estranged from Me by their idols." '

6 "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations.

     Ezekiel 14:2-6 (NKJV)

It’s easy to think that we’re not like those involved in pagan religious who worship carved gods. And it’s tempting to think that passages from the Old Testament denouncing the children of Israel for getting caught up in idolatry have no application to us. But they also set up idols in their heart, which is just as bad---and something we are prone to do.

Anything that we allow to take God’s rightful first place in our hearts can be an idol---pride, covetousness, love of self/money/position, etc.  They compromise our devotion and loyalty to the Lord. And whatever worldly thing we give undue priority and attention to will cause us to stumble and sin if not checked. As a result, we can actually become estranged from God because of these idols in our hearts.

I invite you to take inventory.  If there’s anything that’s taking your time, energy, resources or focus from God, heed His advice:  Repent and turn away from your idols.  Put God back as first priority in your heart and be renewed in your walk with Him.

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Knowledge

Living in a big university town, I see numerous people chasing after knowledge and education. Oftentimes it is the newest philosophy or theory. Sadly, their additional degrees and increased knowledge for knowledge sake doesn’t bring true wisdom or joy. Without God, everything is meaningless, as Solomon prefaced in Ecclesiastes 2:25 (for without him [God], who can eat or find enjoyment?).

Solomon concluded the book of Ecclesiastes with:

Ecclesiastes 12:11-14   The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails—given by one shepherd. ¹² Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.

Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.

¹³ Now all has been heard;
    here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God and keep his commandments,
    for this is the duty of all mankind.
¹⁴ For God will bring every deed into judgment,
    including every hidden thing,
    whether it is good or evil.

Solomon was probably the wisest wealthiest person that ever lived. Because God gave Israel peace during his reign, he also had all the time and resources to chase after anything he wanted – pleasure, greatness, possessions, accumulation, flattery, immortality, perfection, knowledge, etc. Solomon realized all of this was meaningless (without God), as we’ve read in Ecclesiastes this summer.

What meaningless thing or knowledge are you and I chasing?

Following God is beneficial for all ages, all people and for all time!!! Others around us can better understand this truth as we experience and exhibit the joy and satisfaction of chasing after God and following Him in our own lives!

Alice

Reading The Signs

When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger!  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.  Luke 15:17-19

Just when you think you have it figured out, life throws you a nasty curve ball.  A person who I followed online committed suicide yesterday. It was ironic considering the day was ‘Suicide Prevention Day.’  A young life of only 30 years would never see their fullest potential.  That made me incredibly sad.  What made it much worse was this was a pastor.  Now to be clear, no life matters more than another.  But this had far reaching ripple effects across many lives.  His wife.  Family.  The congregation he shepherded, and the thousands of others who followed him.  The one person who you would think to be immune to such harmful behaviors had somehow succumbed to the very thing he would at times preach about.

Why?  I began to question my own faith for I felt either a lack of response from or distance between God and me.  This is not what I signed up for.  I struggled continually to find an answer, but alas, I could not.  I was suddenly in that very lonely place: lost.  When I first gave my life to Christ as an adult, my pastor back then spoke about being lost.  However, that was more about someone who had been wandering aimlessly like the Prodigal Son than a long-time believer like me.  Then it occurred to me I was wrong.  Being lost is not just about knowing where you are.  Sometimes, it’s about recognizing you are not where you are supposed to be.  As I thought more about it, perhaps the pastor was close to God, but somehow lost his way.  He knew where he was, but did not see the signs directing him where he was going.  As a result, he found a way that ended in his death not knowing the wrong path he had gone down.

Recognizing where you are is always important in finding God.  My pastor this week talked about having a sense of direction.  He mentioned about a sibling of his driving for miles without recognizing where they were.  Sometimes, our journey of faith will take us somewhere, and we make the wrong turn.  It’s important to have God as a compass.  Sometimes, it is to give a guidance as to what path to take.  However, there is more to it than that.  Other times it is to simply read the signs to know if we are going the right way.  The Prodigal Son had reached a point in his journey where he realized not only had he gone the wrong way but also was not where he belonged.  You see the story is not always one dimensional.  We see it most often as it never being too late to come back to God and how His grace alone is enough.  In reading this, we can add to the meaning saying that if we know who our Father is, we too can find when we are indeed lost.  We too can see where we do not belong, and can begin to make a way to where we do.

God is always there watching to lead the way if we are in tune with Him.  Prior to the story, Jesus said, “there is joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!” (Luke 15:7b)  Many of you are taking your walk of faith, and doing so with a clear sense of God’s direction.  That is great.  I write to you today not because I have lost God.  I write because if you are like me, sometimes you know you’re not exactly where you should be.  And that’s ok!  Just acknowledge where you are and move down the path that will lead you closer to where God wants you.  Do you know where you are with God today?  What hints can give you a sense if you are on the righteous path?  My prayer is that we are wary of our relationship with God, and make sure to read the signs.  Amen.

Radically Different

Colossians 3:1-3

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.  For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Yesterday started the first day back to Sunday School for this fall at my church.  This year I am co-teaching the Jr High.  Our study this semester will be using a book called Radically Different.  We are studying Colossians 3:1-4:1. 

As we start into Colossians, we are told to take the old sinful beings that we are and to get rid of it.  We are to take off what we have been.  As we continue through the chapter, we will learn about how we are to put on new with Christ.

As we read in the beginning, this applies to those of us that have been raised with Christ.  We have set our hearts on things above, not on earthly things.  To me, this tells me that I need to raise my expectations of how I should be seen by the world.  The world accepts anything that feels good at the time but as Christians, we must set our focus on Heaven.

What will you do today to raise your expectations of yourself beyond what the world expects?

Like-Minded

“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for

one another, love as brothers, be tenderhearted, by courteous.”

     1 Peter 3:8 (NKJV)

“For we have great joy and consolation in your love, because

the hearts of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.”

    Philemon 7 (NKJV)

Yesterday after a long, challenging day of work, I went for a walk around the nearby lake hoping some fresh air would refresh my spirit.  God knew exactly what I needed. 

I felt led to walk on the sunny side of the lake (where I usually never walk). As I passed up a woman ahead of me, she spoke to me, and we started walking and talking together.  After just a couple minutes, we realized that we are both born-again believers.  It was so encouraging to meet someone of like-minded faith, especially since I’d been feeling so out of sync with the world and culture.  True, we may be in the minority these days, but as brothers- and sisters-in-Christ, we can and should “be of one mind,” and have compassion for one another.  It’s not always an instant connection like I experienced yesterday, but if we are in Christ, we should have love for each other.

Karen had just received some devastating news about a dear friend, and we were able to comfort and encourage one another.  And our hearts were refreshed by our time in fellowship.  We thanked God for bringing us together and exchanged numbers with plans to meet again.

We are so blessed to be part of God’s family when we trust in Christ.  And He is so faithful in caring for His children in big and little ways.  Let's show our appreciation for all He has done by being tenderhearted and courteous to one another, by rejoicing in the fellowship we have in the body of Christ.

Thursday Devotional - Chasing After the Wind of Perfection

I am naturally a perfectionist. Because of that, I tend to wait for the perfect day or time or environment to do certain big projects. I don’t want to start something until I know I have all the time and resources to complete it and complete it perfectly.

Solomon saw a problem with this. If we always wait for that perfect day or time, certain things may never get done.

Ecclesiastes 11:4-6     

⁴ Whoever watches the wind will not plant;
    whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.

⁵ As you do not know the path of the wind,
    or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb,
so you cannot understand the work of God,
    the Maker of all things.

⁶ Sow your seed in the morning,
    and at evening let your hands not be idle,
for you do not know which will succeed,
    whether this or that,
    or whether both will do equally well.

It’s better to do what we can today with what we have (of course, while seeking and following God’s wisdom and direction). 

One of my desired home projects for the summer was to go through all the kids’ toys, throw out broken ones, donate no longer used ones, and reorganize everything. Well, it’s the end of the summer and I never had that “perfect” day to tackle it all! This past weekend, though, I started tackling the books and then Joe had an idea for the toys. It seemed overwhelming and I didn’t think we had time to finish (at least not to my standards). However, with all four of us working together, we made huge headway! It isn’t totally complete or up to my standard of perfection, but it’s way more organized than it was. We can now easily chip away at the rest.

Where else do you and I need to forgo waiting for that perfect day or time and get started on something God’s laid on our heart? We can break it down into smaller chunks, and tackle them one day or week at a time, the agile way. 😊 

Alice