WE ARE VALUABLE FOR OTHERS

We have learned over the past few days that we are valuable to God. We have learned that giving ourselves back to God and allowing Him to transform us by “changing the way we think” (Romans 12) helps us know “how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.”

As we continue, step by step, verse by verse in Romans 12, we find we are not only valuable to God but created to be valuable to others.

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others.” Romans 12:4-5, NLT

Each of us NEEDS all the others. We are valuable to God and to each other. (We will get more specific about others as we travel through this chapter!) But for now, focus on “each of us NEEDS all the others”.

Dear Heavenly Father, You created us to love you back. You gave us value, accepting us as we are. Help us to realize that value and be bold and courageous enough to see value in every person you put in our path, not for what they can do for us, buy merely for who they are. Help me extend more grace to others in the way you have extended Grace to me. In Jesus Name, Amen

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MEASURING UP

MEASURING UP.

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MEASURING UP

How do we measure up? It depends on what we rely on to measure ourselves. According to the world, the measurement standard is in what we do, who we know and what we have accomplished in the past…our track record. I thank God for His standard of measurement…faith. He measures our value by how much we are growing in our faith, our trust in Him, our love and devotion to Him.

God forgives and forgets our past (track record), and measures our “today”. What did we learn that grew our faith? That seems to be God’s standard of measurement. This is almost too hard to wrap our brains around as we think of the many ways the world judges us with how we look, what products we buy, what car we drive, what house we live in, and what powerful people we associate with and they with us. But we are not to “copy the world” as we read yesterday.

“As God’s messenger; I give each of you this warning: Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.” Romans 12:3, NLT

Ah, so our value is measured in our faith alone. Faith is believing without seeing and knowing that God will not fail us. Ever. If our value is based on our faith…then what is the measure of our value?

Good question for meditation as we enter a New Year today!

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you for your word that speaks to us in conversation with you. You stop us in our routines and make us think about what we really value and how we value ourselves. Help us to “be honest” in this evaluation of our faith in you. Continue to grow our faith. Yes, this is a dangerous request, but I want to grow in my faith. Be gentle. In Jesus Name, Amen.

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THE FORCE

THE FORCE.

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THE FORCE

I will spend the next few days forcing myself to write or type 2014 on checks, journals, and other paperwork. It will not come naturally to do that. It will take thinking and self control to make myself do it. Why? Because it is not my habit…yet. By the end of the year I should be able to write 2014 with no problem and do it without thinking. Whew. Tough problem to overcome, isn’t it?

As I amuse myself with these thoughts, I think about how hard it is tochange a bad habit that discourages us and plagues us with those feelings of “less than” when we fail to overcome. Maybe we are trying to do it without being plugged into the Power that enables us to change. Maybe our self-control is really about giving SELF to God. Every. Day. We have to force ourselves to do this. It does not come naturally.

“And so, dear Christian friends, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind he will accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask?” (Romans 12:1, NLT) (The answer is no!)

And now THE FORCE…Self-control of forcing ourselves to give control to Christ…forcing new habits to replace old thinking and behaviors. One day at a time. Minute by minute. Hour by hour.

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect his will really is.” (Rom 12:2, NLT)

When “everybody else is doing it”, whatever it is, we do things without thinking. No force involved. To go along with the world, takes no energy. And brings no reward. I want what God wants for me. Don’t you?

Dear Heavenly Father,
It’s worth THE FORCE! Forcing myself to give up will build my faith, restore my joy and help me to love YOU more and love others more like You loves us! Help me to love unconditionally. Yes! I’m Yours, Lord.
In Jesus Name, by His Power, we pray to change and grow, Amen!

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STANDING FIRM

STANDING FIRM.

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STANDING FIRM

Reliable! Liable means responsible. Re means over and over again.

I’m wondering if someone’s listening who’s a saint of re-liability? If you are, I can’t resist the chance to say two things. The first? Thank you!

Thank you teachers for the countless Sunday school lessons prepared and delivered with tenderness. Thank you senior saints for a generation of prayer. Thank you missionaries for your bravery in sharing the timeless truth. Thank you preachers. You thought we weren’t listening, but we were.

Thanks to all of you who practice on Monday what you hear on Sunday. It’s on the back of your fidelity that the Gospel rides. You are reliable! You get the job done.

I said I had two things to say. What’s the second? Keep pitching! Your Hall of Fame award is just around the corner. —Max Lucado 

This is encouraging. It seems our “goals” need to include this “stay to it-ness”…being reliable. The world needs it. God wants it. He is reliable to and for us. So, God will help us to stand strong. Perhaps God is also calling us to stand with someone who is struggling to do the same…be reliable. Stick to it.

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I WANT TO DO IT MY WAY!

I WANT TO DO IT MY WAY!.

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I WANT TO DO IT MY WAY!

The world tells us over and over and over to “have it your way”. But that is not God’s best for us, for we do not know His best way to go until He tells us. We rebel. But, thank God, we are forgiven.

I have a very young grandson who is going through a stage of opposite thinking and acting. If we say yes, he says no. If we say let’s do this, he says no, let’s do something else. If we say want to come along, he says, no I want to stay. You can’t win. So we walk away…until he changes his mind. 

Are we like that with God? And how’s that working for us? To go our own way with only our own thinking? Probably not too well. God is always with us, but he does not interfere until we come back to going His way, losing our rebellious attitudes.

David, King of Judah, “the apple of God’s eye”, tried to go his own rebellious way and learned quickly that it was not going to work. He agonized over going his own way until he returned to God’s ways, His advice, His plan and His forgiveness. 

Rebellion can be forgiven…as the sin it is…
“Oh, what joy for those whose rebellion is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of sin, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!” Ps 32, NLT

Rebellion makes us tired and weak…
“When I refused to confess my sin, I was weak and miserable, and I groaned all day long. Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat.”

Rebellion cannot be hidden…
“Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, ‘I will confess my rebellion to the LORD.’ And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.”

Rebellion takes us away from God’s protection…
“Therefore, let all the godly confess their rebellion to you while there is time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory.” 

Rebellion laid down puts God back in control. Joy and peace restored…
“The LORD says, ‘I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Many sorrows come to the wicked but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the LORD. So rejoice in the LORD and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!” Psalm 32 of David (NLT)

Dear Heavenly Father, We confess our rebellion to you right now. We trust You completely for only You know what is truly best for us. You have waited long enough…I’m Yours. I don’t want it my way any longer. In Jesus Name, Amen

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GOD SEES YOUR TROUBLES

GOD SEES YOUR TROUBLES.

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