You are on that last mile of a half marathon, 5K, full marathon, or even the first mile you have ran in a long time, and your lungs are burning, your legs feel like Jell-O and every cell in your body is crying for you to stop, to give up. But, you mind refuses, you think of all you have trained for, what you have dreamed about, and so you push through. You overcome the weakness in your body and you strengthen you weak knees. Maybe you’re hanging from that pull up bar trying to achieve your personal goal of accomplishing a specific amount of pull ups. Your natural reaction would be to drop from the bar because your hands hurt, the blisters are forming and your arms are aching. But, you adjust your grip and you hold on and push through to accomplish your goal.
If you in a place in your life that you feel like giving up. It feels like all the pressures are closing in on you the bible gives us some instructions. Hebrews 12:12-13 says to take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen you weak knees. You may ask, why does it really matter if I give up? It only affects me right. The next verse tells us the reason why we need to keep pushing through. It’s because we are cutting a new path for someone else’s to come along behind us to follow. The scripture says it’s to forge a new path that those who may be weaker than us can follow behind us and they can have victory because we did not give up. Those watching us and following us may feel weak but when they see us prevail they will become stronger in their life and faith.
So when you finishing that last mile of the race, and you push through those last few pull ups, those coming behind you get excited and full of the energy that you have, and they push through their own struggles and are able to have victory along with you!
As Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem, on what we now call Palm Sunday, the people were shouting His praises. They were calling Him their King. They laid down robes and palm leaves onto the ground for His young donkey to walk on. The Jewish people were looking for a mighty earthly king to deliver them from the Roman Empire that suppressed them. They thought Jesus was that King and they were shouting His praise.
But, that’s not the kind of king that Jesus was. Jesus showed up differently than they had imagined. Very often Jesus shows up in a different way then what we had planned and we become disappointed. We have it all planned out how Jesus should show up in our lives and when he doesn’t, its hard for us to understand. We think he needs to come in a big miracle, or flashing lights, but maybe, he’s going to show up in a small voice, a word from a friend or in a quiet moment alone with him. We must look for Jesus in the small things and in the quiet moments. As we celebrate Palm Sunday remember that Jesus doesn’t always show up like we think or want him to, but he will show up!
Matthew 21:6-11 The two disciples did as Jesus commanded. They brought the donkey and the colt to him and threw their garments over the colt and he sat on it. Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession and the people all around him were shouting.
“Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!”
The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “its Jesus, the prophet form Nazareth in Galilee”.
When building a building the builders will first decided where they are going to start the foundation. Once they have dug out the area for the foundation to be laid, they then will place what is called the cornerstone. This part of the building is important to the overall stability of the home or building that is being built. This cornerstone will not only be the starting point for the rest of the foundation but, it also is a reference for the rest of the foundation that is going to be laid. IF the cornerstone is not square or is off by just a little bit then the rest of the foundation will not be square. One time we were doing a home project and trying to lay some tile in a bathroom, and I can remember how important it was to get the first row of tile square and straight because even if it was off just a little to begin with by the time you got to the end of the room the amount it was off would be dramatic. What started as just a little off would soon become off by a large degree.
We know that the Bible tells us that Christ is to be our cornerstone. By making Him the starting point of our foundation then the rest of our lives will fall into place. We can see examples of this thorough out the Bible and in our own personal lives. Let me be real here really quick, I can personally look back to times where I had placed other things or people into the position of cornerstone and I saw my life take a direction I never thought it would take. I had no peace, I was constantly searching for the next best thing in life and I couldn’t feel the presence of God in my life. I had taken Christ out of my foundation and I saw results I was not happy with. The exciting thing about this foundation is that you can change the cornerstone out. When we decide that we no longer want to try to do things on our own and we want to see what Christ truly has for us then we can ask God to take his position as cornerstone in our lives and oh the changes that will come. I have now seen in my life where I’ve changed who is my cornerstone and I’ve put Christ first that my foundation is stronger and straighter. Will you still have to bear some of the consequences of not having Christ as your cornerstone before, yes probably so, but God can use those situations as a witness for Him. He can take the times when your cornerstone was not Him and use it to bring others to Himself.
If you your reading this and you are looking at your life and you’re wondering how things will ever get better or feel like you are alone, know that you can change out that cornerstone in your life and that God can and wants to work miracles in your life. God has a plan for each and every person, He is just waiting for you to make that choice to turn to him and ask him to be the cornerstone of your life so that he can be the foundation that can give you stability and will also be the example that the rest of your life can align with. Its through the love of God that He gives this to us and all he asks in return is obedience to Him.
We face decisions every day of our lives. Some decisions are unconscious decisions, things like taking the same route home each day or having the same routine each evening preparing for bed. There are other decisions that we make that are conscious and can have bigger effect on our lives. These decisions can change the whole course of your life. In Joel 3:14 he says, “Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision”. I envision large mountains reaching towards the sky on all four sides. The mountains are rocky and rugged, and there is snow on the peaks of the mountains. At the base of these mountains are the green grasses of the valley. It stretches for miles and miles. Within this valley are people everywhere waiting, some may be looking up at the mountain, others may be resting on the floor of the valley but they all have one thing in common they are waiting. The are waiting there to make decisions. Decisions that will affect them, their families, and those around them for the rest of their lives.
The decision they are waiting to make could be to confess their sins and live for Christ, or to continue their own way. The decision could be to step out in faith on what God has called us to do or to reconcile relationships with people we have become estranged to. Our decision could be giving our marriage one more try, turning from an addiction that has controlled our lives for so very long, or to strive to be a better parent. Whatever your decision, if we step out and choose Gods way Joel tells of the great blessing we will have! Those same mountains that seem so tall and luminous while were in the valley will drip with sweet wine, the hills will flow with milk, water will fill our empty streambeds, fountains will burst forth and water the valleys! Our ministries will over flow so that they drip on all who are around us, our marriages will be restored and made strong, our God given dreams will be fulfilled, and our friendships will flourish. We will be so filled with the spirit that we will splash Gods love on anyone we meet. He has promised that if we choose to follow him he WILL bless us! But, if we choose not to we will be like Egypt and Edom, a wasteland, a wilderness, attacked and killed. I choose to become blessed not cursed! I chose to make the conscious decision to follow Christ each day until it becomes an unconscious habit. What do you choose today? Joel 3:14-19
As a young girl every summer I would go to a church camp and spend the week there. When I was a pre-teen and growing up if someone would ask me who I was, I would just tell them my name and they would have no clue who I was, but if I would say I’m so and so’s daughter, ahh then a light bulb would come on and everyone knew who I was. As I got older and went on to Bible Collage people started to know me with out me mentioning my parents because I started to develop an identity of my own. We all have been known for either who we used to be, or who we associate with. Even in the Bible the great men of God were identified this way.
In 2 Kings 2, Elisha had just watched his beloved leader Elijah be taken up into heaven in a chariot of fire. The one thing that Elisha requested from Elijah was to have twice the amount of God’s blessing on his life that Elijah had. When Elijah was taken away, Elisha picked up Elijah’s coat and took it with him. When he came to the river, they had crossed earlier, Elisha called out to God and asked for Him to show Himself to him. The waters of the river split, and Elisha passed back through on dry ground again, just as he and Elijah had done earlier. The people that were watching were impressed and spoke about how God was now with Elisha. Then, the very next chapter, in 2 Kings, the Israelites were going to war against another country and the kings were asking to speak to a prophet. One of the soldiers said, hey there’s a guy with us that used to be the right-hand man for Elijah, maybe he could help. Let’s stop here and think about this. Elisha had just been blessed with double the blessing of Elijah, and he had just split the waters of the river, yet, he was still known as just the “right-hand man of Elijah”. Elisha’s identity was still on who he used to be.
We are so often known by our past, and when we become a Christian it may take some time for our friends and family to see that were different. They may still see us as the sinner we used to be that was out every Friday night, or the mother that was always short tempered with her children, or the husband that didn’t care for his wife like the bible instructs him to. We all have a past that can be hard to separate ourselves from. To change how people see us takes time and walking close to God and listening to His voice. As time starts to pass people will start to forget the man or women you used to be, and you will be known for who you are now.
Although we want to be remembered and recognized for the person God has changed us into we must also remember that what we did in the past good or bad, is what we can use as a testimony to see lives changed. Elisha’s past of always being close to Elijah, helped train him to be able to accept the double blessing from God. Without his past he would never have been ready for that. We can look at Saul, who had a terrible past, he was a murderer, a leader of a terrorist group. His whole purpose in life was to kill the Christians. But, one day he meets Jesus and he was soon a changed man. Saul even changed his name to Paul and it took some time for people to no longer see him as the evil man he was. Every time Paul got the chance to give his testimony, he would tell of his awful past and then tell of how God had changed him.
Today remember that no matter your past, or what you have done, you can change how people view you and how they recognize you. Also remember that your past no matter what it is, is also your testimony because it is that past that can witness to people to show them that there is a way out of the situation they are in. This week I challenge you to share your salvation story with someone, it may change their life! You can share how God uses you in the comments below.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! (CSB).
There was once a woman whose husband had died and left her with two sons. Times were rough, and she did all she could to care for her sons, but her husband had accumulated debt before he had died, and she was struggling. It was so bad the creditors were fixing to repo somethings. There was a preacher in her town that she decided to go visit and discuss what was going on in her life. So, she went and explained to this preacher all about her debt and the struggles she was facing. The preacher asked her if she had anything left in her home. She told him all she had was some oil. The preacher instructed her to go home, borrow as many jars as she could from her family and neighbors. He then told her to take the containers into their house and start to pour the oil that she had into the empty containers. The widow didn’t ask the preacher questions she just acted on what he told her. So, as she poured, and poured, and poured her little oil filled every empty container that she had borrowed. It was so much oil that she was able to sell it, pay off her debt, and have left overs to live on. You may have guessed by now were talking about the widow that Elisha was able to minister to. We have heard this story many times in Sunday school yet how often do we really pay attention to what this means for us?
Over and over we find where God shows up with not just enough but with overflowing answers to prayer. The five fish and two loaves were more than enough to feed the five thousand, they had left overs. The water that was changed into wine was more than enough to get through the rest of the wedding and it was better than they had before God showed up.
We are so scared to ask God for abundance when over and over He has shown in scripture that He’s a God of more than just enough! He wants to bless us so big that we have leftovers to share.
I think of our marriages, and how He wants our marriage to be more than just mediocre, but its His will that it be overflowing and abundant. He wants our lives to be so filled with the Holy Spirit that we aren’t just Sunday morning church goers but that we are overflowing. The ultimate overflowing that I’m reminded of is Gods promise of salvation. He says he doesn’t just forgive for sinning against him but that he has removed them as far as the east is from the west!
No matter what you are facing have the faith to pray for abundance so that you can have more than enough to show others how to find Jesus!
Psalm 103:10-13 He has not dealt with us as our sins deserve or repaid us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his faithful love toward those who fear him. As far as the ease is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him (CSB)
I was extremely tired a few nights ago and all I wanted to do was sit, not think, move, or even speak. I don’t know if I’m the only one that has ever been like that, but I was tired. The list of things I had done that day was long, just like everyone else’s. On this evening M. (our three-year-old), seemed to have more energy than normal. He wanted my attention, and he was doing anything in his power to get it. He wanted me to play baseball, basketball, and go fish. My first thought was, I can’t wait till he is old enough to just play on his own, and I can go back to my lazy evenings at home. Then the Lord reminded me how lonely that can be, and how precious it is to hear his little voice and watch his imagination as he plays. God reminded me that M. would soon be as big as our two older ones and you only see them out of their room when it’s time to eat. I think we have all been guilty of saying “I can’t wait till…” (you fill in the blank). We seem to always be looking for the next big thing, the next big excitement in our lives, or the next holiday. We want to rush past the hard parts in our lives and just get to the good spots, the easy places, or the non-eventful times in our lives. But, is that what we are really called to do? Is that the way God wants us to live our lives? I don’t think so.
In the book of Acts, we read of Paul and his journey, and missions trips. The thing that stood out to me in Acts 20, Paul is meeting with the elders from Ephesus. He was talking to them and telling them that he was going to be going on to Jerusalem, and that he would not be seeing them again, because he knew he would die before he would see them again. Paul was pouring out his heart to these men and giving them some advice to carry them through the hard times that Paul knew they would face. As I read this I think that Paul had taken his time in the previous years during his time as a missionary, to train these elders to be the men and leaders that he knew they could be, because, Paul knew that he would not always be there to help them in their church. Paul was faithful in those everyday situations so that when he was not there he would know that those men could handle it.
Are we faithful in the everyday things so that when its our time to go to our next mission, appointment, job, etc., we can have the confidences that what we are leaving behind is grounded and strong. This challenges me to evaluate, am I training my boys in the small things everyday so that when I’m no longer with them all the time they make those right choices? The place that God has you right now, are you doing the best you can, or are you just getting by till something bigger comes along. My challenge this week is to thrive where you are now so when the time comes to move to the next stage of your life, you can be proud of what you have left behind! Like Paul you can know that what you are leaving behind is better then it was when you found it!
Acts 20:31-32 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears. And now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you and inheritance among all who are sanctified.” (CSB)
I had struggled for days seeking God and reading scripture attempting to find the right words that I needed to write this week that would speak to the hurting heart, the lost soul, or the tired parent. As I was driving the song by Hillsong “What A Beautiful Name” started to play. I couldn’t help but cry as I thought of all the times we take that precious name for granted His Name JESUS. A name that belonged to a heavenly king that became man, so He could feel the same pain we feel. So that He could bridge the division that was between man and the God that had so lovingly created us. The man named Jesus, that felt the sting of betrayal from one of His best friends as His friend kissed His cheek in a symbol of death. The man that listened as His own people told lies about Him and yet stood silent and never refuted anything they said. This was also the Man that reached down into the dust and made clay and touched the eyes of the blind and his sight was restored. The same man who spoke the words “Lazarus come forth” and Lazarus walked out of the grave! This same name we see in Acts 4:29-31 where the disciples were spreading the gospel and they were asking for courage to continue in their mission. They prayed “And now, O Lord hear their threats, and give us, your servants, great boldness in preaching your word. Stretch out your hand with healing power; may miraculous signs and wonders be done through the name of your holy servant Jesus”. After this prayer, the meeting place shook, and they were filled with the Holy Spirt then they preached the word of God with boldness.” (LAB) WE have the privilege and honor to also be able to know that when we call out to Jesus that his name can split the darkness that we have around us. WE can see the power of God when we pray in Jesus name! WE can see families restored, lives changed and revival in our hearts, families, and church.
I have watched as satin has had to flee because of the power of that name. I have prayed that name over the door frame of my home, and over the beds of my children. I have prayed healing over my babies as they were sick, and I’ve seen mighty things happen because of the name of JESUS. If we can just soak up the thought and understand that He loves us more than anything. No matter where we have been, what we have done, Jesus took our penalty and He is just waiting for us to call to Him. WE can see mighty things happen if we will just call out to Him. I encourage you this week, seek Him in prayer. Pray over your family, your church, and your problems and watch what He can do! John 14:12-14 “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father. You can ask for anything in my name, and I will do it so that the Son can bring glory to the Father. Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it!” (LAB)
The past few mornings as I have let our 8-pound ball of brown fur out, to do his morning routine, I’ve been met by the sounds of birds chirping and warmer air touching my skin. The thing that draws my eyes and makes me to pull my phone out to take photos, is the sun as it pushes its way back up over the mountain. At the time I’m looking at it the sun has not quite made its way to its fullness, but its trying. Its pushing the yellows, reds, and oranges across the January Tennessee sky. The darkness that proceeded it is scurrying to the corners trying to hold on for just that one last minute but its failing miserable. As I look at the sights, hear the sound, and feel the air the scripture that keeps coming to my mind is found in Lamentations 3:21-23 “Yet I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope: because of the Lords faithful love we do not perish, for his mercies never end. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!” (CSB)
Ahh the promise that each morning His mercy is new, and He has promised to be faithful to us, and His love does no perish. Have you ever noticed that when there are trials in your life that as you go throughout your day you are able to push the thoughts of worry aside and not dwell on them as much? You occupy you mind with cleaning house, your job, helping the kids with homework, or watching the ball game on TV. But, as the night approaches all the thoughts you were able to keep at bay during the day now floods your mind along with magnified thoughts of disaster or disappointment. Now I know I can’t be the only one that has laid my head down in bed and struggle to fall asleep due to the thoughts I’ve let creep into my mind. We may feel like we have failed in so many areas, things like raising our children, keeping our marriage fresh or just even keeping our marriage together. Let me stop and say, to be honest maybe your have failed, maybe you didn’t raise your children the way you really should have, maybe you did walk out on your family, or maybe you have an addiction or maybe you are the problem at work, but guess what, Gods mercy is new EVERY morning. No matter where you are in your life, if you’re in that dark place right now, know that just as the sun sets every night and leaves your part of the earth engulfed in darkness, within just a few hours the sun will be pushing back through that darkness and bringing you morning.
If we go back into the first two chapters of Lamentations we see that Jeremiah is talking to God about Jerusalem whom were part of God’s chosen people. They had turned their back on God and God had let them be taken in to captivity by the Babylonians. He had allowed some hard times to come on the people of Jerusalem and let them face some things that were not pleasant for them. We read how that no matter all the trials that Jeremiah reaches for the promises of God. He says “Yet, I call this to mind, and therefore I have hope!”
I want to encourage you to know that if you’re on the top of the mountain right now that is GREAT, but there’s someone who is not, and God wants you to know that His mercies don’t end, and He is faithful and all He wants is for you to seek Him out. Verse 25 said “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him” (CSB, Lamentations 3:25). Take time to seek God out and He will bring the Son rise that you need in your life.
For the year 2019 God has given me the word “stretch”. What is the first thing we think of when we think about stretching something? Some of the first things that come to my mind are muscles, rubber, and clay. Let’s look at what happens when we stretch a rubber band, so bear with me just a minute while I try to explain how this works. When a rubber band is stretched the molecules that were previously all tangled up, like discarded fishing line, now becomes straight and aligned. As you continue to stretch the rubber band over and over it eventually changes its shape. So when I think of how God will stretch me it makes me excited to see God take my tangled mess and stretch it to align with His plan. I see God stretching me in my personal growth, my prayer life, and in my simple obedience. I also believe over the next year God will stretch my family, our finances and our time. My vison for the year is to see God take our tangled web of not enough time, energy, and money and stretch it to the point that in 2020 we, I, will be different. I long to become more aligned with His plan. “Enlarge the site of your tent and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes and drive your pegs deep. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities” (Isaiah 54:2-3 CSB).
Stretching can be inconvenient or even painful at times. It can mean stepping outside of your comfort zone, agreeing to sing at your church, speaking words of forgiveness to someone that hurt you. Stretching can mean increasing your giving above your normal ten percent. It’s in the form of serving at a community shelter and sitting aside our desire for perfection in our homes and spending face to face time with our children. But, just like the rubber band, if we continue to stretch ourselves and align our hearts, and desires with Gods will, we will start to see a change in ourselves. The things that used to be difficult will become easier, the bad attitudes we may have had will start to disappear because we have stretched ourselves. With the stretching comes a promise as we saw in Isaiah 54:3. He has promised to give us blessing if we follow His will.
So, my challenge to you today is ask God where you need to stretch? What is it that needs to be brought into alignment with Him? Seek God this week and open your heart to His leading and He will greatly reward you!
