True Friendship

Jonathan said to David, “Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the LORD, saying, ‘The LORD is witness between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever.’ 1 Samuel 20:42





One of the greatest stories of friendship in the Bible is the story of Jonathan and David.  Two men, who in reality should have been rivals, were able to see past all that surrounded them and see the true heart of one another.  Jonathan, the king's son, had a very kind heart and was the closest, most committed friend to David. They made a vow to each other that no matter what they faced they would remain loyal friends.  Perhaps the most difficult challenge they faced was when David was afraid for his life because Jonathan’s father, King Saul, wanted David dead.  Jonathan loved David and made a plan to protect him from his father.  David and Jonathan faced very difficult times.  Many situations occurred in their lives that could have easily destroyed their friendship, but they took their vow of loyalty to one another very seriously.  They looked past each others flaws and mistakes and continued to see each others' true hearts - no matter what anyone else thought of them.

Are you fortunate enough to have a friendship like this in your life?  David and Jonathan knew the true meaning of friendship.  They weren’t just committed when it was convenient for them. They weren’t just committed when the other one’s behavior was perfect.  They weren’t just committed until the other one's flaws were revealed.  They were committed - period.  We need this same type of friendship in our own lives.  We need to be able to be real and vulnerable with our closest friends and at the same time create a safe place for them to be who they are - with all their good and bad.  We can’t choose to commit to friends only until they disappoint us or let us down or until we find parts of their personalities annoying or frustrating.  We must be committed and loyal at all times -  just like David and Jonathan.  The Bible is built on the foundation of relationship.  It all starts with our relationship with him, and shows his desire for us to build relationships with people in our lives.  To build a relationship takes work!  We can’t hibernate or wait for others to pursue us.  We must make an effort to reach out and show interest in other people.  We must be careful not to live our lives in seclusion.  This is not God's plan for our lives.  Without relationships, we stunt our spiritual and personal growth.  Sometimes its easiest just to hang out with that one same friend all the time, or to only spend your free time with your spouse and kids.  Spending time with your family is obviously very important, but it is just as important to invest in other relationships.  Your time may seem limited, but it only takes a little effort to take the first step. 

Your challenge this week is to make a decision to grow to the next level spiritually and personally.  Ask God to put one person on your heart whom you could start to build a real relationship with.  Make it a point to connect with them whether by phone, email or Facebook.  Don't worry about the process so much;  just get it done.  Set a date for coffee, exercise, or even a play date with kids.  If you are blessed with a friendship like this already, examine your own heart and the kind of friend you have been.   What areas can you improve upon to become a better friend?  A true friendship brings a true peace to your life.  Work this week to cultivate friendship and peace in your own life.  It is not likely that you will need to help your friend escape death, but it is the little things, and honoring the promise of commitment, that make all the difference!
  

Exploratory Surgery

Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:23, 24 NIV)

Have you ever undergone exploratory surgery?  In an exploratory surgery, the physician is invasively taking a look on the inside to see what is wrong with you.  For weeks, months, or years, you have endured some painful symptoms, and have lived in uncertainty and fear - only to receive no answers from the medical field.  You have likely seen more than one physician or specialist to diagnose your problem.  But neither testing nor imaging have revealed any answers, and there is nothing left to do but go under the knife to “explore” more closely what the problem might be.  Aside from fear of the unknown, this process is also quite painful.  Post surgery, there will be pain, medication, and healing - and hopefully answers.  Though answers are not guaranteed.  You will also need to rely on family and friends to help you through the healing process.

The scripture above reminds me of spiritual exploratory surgery.   For quite some time now, you have been enduring consequences of sin in your life, and you may not even be aware of what the cause is. The resulting symptoms may be holding you back from living your life to the fullest in the manner God has planned for you.   But if you ask him to search your heart for any offensive way within you, there is good news – he will perform exploratory surgery on you, and his search will yield the answers you seek!  The process may be painful and costly.  You may truly not like what you learn, or what needs to be done to turn things around in your life.   You may need help from family and friends to get through a time of repentance, healing, and restoration.  But God will answer you, and will provide you with everything you need to rid yourself of the offensive way and turn your situation around.  When you allow him to have his way in you, the outcome is guaranteed.  You will be better for having undergone the process.  As a child of God, you have access to the greatest surgeon known to man, with unparalleled skills and an exceptional bedside manner.  He is gentle and loving, and will help you through to an end you may not even see yet.  Trust in him, take a risk, and book yourself on his surgical calendar today!

Where There's A Will...

Some men came carrying a paralyzed man on a mat and tried to take him into the house to lay him before Jesus. When they could not find a way to do this because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.  When Jesus saw their faith, he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”  The Pharisees and the teachers of the law began thinking to themselves, “Who is this fellow who speaks blasphemy? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?  Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’?  But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.”   Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.  Luke 5:18-25

Jesus was preaching in a house in Capernaum when four men came with a very sick friend.  They had heard of the healing touch of Jesus.  Filled with hope, they were determined to get their friend to him.  Unfortunately, they were unable to break through the massive crowd to get their friend in front of Jesus.  The situation looked impossible,  and I'm sure they felt quite discouraged.  So many times in our lives, we face obstacles to our desires and falsely believe that God has different plans for us - that his will is different than our desire.  This is the quitting point for many of us.  But these four men had a burning desire that they would not and could not let go of.  They refused to quit!  Eventually they decided to take their friend onto the roof of the house and lower him down to Jesus.  They chose to do whatever was necessary to get their friend in front of Jesus.  True desire always finds a way.  When you have a true desire to do something for God, there is nothing that can stop you. True desire is overwhelming and will cause you to press on - no matter what!  Do you still have that kind of spiritual desire in your life?  Have you underestimated your ability to move mountains in the name of Jesus?  Pray today that God will remind you of his highest and greatest desire for your destiny and give you a burning determination to see it accomplished!   Challenge does not mean God's resistance - it is often the challenge that truly prepares you for your destiny.  You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength, through the knowledge of him who has called you; for greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world!

Choosing Contentment

There are times I find myself struggling with being discontent.  I am a stay-at-home Mom. I adore my children and I put my heart and soul into grooming them for their present life and their futures. I teach them life skills, educate them, mentor them, play with them, and protect them.  Being home to care for their needs is the greatest blessing! (Right??! ) Well... It should be.  And at times it truly is.  However, it doesn't always feel that way.  At times it can be quite exhausting and the rewards of my effort often take a long time to see.  Sometimes I feel like a broken record that no one listens to and I begin to wonder if am I making any difference.  Some days I feel like I’m a glorified babysitter who  is eagerly waiting for the kids' bedtime to come so I can have a little selfish "me"  time. I have days I wonder about my own identity and my own dreams.  Maybe I should be doing something new so that I can have a better sense of accomplishment of who I am.  Then I will feel better about myself... right?   That’s usually where the holy spirit likes to interrupt me and remind me about being content.  I believe the enemy places discontentment in our hearts to shift our focus from the priorities of what God has called us to and we start to do things for your own selfish gain.  No matter what your career is, discontentment can be a major road block from living God’s best for you.  When he calls us to something, he is looking for us to do it with excellence - even if we feel it is not as great as we wish it were. Perhaps you feel underpaid at work or you are embarrassed that your job carries no fancy title.  Maybe you are living through some unfair circumstances.  Maybe you have dreams that have been hanging over your head for years, but you see no way for them to happen due to your life's schedule. Let me ask you this question:  Have you made the choice to be content in all circumstances? 

Contentment basically means satisfaction; being at ease and at peace with each situation. We might even define it as being comfortable in your own skin, in who you are and all you do with your life. If we are not careful we can think it comes from wealth, personal achievement or material possessions. But contentment rarely comes from these. Paul learned this lesson. He was one of the most ambitious men in the Bible.  He was driven to succeed, to excel.  And he had accomplished quite a lot in his life.  But he also suffered a lot as an apostle and follower of Jesus Christ.  He suffered horrible beatings, shipwrecks, and being thrown in prison. Yet he could still write these words: I have learned to be content. Paul had discovered the secret of contentment. The secret was not found in life's experiences. He learned that contentment is a work of the heart and about attitude in all situations. Contentment comes from trusting God when life is unfair.  Where did we get the idea that life is always fair?  Life is a mixture of joy and sorrow, blessings and burdens, achievements and tragedies.  It’s okay to admit that life can be unfair.  When life treats us unfairly, we can choose to become bitter, angry, and depressed. We can take on the a victim's mentality, or we can place our trust in God; trusting that God will take care of us in every situation.  No one can escape from an unfair world.  However, we do have the choice of how we’re going to respond in the midst of it.  What will our attitude be?  Our quest for fairness can rob us of our contentment, unless we choose to place our trust in God even when we can’t make sense of what’s happening.  Contentment begins when we realize that we can still trust God even when life isn’t fair.  Contentment also comes from being certain of God when life is uncertain.  We can let this uncertainty paralyze us, or we can do what Paul did and use uncertain times to let us experience the wholeness and peace in God.
Through everything Paul went through, he discovered that God knows how to take care of his children in uncertain times. God will meet all of our needs, and even let us discover a higher purpose in tragic events.

Contentment comes from living for others in the name of Christ.
Philippians 1:21 says, “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.”
Paul teaches us that we never truly find our life until we begin to give it away- to our children, our spouse, to someone in need, to Christ and his work.
Our flesh says that contentment comes from what we gain and get for ourselves.  Christ teaches us that we find life when we give it away for others.
The self-centered life becomes empty and meaningless. True joy comes from serving others. True contentment comes from what I give to others, not what I gain for myself. Trusting God when life is unfair; being certain of God when life is uncertain, living for others in the name of Christ instead of living only for ourselves...that is the secret of contentment.

So wherever the path of your life has brought you, I want to encourage you to choose to be content and at peace with where you are.  Take pride in your position and career.  Be grateful for all that you have, and don’t spend your time dwelling on the future so much that you forget to give your all in the present.  Don’t focus on your failures and all the things that you are not.  Rather focus on all that you are!  Choose to be content.

Get Ready!

Are you equipped and ready?
Do you want the greatest victory?

“So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. Understand this: If a homeowner knew exactly when a burglar was coming, he would keep watch and not permit his house to be broken into. You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected. (Matthew 24:42-44 NLT)

Are you prepared for the coming of Christ?  Have you ever been woken up from a dead sleep and felt like there was a thief breaking into your home or car, and you needed to get out of bed to check and see that all the windows and doors were locked and the kids were safe?  I have.  In fact, I have had this dream three times over the past five years.  It brought on an overwhelming feeling of fear, and then strangely, a feeling of peace. The Lord spoke to me as that peace came. "I will come like a thief at night, unexpectedly. So get your home in order."  I wasn't sure what all that meant at that time, but I was not afraid.  I began to seek out what the truth says about the word he had given to me, and some important questions emerged.

1.  How deep, rooted and real is my relationship with the Lord? Am I giving him my first fruits? Am I  sacrificing the things that hurt the most?

2.  After my commitment to the Lord, am I putting my spouse above worldly things?

3.  Am I truly nurturing, educating, and grooming my children up in the Lord?  Am I meeting their emotional and spiritual needs?

4.  Am I being a good steward of my finances?

5.  Am I doing the work the Lord wants me to do, both inside and outside of the church?

Friends, it takes a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, and a lot of prayer to get your home in order.  Did you notice this dream first occurred 5 years ago and it took 3 times for the Lord to finally get my attention?  I am still working hard to get my home in order!  The best thing about our Heavenly Father is that he is right here walking with me, and he will walk with you too if you put him first and allow him to lead you. His word says he will give you the strength!

Revelation 16:15 says,  “Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”   Be equipped and ready at all times.  Get  your home in order.  Scripture promises that you will be blessed.  Make this the season of preparation for the coming, and obey the Lord today. (Matthew 24:46) You are on the winning side and the victory will be yours!

Identity Crisis

 One of my favorite songs by Casting Crowns is Slow Fade.  It speaks to the destruction of a family through the sin of adultery, although the principle of the song can be applied to numerous sins, such as addictions to gambling, alcohol, and pornography.  The heart of the song speaks to the fact that this destruction does not occur overnight.  It is a slow progression of wrong choices, and things that may seem innocent in the beginning that lead to the eventual break down of a person and then the family.

In the case of adultery, it can start as a simple, flirtatious compliment from somebody that makes you feel good.  You return a harmless flirtation back, and it begins.  Especially in today's age of technology, with smart phones, texting, Facebook, emails... there are numerous ways to reach out to people and develop a relationship without even needing to see the person.  The problem occurs as you begin to look forward to these encounters and they begin to take over your thoughts.  You begin to notice all of the things that irritate you about your spouse, and you become completely consumed with this new "relationship".  The harmless flirtation progresses to overt sexual suggestions, and soon even that isn't enough anymore.  Before long you find yourself confronted with a decision - a black & white line that you would never have crossed in the past is now a little gray and less clear.  That one decision (after a series of "safer" wrong decisions) can lead to the destruction of two entire families.  This is why Jesus said that to even look at a woman with lust is wrong:

"You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.'  But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed.  Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body.  Those leering looks you think nobody notices - they also corrupt." Matthew 5: 27-28 MSG

Once your heart is corrupted, you may face an identity crisis.  Previous to this, you were a child of God.  The Holy Spirit of God lived in you and led your daily choices.  Now- although you are still a child of God and have his Spirit within you- you are choosing to ignore your God and walk in outright sin.  You begin to believe that you have no right to even pray to God because you are living this life of sin.  You are distancing yourself from the most important relationship you will ever have.  He is still there, wanting to pull you out of this mess and save you and your families.  But you aren't listening.  Your character and the person you have always been begin to erode.  Speaking to a lost world about the goodness of the Holy Father becomes a challenge for you.  Who are you to talk to others about living a life for God, when you are living this life you have chosen for yourself?  Your testimony is tarnished.  You forget that the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galations 5:22) are still within you.  You can choose to stop this downward spiral and reclaim the person you were created to be.

The enemy has come to destroy families.  His methods are insidious.  If you are not going through this in your own home, I guarantee you that you personally know somebody who is - although you may not be aware of it.  Please forward this to everyone you know - I am praying over each person who reads this devotion.  I am praying for the deception to end - that "good feeling" you get from whatever sin you are walking in is a lie.  It will not last, and it will destroy everything you have worked to gain in your life.  At the heart of your sin is a selfishness that must stop today.  Turn back to the Lord and pray for the desire to choose the right thing, as a first step.  And please know this:  your identity is secure.  You remain his precious child.  He will help you through this the very moment you allow him to.

Quit Staring at Yourself!

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. (Philippians 2:3-4)

Ugh... Monday!  Have you ever started off a Monday thinking about everything you have to do to survive the week?  All of the problems you need to solve, all of the catch-up work you need to accomplish, all of the issues in your life that you wish you could just eliminate with a blink of your eyes...

You could sit and ponder on these things for a very long time, and just get deeper into the muck - OR- get the focus off of yourself and focus this week on how you can make another person's life easier.  If your struggle is at work, focus on the interests of your boss, your employees, and your customers.  If your struggle is with friends, think of what you can do to bless them this week.  If you have a stack of paperwork hanging over your head that seems insurmountable, think of the people on the other end of that paperwork who need you to get through it. 

You were created by a loving Heavenly Father who loves you deeply.  But he did not create you for you.  He created you for the benefit of others.  This life is not about you, and how things should be easier and better for you.  However, as you get the focus off of yourself, I have a feeling all those issues looming over you will start to fade.  As you value others more than yourself, God can take over and work out your troubles!

This week, look at your "to do" list and see how you can tweak it to be focused on others.  Be a blessing, and you will be blessed.