December Devotional: Emmanuel

Emmanuel
Mary is one of those friends who walks into your heart and takes up residency there. She fills your heart with kindness and care through her deeds, sacrificially giving and finding great joy in doing so. She thrives on being a blessing and doesn’t miss a chance to bake cookies, send a cheery note, or invite you for dinner. Mary is a heart friend. I like that idea of a heart friend.

I pondered that idea for a minute and the thought came that Jesus is a heart Friend. Once invited, He takes up residency and fills our hearts with His radiating love that permeates the layers that have separated us from Him melting away fear and hurt and pain. He is gracious to take only the space that we give Him and patiently waits in the drawing room until He is invited into each room. It is because Jesus has been invited into Mary’s heart that Love spills over and permeates people whose lives she touches.

Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a song entitled “Christmas Is All in the Heart” found on The Music of Christmas CD


Chorus:
“Cause Christmas is all in the heart, that's where the feeling starts
And like a fire inside, it touches every part
‘Cause Christmas is all in the heart
And even if no white snow falls, that's all right because
The joy can still be found, wherever you are
Cause Christmas is all, all in the heart


No, it's not in the snow that may or may not fall
And it's not in the gifts around the tree
It's in the love heaven gave, the night our Savior came
And that same love can still be found wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all in the heart
And the joy can still be found, wherever you are
'Cause Christmas is all, all in the heart
It's all in the heart

Emmanuel. God is with us. That is the message of Christmas. Jesus came as a baby to this earth so that He could live and die and be raised again and through His Holy Spirit reside with us in our hearts. He is our heart Friend who sticks closer than a brother, who comforts and encourages, who calls and empowers. We ask that our hearts would be broken by the things that break the heart of God because He came. Joy to the world!

Thanksgiving 2010

Psalm 103 expresses thanksgiving and praise to the Lord for all his benefits and blessings that he bestows on his people. During this Thanksgiving week, may we remember anew God’s goodness to us and remember his blessings that He showers on us and may we in turn by His Hands extended to the poor and marginalized in our world.

Psalm 103 (New International Version)
1Praise the LORD, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
7He made known his ways to Moses, his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
9 He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15 The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
16 the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17 But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD’s love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children’s children—
18 with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20 Praise the LORD, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding,who obey his word.
21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22 Praise the LORD, all his works everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the LORD, my soul.

October Devotional: Change Your Power Source

Change Your Power Source


After a slammed day at work, there I was sitting on my laptop at home trying to catch up on my email and Face book and check my bank accounts before I went to bed. Suddenly quite subtly in the lower right hand corner of my screen in a rectangular box appeared the words “Change your power source”. I was stunned for a few seconds and then I started laughing out loud! Isn’t God amazing? A precise, exact and definite reminder that flashed like neon in my soul! YES! That is exactly what I needed to do. Here I was yet again, doing my life, my day, my evening my way. I was stressed, exhausted and discouraged. Why? For the most part, I was relying on myself and words from “man” to guide and direct me in the hurried and the harried of my life.

Our sweet, tender and kind Lord just popped into my spirit in a way that He knew would capture my attention. By the way, my computer usually gives me a percentage of power remaining in that little rectangular box. I haven’t seen those words before or since. They really got me thinking. So, let me ask three classic journalistic questions: Who is our power source? Where is our power source? What is our power source?

Who is our power source? Is it God or self? When self is our power source, there is no peace and absolutely no grace. There is stress and strife. We feel trapped and without hope. This happens in degrees as it begins small and grows and can end in despair and hopelessness. By contrast, when God is our power source there is freedom and we find peace and grace; there is hope and boldness and courage. When we take His yoke upon us it is light. There is no strain, no stress. God goes before us. The way is straight. Let’s let God be our power source today remembering that “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it” (I Cor. 10:26)

Where is our power source? Are we “in” the world or “of” the world? Jesus said that we are to be in the world, but not of the world in. John 8:23 But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” Jesus came into the world but he never was of the world. He as our example remained the perfect Son of God by not being tainted by the world. So what does it look like to be of the world? The way of the world, the trends of the day are what we adhere to rather than God’s way. Matthew 6:33 asks us “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self (Luke 9:25) or his soul?” (Matt. 16:26) We are reminded in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto us. We are to follow Jesus in His example to be in the world and not of it.
What is our power source? Is it the truth from God’s Word or is it information from man’s words? Do we listen to what people say through their philosophies and beliefs that are contrary to the Word? Do we know the Word of God enough to keep us from being deceived? Do we hide God’s Word in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him? His Word is a light to our feet and a lamp to our path (Ps.119:1015). Whose report will we believe about our health and our finances and our hope? We will not find the truth in New York’s Best Sellers or on a TV weekly “sit com”. We won’t find the truth in the Wall Street Journal or Time magazine. What are we putting into our minds to undergird us so we don’t fall? God’s Word is to be what we read and hide deep in our hearts so that in real time our motivations and actions line up with what His Word says.

As we go about our day this week, let’s think about our power source. Who is our power source? Is it God or self? Where is out power source? Are we “in” the world but not “of” the world? What is our power source? Is it God’s Word or man’s words? I am so grateful that God loves me so much that He is willing to communicate with me where I am even if it’s on my computer! Let’s ask Him to show us how to keep Him as our power source this week and always.

Sept. Devotional: Ponder Anew What the Almighty Can Do!

Ponder Anew What The Almighty Can Do!
The tyranny of the urgent seems to drive most of our lives in America. We are constantly trying to beat the clock to that next appointment, meet that next deadline, and even make that green light! We rush around as if what was happening in our lives and what needed to be done was the most urgent thing in the universe. How do we gain perspective? Years ago when I was under the hammer of the urgent, I would check myself with another phrase, “Consider the universe”.

This phrase would set me into a sequence toward calm. I trained my mind to stop and visualize the universe and then take my visualization from the universe to our solar system and then to planet Earth. By then I had at least stopped gulping my coffee and began to consider the North American Continent and then the United States of America.Continuing my progression from magnanimous to small next I would consider the State of Colorado where I was living then the city (Denver), the street, the building, the floor, the office and finally the desk that I was occupying.By going from the inconceivably huge to my tiny space it helped me to realize that my stressors were small in comparison.The picture of the universe that I kept on my desk was my reminder that my current frustration or task was not urgent enough to rob me of my peace.

I often wonder what God thinks of us as we scurry about with our urgent. I wonder what He thinks of my 15 hour work days or my endless lists of things that must get done. Actually, I don’t wonder at all. His Word is very clear on what is urgent and it isn’t my lists and my 15 hour work days. Things that are urgent to Jesus are loving Him with all my heart, soul and mind and seeking first His kingdom and His righteousness because He promises that “all these things will be added unto those” who follow His Word. His urgency is to help the poor and needy, to bring comfort to the comfortless, and to proclaim the Good News in a world where good news is scarce.When I face next Monday, my prayer is that God’s urgency will prevail.

Will you join me in making that your prayer? May we ponder anew what the Almighty can do if we but let Him. I challenge us to look at what is urgent in our lives. If it isn’t what God finds urgent, may we break the tyranny of it. May we take His yoke upon ourselves and learn of Him for his yoke is easy, without urgency, without tyranny and it definitely leads to peace.

Psalm 150:2
Praise Him for his acts of power; praise Him for his surpassing greatness.

Praise to the Lord Almighty (All verses)
Joachim Neander 1680

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!
O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!
All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near;
Praise Him in glad adoration.

Praise to the Lord, who over all things so wondrously reigneth,
Shelters thee under His wings, yea, so gently sustaineth!
Hast thou not seen how thy desires ever have been
Granted in what He ordaineth?

Praise to the Lord, who hath fearfully, wondrously, made thee;
Health hath vouchsafed and, when heedlessly falling, hath stayed thee.
What need or grief ever hath failed of relief?
Wings of His mercy did shade thee.

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee;
Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.
Ponder anew what the Almighty can do,
If with His love He befriend thee.

Praise to the Lord, who, when tempests their warfare are waging,
Who, when the elements madly around thee are raging,
Biddeth them cease, turneth their fury to peace,
Whirlwinds and waters assuaging.

Praise to the Lord, who, when darkness of sin is abounding,
Who, when the godless do triumph, all virtue confounding,
Sheddeth His light, chaseth the horrors of night,
Saints with His mercy surrounding.

Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore Him!
All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him.
Let the Amen sound from His people again,
Gladly for aye we adore Him.

August Devotional: God's Faithfulness

Lamentations 3:22-23

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end; They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness.”

We have all seen firsthand the faithfulness of God. We recently experienced it through the circumstance of what Holly, a mamber of our Leadership Team, and her family went through with their baby, Sage, while she was hospitalized for the third week of her life. Holly’s account reminded us that it was her faith along with her family and friends that enabled her to make it through this difficult trial as she had "faithful patience" believing in the faithfulness of God to hear her prayers for her baby girl.

God’s faithfulness is recorded throughout scriptures. We think of the children of Israel as they were rescued from the Egyptians as the Red Sea opened for them and closed upon the pursuing Egyptian army and God's faithful provision as they wandered the wilderness for forty years. We see God’s faithfulness to Rachel, Ruth and Rahab. Time and again we see the hand of God proving His faithfulness to His children.

God’s faithfulness is something that we can count on and yet at times, we forget. We worry and fret about things and try to count on ourselves. Today let’s focus on Him and His faithfulness to accomplish those things that concern us. He is able and He will do it.

"Great Is Thy Faithfulness."
Great is Thy faithfulness, Oh God My Father
There is no shadow of turning with Thee.
Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

God's Good Plan: Jeremiah 29:11

God’s Good Plan
South Puget Sound Women of Vision
July Devotional

Having just put my townhouse on the market as a short sale and making an appointment with the bankruptcy attorney while recovering from a hysterectomy three weeks earlier, I was challenged by the verse on my bathroom wall plaque: “For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11. As I was brushing my teeth I questioned, “Are these present financial circumstances really God’s good plan for my life?”

There are times in our lives when circumstances belie our beliefs. Events surround us that challenge the Word of God that permeates our soul. The Word of God is the same yesterday, today and forever. God promises good plans yet, circumstances happen that appear anything but good. This is such a time in my life and God has graced me with time during recovery from surgery to reflect. Had I missed the good plan? How did I get into this financial disaster?

In retrospect, I recall the caution from my dear CPA friend who whispered “What if the market crashes? This investment in the townhouse is putting you right at the edge?” I sought counsel from other professionals who encouraged the short term investment and echoed my reasoning that the market couldn’t drop that much in 24 months. After all, I had the opportunity to make a $20,000 profit after I flipped the property with a $30,000 remodel. It was guaranteed. It was a good plan. I ignored that still, small Voice that God had sent through my friend.

I remember when the remodel was complete. The property was vastly improved with beautiful cherry wood floors, new carpet, new fixtures, new stainless steel appliances, new sinks, new windows, and new window treatments. All the “newness” was wonderful. I was confident that sitting out the next 24 months with high mortgage payments would be easy as I let the allotted time lapse before I could resell without penalty. On the 25th month after closing, I would simply put the property on the market and bank the $20,000 in savings. It was 2006 when I made this investment. What a good plan it was for my future. As I pondered my retirement I was certain that this must be God’s good plan for me.

However, within six months after the purchase of the townhouse the US market dropped in one of the biggest declines in recent history. The situation surrounding the townhouse worsened day by day. The property had more black mold then the initial inspection revealed and the crawl space was rat infested, a situation I fought for two years. The homeowners association changed the general maintenance fund, divided the monies into per unit accounts and debited all accounts for expenses since 1988. Because of previous excessive repairs, my account was zero. Shortly after, assessments were made for siding repairs, exterior painting, and a new roof. With a painting assessment lurking in the near future the $15,000 for those assessments would soon become $18,250 added to the high mortgage payments causing monthly debt. After three and a half years of continued debt accumulation, it was clearly time to put the property on the market as a short sale and get out of this upside down investment. In that short amount of time, I had gone from debt-free to debt bound. My savings account balance was zero. The good plan seemed anything but “good”.

How do we face such trails? As Christians we have the Lord and His Holy Spirit, the scriptures, and family and friends for guidance and support but we also have free will. Despite what we have in Christ, do we become angry, bitter and vengeful? Even with support from family and friends, do we engage in self pity and grovel in sadness? As I reflected and considered these questions it occurred to me that indeed we might choose some of these things for a time. Sometimes it is part of the process. However, aren’t we compelled to be better than that through Christ who strengthens us? God’s good plan for us doesn’t change with dire circumstances. All circumstances work together for the good to bring about God’s good plan for our lives. Did I have the faith to stand on that belief?

I see the bankruptcy attorney tomorrow. I complete piles of bankruptcy forms today. As I brush my teeth before I go to bed tonight it is my determination to believe that plaque on the bathroom wall and through God’s mercy and grace be better than these circumstances through Christ who strengthens me. I am listening to God’s still, quiet voice. I reflect on God’s faithfulness over the past 35 years of my journey with Him. Yes, God does have a plan for my life for good and not for calamity that does give me a future and a hope. Yes, all things do work together for the good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Yes, God’s love never fails and His Word is the same yesterday and forever. These are the promises that I hold as I work through these financial trails. All of us face difficulties, but as we stand firm on God’s promises by faith, nothing can overcome God’s will for our lives or God’s good plan. We can bank on it!

WOV SPS June Devotion

Psalm 121
“I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.

We as South Puget Sound Women of Vision have been on a journey over the past six months. It began when we answered the call of God to educate and advocate for the victims of human trafficking. It culminated with an anti-human trafficking conference held in faith believing that God had called us to do this. It has been a journey worthy of reflection.

Although God met us at every turn and showed Himself strong on our behalf as we dreamed and planned, we experienced varying degrees of stress and pressure to accomplish the impossible and overcome what at times felt like the insurmountable. We were jetted out of our comfort zone and at times felt as if we were left dangling over a vacuum of despair as we stared into the face of local, national and global human trafficking. We experienced rejection from those we thought would come along side of us. We experienced failure as things we tried didn’t work out as planned. We experienced defeat in moments of letdown and discouragement. For a while, there was a storm that hovered.

When the storm clouds burst, fear of failure rained down and we wondered. We thought that we had heard Him but the tempter came to us too and asked, “Did God really say?” and we got overwhelmed. We made changes. Was our vision and dream becoming smaller? All of our calls, and all of our emails and all of our efforts couldn’t put names on Brown Paper tickets. We worried and we amped up efforts and contacts and arrangements. We waited and we waited. We met and we prayed. Finally, we had exhausted all that we could do and we had no choice but to rest in Him.

At first, we couldn’t really explain it but we knew that the Light was coming into our efforts. We came to a place of agreeing that God was God and that He would have His way. We began to praise Him for what He would do and how He would call those He wanted to be with us for our conference and that He would open doors and set all things straight. We became grateful that He would take our “loaves and fishes” and multiply every single effort that we had made into thousands of efforts as a feast was being prepared for those who would partake! We believed that “The One who calls you is faithful and He will do it” (I Thessalonians 5:24). We stopped doubting. The Light came: This speaker said yes, that organization is running our flyer, their church has welcomed a presenter, that paper will run our article. We were excited as report after report began coming in showing us that God was working and that the Son was overcoming the darkness.

The day of the conference even the elements declared the defeat of the grim and gray! As the sun shone over Gig Harbor and we all arrived we knew that something amazing was about to happen. We prayed. We scurried to get things in place. The attendees began arriving, the volunteers began to bustle about, the speakers strolled in and the musicians began tuning. The day was finally upon us and we were ready and God did not disappoint! The Holy Spirit was evident as all things came together in harmony and He orchestrated a perfect day. The Word of hope went out to the people and the enemy was defeated. The light overcame the darkness in that place. God was faithful and He had done it.

This conference that we hosted along with Chapel Hill Presbyterian Church on June 5, 2010 was beyond what we could think or ask on so many levels. As God moved that first Saturday in June, people found hope as they learned about a hopeless topic. People were equipped with ways to take action against human trafficking and left inspired and encouraged. We made a footprint in the South Puget Sound community as we took our stand for freedom for the victims of this vile business. We will never fully know on earth what took place in the spiritual realm as we battled to present this conference, but we believe that God ruled and reigned. He has given us another testimony to share of His greatness. He has shown us again that when He gives a vision and sends the call that when we step out in faith He will do the rest. “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of Heaven and Earth.” This is our reflection and our testimony.

Praise You In The Storm
Casting Crowns

I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The Maker of Heaven and Earth