Honey Bees

"wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand, and dipped it in an honeycomb, and put his hand to his mouth:  and his eyes were enlightened."
I Samuel 14:27b

At church one day, I noticed a lady sitting on the front row of the back section, and there was a constant flow of people who stopped before her.  You could see their love for her as they smiled and spoke, many reaching out to touch her hand.  It reminded me of honey bees gathered around a lovely flower, each wanting to draw from the sweet nectar to enrich their own lives and the lives of the queen back in the hive.  Wouldn't it be wonderful if more of us were so filled with the love of God that we were a source of enrichment to every life we  touched?

We can be.  That ladies' secret was that she yielded her own life totally to God and He, in turn, used her as a vessel in His service.

My prayer for today:  Father, help me to "flower" in Your service.  Use me to enrich individual lives and home situations as well.

 

Bridges

"For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father."
Ephesians 2:18

Baptist believe in what is called the "priesthood of believers".  That phrase is defined as "the doctrine that those who believe in Christ are able to have direct access to God'. (page 59, The Guideposts Family Concordance).  The above verse speaks directly to that.  The Latin word for "priest" is literally "bridge-builder".  Christ, in His death on the cross and His resurrection, became that bridge for us.  And now, "through Him" we can directly approach God the Father.  We don't need a human priest or preacher to intercede on our behalf. 

Even though it is always great to know that others are praying with us and for us, there is even greater joy in knowing that we don't have to wait until we reach our pastor or priest to make our needs known to God.  A bridge always leads somewhere and makes a way over difficult terrain.  Christ bridged the gap between this life and eternity, over all sin and death.

My prayer for today:  What a builder!  What a bridge!  Thank You, Father.

You call yourself...?

"For what saith the Scripture?  Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."
Romans 4:3

Have you ever had someone angrily turn to you and say, "And you call yourself a christian"?  Other people, especially non-christians, seem to know how a christian should behave.  And it is true that we have a responsibility to control our anger and our tongue, to avoid sinful places, to treat everyone fairly.  But none of that makes us a christian, and that is what people often are mis-led by.  This verse tells us Abraham "believed" God, and "it" - that belief - was counted unto him for righteousness.  So it was his "belief" or his faith that saved him, not what he did or didn't do.  How grateful I am that my salvation rests securely in the "grace" of God, not in me.  So as I live my life, I can serve Him better knowing that all He asks of me is my best.  And when I fail, He loves me still.

My prayer for today:  Father, thank You for Your saving and keeping power.  May knowledge of Your love spur me to ever greater service.

Fry in Crock Pot?

"And there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit."
I Corinthians 12:6

We are all familiar with this verse and have probably heard many sermons on it.  But I heard a great illustration the other day I want to share with you.  Those of us who do a lot of cooking have special pots we use for special tasks.  For instance we don't use a dutch oven to fry chicken in and we don't use our frying pan to make soup in.  We don't fry eggs in a crock pot.  Each pot has special qualities that enable it to be better equipped for certain jobs.  As the teacher pointed out, we are the same way.  Some of us do a better job frying and some are better at boiling and simmering.  So there should be no room for jealousy or envy.  Would a skillet envy a dutch oven?  Of course not.  See?  We can even learn from our kitchen tools.

My prayer for today:  Father use me according to Your own wisdom and plan for my life and just help me be the best I can be in that position.

Keep Silence Before Him

"But the Lord is in His holy temple:  let all the earth keep silence before Him."
Habakkuk 2:20

This is a verse many of us grew up on and were taught at very early ages.  When we went to church, the sanctuary was a special place of silence and reverence.  I miss that today.  Our children today are not taught to be still and quiet.  They are not taught reverence.  They wiggle and talk.  They get up and walk in and out.  They rustle papers.  Many of these children come on the church bus and have never been taught any better.  We have to accept that and try to help teach them ourselves.  

But, sad to say, many are with young parents and these parents aren't teaching them this important lesson.  Maybe those of us who are older didn't teach our own well enough.  Or maybe these young parents weren't taught.  Whatever the case, we need to exercise patience and tact in dealing with the younger generations.  We need the silence, not because we were taught it and it is a tradition, but to regain a sense of reverence and awe that brings God closer to us.  We need to help them see what they are missing.

My prayer for today:  Father, even as we stand to sing praises to You, help us keep that special silence in our hearts that invites You in.

Cocklebur

"...it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks."
Acts 9:5b

This morning something kept sticking my right ankle.  I couldn't figure it out for a while.  I finally sat down and examined my sock, and there was a cocklebur embedded in it.  Every step I took, it reached out and stuck in my ankle.  I hadn't seen a cocklebur (or grass burr) in years.  Habits can be like burrs.  They can become so embedded in our lives that we are constantly affected by their pricks.  That's all right if they are good habits.  For instance, if I miss my bible reading each morning, my day just doesn't go right.  But habits are most often bad... we can't give up an addiction or we can't quit gossiping or something along those lines.  That is when our conscience becomes a "burr" to prick our heart and cause us to want to get things straightened out.  I'm grateful for those "pricks".

My prayer for today:  Thank You, Father, for a sensitive conscience that reminds me when I need to change direction in some area of my life.

Fence post

"For there will come a time when your limbs will tremble with age, and your strong legs will become weak, and your teeth will be too few to do their work, and there will be blindness, too."
Ecclesiastes 12:3 (TLB)

I was noticing a worn out old fence post the other day.  It had broken at some point in time and now only held one strand of the barbed wire which made up the fence.  The post made me think of how we feel as we grow older.  Perhaps, when we were young, we did it all... taught Sunday School, sang in the choir, visited, ministered.  Just as that post originally held up all three strands of wire.  It had an important job and was dependable, just as we were.  

But as we grow older and our bodies begin to break down, like that old post did, we are no longer able to carry a full load.  Don't be discouraged.  We can still hold up that lowest strand of wire, and that is important.  We do that by being faithful in prayer.  And in the long run, that may be the most important job of all.  It's not as obvious as teaching or singing, but how could our churches function without the prayer support of our cherished old saints?  Don't short change yourself.  Prayer support is vital.

My prayer for today:  Father, remind us as our bodies fail, that our spirits are just growing stronger and stronger.

Devil made me do it

Submit yourselves therefore to God.  Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
James 4:7

Do you remember when the phrase, "The devil made me do it." was popular?  Boy, I do.  It seemed such a handy phrase to use if I gave in to temptation... bought that dress I didn't need.... ate that second helping of chocolate cake... whatever.  But the simple truth is, Satan doesn't really have that kind of control over us.  This verse tells us to "resist the devil".  God wouldn't tell us to do something He didn't empower us to do.  

In another verse of scripture we find, "...greater is He that is in you (The Holy Spirit), than he that is in the world (Satan)."  So, although the phrase is catchy and cute, let's not fool ourselves.  We are responsible for our actions, and we have the power to be over-comers.

My prayer for today:  Father, remind me often of these two verses.  I need them to give me determination and strength over the temptations Satan waves in front of me.

Beauty From Pain

"Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
Matthew 13:46

Most of us know that a pearl is created from pain.  A grain of sand or other obstacle gets inside the oyster shell and the oyster surrounds it with a thick glaze to stop the pain and irritation it is causing.  Eventually this results in a beautiful pearl.  

Strange as that seems to us, it often happens.  God can bring beauty out of pain if we allow Him to work His will through it in our lives.  I used to question why we used the term "Good Friday", knowing the suffering and death Christ endured.  What could possibly be good about that?  Yet look what His suffering brought about: glory for Him and eternal life for those of us who accept the gift of His sacrifice.  As hard as it is to accept, pain can be changed to beauty in our lives if we only turn it all over to the Father.  It isn't easy.  But it works.

My prayer for today:  Father, although we often do not see the final results You are bringing about, help us just hold on to faith in Your wisdom.

Comfort Zones

"And they said unto her, Surely we will return with thee unto thy people."
Ruth 1:10

Every so often a new phrase gains popularity and you hear it everywhere you turn.  One that comes to mind is reference to one's "comfort zone".  We are told by christian leaders that we need to learn to stretch ourselves and get outside these comfort zones.  Comfort zones remind me of the familiar creaks in an old house.  After you have lived in the same house for many years, you learn which boards creak in which room.  You know when someone is on the stairway when you hear a certain creak.  

But if you are new to the house, the creaks are scary.  You feel threatened and afraid.  Who can be crossing the room?  I think that is often our problem with christian service outside our "comfort zone".  It seems scary.  We don't know what will be asked of us or how we can manage it.  You can bet that Ruth left her "comfort zone" far behind when she followed Naomi back to her homeland.  But look at the blessings that followed them both.  Surely it was worth the risk.

My prayer for today:  Father, help us break out of our well-defined routines - our comfort zones.  Help us be willing to take risks for You.

Grass over sidewalks

"Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy:  for I am the Lord your God."
Leviticus 20:7

The city did a great thing a few months ago by creating sidewalks for several blocks around each of the schools.  The unfortunate thing is, since property owners are not tending the growth along the sidewalks, the grass is gradually reclaiming those sections of the ground.

Sin is like that.  When we are saved, we find our feet firmly planted on the "walkway" to eternal life with Christ.  Nothing can change that.  But, if we are not careful, sin, like the creeping grass, will slowly and quietly creep back in and smother or hide the path we should be following.

Even though Satan has lost his chance to own our soul, he can damage our testimony and keep us from heavenly rewards by obscuring our relationship with God.  Just as property owners need to exercise vigilance in the fight against the weeds, we as christians need to exercise vigilance in our christian life.  Let 's not let Satan keep us from walking a path which clearly shows others the way to Christ.  We must be holy, as he is holy.

My prayer for today:  Thank You, Lord, for helping us keep our pathway clear.

Choices for Growth

"Judge not, and ye shall not be judged:  condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned:  forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:"

Luke 6:37

Many things in life, we have no control over.  But our christian growth is not one of those.  Notice the admonitions in this verse.  We are told not to judge, not to condemn, and to forgive.  Now those actions don't just happen.  They come about from choices we make.  We have to decide to refrain from judging and condemning.  We have to make that choice and then act upon it.  

These are not easy choices.  Sometimes we have to fight our own nature and continue to determine to stick by these choices, because Satan will continually try to weaken our resolve.  But, with Gods' help, we can do it.  And the more we practice, the stronger we become.  Every choice we make in life has a result.  If we look at the results Christ promised in this verse, it helps us make the right choices.

My prayer for today:  Lord, strengthen me that I might make right choices, for my own sake and for the sake of my christian testimony.

Plain and Simple

"And I, brethren when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God."
I Corinthians 2:1

I had a recipe the other day which called for canned, diced tomatoes.  Now, I have a pantry full of food, but no plain canned, diced tomatoes.  I had stewed tomatoes with onion and bell pepper.  I had tomatoes seasoned with oregano and basil - good for spaghetti sauce.  But I didn't have what I needed.  Everything was too fancy.

Many times, preachers have trouble with the concept of the plain and simple gospel.  They work so hard at giving us "fancy" sermons...sermons that follow a three-point outline, or sermons that use high and lofty terms which often go over the heads of most of us.  Just like fancy canned tomatoes, these sermons have their time and place.  But most of the time we just need the down-to-earth application of the Word of God which tells us how much we are loved, faults and all.

My devotion for today:  Jesus loves me, what more do I need to know?