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WINTER DEVOTIONAL
Strength
2 Samuel 22:33 It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.
2 Chronicles 16:9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.
Psalm 84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, &nbso; Philippians 4:13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1 Chronicles 16:11 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.
Ok, before I even begin, if you are going to believe that God is your strength and that His strength is available to you, you will need to trust that God is not going to lie to you and that what He says in His word is true. If you don’t believe then you will not be able to fully dig into God’s power and strength as He intends.
Take a moment before we go any further and read this prayer as I am typing and praying it, not only on my behalf but on behalf of all who may read this devotional: "Lord, open our hearts and minds so that we can trust you and believe that what you say is true. You will not lead us astray. If you say you are our strength then we are not without strength. It is only by your strength and power, which you choose to give us that we can accomplish the task for each day. We believe in you and in your word. We believe you give us enough strength for each day Amen."
We all have struggled through life at one time or another with something. We have become tired, fatigued, felt all is lost and didn’t think we could make it one more day. In those moments how do we press on? How do we tap into the strength of God?
God’s word says ask and we shall receive. Instead of waiting for those moments to come when we are exhausted by our own efforts and then cry out to God for strength, we should be asking for that strength before we start our day or the task that needs to be dealt with. Ask God when you wake up to give you the strength you need for each task of that day. Remember, you can’t do it alone and when you try to go about the day with your own efforts and strength you will weaken quickly.
Also remember, God wants us to worry about one day at a time. He wants us to accomplish what we need to accomplish for today, and accomplish what we need to accomplish for tomorrow, when tomorrow comes. The strength God provides is for that day you can not carry it into the rest of the week. You will need to re-strengthen yourself in God each day. Every day God’s strength will be different according to the task of that day, but know that it will be fresh and ready for you again in the morning. This is not to say that you can’t plan for the next day or the future, but don’t set it in stone because God’s plan may alter your plans.
Another way to tap into God’s strength is get into the Bible. Psalm 119:28 tells us we are strengthened by God’s word. God’s word not only brings us hope, peace, but it helps us to stay positive and it brings strength to places in you that you may not even know need strength. Two of those places are our heart and spirit. Your heart is the center of you; what’s important and where you carry your emotions. Your spirit is who you are; the body we see is just a nice covering to look at. If your heart falters then your mind believes you can’t go on. If your spirit is weak your body will show it. How do we keep our spirit and heart strong? Only by keeping God at the center of our heart and His spirit feeding into ours can we continue to feel strengthened.
One way that can be done is by spending time in God’s word. Another good way to feed our spirit and keep our heart from faltering is praise and worship. You don’t have to just be at church for this and church should not be the primary place to worship and praise God. We should be doing that in the car, at home and throughout our day. Grab a Christian worship CD and worship with it.
Finally, when the task or day seems at a loss, trust God with it. Trust that He is sufficient for that day or task, and rest in Him. If you try and try and nothing is going the way it should, give it to God. Then seek Him and ask Him if there is something He is trying to show you regarding that task or your day. There might be a better way or maybe that task is better done tomorrow. God has his own time frame and plans that we should be trying to follow and wait on rather than trying to get Him to help us in our time frame and with our plans. Everything is according to God’s will and all to be done for the glory of Him.
Monthly Challenge
Make a point to start your day with a prayer. Ask God for not only His strength for each task but to be a part of your day. Make sure you spend time in His word and at the end of the day thank Him for being with you and for each task that He helped you accomplish even the little ones.
Additional Reading Psalm 119:28 Psalm 46:1 Psalm 29:11 Isaiah 40:30 Isaiah 41:10 1 Chronicles 1:25 Colossians 1:11 1 Peter 4:11
Heart: the fount of man’s emotions and deepest feelings Spirit: the intelligent or immaterial part of man as distinguished from the body; the animating or vital principle in living things.
FALL DEVOTIONAL
Us
1 Corinthians 13:7
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Work, relationship, ugh, love, arguments, compromise, friendship, unity, selfless, partner, bad, good, time, struggles, hard, intimacy, happiness, completeness.
These words and probably more can be used to describe marriage at one time or another. Let’s face it, we all think it’s a fairy tale, happy ever after until we dive in. There are very good times and sometimes very bad times. It’s work, but its work worth doing. A marriage is not something that just happens. Both involved have to work together. It seems at times it is perfect and then in minutes it can go real bad. Why? Because God created man and He created women and although we both contain the make and character of God, we at the same time are very different and we live in a fallen world.
My husband and I have those moments when we are out and just having a good time with each other and either I will say something or he will say something and it doesn’t set well with the other. Sometimes we come back very quickly after apologies and explanation of what we meant. Other times, because, well mostly, I am stubborn or because he doesn’t know what to say next and has to think through it, it takes awhile for us to work through the conversation or event. In those moments we are not getting along, it is an awful feeling of not being connected. After we come to grips with things and have worked through it, there are feelings of relief, sometimes silly laughter, peace and a relaxed atmosphere.
It really is about the choices we make and realizing those choices affects one another. If my husband and I are not in agreement on something, we are learning that we don’t go through with that decision no matter how much one of us wants it. If we do, it will be a point of contention between us for as long as we are dealing with that event. If we can’t agree on it from the beginning we most likely won’t. Now for little things, like the dessert you want to share, you can just drop it, but for things like buying a boat, house, car, going on a trip or raising children, it is important to be in agreement and that also takes prayer. My husband and I make the best decisions when we tell the other about it and then pray about it and talk more about it.
Marriage is a definite 3, God, you and your spouse. I remember one of the big decisions my husband and I had to come to agreement on. I went to God and asked Him to either make a change in my heart on the matter or change my husband’s heart on the matter so we could walk together down the path God had for us in regards to this decision. I found Him softening my heart to change and at the same time I believe he was doing this in my husband because my husband and I came together with a decision that neither of us thought it would be. In those moments of praying over a decision we don’t try to persuade each other our own way or leave little messages to try to get the person to come to our way of thinking. We simply pray and not talk about it. This is difficult for me at times, I have to admit. Sometimes we even set a time to pray over it. At times it can be a week and other times it is only a day. We are going to take a look at marriage and how we can apply some of 1 Corinthians 13 to our love for our spouse.
There are four words out of 1 Chorinthians 13:7 from three different versions of the Bible that I would like to apply to marriage. I know we have already done a devotional on love, but God has taken me further with it, so I am going to follow His leading. I feel that these are things that should be applied not only to marriage but relationships in general. Some of the words will be exactly the same and some will be worded different but have the same meaning and may give us a little more light to what it means.
First word: Protects (NIV) bears all things (NASB) Puts up with anything (Message)
I think we can get a couple things out of this 1st word and its different interpretations. Do you put up with and bear the differences in your spouse such as personality traits, the way they do things differently, their likes and dislikes? Just because your married does not mean you will like all the same things and it doesn’t mean you have to. Your spouse may clean fish different from you but as long as they’re clean, does it really matter? Your spouse may take care of the children different but as long as the children are getting good care does it matter if one lets them play outside longer or reads a story before bed and the other doesn’t? I do believe you work together in raising the children and I am not talking about going against the other parent in decisions you make for the children. Sometimes doing something with your spouse may mean going shopping or fishing. We may not enjoy it as much as our spouse but we go along and enjoy the time spent with them knowing they enjoy doing these things. Do you protect them and the way they may be different? This could mean not talking negatively to others about what you don’t like about your spouse or the things they do. It could mean confronting others who may try to talk bad about your spouse to you or to others.
Second word: Believes (NIV) Trust (NASB) Trust (Message)
Do you believe the best in your spouse? This may mean encouraging your spouse in new things they would like to try. Maybe your spouse would like to learn to work on cars or decorate cakes. Rather than try to discourage your spouse, let them try. It might also mean that you believe they will handle sticky situations in a Godly, moral way, like telling someone who is hitting on them that they are married.
This leads to our next question. Do you trust your spouse? Not only in these situations but others such as, paying the bills or carrying the credit card. This may be something that you need to work on together. For some of you it may mean making a decision to try and trust them again. This also will involve God’s help. I find a lot of us, when it comes right down to it, have a hard time trusting anyone including our spouse because we have been hurt in the past. Maybe even because you have been hurt by something your spouse has done or said. Maybe it is just because you feel you can handle things better and need to control the situation.
One way to begin to trust is first to make a choice to trust God with yourself and your spouse. This means letting go of control, not easy for a lot of us. Another important area of trusting again is to forgive. It is important to be able to trust your spouse and be trusted by your spouse. Trusting each other means you have an open and honest relationship so that if one of you is struggling with something you can go to your spouse right away before it grows into something bigger. If you find this is something you absolutely can not do for one reason or another, I would suggest talking to a counselor and dealing with this together.
Third Word: Hopes(NIV) Hopes (NASB) Always looks for the best (Message)
Do you have hope? Hope gives life. Hope is a very positive word and action. If you can’t hope for the best you may also have a faith issue. Hope is also confidence. I have hope in Jesus. I have hope, confidence and faith that Jesus will come again. Without my hope for eternity with Jesus that there is something better than this world, I would be lost.
The Message Bible says, “Always looks for the best.” These are also very positive actions and words. Let me ask you, do you have hope for your spouse? Do you always look for the best in them and for them? Maybe if you are at a blank you should sit down and make a list of all the good qualities God has given your spouse. Maybe even let your spouse know what you really appreciate about them. If you are having some marriage struggles, you may not be able to come up with something because usually in those times we are very negative about our spouse. You may need to pray and ask God for some help bringing things to your mind that you can appreciate about your spouse. Here are some examples: hard worker, good cook, can grow a garden well, knows how to fix things, does all the grocery shopping, takes care of the dog, snow blows the driveway or eats healthy.
There is always something we can find to appreciate about our spouse. Instead of being negative when your spouse really irritates you, because those times will happen, try to focus on the positive things. Look for the best in him/her and bring hope and life to your marriage.
Fourth Word: Perseveres (NIV) Endures (NASB) keeps going to the end (message)
Does your love persevere and endure? Do you keep loving? Are you moving ahead with your marriage or looking back to days you thought were better? Are you ready to give up or carry on through the end? Marriage is going to have some element of pain either from words we have used that have hurt the other person or actions that have brought pain to our marriage. Marriage is going to have some element of struggle. None of us are perfect, we won’t always agree and sometimes we just wake up cranky and difficult. I know there are times that I do. We need to let our love overcome times of struggle, attitudes and each others differences. If we choose to work through struggles and difficult times because it is a choice, we can bring our marriage to deeper levels of relationship with each other. It will become more beautiful than what it was.
When you go though life and love like Christ loves, you will develop a love that will endure through time. Loving someone with all there faults, just how they are, and loving through struggles, you can develop a more open and transparent relationship with each other.
With any relationship, both parties have to be willing to repent, forgive, work together, allow God to make changes in them (not their spouse pointing out changes they feel the other needs to make) and seek help if they need it. It is also important to pray for your spouse, pray that God will bless their day, that God would cause their heart to be open for changes He wants to do in them, and that they may grow in their relationship with the Father. When we grow in our relationships with God, our relationships with each other will grow also.
Monthly Challenge
Make a list of things or qualities you appreciate or love about your spouse and either leave them a note or tell them once a week for a month.
Additional Reading Galatians 5:14 I Corinthians 13 Romans 5:4-6 Romans 12:9-11 Romans 13:10 Ephesians 5:22-33 : One further note: If you or your children are in a sexually or physically abusive situation, you need to seek help right away. There should be information on Vision of Hope Ministries website with a number for you to either contact someone at Vision of Hope who can assist you in finding help or information on someone you can call to assist you with this situation.
SUMMER DEVOTIONAL
A Desire For the Lord
Isaiah 26:9 "My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you."
Do you long to spend time with the Lord? Do you yearn to be with him? Is your desire for the Lord?
I encourage you not to answer these questions too quickly but to really search your heart. Ask yourself if you long to spend time with the Lord, or is it something you do out of habit. Maybe you feel its just what youre supposed to do. I am not trying to make judgments or cause feelings of whether you are spending time with the Lord in the right way. I know for myself that would be a question I may have to ask myself daily.
So often I have that specific time before bed when everything is quite that I get into the Bible. Sometimes its because I need to do it rather than put on a movie and just check out for the day. In those moments I would not say that I spend that time out of yearning for the Father, but that does not make that time uneventful or mean that God does not touch me with His Spirit in those moments.
Then there are times where I cant wait to have that quiet time with God, and Im excited to see what He is going to reveal to me. There are times when I cant get enough, and I have to dig deeper and say show me more Lord. Those are times of yearning.
I have a friend that went on a camping trip and forgot to take a Bible along. This friend had gone 8 days without being able to spend time in The Word. I am sure they still had prayer time, but I didnt ask. We didnt get too deep into the conversation. When my friend returned from camping, my friend said I missed my Bible. I believe that friend was yearning to spend time with the Lord.
Whether you spend time in The Word because you know its something you need to do or because you long to be with the Lord, it is important to do this daily. Ten minutes or an hour, it is vital to your spirit and who you are in Christ. So how does that yearning come about?
Spend time with the Lord. The more time you spend with your Creator and Friend, the more you are going to desire and long to be with Him. In those moments you are with the Lord, ask Him to make your heart's desire to be for Him. There are many things in our day that can take away our time with the Lord. You have to protect that time with Him. Be watchful of events or things that may come before Him so that your desire remains first for the Lord.
Monthly Challenge
For one month pick a time each day that you dedicate just for spending time with the Lord for praying, reading The Word and listening for the Father to speak to you. Guard that time you set aside for the Lord. Dont let anything take its place. Ask the Lord to bring that yearning in you for Him.
Additional Reading Psalm 42:1 Psalm 63:1 Psalm 84:2 Psalm 143:6
JUNE DEVOTIONAL
Dont Give the Opponent Glory
1 John 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the World.
James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that and shudder.
I pray that the Lord will help me get whats on my heart out in the right way. This could be a sensitive area. I feel that sometimes we give the devil too much attention. Sometimes we focus too much on what the devil is up to rather than what God is doing in our lives.
We need to know our opponents tactics so we dont get tripped up. We also need to be alert because our enemy is looking to cause destruction and separation from God. Sometimes, however, we can get ourselves so worked up that we watch for the devil or we give him attention for everything that is wrong in our lives. This not only takes our focus off of God, but we look more at negative things than positive, and forget what God has brought us out of. Sometimes, it may not even be the devil. It may be our own doing. For example, I like Oreos way too much. If I buy them I usually get a glass of milk and 6 cookies, yes 6, should be 2 or 3 but stay with me here. After having 6 cookies I know thats enough, but yet there are times I go and get 4 more. Now I could say, Oh the devil is just tempting me and I fell into temptation. The fact is, it had nothing to do with the devil. I just like those crazy cookies and did not practice self control.
Maybe its an argument with someone else and neither person is willing to reconcile. It might be that each person is just holding on to their pride and does not want to make the situation right. Whether they are right or wrong doesnt really matter. Im not so lame that I dont realize the devil tempts us but sometimes its our own choices that cause trouble for us because its something we desire or we are just being a stinker about.
I feel that so much focus goes into the evil thats going on or what the devil is doing that it causes a lot of people to fear him and of course he wants that. But the devil is nothing for us to fear. When we make the devil seem bigger or stronger or focus on the pain or suffering we have gone through, we become fearful maybe of it happening again or what we might go through next. That fear can paralyze us and cause us to become unable to fight spiritually. We have to remember who is in control. The devil is not, even though he may try to make it seem that way. God is the one in control even over that meathead.
The devil also answers to God. If you read Job, you see that each time the devil wanted to test Job he had to go to God first. Also in Luke 22:31 Jesus tells Peter (Simon) that Satan has asked to test him. God has to allow it. Satan does nothing that God does not see or allow. Do not be afraid, he does not have free reign over you. God tells us in His Word greater is He (the Spirit of God) that is in us than he (Satan) that is in the world. James tells us even the demons shudder in fear of God. God is more powerful and we have access to that power through Jesus, so that we can stand against the devil and have victory in the name of Jesus.
I realize it is hard to get past pain that has felt as though it was crippling and struggles that never seem to have an end. Rather than looking for the devil and trying to figure out when he will attack next or what the attack might be, dig your heels into the Word of God and trust that He is in control. If we are spending time with God regularly, we will be prepared to stand against the devil. The Word simply says resist the devil and he will flee. We dont have to get so worked up that we fear we wont be victorious. We can follow Jesus example when Satan tempted him in the Garden. Jesus quoted scripture.
So in those times you feel paralyzed and unable to fight or you are flooded with negative thoughts: 1. Call on the name of Jesus. Just simply speak his name if that is all you can do. There is power in the name of Jesus. 2. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and guide you in how to pray against what you are dealing with or struggling through. 3. Quote Gods word even if you have to get a Bible and just read scripture aloud. 4. Tell the devil or any spirit of fear or negative-ness to go in the name of Jesus and send them back to the pit where he will be for eternity. 5. Begin to give praise to God thanking him for events where you saw him working in the past. 6. Worship Sing out to God about his greatness, bring Him worship.
Lets begin to focus on what God is doing in us, around us and through us, giving Him glory and all our attention. Not to be ignorant of the evil that is in this world, but to make the choice not to let that evil spill over in your life causing you to fear and dwell on negative things.
Monthly Challenge At the end of each day give thanks to God for at least one thing that either he has provided, done, revealed to you, helped you with or blessed you with.
Additional Reading Ephesians 6:10-12 James 4:7-8 Matthew 8:28-32 Mark 3:14-16 Luke 10:17-20
APRIL DEVOTIONAL
Liar Liar Pants on Fire!
Leviticus 19:11 Do not lie. NIV)
For now, we are going to focus just on this part of this verse. This seems like a pretty simple verse to follow, but when it comes right down to the nitty gritty a lot of us have faltered in this area at one time or another. Sometimes we break it down to half truths then we arent really telling a lie, right? Maybe we just leave certain aspects of the story out so then were not lying, right? Sometimes its just that weve been caught in the middle of a situation and feel pressured in the moment so we tell a small lie and thats ok, right? Maybe its not going to hurt anyone else because its only a slight exaggeration, right?
Wrong.
When it comes down to it, a lie is a lie no matter how pretty we try to disguise it, or how we skirt the issue, whether it is a small tail or big bold face lie, hiding something weve done, or making ourselves look a little more important. The word of God simply says Do not lie.
I remember one time my dad was getting after me and I mumbled behind his back. He asked me what I said. Ugh caught. I said, nothing dad and he said, I know you said something because I heard you. Oh man, no skirting that so I made something up. So not only did I lie, I went on to deceive him into thinking I did not say anything mouthy. Ooooh not good. The next part of Leviticus 19:11 says Do not deceive one another. But the Holy Spirit worked my conscious even at the age of 13 and I had to ask for forgiveness. Then there was a time in my adult life when I just didnt want my husband to know I had bought some new clothes so I came home and quickly put them in my closet. I dont know why I didnt want him to know. Maybe I didnt think he would approve of what I had spent. I wasnt intending on lying, I just wasnt going to tell him. Well, isnt that a lie? I think so. Now that I try and think back to that time I know I told him because I felt that prodding of the Holy Spirit. If I remember right, my husbands response on what I had gotten was just a simple, oh, ok. I of course was making a bigger deal of it than what it was. Sometimes that causes us to hide things or not tell whole truths.
John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your fathers desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
In John chapter 8, Jesus is talking to a group of Pharisees that are attempting to challenge Jesus with some questions of who he is and the validity of who He says he is. Even though Jesus is telling them the truth, they dont believe him. If you read further after verse 44 and into the end of this chapter, you will see they are even saying Jesus is demon-possessed. So, as Jesus unfolds the truth to them about himself, His conversation with them leads him into verse 44. They do not have a personal relationship with God. If they did, they would know Jesus and love him. If they do not have a personal relationship with God then they are not following God and his ways. Therefore, they are following the ways of the devil, verse 44. All of this to get at this part of the verse. Notice that Jesus talks about the devil not holding to the truth and that there is no truth in him. He is a liar. In fact, Jesus says he is the father of lies. Why? God does not lie. So when we lie where are those lies coming from? The devil, he fathers the lies. Now we can go right ahead at this point and say oh yeah, the devil made me do it, yeah thats why I lied. Sorry, he cant make you do anything, although he can sure coach you on it. Sometimes we just have to say I messed up. I fell into the temptation of not holding to the truth. So what happens if we dont hold to the truth? Like with any sin, it gets easier to do the more you do it. Now, that does not mean it is ok the more you do it. It means you have become accustomed to ignoring the quiet prodding of the Holy Spirit, and it has actually gotten easier to ignore Him. It may seem nice to have gotten to this point when you feel you can do and say what you want with little guilt, but that just means you have walked that far from God.
It is very hard at times to be an honest person and sometimes God is the only one to notice youre holding to his ways. But isnt that whats most important? Lets try to be a people that hold to the truth. Truth flows from God. He is truth. If we hold to what is true, then we are holding on to God and his ways, and that truth will bring us freedom.
Monthly Challenge As hard as it might be, make the choice not to lie. How big is the fish really, 4 inches or 12? Fess up in the work place or at home. Maybe start with Im sorry I did that and this is the reason. Its really hard to go back to someone you lied to and say, I wasnt honest with you. But maybe this would bring you some freedom.
Additional Reading Proverbs 19:5&9 Psalm 34:13 Titus 1:2 Hebrews 6:18
MARCH DEVOTIONAL
Boundaries
We all need to set boundaries in our lives; they help us stay on a path of righteousness and away from evil. Boundaries also help us to keep good habits, stay healthy and keep us away from too much stress.
One thing we have to realize is that boundaries are not a bad thing. God himself started setting boundaries from the beginning of time. Here are some examples:
Genesis 1:9-10 And God said, Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear. And it was so. God called the dry ground land, and the gathered waters he called seas.
Genesis 1:16-18 God made two great lights- the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good.
Boundaries add structure. God used them in creating the earth to add structure to the way things work so that the water couldnt over rule the land and the night couldnt over rule the day. They had a time and a place where God allowed each to be and said when they could come forth. Boundaries also add structure to our lives, unless we let things over rule those areas of our lives that we dont set boundaries for. Some have this problem with work the 8 hour days turn into 12 hour days and the weekend off becomes filled with work left from the week, allowing no time for the body and mind to rest and be free of stress before they start the week all over again. This can cause depression, unhappiness, resentment and even unhealthy living.
Genesis 2:16-17 And the Lord God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.
Exodus 20:3,4,7,8,9,12,13,14,15,16,17 You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. You shall not covet
God gave boundaries to keep us from evil, to give us life, to teach us respect for Him and others, to keep us from harm, and to bring Him honor with the way we live.
We teach our kids to watch for cars and not play in the road. Why? We dont want them to be harmed or much worse die. We need to set boundaries for our kids to keep them from harm, teach them respect and teach them the way God wants them to live. We also need to set boundaries for ourselves to keep us from evil, to honor God, to have respect for others and to live a good and healthy life.
Job 1:9-12 Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied. Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? Your have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face. The Lord said to Satan, Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.
So, even Satan has boundaries, though not by his own will or self doing. God has control and power even over Satan, which makes even him have to live in Gods boundaries. It seems sometimes that Satan, and even we, can do whatever we please, but there is still a high God who rules and is sitting on the throne and whether we see it or realize it, He is in control!
Some of us live without boundaries because we think they are a bad thing, but we may find adding boundaries and structure to our lives will help us to enjoy the life God gave us a little more.
Boundaries may be a little different for each individual according to their circumstance in life, age, gender and what the individual may struggle with.
Here are some examples/ideas for boundaries.
1. Dating teens No sex before marriage Not being alone together unless it is a public place like a bowling alley or restaurant No cuddling
2. Over-eating No junk food in the house No fast food No snacks or only one piece of fruit for a snack Portion your meals
3. Over-working Keep one day free of work Leave when your work day is done Dont take work home
4. Internet/TV time ut an hour a day Only view and watch things that will build your mind in good ways Read the Bible in place of some of that time
5. Over-committing/People pleaser Learn to say No Realize you are one person and can not do everything or be everywhere Allow for one event one week and another the next If both things are the same time you have to choose, let peace guide you Recognize when you are run down
Take some time and try to see where some boundaries are needed in your life and try to put them in place. Remember, someone else will not know what those are so if they are crossing a boundary in your life or causing you to cross a boundary you will have to speak up and tell them that its something you can not do. Ask God to help you stick to your boundaries.
Monthly Challenge Start setting boundaries in your life, maybe just start with two for this month and hold yourself to keeping them in place.
Additional Reading Genesis chapter 1 Job chapter 1 & 2 Matthew 5:33-37 Romans 2:7-16
JANUARY DEVOTIONAL
Instructions for Cain
Genesis 4:6-7
Then the Lord said Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door; and its desire is for you, but you must master it. NASB
What is countenance anyway?
Its the expression on your face. It is showing what is going on inside of you at the moment. We often show what we are feeling by the expressions on our face and in our body language. Lets just say this, Cain did not have on a happy face, and it was showing exactly what he was feeling inside, the condition his spirit was in at the time. In fact, the first thing the Lord asked Cain is, why are you angry? This is not because God did not know why Cain was angry; God is engaging in conversation with Cain. Notice God does not just come out and say Cain you have no reason to be angry. This is your own fault. Get over it and quit screwing up! Instead we see the gracious God extending Himself lovingly to Cain. God is giving him the opportunity to choose the road of redemption, warning Cain that if he does not make changes in his life sin will overtake him. The truth is, Cain was doing wrong and he knew it and he could not fool the Almighty God with his less than half-hearted offering. Although God knew the path Cain was on, He did not force His hand with Cain, He let him go his own way.
This could bring up thousands of other questions about why God allows things to happen and so forth, but that is for another time. Lets focus on what happens when the Almighty approaches us to make changes in ourselves and we like Cain choose not to.
Its hard to think we could learn something from Cain since he was the 1st to commit murder, and not because he was in the heat of battle for his country or fighting for his life, simply because he was jealous. This is something maybe a lot of us could never imagine doing. The truth of the matter is, sin leads us down a path we are unaware of and most of us wind up doing what we never could imagine doing. We often look back and say, How did I get to this point?
All of us sin. There is not one of us who doesnt and sin takes many many forms. We often focus on what we think are the big sins such as murder, adultery, sexual abuse, drugs and so on. A lot of times sin starts small. These things are what we hear about in the end but usually they are part of a path.
The path of sin may start simply because we feel lost inside, inadequate or depressed and we search for things to fill the hole inside us. It may start because we are trying to drown pain, or acting out of jealousy, anger and selfishness. Its ok to feel emotions but we cant let them run us the way Cain let his anger and jealousy take over his actions. Our emotions can also move us to do good things, but even then we should seek God for His leading so we dont jump ahead of Him.
Here is an example totally fictional.
A young girl growing up has a great family but does not feel real close to mom or dad. They go to church and the girl knows about Jesus but has not whole heartedly given her life to Christ. Because of her personality, she struggles to find friends. Most of the time she is found at home in her room alone, doing homework or entertaining herself with creating wild hair styles on her dolls and learning to draw. She has no friends to come and play or whose house she can play at. The young girl becomes a teenager and her luck doesnt seem to change in the friend area. She no longer plays with dolls but she still draws.
Mom and dad get her a new computer with the best graphics programs they can find. After all they think she is very gifted artistically. She wraps herself up in learning the programs, but it doesnt seem to fill the void she feels inside and she begins to become desperate for attention from peers.
Eventually she finds the use of the internet more appealing. Chat rooms seem to bring friends she longed to have and at first it seems to fill a deep need inside of her to be close to someone. After awhile she finds herself seeking a different kind of attention and she begins talking with more males than females. Attention she thought she would never have puts her on a path of wanting more and more.
She seems to be going deeper into a path of not just wanting attention but desiring it from others. Soon she is sending inappropriate pictures over the internet which eventually leads into prostituting herself out for inappropriate meetings with the men who seek her out. Her family begs her to stop and they try to reason with her. All they can do is pray. She finds herself feeling used, angry, sometimes bruised, depressed and very unfulfilled, just empty messes one after another and she cant seem to get out of it. A voice inside her tells her that this needs to stop. There is something more for her, and although she wants so badly to entertain that, she cant bare to think of losing all the attention so she pushes it to the side. After all, the money has been good too.
One day she finds herself doing time for her 3 years of prostitution. She met the wrong man this time. He was part of an FBI team that was cracking down on prostitution over the internet. She sits in her cell and she asks, how did I get here? For the first time, finds herself paying attention to that small voice that tells her there is something more someone who can fill the void inside her. She wonders if Jesus will take her back and if its possible to really feel whole again.
I know this story may seem extreme and probably unrealistic to most, but the point is, sin can take us years down a dark road or very quickly to the bottom of a barrel.
If you are on a path of sin you know what it is. Heed Gods warning and Master it before it masters you. Its desire is for you and its not good. It will lead you on a path away from the Father and further down to destruction. It may seem harmless right now but eventually you will find yourself needing more and some day you may be saying how did I get here?
Sin destroys relationships with God and with those around you that you love. It also has a way of making you feel great for the moment and then terrible after. God said to Cain if you do well or right (NIV Version) will not your countenance be lifted up. Do right and you will feel right, act righteously and you will be righteous. Do not do well or right and you will find sin ready to hold your hand and lead you into more of its destruction.
Maybe you want to stop but feel you cant, or you just dont know how. Let me give you some keys that might help:
1. Tell someone- This is so hard to do but find someone you can trust, a pastor, counselor or friend, and tell them what you are struggling with. This not only helps to release sins hold on you but it helps keep you accountable to someone so you can not go further as easily. It is important that you meet with or talk with them often. I feel I should explain why I put telling someone you trust about the struggle as the first step. It is not because I am diminishing prayer, this is very important. I know that sometimes it is easy to pray and then fall right back into that path again. We seem to think we can hide from God. After all, didnt Adam and Eve? Even though we tell God about it, that sin seems to sometimes stay a secret. We think we can handle it on our own and so, when we pray we dont always hand it over to God. We just tell him about it. There are times when God takes it completely from us and there are times when the process is ugly and long. It may just depend on if we truly let go or if part of us tries to hold on to a piece of it.
2. Pray- Ask God for help, tell him you feel you cant do it on your own. It is important to ask him to make that sin disgusting to you so you want nothing to do with it and to give you the desire for more of HIM.
3. Ask for Gods forgiveness and ask for his help in forgiving yourself. Otherwise Satan will torment you with your own thoughts about yourself.
4. Set boundaries for yourself. Get rid of the things that may tempt you with that sin. It may be friendships with others involved in that sin, or items that remind you of the sin you struggle with.
5. Fill that void with God. Read your Bible, get involved in a bible study with others, read books by others who may have insight on the topic. Christian bookstores are a good place to find these books and usually the staff can direct you to some.
6. Spend time praying and talking with God.
7. Hold on tight, it can get ugly when you let go of the so called friend of sin.
Monthly Challenge We all sin. Ask God to show you this month the change He would like to make in you and then for the help to make that change.
Additional Verses 1 Peter 5:8-9 Luke 10:19 1Peter 5:10 Romans 6:23
I want to encourage you to believe and trust in the word of God.
DECEMBER DEVOTIONAL
We are all looking for love. We need love; we want to love and want to be loved, and we want it to be perfect.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (NIV).
Why do we need and crave love so badly? It makes us feel better and dulls the pain we carry. It makes us feel like we are a part of something, we belong. Love is a good thing and we all want something good for ourselves. Most importantly God has set love in our hearts.
Isnt that the kind of love we want to have and to share like 1 Corinthians 13? We want someone who is patient, kind, giving and tender. A love that protects us, trusts in, believes the best in us, never looses interest in us and most of all we dont want that love to fail or end, we want it to last forever. Most of us do not know this kind of love and have never seen it. It is a perfect love and we desire it and search for it.
We search for that perfect love in other humans, sometimes multiple people. Some of us jump from one relationship to another, maybe even from one night to the next, a different person each night. We find ourselves in unhealthy relationships time and time again looking for the perfect one.
Some of us find ourselves in relationships that we think are perfect and they fail. We, or the other person, cause disappointment and pain to the point that we are unable to rise above and it causes us to react or not react in a way that is unhealthy causing those relationship to deteriorate.
Some of us look for love in the most comfortable form we can. I think this is one of the reasons men seek relationships with other men and women with other women. These relationships besides being deep loving friendships are not right, very unhealthy, and will also cause disappointment.
Most of us find ourselves in a constant journey that never ends trying to fill a craving in our hearts for love. We find ourselves in a state of constant disappointment because even the best loves have disappointed us. They fail us because theyre human and none of us are perfect. We are unable to have a perfect relationship with one another.
Only one is capable of loving perfectly and with a perfect love. Only Jesus can love us like we need and crave. He accepts us for who we are right now, for what we are, imperfect and full of flaws. Jesus is the only one who is without flaw and able to love in a pure and perfect way, as described in 1 Corinthians 13. We need to turn our journey of chasing after love to chasing after Him. Only then can we experience some of this perfect love as we allow Him and His love to penetrate us. As we learn from Him how to love, then we can in turn love those around us with a Godly love like 1 Corinthians 13. We still will not be able to love others the way Christ does because only He is without sin and flaw. But we can love with forgiveness and humbleness. Striving to love others with the love described in 1 Corinthians 13, making those relationships around us grow, and sharing Gods love with them.
Challenge:
I challenge you this month to spend time loving God and allowing Him to love you. This may mean asking Him each day to show you His love.
Demonstrate your love for Him in how you respond to others. Pick one or two things out of 1 Corinthians 13 to work on in your love walk. Be kind or patient when it seems difficult. Forgive someone for the pain they have caused you and make a choice not to hold on to it and love instead. Ask for Gods forgiveness for a wrong you have caused and if possible, the persons forgiveness to whom you have wronged, then forgive yourself and choose to love deeper, growing and learning from the wrong.
More Scripture for reading.
Jeremiah 24:7 Leviticus 18:22 1 Corinthians 6:9 John 15:12 John 14:21
Please feel free to contact us with comments, questions, and prayer requests: vohm1@juno.com
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