Expecting Excellence

So all the work on the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, was completed. The Israelites did everything just as the LORD commanded Moses. Then they brought the tabernacle to Moses... The Israelites had done all the work just as the LORD had commanded Moses. Moses inspected the work and saw that they had done it just as the LORD had commanded. So Moses blessed them. Exodus 39:32-33a, 42-43

We expect excellence from everyone we are around. If we are an employer, we expect our employees to work with excellence. If we lead a ministry, we expect our ministry team to minister with excellence. And for heaven's sake, we all expect our children to do everything with excellence! But, what gives us the right to expect this excellence? Is is because we have taught or encouraged others with our words to do everything with excellence? Or is it because we have mirrored excellence in our own lives?

Moses could expect excellence from the Israelites because he had live a life of excellence. He could expect the Israelites to do everything "just as the LORD had commanded" because he had done everything "just as the LORD had commanded".

We cannot expect things to be any different in our lives. If we are not behaving with excellence, those we lead will not either. For example, we cannot expect our employees, ministry team, or our children to be punctual if we are always five minutes behind. We cannot expect our children to talk respectful to us and others if they hear us talking disrespectful to or about our spouse.
Those who are led by us, tend to take on many of our characteristics - good or bad.

We see from scripture that the Israelites truly cared about what Moses thought of their work. They brought all of their work to Moses to be inspected, and Moses blessed them. Because Moses had displayed excellence in his own life, the people truly valued his opinion. I know that when my children are grown, I want them to value my opinion. I do not want to run their lives or tell them what to do as adults, but I hope that they will have seen consistent excellence in my life and in my walk with Christ and therefore value what I say.

Today, ask God to help you serve Him with excellence in whatever area of service He has placed you. Whether you are the head of a company or ministry or just the CEO of your household and children, God desires that we serve Him with excellence. And others are looking for it in their leaders.

"Stop Giving!"

Exodus 35:4-9, 36:2-6

The Israelites are getting ready to build the first tabernacle that God has instructed them to build. The materials were all given to God as free-will offerings. No one was forced to give, and God gave no percentage of goods that had to be given per person. The people just gave as there hearts led them to. And what they gave were not old clothes or can goods from the back shelf. They were giving gold, silver, and true finery.

An amazing thing takes place in the beginning of chapter 26. The men that God had chosen to do the work received all the offerings to begin the work, but the people continued to bring more and more every morning. Finally they had so much it began to overwhelm them and Moses had to "restrain" the people from giving anything else!

Now I know the Israelites blew it a lot of the time, but this time they got it right! They truly gave from their hearts and when they did, their offerings were more than enough. Can you imagine going to your church this Sunday and your pastor saying to the congregation, "We have already met budget for the year and have no idea what to do with all this extra money, so please, stop giving!" That sound absurd, doesn't it? But, literally, that is what happened in this passage.

What this teaches me, it that God has provided enough resources to support His Church. So why are so many churches and parachurch organizations suffering financially? Because we are failing to give from our hearts.

Today, ask God what He would have you give to His Church this year. If you have never given on a regular basis, ask God to help you start. If you do give a certain percentage of your income regularly, ask God to show you if that is the amount He would have you continue to give. And, ask Him to help you not only give financially this year, but also of yourself.

"If your Presence does not go with us..."

Exodus 33:15-18

This passage of scripture has deeply impacted my life recently. Moses was truly someone that understood what it means to follow God. And is still a great example for us to follow today.

The Israelites had rebelled against God, therefore God told Moses that He would no longer go with them, but would send His angel to lead them into the promised land. This was just not good enough for Moses. He would have rather stayed in the desert than take one step without God.

As we begin this New Year, I pray that God will make that the attitude of my heart. This year, I don't want to do anything without knowing that He is with me. Like Moses, we ought to be afraid to take one step without the assurance of God presence. However, when we know He is with us, we can move forward with boldness. This type of assurance does not just happen. It is only going to happen when we spend time seeking God through prayer and bible study.

My favorite part of this passage is verse 18 that says,

Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."

After Moses had been assured of God's presence going with them, then and only then does He ask God to show him His glory. Quite a bold request, don't you think? But, I know that I personally ask God to let His glory fall on my life, my family, my church, etc all the time. I want to see His glory, but I seem to miss the part about not taking one step without Him. If I truly want to see Him work, I must make sure that my life is aligned with His will.

Spend some time praying today and ask God to assure you of His presence. Ask Him to show you if you are doing what He would have you do. Commit your year to Him if you haven't already and then get ready to see His glory.

On a personal note, I am glad to be back! My children start back to preschool today and I am very thankful because I have been so tired and not just "morning sick", but all day sick. Oh yeah, for those of you who do not know - I am 9 weeks pregnant! We are very excited about this gift that the Lord has blessed us with and we do ask for your prayers. I have missed writing and I hope God will continue to use me in this way during 2009. God bless you and thanks so much for reading!

The Lampstand

Exodus 25:31-40

I realize that these may not be the most exciting scripture references you have ever read, but I hope when you read the significance of the lampstand you will have a new appreciation for what we now call the menorah.

The lampstand had seven lamps that were supplied with oil and were trimmed by the priest every morning and evening. The light was never to be extinguished. Obviously, this piece of the tabernacle points us to Jesus being the light of the world. The reason that it points to Jesus is because the lampstand was positioned in the Holy Place outside the Most Holy Place God would meet with the priest. It was the only light in the area. Without this light it would have been impossible to see because both areas were surrounded by very thick curtains. The lampstand provided the only light for the priest as he worked in the Holy Place and led him to the Most Holy Place and into the presence of God.

In the same way, Jesus is the light that ushers us into the very presence of God. He shows us the way and no one can come to God except by following the Light of Jesus. In the same way, Jesus said that "You are the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14). We are to reflect the light of Christ and lead others to God.

Thank Jesus for lighting the way for you to come to God. Also, ask Him to reflect His light through your life today that you might lead someone to Him.

The Table

Exodus 25: 23-30

I'm sure it will come as no surprise that the table that held the Bread of the Presence is my absolute favorite aspect of the Tabernacle. It points us directly to Jesus in many different ways. The first way is that it was set on the right from God's perspective. Just as Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father, the table was set on the right. There were 12 loaves placed on the table and they were replaced every Sabbath. The 12 loaves were to remind the Israelites of God's sustenance of the 12 tribes. The main way that it points us to Christ, however is the fact that later Jesus would call Himself the Bread of Life. Eating the Bread He offers satisfies the very soul.

So many times the Bible talks about Christ being the only one that can truly satisfy. Isaiah 55:1-3 might say it best:

"Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live.

He is the only one that can satisfy our soul. Jesus satisfies and sustains us in our lives as we seek after Him. A unfulfilled soul is a stronghold waiting to happen. Ask Him today to be the Bread of Life for you. Ask Him to satisfy your very soul so that you do not look to anyone or anything else to do it for you.

The Atonement Cover

Exodus 25:17-22

The atonement cover was part of the Ark, but I wanted us to look at it separately today. It was made of pure gold and had two cherubim on top (one on each side) with their wings pointing up to signify God's symbolic dwelling place. This is where God would meet with Moses and with the priests for generations to come. The atonement cover literally covered the "testimony" that was inside the Ark.

The word "atonement" means to "make restitution for or to cover over". Sacrifices had to be made and the blood of the animal had to be put on the atonement cover when the priest would go to meet with God once a year in the Most Holy Place. The picture here is of God dwelling between the cherubim looking down on the Ark. Inside He would see the testimony or the Ten Commandments inside the Ark. He would also see the fact that His law had been broken by the people. But, because the priest had put the blood of the sacrifice on the atonement cover, God saw all of this through the blood and His wrath was turned away.

Jesus is now our Atonement Cover. He entered the Most Holy Place in heaven with His own blood. When we accept Christ's sacrifice for our sins, God no longer just sees you and I and our sin. He sees us through the atoning sacrifice of His perfect son Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!

We were discussing this the other morning in our family devotion and discovered that even a four year old can understand atonement. We explained it by taking two pieces of white paper. We left one of them white and put all kinds of black scribbles all over the other. We explained to Joel that the white one was the holiness of God and that the one with scribbles represented us when we do things that are wrong. Then we told him that when we trust Jesus He covers our sin with His holiness. I took the white paper and put it over the other one and asked him what he saw. He said, "Clean and white". Exactly. That is what Jesus does for us. No matter what sin we have in our lives, He makes us "clean and white".

Have you allowed Jesus to be your Atonement cover for your life? If you have not, I cannot think of a better Christmas gift you could give yourself and your family. Ask Him to forgive your sins today. Trust in His atoning sacrifice. Enter into the life He always wanted for you. Not the perfect life, but the forgiven life.

The Ark

Exodus 25:10-16

The first piece for the Tabernacle that God instructs Moses to make was the Ark of the Covenant. This was undoubtedly the most important piece in the Tabernacle. Amazingly, every aspect of it points directly to our Savior. Let's break it down...

The Ark was to be constructed of wood and covered with pure gold. This is symbolic of Jesus being 100% man and 100% God. The wood symbolizes the humanity of Jesus and the gold the deity of Jesus.

In this passage, we learn that the "Testimony" was to be placed in the Ark. The Testimony was the Ten Commandments. Later, God tells Moses to place two other objects into the Ark. They are a gold jar of manna and Aaron's rod that budded (Hebrews 9:4). The Testimony points us to Jesus because He completely fulfilled the Law. The manna reminds us that Jesus is truly the Bread of Life and our Satisfier and Sustainer. The rod points directly to the resurrection of Christ. The rod was a dead piece of wood that came to life. I hope we never forget that our Savior was as dead as that stick, but rose from the dead to give us new life.

I have always had a deep reverence for the Ark of God, but from studying the past few weeks I have been amazed at how it points directly to Jesus and what He did for us. Thank Him today for fulfilling the Law because we never could have. Thank Him for being our Bread of Life. Lastly, thank Him for coming back from the dead so that we might live.

Offerings for the Tabernacle

Exodus 25:1-8

We have skipped a few chapters in Exodus, because this time of year I really want to focus on Jesus. Now you may be asking what do Exodus and Jesus have in common? Well, we may be surprised to find out that there is actually a lot of information about Jesus in Exodus. The Tabernacle that God told Moses to construct for Him is actually a picture of the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Every piece and every piece's placement point us directly to Jesus. We are going to spend some time looking at that this week.

Today I want us to focus on the first eight verses of chapter 25. The Israelites were to bring offerings to God in order to build the Tabernacle. The things that they were to bring were of great value and God was very specific about the types of offerings that would be acceptable and why they would be acceptable.

The only offerings that would be acceptable were ones that were offered from someone whose "heart [prompted] him to give". Have you ever been prompted to give to something or someone? When we are prompted to give, we must not ignore this. Many times it is truly the Holy Spirit and if we are obedient, we will be taking part in His work. God only wanted offerings from people who truly wanted to give. To me, even the offerings point to Christ because Christ freely came to Earth and gave His life for us. (See John 10:18)

The offerings also had to be the best of what the Israelites possessed. Now, let's remember that these people just came out of slavery. Where did they get all of these costly possessions? The Egyptians gave them to them as they were leaving Egypt. The Egyptians were prompted by God to give these costly items to the Israelites. Therefore, the very things that God was asking for as an offering had been really been given to them by Him in the first place.

Isn't that how it is with us as well? Everything we have has been given is from God. We are merely a steward of it. With that in mind, do we willingly give off the top of what He has given us or do we just give whatever we have left? Do we give God our best? Do we give Him the things that are hard to let go of like our families knowing that they belong to Him more than they will ever belong to us?

This Christmas season, I pray that we will give our best of what God has given us. He gave His life. What will you give in return?

The Ten Commandments - 9&10

Exodus 20:1-17

We have reached the end. The last two commandments in the moral law of God. I hope you have enjoyed studying this with me and have gained some insight into how God would have us to live. These commandments are not for God's benefit. They are for ours. His ways are always best in our lives. When we follow what He says, we will always be happier. And yes, I think God wants us to be happy!

The Ninth Commandment: "You shall not give false testimony."

This command has two indications. First, "testimony" is a legal term, therefore it is wrong to perjur oneself in a court of law. But, we know that God desires "truth in the inner parts" (Psalm 51:6) and therefore this command also tells us to be truthful in every aspect of our lives. This is extremely difficult. What about in circumstances where telling the truth would hurt someone or in situation where we are unsure what the truth is? Again, as with all the commands, there is no way to keep this commandment aside from the Holy Spirit truly living in us and through us. We must fill ourselves with truth and the only real truth is God's Word. Let's allow this commandment to serve as a reminder to stay in the truth's of God's Word and to meditate on it. Only then will we be able to speak the truth in love.

The Tenth Commandment: "You shall not covet."

This commandment is probably the most convicting and revealing for anyone living in the materialistic culture that we live in. Millions of dollars are spent daily on marketing to convince us that what we have is not good enough and that if we have more, we will be satisfied. This is a big lie that I'm sure we have all bought into in one way or another. While it is not wrong to want to better our lives, (such as a child that grew up poor, but as adult worked extremely hard to provide a better life for himself and his family), it is wrong to want things or a certain life just because another person has it. This sin also leads to other sins, such as adultery or stealing.

If you have not enjoyed taking a deep look at these commandments, you are not alone. It is hard to truly look at God's standard and then look in the mirror and see how far we fall short. The Israelites heard these commandments and were terrified. They did not even want to hear the voice of God and asked Moses to speak to them instead. It is difficult to listen to the voice of God at times, but what has God revealed to you about yourself? And more importantly, what will you do about it?

Before we end, I want to encourage you that the law cannot save us and was never meant to. It shows us how much we fall short in order to drive us to a Savior. Will you approach Him today in humility and ask Him for forgiveness? Fall on your knees before Him. He is already waiting for you.

The Ten Commandments - 7&8

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and "Black Friday"! We definitely had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our family. We have so much to be thankful for! I also wanted to let you know that on "Black Friday" I got in line at Office Depot at about 3:45 a.m. to get the doorbuster computer - you know we have been needing a new computer! And I got it!! They had seven and I was seventh in line! Okay, with that let's get on with it!

Exodus 20:1-17

The Seventh Commandment: "You shall not commit adultery."

As we try to teach these commandments to our boys, Joel is at the age where he wants to know what everything means. So he immediately asked "what is adultery"? While we do not feel that four is an appropriate age to explain everything there is to know about sex, we do not want to avoid his questions. The way we explained it was to say that adultery is when you pretend either in real life or in your mind that you are married to someone else. That has satisfied him for now, but as he gets older, we truly want to teach what this commandment means to the best of our ability.

So what does it mean? Jesus clarified what the godly standard is in Matthew 5:27-28 which says,

You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

This means that if we even look at someone and think about being with them sexually or even intimately, we have broken this commandment. Why is this so important to God? If sex is a gift, why can't we do it with just anyone? The reason is because sexual intimacy is truly a representation of Christ and the church. Sexual intimacy with one's spouse is holy in the same way that one's intimacy with Christ is holy. The standard is holiness. But, who is holy among man? None of us are and have no hope without Christ. The standards of this commandment are unattainable without Christ and the sooner that the Church admits that and admits that Christians struggle with it as well, the sooner I believe we will see a difference in our society in this area. As long as the Church continues to be silent on sex and sweep sexual matters under the rug, Satan will be able to continue to deceive others into believing that they are the only ones that struggle with sexual sins. Shame and isolation is his game and how he keeps believers in chains.

The Eighth Commandment: "You shall not steal"

Unfortunately, I wish this one was going to be an easy one, but I recently read some statistics that said that a large percentage of people in many countries would steal from someone if they knew the other person would not miss it. That probably does not characterize you and me, but the other statistic was that most employees spend about one work day in five doing absolutely nothing productive. That one might hit a little closer to home.

Another way that we break this commandment is by stealing others time. I know this may sound legalistic, but if we are continuously late for everything and everyone always has to wait on us, we are stealing. We also break this commandment by talking excessively on the phone with others, especially if they are busy and have told us so! So many times I will spend 20-30 minutes on the phone letting my other responsibilities go and then miss out on time with my family. I have stolen precious time from my family when I make that choice. The phone does not have to rule our lives!! I am not saying we should never talk on the phone, but I am saying that we must be mindful of our time and others time as well.

Pray about these two commandments today asking God to show you again if there is anywhere He wants you to change. Ask Him to bring to mind any habitual ways you are breaking these commandments. If He shows you any sin, confess and repent and ask Him to change your heart today.

The Ten Commandments - 5&6

Exodus 20:1-17

Since I am tremendously late posting today, let's dive right into commandments 5 and 6. This marks the end of God's commandments that have to do with our relationship to Him and now focus on our relationships with others.

The Fifth Commandment: "Honor you father and your mother."

This commandment is probably the most quoted commandment of them all by Christian (and even non-Christian) parents! Hands down, it wins!! But, it is also the "first commandment with a promise" (Ephesians 6:2). To "honor" has four different meanings in this verse.

1. Prize highly
2. Care for
3. Show respect for
4. Obey

If you were like me, by the time you were 10 or 11 years old and had gotten your bottom spanked about a million times, you got the respect and obey part. But, we are also to prize our parents and to care for them. Notice that God does not say that "if you have good parents, then honor them". And He does not say "honor your parents to their face, but talk about them however you want behind their backs". If we are to ever teach our children to honor, respect, obey, prize, and care for us, we must watch our own attitudes and mouths toward our own parents AND our parents-in-law.

This command can also relate to other types of "fathers". We are to honor those in authority such as spritual fathers or even political fathers. God has placed these people over us and as an act of obedience to God, we are to respect and honor them.

The Sixth Commandment: "You shall not murder"

I think it is important to point out that the word "murder" has been mistranslated to the word "kill" in many translations. This is very important because the Hebrews were instructed by God to kill animals, kill in battle, and practice capital punishment. God was not going against His Word when He instructed His people to "kill" in those ways. It has been correctly translated to "murder" by the NIV and several other translations. However, this commandment goes far deeper than what we would generally consider murder.

Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:21-22 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment. But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell."

These are difficult words to read. From Jesus' words, we can see that murder is thinking about hurting someone else, either physically or mentally, even if it never happens. This means that we break this commandment when we gossip, bear a grudge, slander, or lose our temper with someone. So many times those sins I just listed are looked over, even laughed about in church while we condemn other sins like homosexuality. This should not be. God takes them seriously and to Him, they are murder of another individual. Even if I did not believe this to be true from God's word, I have seen it so vividly portrayed in the lives of others. The times I have sat with young women as they have cried over the words that were spoken to them in anger have helped me to see that part of their life was taken from them by the other person. I have personally felt this way, yet I too, have spoken words of anger to others and therefore broken the sixth commandment.

Let us ask God today to help us to honor our parents, parent's-in-law, and those in authority. Let us also judge ourselves over the sixth commandment and confess and repent of any sin we find in that area.

The Ten Commandments - 3&4

Exodus 20:1-17


I hope that you took a second and read the scripture passage today even though it was the same as yesterday! Guess what? It will be the same tomorrow! The reason I want us to read the Ten Commandments everyday this week is because most people do not really know what the Ten Commandments are and certainly do not have them memorized. Let's begin changing that with ourselves this week.

Today we will continue our study of the Ten Commandments focusing on commandment 3 and 4.

The Third Commandment: "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God."

This commandment is, yet again, pretty obvious. Saying things such as "Oh my God!" or "Oh Lord!" are wrong and demeaning to a Most Holy God. The reason is because the names of God represent who He and His many praiseworthy attributes. Jehovah, Jehovah-Nissi, Adonai, El Elyon, the Ancient of Days, Immanuel, Our Advocate - these are all names of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. To honor these names is to honor God. Using His name as an everyday word almost like profanity is to dishonor God. For many, this is simply a habit that we must begin breaking right this minute. We must also think about what we are putting into our minds, especially for our children's sake. As they grow up and we teach them this commandment, they will not only be listening to our speech, but also of the speech of others, including what WE watch on television.

The Fourth Commandment: "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy."

This commandment might be the least understood in the culture that we live in. I have recently been studying the Sabbath and seeking the counsel of other Christians on this matter. This commandment is very lengthy and we cannot take it lightly. God gave us the Sabbath. It is a gift from Him, but do we despise it? Do we thank Him for His gift of rest or do we reject it? While we want to honor God through the Sabbath, we do not want to become legalistic like the Pharisees. Where is the line? I believe that is something we must settle in our own hearts.

Many believe we are to observe the Sabbath on Saturday, but most Christian Churches believe we are to observe it on Sunday. However, what are we doing to observe it? Do we do anything different on Sunday that we do not do the rest of the week? While I cannot tell you whether washing a load of clothes is okay on Sunday, I can tell you that that we must take this requirement seriously. A couple of ways we could do this is by either ceasing all work or by spending this day serving the Church and our Lord Jesus Christ. I am a nurse and for many years had to work Sunday's. While I did not enjoy missing church, I did take comfort in knowing that I was taking care of the sick and that is what God had called me to do. If you have to work some Sunday's, do not allow this commandment to offend you. Seek God as to how He would have you observe the Sabbath in your own life. Whatever we do, let's ask God to settle this issue in our hearts that we may honor Him and thank Him for His gift of the Sabbath.

The Ten Commandments - 1 & 2

Exodus 20:1-17

We are going to spend this week studying the Ten Commandments in detail. I hope you will join me each day as we look at God's moral law for our lives. These commandments are truly already written on our hearts. As we study each of them, I think we will all find that we know that these guidelines are true and right, and are how we should live our lives.

In studying this recently, I found something very interesting. In the pictures we see of Moses carrying the Ten Commandments, there are always two tablets. Scholars have said that the commandments were divided different ways, either five and five or four and six. Now the view is that each tablet contained the entire Ten Commandments, one copy belonging to the people and the other belonging to God Himself. God was entering into a covenant with His people. He took it very serious. He kept a copy for Himself.

Today we will look closely at the first two commandments...

The First Commandment: "You shall have no other gods before me."

The first commandment begins exactly where we would expect. God is outlining our relationship with Him first and the fact that we are to have no other gods. Obviously idol worship, such as the worship of Zeus, Rameses, Baal or any other pagan deity was forbidden. Before you check this one off as a no brainer, let me give you something to think about. We break this commandment when we look to other sources, such as astrology, for direction. We break this commandment when we give anyone or anything first place in our lives. We must look at our priorities and see if we have made anything else a god in our lives. Lastly, we also break this commandment when we substitute ourselves for God by making up our own moral code. Our society teaches us that as long as someone is sincere in their beliefs that is okay. No, that is wrong. We do not set the standard, God does.

The Second Commandment: "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."

At first glance, this commandment seems to just be a continuation of the first. But, the first commandment deals with the object of our worship - which is to be God and God alone. This commandment deals with the manner of our worship. We are not to worship even God Almighty in an unworthy manner. An unworthy manner would be by forming an image that is supposed to be Him and bowing down to it. Why? J.I. Packer goes into great detail as to why this is wrong in his book Knowing God. To paraphrase what he says, there are two reasons:

1. "Images dishonor God". There is nothing in all creation to compare God to. He is incomparable in greatness, beauty and splendor. To try to do so, belittles Him. Isaiah 40:18 asks us, "To whom, then, will you compare God? What image will you compare him to?" The question itself demands our silence.

2. "Images mislead men". When an image is made to represent the Almighty, men get confused. We may begin to think that whatever the image is, is God or represents all the power, might, and wisdom that He has. This just simply is not true.

A hard question to ask ourselves in dealing with the second commandment, is how do I see God? Do I accept the modern church culture that pictures God as a grandfather that is so happy when I stop by, or as an indulgent parent that does not know what to do with his rebellious children? If we have allowed ourselves to picture God in this way, we are in danger of breaking this commandment. He is a Holy God who cannot and will not be compared with anyone or anything.

Ask God today to show you how and where you may be breaking these first two commandments. Let me tell you that this week of study may be difficult as we truly look into God's law, but I believe it is so important to know what God expects of us. Seek God, confess and repent if you need to. And remember, I would not be writing any of this if God had not already broken my heart over it.

We Must Be Prepared

Exodus 19

Sometimes when I read the Old Testament I feel like God has changed, but I know that is not true. Therefore, I have to ask God to show me how all the characteristics of God fit together. He is love. He is merciful and compassionate. He is a Father to the fatherless. But, our God is also HOLY and a consuming fire. He is The Judge of all nations and peoples. And He is just.

In this passage, we see the Israelites being prepared to receive the Law from God Himself. They had to consecrate themselves. Consecrate means to "set apart, declare holy". The people were to also wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations for three days to prepare themselves to meet with God. The mountain where God was going to descend was also off limits to them. Why was this? If God wanted to meet with them, why would He make it so difficult for them?

The reason is that God is holy, holy, holy and holy, holy, holy is His Name. It is because of His grace, mercy, compassion, and love that He warned them not to get to close to the mountain and instructed them to consecrate themselves. God is approachable, but only on His terms.

I feel that we as a society and even as the Church have tried to put God on our terms. Could it be that we think we can just pop in every now and again with God and that He will show up and do what we want Him to do? Do we prepare ourselves to meet with Him? Do we ask Him for cleansing before we attempt to come into His presence? Let us make no mistake, He is a Holy God. We cannot and will not ever be able to approach Him except on His terms. For us, His terms are a relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ. Are you approaching Him on those terms or are you trying to go to Him on your own?

As we prepare to take a close look at the Ten Commandments next week, I pray that we will prepare ourselves to hear from God. Ask Him to prepare your heart in a new way to hear what He says.

Have a great weekend!

Taking the Advice of Others

Exodus 18:24-27

I promise this is our last day in Exodus 18. Probably! Seriously, there is at least one more lesson that I believe we can all learn from this text.

Jethro offered Moses advice on how to run his country. Jethro was older than Moses, but I think it is safe to say he was not as experienced. As far as we know, Jethro had never led a nation as large as the nation of Israel. One might almost expect Moses to say, "Hey! Who are you to tell me how to do my job?" or even "Thanks, but I'll do it my way." Yet, we see from scripture that Moses "listened" and "did everything" his father-in-law said. Although Moses had been highly honored by God to lead His people, he was not too proud to take advice from his father-in-law.

Do you know anyone that it seems like if you give them a suggestion you can almost guarantee that they are not going to do what you suggested? Or can you see some of those aspects in yourself? We must not be too proud to take advice or suggestions after we listen and weigh our options. To do so is truly a pride issue and sin before God. Ask God today if you are having trouble taking suggestions from other people. If so, ask Him to cleanse your heart of that attitude and help you to accept the advice from others.

My Bible study teacher said this week that "the mark of a leader is to not only give good advice, but be able to receive it". Wise counsel indeed.

Delegating Authority

Exodus 18:13-27

I have been trying to wait until next week to post this devotion, but God has so helped me through what He has taught me in this passage, I just have to share it with you!

After you read the scripture passage for the day, I want you do get out a big piece of paper and a Sharpie. Write in the biggest letters you can fit on the page:

JUST BECAUSE I AM THE MOTHER DOES NOT MEAN THAT I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING!

Now, you may replace the word "mother" with "woman" or "boss" or "Sunday school teacher" or whatever you want to, but I want you to remember that you are not able (and never will be) to do everything. And the best part is - God never meant for you to!

Jethro saw first hand what was going on in the camp and he realized that Moses would never be able to stand the stress of leading this nation alone for very long. He offered him some wise counsel. He also told him that if he would "do this and God so commands", Moses would be able to stand the strain of his position.

We can take so much from this passage, but mostly I want you to realize that God never meant for the strain of running a home and family to be on one person. Just as we share the celebrations and struggles of life, we are also to share the work. To try to do everything ourselves instead of teaching others to do them is foolish because we will completely wear ourselves out and risk resenting our own family members for not helping us.

I am realizing that those of us with small children have to take responsiblity for teaching our children how to do things. We have the huge responsibility of teaching them the Word of God, but we must also teach them how to do things in the home as well.

The last thing I want to point out is that this passage does not say that if we delegate authority in our jobs or homes that we will be stress free. Responsibility always has pressure and strains. But, if we are all working together, we will be able to "stand the strain".

I hope this word encourages you as you enter the holidays. As we are all sharing the celebration, let's delegate some of the work as well. That is truly how God meant for the family to operate.

Building Family Relationships

Exodus 18

We are going to camp out in Exodus 18 for the next few days because there is so much to learn from this chapter in the Bible. God has used it in my life recently and the things He has taught me are so timely for this time of year. For today, I want us to turn our attention to verses 1-12.

1 Now Jethro, the priest of Midian and father-in-law of Moses, heard of
everything God had done for Moses and for his people Israel, and how the LORD
had brought Israel out of Egypt. 2 After Moses had sent away his wife Zipporah, his father-in-law Jethro received her 3 and her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses said, "I have become an alien in a foreign land"; 4 and the other was named Eliezer, for he said, "My father's God was my helper; he saved me from the sword of Pharaoh." 5 Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, together with Moses' sons and wife, came to him in the desert, where he was camped near the mountain of God. 6 Jethro had sent word to him, "I, your father-in-law Jethro, am coming to you with your wife and her two sons." 7 So Moses went out to meet his father-in-law and bowed down and
kissed him. They greeted each other and then went into the tent. 8 Moses told
his father-in-law about everything the LORD had done to Pharaoh and the
Egyptians for Israel's sake and about all the hardships they had met along the
way and how the LORD had saved them. 9 Jethro was delighted to hear
about all the good things the LORD had done for Israel in rescuing them from the
hand of the Egyptians. 10 He said, "Praise be to the LORD, who rescued you from
the hand of the Egyptians and of Pharaoh, and who rescued the people from the
hand of the Egyptians. 11 Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other
gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly." 12 Then
Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to
God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses'
father-in-law in the presence of God.

Family relationships can often be hard. As a matter of fact, some people truly dread the holidays because of having to be around difficult family members. There is so much we can learn from this passage about family.

First of all, Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, sets the tone for this story. Moses' wife and sons had been under his care and he is bringing them back to Moses. Jethro could have sent them with messengers, but we see that he truly cared about Moses. He wanted to see and hear all that God was doing through Moses for himself. Jethro was a great man among his people. Moses had become a great man, but Jethro still had so much respect for him that he sent messengers ahead to let Moses know he was on his way with his family. We then see Moses going out to meet his father-in-law. He bows and kisses him which are other signs of respect. Moses was the leader of a nation of over 2 million people, yet he humbled himself in respect of his father-in-law. All relationships can be improved by mutual respect.

Next, the two great men talk face to face in Moses' tent. I can imagine that Moses' could not wait to tell Jethro all that had happened since they had last seen each other! I would love to know what all Moses included in the "everything" that he told Jethro. These men were sharing their lives with each other, not just the struggles, but also the joys. Jethro's response was truly amazing! He praised God for all that he had heard and makes a statement that I cannot pass over: "Now I know that the LORD is greater than all other gods..."

Theologians have debated about whether or not Jethro was a Believer in the Living God. He was a priest of Midian, but that does not necessarily mean he was a Believer. The word "priest" can also mean that he was the head or patriarch of a clan. However, he was a Midianite. Midianites were descendants of Abraham from his second wife. It is likely that Jethro had a knowledge of God from his ancestors. Either way, he now proclaims his belief in God from hearing what God has done for the Israelites.

If you have family members that are not Believers, I hope you will allow this story to bring you great comfort. We can show our family the wonderful things about God without being confrontational. Moses started the day by showing respect for his father-in-law and ended it by sharing a meal with him in the very presence of God. How I pray our holidays could be this blessed. Begin praying this week for opportunities to show your family that you love and respect them. Look for ways to share what God is doing in your life. Then allow the Holy Spirit to work in their hearts. We could spend our holidays celebrating in the very presence of God.

Prayer and Action Go Hand in Hand

Exodus 17:8-16

Here we see a beautiful picture of James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective". Prayer is so important to our physical, mental, and spiritual lives. Prayerlessness forms a huge barrier between us and God. I think we will all agree that there is no substitute for prayer. However, there is usually action to be taken as well.

If we look closely at the story we see that as long as Moses hands were up toward God, Joshua's army was winning. But they still had to fight. Moses' prayer would not have been effective without Joshua's fighting. And Joshua's fighting would not have been effective without Moses' prayer. God called Moses to pray and Joshua's army to do the necessary work.

What we can take from this story and apply to our lives is to never be judgemental of someones calling or service. Prayer is most important, but we can not use it as a substitution for action. I also love the fact that Moses' two friends helped hold his arms up. God could have given Moses' supernatural strength to hold his arms up all day, but He did not. He gave Aaron and Hur the responsibility of lifting their brother up. God has given us that same responsibility.

Today, ask God where He wants you to take action. Maybe you have prayed about something for a long time and know that now is the time for action. Also ask God to show you a brother or a sister that needs someone to help hold them up. If He shows you someone, pray for that person and then do whatever you can to help them.

Manna from Heaven

First of all, please let me offer my apology for not posting anything Monday or Tuesday morning. We are having computer problems at my house! We are desperately in need of a new computer because the one I am on right now has less memory than my cell phone!! We were trying to get our laptop fixed, but it looks like that is not possible. So please forgive me! With that said...

Exodus 16:11-21

I am sure you all know the story about God providing for the children of Isreal through quail and manna. But, what exactly is manna? The very word itself comes from the Hebrew "man hu" which literally means "what is it?" because the Hebrew's did not know what it was. God explained to them through Moses that the manna was their daily provision of food from the LORD. This was truly miraculous and although scholars have tried to explain it away, there is no other explanation than a true miracle.

In looking closely at this story, I believe that God can use manna to teach us about Himself and about His word. Some characteristics of manna are: 1. Manna was a supernatural gift. 2. Manna had to be gathered by each person/family. 3. Manna had to be gathered daily. 4. The manna had to be eaten daily.

In looking closely at these characteristics, I believe that we can draw spiritual symbolism between manna and the Bible. 1.The Bible is truly a supernatural gift. There is no possible way that one book could have been written over hundreds of years with over 40 different authors and still have one theme and one purpose - redemption. It is truly God's words and not man's. 2. We each have to "gather" the Word for ourselves. We have to choose to read His Word. God could have miraculously put the manna in the Isrealites tents or even in their mouths, but He did not. He expected them to go and get it. He expects the same from us today. 3. We have to be in His Word daily. God has something for each of us in His Word everyday. This one is a hard one, but if we do not take in His Word daily we will be spiritually hungry, just like we are physically hungry when we do not take in food. 4. We have to use what we learn. The Israelites had to eat what they gathered or it would spoil. We also have to do something with what God teaches us through His Word. We must obey and apply what we learn to our lives, otherwise it is just sitting inside of us and will eventually spoil.

God's Word is truly manna from heaven. Let's gather His Words today, take them in, and allow the Holy Spirit to use them in our lives to feed our very souls.

No Whining!

Exodus15:22-27

The children of Israel have so much to teach us. Sometimes I think God allowed them to go through tests just so we could see what they did and not do it! They had to learn everything on "field trips" with God. We have the opportunity to learn from the "book" as opposed to going on the "field trip". Unfortunately, many times I have chosen the field trip instead. Funny, they were not as fun as I thought they would be.

We find the Israelites in the desert searching for water. They had walked for three days without water so they were very thirsty. They did have the right to voice their need, but the Bible says they "grumbled against Moses". "Grumbling" is not the same as just saying "I'm thirsty". Grumbling is when we voice our need as a complaint against someone else. We are blaming them for what is happening in our lives. This is what the Israelites were doing. They were blaming Moses for their lack of water.

In this passage, we see that God supplies all there needs and so we would think that a few days later when they were in this position again that they would react differently. Let see. Read Exodus 17:1-7.

Almost the same test as before and the Israelites failed again. They again grumbled against Moses again or so they thought. What they did not realize was that God is sovreign over all circumstances. He had brought them there. There was no water there (yet) because that was His choice for them. Their complaint was really not with Moses, but with God. Moses had not brought them out of Egypt, God had. The same is true for us. When we complain about an aspect of our lives, we are complaining about God's ordering of our lives whether we can admit that or not.

We must recognize from this passage that God is not pleased or honored in complaining. Complaining and whining is in fact a sin. Do you see any of these aspects in your own life today? Can you accept that your circumstances are from God and can be used by God for His glory? If God shows us that we have a "grumbling" spirit, let us confess that as sin and repent today. Then ask Him to help us see when this is rising up in us again so we can turn from it immediately.

For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe
Philippians 2:13-15

Who Does Not Lift Up His Soul...

Psalm 24

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false.

He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob.

Selah

Psalm 24:3-6

We cannot know right now how God feels about our generation. In scripture, God speaks of generations past as righteous or unrighteous. So how He is judging our present generation is yet to be known. Are we a generation that seek Him and seek after the things of God? Or are we a generation that lifts up our souls to idols? Do we put others, material possessions, or other activities before our relationship with God?

We all want the blessings of God and "vindication" from God, but we see in this passage that their are some requirements we must meet in order to receive them. If we want to stand in His holy place, receive blessings from God and vindication from Him, we must have clean hands and a pure heart. We must not lift up our souls to an idol or swear by what is false. This is the type of generation God is pleased with. This is the type of generation that seeks Him.

May we ask ourselves today in all of our decisions, am I seeking God and the heart of God in this decision? The book is still being written on our generation. We can be a generation that God looks down on and says "that generation is seeking after Me".

Who can tame the tongue?

James 3

"All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" James 3:7-12

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. Ephesians 4:15

There are many things that should be said, but there are many things that should not be said. And there are many things that should be said privately and in love and respect for the other person, especially if what you are saying is your opinion and not based on scripture. Who can discern all of that? Who can always have their tongue and the attitude behind their tongue constantly in check? The Bible tells us that no man can. Do we have any hope?

Let's look a little closer at the verses:

All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. James 3:7 (emphasis mine)

No man can tame their own tongue. We cannot and will not ever be able to do this in our own strength. We must rely on the Holy Spirit of God to tame this smallest and strongest muscle in our body.

The power of words are truly amazing. I'm sure even as you are reading this you can remember a time that someone's encouragement truly made a difference in your life. I am also sure you can remember when someone harsh words cut you to the heart. As a general rule, words are very important to women. We also tend to use more of them. Let us be mindful of what we are saying, how we are saying it, and who we are saying it to.

But, what if a rebuke is necessary? If we have truly prayed and sought the heart of God and know that He wants us to talk to someone about an area in their lives, then we must go in love. Anything else is judgment, will be seen that way, and ultimately will not be received. The only thing we will have accomplished is wounding another soul with words that cannot be taken back.

Today, spend some time in prayer about your mouth and what comes out of it. Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of what you are saying and how it is being perceived. Most of all, ask Him to help you speak everything in love.

Come and Listen to What He Has Done...

Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man's behalf. He turned the sea into dry land, they passed through the waters on foot— come, let us rejoice in him. Psalm 66:5-6

Come and listen, all you who fear God; let me tell you what he has done for me. Psalm 66:16

All through the Old Testament we find examples of the Children of Israel proclaiming what God has done for them. The crossing of the Red Sea was a pretty big deal! There are several references to them reminding each other and reminding God of what He had done for them there. (See Nehemiah 9:11, Joshua 4:23, and Hebrews 11:29).

We also see the Israelites setting up "stones" or memorials to remind themselves of what God had done for them. They did this so when they came upon the stones or their children came upon them, they could tell them what the Lord God had done for them.

It is so important for us to do the same thing. I did not see God part the Red Sea and I did not walk across on dry ground, but He has done miracles in my life. The very fact that I am writing this today is a miracle - and I know I have said that before, but I am going to keep saying it! Although I know I am forgiven, I never want to forget what God brought me out of. I never want to forget the blessings He has bestowed upon us in ministry. I never want to forget the divine appointments He has given me that later on I have stopped and realized that I was being pursued by the Living God. I do not want to forget the times He has showed up and taught me something amazing from His Word. And, because I remember bondage, I never want to forget that He has set me free.

The Israelites talked about what God had done for them so that on days when they felt like saying, "God where are you?" they would remember where He was. He is on His throne and He is watching over us. But, He is also acting in our behalf.

Today, tell someone about a time when God showed up in your life. Proclaim what the Lord has done for you. And, if you find yourself really wondering where God is, remind Him of what He has done for you and humbly ask Him to do it again.

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect.
1 Corinthians 15:10

Taste and See

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. Psalm 34:8

This has been a favorite verse of mine for a couple of years. Mostly because it was the first verse Joel memorized when he was two. But, I heard this entire Psalm preached on last night and God spoke so clearly to me through this verse. What does it really mean to "taste" the Lord? The Hebrew word used here for "taste" is "ta'am". This word is not used but a handful of times in the entire Bible. It truly means to "taste, indeed taste, discern".

In order to "indeed taste" something or discern what it tastes like we would have to get enough of it to know. When I cook something new for Joel and Caleb so many times they take a bite that is about as big as an English pea! There is no way they are able to "discern" or "indeed taste" if the bite they get is that small.

I believe this is true in our relationship with God as well. If all we are getting of God is church on Sunday and a 5 minute devotional a day, we do not know what God tastes like!! There are so many reasons why we do not spend more time with God, but I believe there is one underlying issue for all of our excuses. We are afraid He will not be enough. As long as we keep our relationship with God at an arm's distance we will never know if He is enough or not. And sometimes we would rather not know than be disappointed.

Oh dear sister, if we could ever stop believing that God is not a man! We are created in His image. He is not created in ours. Let's get in there and truly lay it all down before God and see what happens. Get a good mouthful and then we will all be able to say that "the Lord is Good."

Shut Up and Jump!

"If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. Psalm 37:23-24

I have heard a story several times about a man that works at the top of a bungee jump. When people get up to the top, out of their nervousness, they are apparently very chatty. So to save time the man just points to his shirt that reads "Shut up and Jump!".

I can relate this to my relationship with God. Sometimes we know what He wants us to do or at least we know He wants us to do something, but we cannot take the first step. For me, I think it is because I am just not sure that I am tied on tight enough. If I jump, does the Lord really have me? Is He really going to catch me or am I going to fall on my face?

We can claim this verse as a promise over our lives. If we are truly seeking God, I believe He is delighted in us. Even if we stumble, He will reel us back in and not let us fall.

Today, let's seek to trust Him in all of our decisions. If you feel the Spirit prompting you to say or do something that you think "I just can't" or you come up with a million excuses - just "Shut up and Jump"!

"Whom Shall I Fear?"

Psalm 27

Never in my life have I felt like I am surrounded by such fear. If I watch the news or listen to the radio to much, I end up scared to death. Our country is facing dark days. How dark they get could possibly be determined by whether or not the body of Christ stands up for the things of God in this next election. Will we sit by and allow our nation to be taken off into captivity or will we stand up and ask God to have mercy on His remnant of righteous people?

Whatever happens, I have to remind myself that God is in control. He is not surprised by the wickedness that seems to be increasing almost daily in our country. And He has also not left us. His promises are still true. He is still my light, my salvation, the stronghold of my life. He will still keep me safe in the day of trouble. And one day we will be exalted with Him over the enemies of God.

I heard David Nasser say recently that "we are not electing a king. We already have a King".
Let us not forget that.

Today, if you find yourself feeling fear over the coming days, open your Bible and pray Psalm 27 over your life and our country.

God Calls You Beautiful

"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:10-11

I just finished the Bible study Do You Think I'm Beautiful? by Angela Thomas. It was a wonderful study that I highly recommend. I know that God will continue to use what He has taught me in it and I'm sure it will overflow into my writing. One of the greatest things He has taught me in the past 6 weeks is in this verse. Let's read it again:

"Listen, O daughter, consider and give ear: Forget your people and your father's house. The king is enthralled by your beauty, honor him, for he is your lord." Psalm 45:10-11

There are two things that I want us to consider in the verses:
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1. Forget your people and your father's house. This point speaks volumes to me. I realize that many of you came from a very godly heritage. Your parents were Christians, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. That is wonderful! I do not want to dishonor my family in any way in saying this, but I do not bring with me a godly heritage. My mother's side of the family is very godly, but my father's side is not. In a way, I have always carried this around with me feeling like I was unworthy in some way. I found myself always being very envious of people that had their entire family following after Christ.

Even if your family is in church and following Christ, every family has problems. This verse speaks to me and tells me that I do not have to live in defeat. I do not have to make the same mistakes that my family has made. Through Christ, we can change our family tree. I'm not saying we are to forget our earthly families, but our heritage is from God. Our eternal father is God Himself.

2. The king is enthralled by your beauty. Wow! This verse I love. Can we accept this as truth today? Depending on your own personal experiences, it may be easy for you to believe that God sees you beautiful on the inside, but not on the outside. Or it may be exactly the opposite. Can we accept the truth of this verse that God sees us as beautiful on the inside and outside? He truly does! We are his children. When we look at our own children, do we see them as beautiful. They are beautiful to us because of our love for them. Our love on our best day is still frail and selfish in ways. God's love is perfect at all times. He loves us more than we can even imagine and we are beautiful to him through and through.

This may take some time to believe. I am still working on it myself, but I am asking God daily to apply this truth to my heart. What would our lives look like if we really believed this 100% and lived like it? I think we would be amazing women! I think we would be the women God intended us to be.

The God of Heaven calls you beautiful... and its true. - Angela Thomas

God Sings Lullabies

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

I absolutely love to decorate for holidays. The minute it looks like fall might be in the air, I get out all of my fall decor. I decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I leave some Christmas decorations up for winter until I decorate for Valentine’s Day. Spring decor at our house consists of St. Patrick’s Day and then Easter. Summer is filled with patriotic decorations! Then, much to my children’s displeasure, I even decorate for back to school! 

Now since Halloween is just around the corner, we have several Halloween decorations around the house and in the yard. Even though we do not encourage the scary part of Halloween, Joel and Caleb really wanted to hang some "ghosts" in our trees. So we got some trash bags and stuffed them with news paper and hung them up. Unfortunately, Caleb (who is 2 years old) got a little scared of the "ghosts". We have told him they are just trash bags, but all the same every night this past week he has cried saying that he is scared.

A couple of nights ago when he was afraid, I told him that he did not have anything to be afraid. Mama and Daddy were right outside the door and that God was right there in the room with him. I told him the Bible says that we do not have to be afraid because He is always with us. He calmed down and I thought he went to sleep. About 15 minutes later I took some clothes into his room and I saw that he was still awake. I gave him a hug and he said, "God is with me". I said, "That's right and He loves you more than anything". Then Caleb said that he was going "night-night" but that God was not going "bye-bye". I affirmed him again, but then he said the most amazing thing. He said, "God is going to stay right here and sing to me". The Holy Spirit immediately brought Zephaniah 3:17 to my mind and I just stood there in awe at the mercy and love of God.

I do not think it is too presumptuous to believe that my two year old was truly experiencing the supernatural presence and peace of God. I truly believe that Caleb heard the voice of God in his little spirit. Even though Caleb has never even read or possibly even heard Zephaniah 3:17, his words affirm that it is true.

If only we could be more like that. God is singing over us. He delights to show us mercy (Micah 7:18) and yet we walk around sometimes like we have no hope. Let us not forget who is in control. Let us allow His presence to calm our spirits in times of suffering or trouble.

Let us hear God sing a lullaby to us.

What can my prayers do?

1 Samuel 1
1 Samuel 7:2-15

The familiar story of Samuel has so much truth for us today. We see in chapter 1 that Hannah was childless and so desired to have a child. Not much has changed in the heart of women. Most women have a desire to have children. Hannah did not give up. She kept bringing her request before the Lord. She was obviously a very faithful follower of the Lord because scripture tells us she and her family went up every year to sacrifice to the Lord. And every year she brought her request to the Lord.

Hannah made a promise to God that if He would give her a son, she would give him back to the Lord. All of our children belong to God, but Hannah seemed to understand that better than I certainly do. She was willing to give the only child she might ever have to the Lord. Her faithfulness amazes me.

God did grant her request and she kept her promise. The Lord then not only gave her more children, but he honored her faithfulness in a way that so touches my heart. God used Samuel, the child Hannah had prayed for without ceasing, to bring his children back to Him. Maybe we all have dreams and aspirations for our children's lives, but God did something through Hannah that I doubt she ever imagined.

The people of Israel were living far from God. God used Samuel to lead them back. He could have used anyone, but He chose to use Samuel. It all started with the faithful prayer of a mother. What will our prayers lead to? Do they make a difference? Let us never cease in praying for our children - biological and spiritual. We can't even imagine what God can do in their lives.

Assurance of Salvation

Jeremiah 17:9, 1 John 5:13, Hebrews 10:23

Because of the overwhelming amount of responses that I received from yesterday's devotional about doubt, I wanted to follow up with some truth about the assurance that we have in the salvation of Jesus Christ.

Since I struggled with doubt for several years, I read anything I could get my hands on about doubt. One of the games that Satan plays is the game of shame and isolation. Many people will never admit or talk about the fact that a doubt has ever come into their heart because they fear what others will think. I used to be afraid that people would think I was "unspiritual" or immature. When I finally sought out some real help from the Word of God and confessed my doubt to a counselor, my life began to change. I was no longer living in the dark. I brought things into the light where they could be dealt with by the Spirit of God.

There are several misconceptions out there about a doubt. I have heard preached from the pulpit by many well-known pastors that if you ever doubt your salvation, you are not saved. I believe this is totally unbiblical and spiritually unsound. I see nothing is scripture that supports that statement. The other misconception is that Satan is always the reason we doubt. I do believe he is one of the reasons, but not the only reason. Foundations, a Bible study about core truths for the Christian life, truly helped me understand why people struggle with doubt.

Whenever a person is not sure if they are saved, there are several possibilities:

• They may be disobelying God; disobedience causes us to lose the joy of our salvation and causes us to wonder if God still loves us.
• The may be experiencing temptation to doubt from Satan, who obviously does not want us to feel secure in our relationship with God.
• They may not be saved.

Foundations 2003 - Tom Holladay and Kay Warren

One of the things I had to realize was that I could not depend on my feelings or trust my own heart. Just because we may not feel saved does not change the fact of our salvation through Jesus Christ. Women are so emotional and we trust in our feelings much of the time. Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our own hearts will decieve us. We may not be able to trust our own hearts, but we can trust the Word of God. If we have trusted in Him, we will not be put to shame. (Romans 10:11)

The last thing I want to do is convince anyone that they are saved. But, I do want to tell you that "anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" Joel 2:32. Our first son is named Joel to remind me that I have called on the name of the Lord. I will see Him face to face and He will hold me in His arms. I pray that you have called on His glorious name for salvation. If you have not, you can right now. There is no right or wrong way. The words are not important; the condition of your heart is. If you have never accepted Jesus as your Savior, I invite you to pray a prayer like this:

Jesus, I believe you are God's Son and I believe that you died to pay the penalty for my sins. I ask you to forgive me for my sins and to be the Lord of my life. I trust in you right now on October 15th to forgive me and save me. I give you my life. Thank you for your gift of salvation. I love you. In Jesus' Name, Amen.