Kindness Leads to Repentance

Romans 2:3-5

"Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? " vs 4

It had been one of "those" days. The children had pretty much ignored me the entire day, fought constantly and turned their volume up way too high. It was 8:30pm and I was so done!  I asked them to follow me downstairs so we could have our Advent devotional. After sitting and waiting for them to appear for five minutes, I went back upstairs, ordered them to bed, prayed the shortest prayer possible, barely kissed their check and stormed out the door.  I plopped in my recliner frustrated over how I was treated and hoped that my disregard for them would bring about the repentance I wanted over their disregard of me!

Then ever so quietly I heard whispered in my mind, "the kindness of God leads you to repentance."  I knew immediately that I had handled that all wrong.  My flesh wanted them to pay for their disobedience. I removed myself as punishment.  And... I was not acting at all like our Savior!

Agh!  I slowly stood up and walked back to their room and I sat them each on a knee.  I explained that I am not always a good listener to Jesus. That I too mess up and make mistakes.  However, God never removes himself  as punishment. He convicts me of my sin and draws me back to Him.  I told them that I wanted to parent them like God parented me.  I gave them each a hug and a kiss, explained that we were going to start fresh in the morning and laid out the expectations for the next day.   I was able to go back to my chair refreshed and glorifying God for His abundant grace and kindness in our lives.

My kids are FAR from perfect.  I am FAR from perfect. Yet we serve a kind Savior whose mercies are new every morning.  I praise Him for not allowing my selfishness and sin to put a wall up in my relationship with my children.  May we always hide a God's words in our heart so that me might not sin against Him. (Ps 119:11).

Do You Know His Voice?

John 10:1-5


I am sitting in a hotel room nine stories high reading my Bible as my little buddy naps. However, in the din of noises outside I heard the voice of my husband and daughter playing what sounded like a very fun game. I went to the balcony and laughed alongside my daughter and husband as I could finally understand their excitement. Their game did look like fun!

As I was watching them play, I was amazed that out of all the people in that pool, and all of those voices, I heard their voices plainly. The Holy Spirit brought John 10:1-5 to mind, especially verse 4-5, "When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

I know my husband Joe. I have lived with and loved this man for almost nine years. I have studied him and it is my delight to spend time with him, listening to what he tells me. I also love my girl. I have spent almost six years listening out for this voice call out for me. I recognize their voices because they are important to me, I spend time with them, and I have trained my ears to listen.

The question I must ask myself is do I know my Lord Jesus's voice?  Do I spend time with him?  Do I delight in listening to Him?  Have I trained my ears to hear His voice?  Do I know enough of His Word to recognize His perspective and teaching?

In this fast paced world that we live in, there are so many noises clamoring for our attention. There are so many voices trying to convince us that they speak truth. So many of today's teachings sound so right, but contain just enough falsehood that we might easily be deceived if we are not carefully examining everything through the lens of Scripture. More than ever, it is so important that we KNOW our Father's voice!

I cannot help but smile as their laughter and sweet words rise above the clamor of other voices to reach me nine stories high. May my ears be as attuned to the precious voice of my Heavenly Father who desires to speak with me everyday as well.

Tasks or People?

Mark 5:21-42

I am task oriented. There I said it! I am so task oriented that I am ashamed to admit I place menial tasks on my “to do” list just so I can quickly check them off. I pride myself on efficiency, and I do not allow anyone to slow me down! And… I am NOT like Jesus! Jesus never once allowed tasks and “to do’s” to drive his day. Our great Savior allowed His Father’s love for mankind to flow through Him and direct His steps.

In the story of Jairus’ daughter, we see Jesus on the way to do a great miracle for a prominent man. However, in route He was touched. Just a momentary touch that stopped Him in His tracks. He scanned the crowd, saw the need and ministered to the woman without regard to the task at hand. It took a few minutes, but it changed a woman’s life.

How many times am I so consumed with the task at hand that I either ignore or don’t even notice the little touches of others along the way? How many times am I so eager to get out of the grocery store that I don’t notice the cashier who is obviously having a bad day? How many times am I asked throughout the day “How are you doing?” without ever asking that person back? How quickly do I rush out a door without noticing the person behind me whom I could help by holding the door open? How quickly do I rush my children through “teachable” moments just so we are not late to Bible Study?!

In this story, two people were healed that day: the hemorrhaging woman and Jairus’ daughter. Jesus was able to redeem the “lost time” spent helping that woman by still accomplishing an even greater miracle than just healing– but resurrecting a dead life! Do I believe that Jesus is powerful enough to redeem my time, when I commit these “touchable” moments to Him?

“Do nothing from selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves” (Phil 2:3). Time to call it what it is… selfish ambition and vain conceit. It is time to put the list down and put the love of Christ on (Col 3:12-14).

What Does Jesus Really Think about Me?

How many of you would love to hear someone say to you:

I call you by name and you are mine (Isaiah 43:1)

I am enthralled by your beauty. (Ps 45:11)

I take great delight in you. (Zeph 3:17)

I rejoice over you. (Zeph 3:17)

You are wonderfully made. (Ps 139:14)

I know your inmost thoughts. (Ps 139:1-2)

I long to confide in you. (Ps 25:14)

I am your protector. (Ps 121)

I will fight for you. (Exodus 14:14)

I am your helper. (Ps 118:7)

I am your strength when you are weak. (Is 40:29/2Cor 12:9)

I will never leave you nor forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

You are more than a conqueror and NOTHING can separate you from my love. (Romans 8:37-39)

I offer no condemnation. (Romans 8:1)

There is no fear in my love. (1 John 4:17-19)

I have taken away your punishment. (Zeph 3:15)

I will not reject you. (Ps 94:14)

You are accepted. (Romans 15:7)

You are chosen. (Col 3:12)

You are my friend. (John 15:14-15)

Has anyone ever spoken this way to you? and it lasted?  There is someone who thinks all of these things about you. There is someone who loves you JUST the way you are! You don’t have to do anything to earn it! You don’t have to change 20 things about yourself first. You just have to believe him! That person’s name is Jesus!

When you look in the mirror, what do you see? When you stare at your reflection what is the first thing that pops into your head?  Do you look at yourself and say, “Wow! I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am accepted. I am God’s friend?” Or… when you look in the mirror do you cringe? Do you think, “Wow, I wish I was taller, skinnier, or I wish my hair was different.” Maybe you don’t think along these lines, but you see yourself and wonder, “My life is meaningless. I have no purpose.” or “will I ever be smart enough or fast enough to make the cut?” or in this world of CRAZY “perfect” Mommy blogs you tell yourself you don’t measure up because you fed your kids bread that you didn’t make from scratch, chicken nuggets that came from a box, and they weren’t reading at the age of 2!

Every day we are going to walk in either joy/freedom or stress/depression based upon what we allow to fill our head when we look in the mirror. It is a conscious choice the moment your feet hit the floor… EVERY morning! The first thing we must do is…

RECOGNIZE THE VOICE OF THE ENEMY!

We MUST realize that anything that pops into our head that does not agree with what the Bible tells us about ourselves is a lie!! It is not from God! In fact, John 8:44 tells us, “When (Satan) lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” When you listen to all those negative thoughts you repeat about yourself which contradict Scripture, you will start every morning the rest of your life with stress and not joy!  When you repent of your sins, confess Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead… You belong to God. Satan has no control over your eternal security. Therefore, he is going to try his hardest to destroy your joy and your confidence of who you are in Christ! He wants to make you forget ALL of what Christ says about you so that you will become completely ineffective for the Kingdom of God here on this earth.

The Bible tells us this truth in 1 Peter 5:8– “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. “ You see… Satan hates God. We are created in God’s image. Therefore, Satan hates us. He is taking the opportunity to devour you every time you look in the mirror or every time you compare yourself to others and begin to believe that you don’t measure up. Thinking negative thoughts about yourself every time you look in the mirror is not a “low self esteem” issue. It is a spiritual battle that we are CHOOSING to let Satan win!

That is why when we try to silence his voice through worldly means it never works out! We try to fix our insecurities by going to the right people. So we try to pick more popular friends, become the “favorite friend” in your class (or mom’s group). We try to get as many likes as possible on FB or Instagram. We try to see how many followers we can get on twitter or we place our value on how many texts we received in one day. When that doesn’t make us happy, because it won’t – we will never ALWAYS be the favorite or please everybody around us, we spend more money. We begin to believe that if we had newer or cuter clothes then people would like us. We begin to think that maybe if we showed more skin or were more fit and wore tighter clothes we would get more attention. Or we might work harder at our jobs, in exercise, etc… all to reach this “ideal” we have in our minds thinking if we could just get there we would be happy.

The problem is the world we live in is fickle!  One year plaid is all the rage. Other year’s neon is the way to go. Some years perms will make you a star, other times the fad is long wavy hair. The world is always changing! Nothing lasts! Some crowds will think you are awesome if you are the best musician. Other crowds think you need to be the best athlete. You are never going to please everybody. Remember, Satan’s goal is to make you forget WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST! THESE THINGS THAT CHRIST SAYS ABOUT YOU. Therefore, you are NEVER going be good enough, beautiful enough, smart enough, athletic enough, musical enough or skinny enough to silence his lies! Remember, he wants to devour your joy and ruin your confidence!!

Choosing not to see yourself as God sees you, is not just an issue when you are young!! I think a lot of us believed that when we were no longer a teenager all of these insecurities or what we have labeled “Self-esteem issues” would just go away. How is that working out for you?  You have to decide right now if you are going to keep plugging away at this, going the worldly route to silence that voice, making yourself exhausted and never getting anywhere… OR if you are going to fix the problem once and for all!!!!  There is only one solution that really works. Contrary to what the world will tell you. The ONLY solution is to FIRST recognize the voice of the enemy and then…

BELIEVE THE VOICE OF YOUR LOVING HEAVENLY FATHER!

DO YOU KNOW WHO HE IS? Hebrews 6:18 tells us (and I LOVE THIS) that it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie. That means when he tells you all of these precious promises in His Word, when he tells you that you are beautiful, wonderfully made, that HE will never leave you nor forsake you… IT IS TRUE!!! Let that sink in! God cannot lie! Bask in WHOSE you are! The Bible goes on to tell us in Hebrews 13:8 that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Malachi 3:6 says, “I the Lord do not change.” King David tells us in Psalm 102:27, “But you (Lord) remain the same, and your years will never end.” The world will fade away, fashions will change, your friends will move, but OUR LORD who NEVER LIES also NEVER CHANGES already accepts and loves you just the way you are!

Okay… so we know who Jesus is, and what he says about us, and now realize everything else is simply from the Father of lies… HOW do we silence the negativity?  It is time to FIGHT BACK!!! 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

We must memorize Scripture that apply to what you struggle with. Only way to stop lies is combat it with the truth. This verse tells us that we have power from God to demolish, ruin, kill, any argument or lie that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We now know what God says about us… it is time to use the power of the Word of God and kill the lie!! Literally… even if you have to do it out loud, say, “No! The same God that made the Heavens and the Earth, that keeps our universe from spiraling out of control, the same God that withheld nothing - not even his own son - but allowed Jesus to die for our sins so that we might have restored relationship with him, the same God that sacrificed himself so that we might be the righteousness of God, THAT God says that I am “beautiful,” that I am “Fearfully and wonderfully made!“

If we can believe God for our eternal salvation… then why do we choose to NOT believe that He created us perfectly according to His great plan?! Finally, to combat the lies of the enemy we have to …

CHOOSE NOT TO REPEAT THE LIES TO OUR SELF! IT is a CHOICE!!! Time to move onto the second part of that passage, “Take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.” Instead of repeating the lies to yourself, (you aren’t skinny enough, you aren’t good enough, you have no purpose), take it and cast it away from you! Cathy Horner stated something this year in Lambs that I will never forget. She said that when you repeat something you are actually memorizing it! Don’t memorize lies. Take those wrong thoughts and tell them where they can go!!!!  :o) SPEAK TRUTH!!!!

YOU WILL NEVER HAVE VICTORY over the negative thoughts that penetrate your heart and mind until you start recognizing that they are directly from the mouth of our enemy and then CHOOSING (even when you don’t feel like it – even when you feel like all your friends like someone better than you – even when you haven’t showered in three days because you are buried in spit up, diapers or homeschooling) CHOOSE to believe the voice of your Father!!

God’s word offers us a very precious promise in James 4:7. This verse tells us that when we submit ourselves to God (meaning we place our lives under His authority and the authority of His Word… these things up here) then when we resist the Devil, HE MUST FLEE!!!!! The power of the Word of God will always send Satan running! You may have to speak His Word over and over until you believe it!

An Aside… Mom: Let’s not allow our voice to be the voice of the enemy to our daughters or granddaughters! Proverbs 10:11 tells us that “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.”  Those little “jokes/observations” that you think don’t mean anything – are NOT speaking life, but concealing violence!! We can actually allow Satan to destroy her belief in how God made her, through our own voice!!! It is serious how we use our mouth to those around us!!  Be careful that you are being a fountain of life! We also must be careful what we obsess over (Diet, weight, exercise.. even good things. If they see it as so important to us that it affects all of the decisions we make throughout the day. it will be important to them. What we do in moderation, they will do in excess). So let’s just be careful or what we are stating or acting like is the most important thing.  Finally, realize how we talk about ourselves. If we cannot learn to receive a compliment, or we are always putting ourselves down, our daughters are learning that is what they should be doing! Be a fountain of life!!! NOT the voice of the enemy speaking through you!

Okay… So we are looking in the mirror and we have fought against the voice of the enemy with Scripture. We have CHOSEN to believe the truthful , unchanging voice of our Heavenly Father… what now? How do we live in this crazy world? How do we dress to please him when all of our friends tell us that we need to look a certain way, act a certain way, etc.

Dress: The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” When you accept Jesus as your Savior, the Holy Spirit chooses to live inside of you, and you become His home! Let’s make sure that when we dress, we are dressing to reflect that truth! Do you think Jesus wants His temple arrayed in super short dresses or low cut shirts that doesn’t leave anything to the imagination? NO! Christ died for that Body! Don’t sell it to the world by presenting it in a way that tries to sell sex and materialism and not the grace of God and His blood shed for you! Moms: Let’s start talking modesty now! It is a lot easier to cultivate a lifestyle of modesty starting at five and not fifteen! These decisions now can affect the type of boy that she attracts later. Let’s begin dressing her now to attract the type of son-in-law we want later!! Also, let’s watch how we dress. Our daughters will imitate us and usually go one step further. Is one step further from how we dress now, still acceptable?

Actions: Colossians 3:12 says: “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, (REMEMBER THAT!!! THAT IS WHAT GOD SAYS YOU ARE!!) clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” We are to clothe ourselves with the attitudes and attributes of Christ! Every morning as we get dressed, literally as if we were putting on clothes, let’s put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. WE are Holy and DEARLY loved. We are to love others as we are loved by Christ! When our friends try to tell us that the only way to be popular is to be mean to that new girl, put on kindness. When we are sick of sharing and waiting our turn, put on gentleness and patience! Treat others like Christ wants to treat them through you!

We have learned how to conquer the mirror each and every day. We now know that any voice inside our head that is contrary to Scripture is from Satan and we can tell it where to go through His Word. We are now listening to TRUTH about whom and whose we really are. We are physically dressed in a way that reflects God’s indwelling presence in our life and we have put on HIS attitude. Time to go out that door and walk in the confidence that we are women who are unconditionally loved!! Remember the list at the beginning? You have nothing to prove! Believe God. Only by believing who you truly are… who Christ sees when he looks at you, will you ever be 100% at peace.

Running Free of Guilt...

Luke 22:59-62,  John 20:1-4

Peter messed up... big time!  The Lord told Peter that he was going to deny him three times before dawn.  Peter vehemently denied it.  However, Jesus was right.  Peter did deny him and on the third time the Gospel of Luke tells us they made eye contact.  He went away weeping, overwhelmed with grief.

Fast forward to three days later.  Mary Magdalene comes and tells the disciples that Jesus' body was no longer in the tomb.  Peter and John run to the tomb.  Did you catch that?  Peter ran to Jesus.

Peter understood the character of His Lord.  Peter understood forgiveness.  I am not sure if I would have run to the tomb that day.  Unfortunately, too many times in my life I allow feelings of guilt and failure to keep me from running back to Jesus.  I forget that the Bible tells me that when I confess my sins He is faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).  I forget that as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed transgression from me (Psalm 103:12).  I forget that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).  Instead I allow Satan to beat me up with my sin over and over.  Guilt washes over me and keeps me from the One who died to set me free from sin and death (Romans 8:2)!

Salvation is a free gift.  There is nothing we can do to earn it, we just have to accept it and believe it (Romans 6:23 / Romans 10:9).  Forgiveness works the same way.  We don't earn it, but Jesus's death on the cross freely brings it!  We have to accept his forgiveness, believe we have it, and then MOVE ON!  What if Peter never accepted Christ's forgiveness and moved on to become the rock of the early church?  What if David never accepted God's forgiveness for his sin of murder and adultery and never moved on to be a King that honored God and ruled Israel?  What if Moses never accepted God's forgiveness for his sin of murder and never went to lead God's people out of Israel?  What if Paul never accepted God's forgiveness for terrorizing and martyring the early church and never became one of the greatest missionaries of all time?

What if you never accept God's forgiveness and move on?  What will you never see HIM accomplish through your life?  Satan doesn't win when the war over your life when we sin.  However, we let him win when we wallow in guilt and become ineffective for the Kingdom of God!  Don't you know Jesus has the power to take your sin and turn it around for something good and for His glory? (Romans 8:28).

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."  Galatians 5:1

Run like Peter!  God is waiting with open arms!

Always Be Prepared...

Ezra 7:6-10, 27

Even though Ezra was an exile in the land of Babylon, he was devoted to studying and obeying God's Word.  When God called Ezra to go back to Jerusalem, in God's perfect timing, he was already prepared and he faithfully responded.  Ezra found what we will find in similar circumstances: when we know and obey God's word, when we prepare and faithfully respond when God calls us, then nothing will hinder God's will from coming to pass.  The best part... when we do it God's way, God gets ALL the glory!

In college I felt a strong calling upon the Lord to teach His Word.  I even went forward one Sunday night at church for a "call to ministry".  Several of the pastors at my home church told me that they were not surprised, but were actually waiting for God to reveal that call to me.  However, as time passed and I became a wife and mother, that calling seemed to go on the back burner to my life circumstances.  With babies at home, teaching was impossible!  I was just trying to have time to have a personal quiet time with the Lord!

However, when my oldest daughter was 6 months old, I felt like God telling me to be faithful where I was then!  I began to write devotionals on this blog.  I knew I wanted to teach His Words, so as He revealed nuggets of Himself to me, I would simply write them here for "safe-keeping". 

This spring, the Lord allowed me to witness, like Ezra, the gracious movement to walk in His will in His perfect timing.  In a two month period, all of a sudden, I was asked to write two devotionals for the Women's ministry at my church and speak at two events.  My personal life was crazy at the time.  My oldest was/is super emotional as she prepares to go off to Kindergarten and my husband's work life was chaos.  I was so blessed by the opportunity to finally speak His Words to others, but personally was struggling to find the time!  However, because I was faithful to prepare for the "one day" I would teach HisWord, I was able to use two devotionals I had already written a year prior.  In God's timing, the devotionals were shared. 

All this to say... If God has placed a calling on your life and you have a restless spirit right now because you don't see how it is possible to do that call today... pray and seek where you can be faithful to start preparing today.  David had a passion to build the Lord a temple, however the Lord gave that calling to Solomon.  David did not begrudge God's decision, but spent time preparing and collecting supplies so that Solomon could do a great job in God's timing! 

Always be prepared!  God waste nothing when we give everything to Him!