Tag: Devotions

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. – James 1:22

 I confess that Amos probably would not have been my first choice in pick for Bible Study material this time around.  However, I am glad our Single Adults are all studying this together.  I don’t know about you, but I have felt conviction on every turn of the page.  Two things have been on my heart lately.  First, am I walking in righteousness?  Second, what does that mean for me as an individual, for us as a community of single adults, for our church, for our country?

I was further convicted yesterday as I sat at a forum on Children and Youth in Houston.  It was a pretty impressive gathering of local leaders from government, organizations and churches.  The discussion covered nine topics such as education, children in poverty, uninsured children and human trafficking.  After each topic, one of our area pastors prayed for that specific aspect. 

Most of the information given was new to me and broke my heart.  However, none broke my heart as much as learning the Houston is the hub of human trafficking in the US.  “In Houston, approximately 600 children and adolescents are victims of this horrendous crime per night.”  The majority of the trafficking revolves around sex trade.  I can’t get my mind around this.

You may know this already.  The reason I share with you today is because I want to be sure that we are doing more than just talking about what we are learning in Bible Study each Sunday.  Our class spent some time one Sunday talking about what we could do in response to our study on a personal level and on a governmental level.  Here’s my challenge.  As you read through Amos this week, ask God to show you one thing that you can do on a personal level and one that you can do on a governmental level.  If you are willing, I’d love to be able to gather some of your ideas and put them together (without names). 

My prayer is that we can encourage each other to do something.  Our class talked about the fact that we can’t help everyone in the world, but we can help the Gonzalez family and maybe give those children a better opportunity.  We can help by investing time and money in organizations like Gracewood that are making a difference in lives of women and children.

One aspect of walking in righteousness is to advocate for those who have no other advocate.  There are lots of ways to do this and I encourage you to follow God’s leading in this.  What will you do?  What can we do together?

But the LORD has become my fortress,
       and my God the rock in whom I take refuge. –Psalm 94:22

One of my favorite memories of growing up in Nigeria is hiking in the surrounding hills and climbing a rock formation.  It was about a twenty minute drive from where we lived.  Gog and Magog  is a pile of granite boulders that someone found a path to climb through the rocks to the top.  It was one of our favorite things to do on weekends.  We would take a picnic out to the hills and climb either before or after.

I have lots of fond memories of this place.  One of my favorites is a time I overheard Mom talking to an out of town guest.  Mom often guided people up and down and had some fantastic stories.  She loved hiking and loved jumping around on the rocks.  This particular time, she was explaining to our guest why she enjoyed climbing Gog and Magog so much.  She said that she wasn’t afraid to jump from rock to rock because they were solid.  Every time she set her foot down, she was reminded of the great hymn that says “On Christ the solid rock I stand.  All other ground is sinking sand.”  Climbing always reminded her that her spiritual footing was secure.

Mom’s message wasn’t shared directly with me, but it has stuck with me all these years.  Whatever is going on with you, rest assured that if you are in Christ, you are standing on solid ground.

Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! -Isaiah 49:15

For the LORD is good and his love endures for ever; his faithfulness continues through all generations -Psalm 100:4-5

I have a confession to make. I’m forgetful. This past Sunday morning I was walking to the front of the room and remembered something that I needed to be reminded to do. By the time I walked to the back of the room to get my phone to make a note of it, I’d forgotten what it was I needed to remember. I’ll spare you the excuses and reasoning behind it all and just confess that I am forgetful. This morning, I even managed to spit out the wrong social security number.

I was thinking about this on the way back from lunch today and just had to stop and thank God that He is not forgetful like me. He knows everything about me (Psalm 139) and he is faithful. He is faithful even when I am not. This is good news. It is also a great reminder.

Remembering His Faithfulness,

Michelle

During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. It’s a ghost, they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid. Lord, if it’s you, Peter replied, tell me to come to you on the water. Come, he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came towards Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, Lord, save me! Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. You of little faith, he said, why did you doubt? -Matthew 14:25-31

Last week I shared with you my comment to Dad after spending three months back home in Nigeria. I told him I knew why God didn’t call me to go overseas because He knew I couldn’t hack it. This may sound strange coming from a Missionary Kid that was born and raised overseas. What I realized though is that things are very different when you are an adult. Those three months were the first time I got to see what life was like for my parents through the eyes of an adult.

I loved growing up in Nigeria. It was home. It was very different as a child though. As a child, everything is an adventure. Not having water or electricity for three weeks was part of life and even fun. Going about life in the midst of a governmental coup was just another adventure. I knew Mom and Dad would take care of everything.

Seeing things through the eyes of an adult was a whole new ballgame. Tea cup baths were no longer an adventure. The electricity being off meant making decisions about how long to run the generator to keep food versus when gas would give out. These decisions were made more difficult by the gas shortage. When water was available, did you wash dishes, wash clothes, take a bath, or flush the toilet. Day to day living was much more complicated.

I’ve been thinking about this contrast a lot recently. I forget that God is my Father. He has plans for me and He desires to give me good things. I have a tendency to overanalyze things rather than trusting God. As a child growing up in Nigeria, life was an adventure because I knew and trusted that Mom and Dad were in control and knew how to handle things I didn’t understand. There was much freedom in that. There is also freedom that comes with trusting God like a child. I think that’s the kind of faith Peter had when he stepped out of the boat onto the water. He didn’t understand how it was possible, but because Jesus said “Come,” he did.

What about you? How’s your faith these days? Are you willing to trust God when you don’t understand?

Walking in faith,

-Michelle

O LORD, you have searched me
       and you know me.
 You know when I sit and when I rise;
       you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
       you are familiar with all my ways.
                                                  -Psalm 139:1-3

This morning, I woke up to a new tune on my alarm.  I’d forgotten that I had changed it, but it was a welcome wake up call.  It’s a clip from “This I Know” by Margaret Becker.  This is what I heard first thing in the morning “All these changes that I’ve been through have left me with only one absolute.  This I Know, only this I know that your love never changes as I go.”  I smiled and thanked God for giving me a personal wake up call.

Some days and weeks, we all need a reminder that God is intricately involved in our lives.  The last several months have been a blur in my life-very full.  Some days have been a roller coaster ride of emotions.  In the last couple of weeks, I have celebrated wedding, bought a house with my dad, gotten sick with a very uncool bug and started a moving process.  These are just on top of the regular day to day stuff.

I’m not complaining.  I know many of you are very busy as well.  I share this because I am grateful that God is involved in my life and that He reminds me of His love many times when I least expect it.

Here’s the rest of the words to the song:

This I Know
Oh Lord
Won’t You hold my hand
And help me to find
A new place to stand
All these changes
That I’ve been through
Have left me with only
One absolute

CHORUS
This I know, only this I know
That You love never changes
As I go
Only this I know, only this I know
That Your love never changes
As I go

Oh Lord
I’ve crossed mercy lines
For what seems to be
At least a thousand times
And still
It’s Your love that I see
Long, high, wide and deep
Reaching out to catch me
(repeat chorus)
It was love that first drew me
It is love that will keep me here
Now I see love burning brightly
When everything else in unclear
(repeat chorus)

Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – John 1:12

Several years ago I had the opportunity to pack up and spend 3 months in Nigeria with my dad. It was the first extended trip I’d had home since graduating from high school. I had a great time, but at the end of three months, I told Dad that I was glad God hadn’t called me to the mission field because I couldn’t hack it.

The truth is that if God did call me, he would equip me just as he did my parents. They were not extraordinary because they were missionaries. They were extraordinary because they were God’s children and they followed His leading and He did extraordinary things through them.

Dad never dreamed of going to Africa to teach French and Spanish. Certainly few human minds could conceive taking someone with Spanish language abilities and plopping them down in West Africa. Yet, that is exactly what God did and because Dad was obedient to God, lives were touched and changed through his teaching Spanish and French in an English speaking country in West Africa.

I share this because Dad will be the first to tell you that he is not extraordinary in and of himself. It is God who worked in Him equipping Him for the work that made him so.

What about you? Ever feel there’s nothing special about you? Ever wonder if your past is redeemable? Ever wonder where you fit?

In Christ, you are a new creation. In Christ, you are extraordinary. In Christ, there is no condemnation. In Christ, you have a future and a hope. A dear friend once told me to get my hands out of my pockets, hold my head high and walk worthy of who I was-a child of God. You, my brother and sister are a child of God. Rejoice!! I will say it again, Rejoice!!

Rejoicing being a child of God,

-Michelle

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
       where does my help come from?  -Psalm 121:1 

Did you know that for the under $18000 category, the Ford Focus is a cool car to own?  So, if you are driving one, congratulations.  You are cool. 

I know you are wondering what this has to do with anything.  It’s a random day, so there’s a random fact I learned this week.  Actually, there is a grasping connection-FOCUS.  I’ve been thinking a lot about focus this week.  Maybe because I’m having a hard time doing so.  It’s a big week with moving and family coming in town this weekend.  It’s also hot…but then you know that.

So…back to focus.  I’ve been thinking about it since I read the following from Hybels book on prayer:  “Faith comes by looking at God, not at the mountain.”

Are you facing a mountain?  If it seems insurmountable, maybe your focus is in the wrong place.  It’s easy to do.  I work hard to focus on getting things done in my personal life and my work/ministry life.  I love to check things off my list.  Problem is, I often get frustrated because while I may be doing and accomplishing good things, my focus is not on God.  The result?  I tend to look at the mountain that seems never ending.

Where’s your Focus?  And I don’t mean the cool car.

Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I ever did.”   So when the Samaritans came to him, they urged him to stay with them, and he stayed two days. And because of his words many more became believers.  They said to the woman, “We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.”  – John 4:39-42

Vacation Bible School is in full swing at Tallowood.  This year’s theme is the Jerusalem Marketplace.  If you haven’t seen it, you should.  They did an amazing job of transforming the gym and surrounding area.  This morning, I walked over to the Worship Center which is set up as the Synagogue School.  Then I walked over to the marketplace.  I watched kids stomping mud and hay together to make bricks. I stopped to look at the basket weaving taking place in ET 100. I overheard Larry Bertrand as the Instrument Maker teaching kids about making music to the Lord.  This is a great week of fun and learning for kids.

In the middle of the gym is a well.  Among the Bible stories I have thought about this week, the well reminded me of Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.  It’s a fairly well known story.  This short vignette has much to offer in the way of teaching.  It teaches about worship and inclusiveness and Jesus as living water.  It is also an illustration of what God can do with one person who believes.

The Samaritan woman was the least of the least.  In the world’s eyes, she had nothing going for her.  Ever felt that way?  The good news is that in God’s eyes every person is significant and valued and loved. This was certainly good news for the Samaritan woman and though she was the least of the least among her people, it became good news for them too.  She left the well and told her people about her encounter.  Many believed because of her testimony.  We don’t know how many that is.  I imagine they weren’t as concerned about numbers as we are today.  What we do know is that many believed and likely, many more believed because of those many.

Remember last week?  “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…”  Don’t count God out.  He can do the impossible with one.

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. -II Chronicles 7:14

Have you ever made a practice of praying God’s Word?  Our recent prayer ministry retreat focused on praying the Psalms.  One of the questions that came up during that time was “what is the difference between reading and praying?”  It is the attitude of the heart.  Praying the Word involves a mindset of praying those words in a conversation with God.

I have been reading and praying through Praying God’s Word by Beth Moore.  This week, I was stopped in my tracks by the following prayer based on the above Scripture reference.

“Father, You have promised that if Your people, who are called by Your name, will humble themselves and pray and seek your face and turn from their wicked ways, then You will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.  Please help me to understand that corporate revival begins with personal, individual revival.  Help me to humble myself and pray and seek Your face and turn from my own wicked ways.  Thank you for hearing me from heaven and forgiving my sin and bringing healing to my heart.”

Note that corporate revival begins with personal, individual revival.  I invite you to join me in this prayer.  See how God moves. 

“It only takes a spark to get a fire going…”

Another great resource for understanding how to pray God’s Word is Praise Habit by David Crowder.

The heavens declare the glory of God;
 The skies proclaim the work of his hands.  – Psalm 19:1

I have always loved the night sky.  I grew up in Nigeria and more often than not, the electricity went out at night.  It was not particularly fun trying to study by candle light, but being able to walk outside and clearly see the stars was great!  A clear night sky always reminds me how small I am and how big God is. 

 I recently gained a different perspective on this.  I began following one of the Astronauts on the most recent mission as he posted to Twitter.  What follows are a few of his tweets.

From orbit: We see 16 sunrises and sunsets in 24 hrs, each one spectacular as the sun lights up the atmosphere in a spectrum of colors5:06 PM May 19th

From orbit: Viewing the Earth is a study of contrasts, beautiful colors of the planet, thin blue line of atmosphere, pure blackness of space5:08 PM May 19th

 From orbit: The stars at night in space do not twinkle, they look like perfect points of light and I can clearly see the milky way galaxy7:33 AM May 20th

From orbit: Flying over the Pacific Ocean at night there were some thunder storms, it is so cool to see lightning go off below the clouds7:33 AM May 20th

From orbit: It is so beautiful up here, I wish everyone could see it7:34 AM May 20th

favorite moment on last full day was night pass over Australia with thunderstorms and city lights below and universe above, a heavenly view8:37 AM May 25th

As I followed Astro_Mike I was reminded through his tweets of the Awesomeness of God.  The heavens declare His Glory.  His creation declares His Glory each day.  I wonder…do we declare His Glory each day in what we say and do?