Tuesday, February 19, 2008

One more day of sickness in the Simpson household...

Here are some verses that are very meaningful to me right now...

Isaiah 41:9, 10, 13

(NLT)

I have called you back from the ends of the earth,

saying, "You are my servant.’"

For I have chosen you

and will not throw you away.

Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.

Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you and help you.

I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.

For I hold you by your right hand—

I, the Lord your God.

And I say to you,

"Don’t be afraid. I am here to help you."

Monday, February 18, 2008

The Simpson family is sick, so there will not be a devotional today. I do, however, want to leave you with one of my favorite verses:

The Lord your God is in your midst,

A victorious warrior.

He will exult over you with joy,

He will be quiet in His love,

He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

(Zephaniah 3:17, NASB)

Friday, February 15, 2008

God Sees Your Heart

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you. I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you famous, and you will be a blessing to others. I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.” (Genesis 12:1-3)

Have you ever been forced to take a good look at yourself and find that you see some ugly things in your character? You know, the times when you think the worst of someone or hurt someone or lose your temper or get caught talking negatively about another person? As women, when we are faced with our own shortcomings and sins it's easy to feel "less-than" and to battle with feelings of inferiority. Thankfully, God doesn't see us as the sum of our faults. He sees us for who we are, the whole person. He sees our heart.

Take Abraham, for instance. Did you know that Abraham and Job lived at approximately the same time? Job was holy and upright. He led a blameless life, so much so that Satan focused a lot of effort on trying to undermine his faith. Abraham, on the other hand, had a real problem with lying. Over and over again he lied and lost his temper. Satan didn't really have to worry about Abraham much... he messed up on his own with little help. But between the two -- Abraham and Job -- who did God choose to be the father of His chosen people? He chose Abraham!

David is another good example. He was often depressed, he had an innocent man murdered, and he committed adultery. And yet He was God's chosen King, the one through whom Christ would come many years later.

The most important thing in each of these two men was their heart. They loved God with all of their heart. When they sinned, they admitted it and repented. They lived their lives for God and He blessed them for it.

Don't ever let yourself feel too fault-ridden to be used or loved by God. He sees your heart and He loves you for who you are, not for who you're not.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Banana Bread Manna

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take. (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT)

It's Valentine's Day. The Day of Love. We all celebrate it in different ways... for some it will be an all-out romantic event with their loved one, for others it will be very low-key. For some it will be celebrated with children, for others it will be with their friends. And still others will boycott the entire day.

Yesterday I got my Valentine from God. Pretty cool thing, as a matter of fact.

Let's face it; as Christians we know the truths of the Bible, we know the promises of God, we know God is sovereign and His plan is always best. But at times it is difficult to get that to jive with what we see with our finite eyes. We don't understand when God doesn't seem to be answering prayer, or when our needs don't seem to met, or when something tragic happens to someone who doesn't deserve it. It's not that we doubt God; it's more that we don't understand.

I was thinking about all of that yesterday as I got out my Grandma's family recipe book to make some banana bread with a bunch of bananas that had seen better days. I have been struggling with the "why's" of a prayer that God has not yet answered, even though I have been doing everything I know to do for almost a year. And yesterday a friend received some very tragic financial news. It made no sense. I know God is there and is able; I just don't always understand it when I don't see Him working in ways that are visible.

I opened the recipe book and began making the banana bread. As I was refreshing my memory on the necessary ingredients, my eyes glanced to the bottom of the page. When my grandma made these books for our family about 15 years ago, she included a Bible verse with each recipe. Guess which verse was staring back at me?.... "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."

Wow! I had just mentioned the other day that although my prayer for a job and a way to support my family has not yet been answered, God had been giving me other "gifts" in my life that were clear indications of how much He loves me. Here was another one.

God doesn't always work in ways that we can readily see. But that doesn't mean He's not working on our behalf. It doesn't mean that He won't keep His promises. It doesn't mean He won't take care of us. And it certainly doesn't mean He doesn't love us.

Look for your Valentine from God today. It's there... some tangible way He is showing you He loves you.

And when you're tempted to question His ways, remember my Banana Bread Manna and just trust Him.

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Genuine Encouragement

Back in Jerusalem he [Paul] tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him. They didn't trust him one bit. Then Barnabas took him under his wing. He introduced him to the apostles and stood up for him, told them how Saul had seen and spoken to the Master on the Damascus Road and how in Damascus itself he had laid his life on the line with his bold preaching in Jesus' name. (Acts 9:26-27, MSG)

When the church at Jerusalem heard what had happened, they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he arrived and saw this evidence of God’s blessing, he was filled with joy, and he encouraged the believers to stay true to the Lord. Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and strong in faith. And many people were brought to the Lord. (Acts 11:22-24, NLT)

After a few days of this, Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's go back and visit all our friends in each of the towns where we preached the Word of God. Let's see how they're doing." Barnabas wanted to take John along, the John nicknamed Mark. But Paul wouldn't have him; he wasn't about to take along a quitter who, as soon as the going got tough, had jumped ship on them in Pamphylia. Tempers flared, and they ended up going their separate ways: Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus; Paul chose Silas... (Acts 15:36-39, MSG)

It was the summer after high school graduation when I was still living with my parents on Maui that I made a new friend. Her name was Dora. She lived on Oahu and our boyfriends were serving together in the Army. They "introduced" us to each other and we developed a friendship over the phone and through letters (this was in the "olden" days when email didn't yet exist). She was also a Christian and we hit it off right away, even though we had never met in person.

A few months into our friendship there was a crisis in my life that occurred. It was one of those overwhelming, bring-you-to-your-knees kinds of crises. I thought my world was falling apart. In a heartbeat, Dora hopped on the first inter-island flight she could grab after work and flew over to be with me. She stayed overnight and left at dawn to catch the first flight back for work. She did this twice more, wanting nothing more than to be a friend, an encourager and a support when I needed it most. She was that kind of person, always putting others before herself, always encouraging. She was a female, modern-day Barnabus, always believing in people. Over time we lost touch, but I have never forgotten her and her kindness and encouragement.

Everyone needs a Dora or a Barnabus in their lives. As women we have a unique bent toward relationships; much moreso than men. We desire relationships with each other; we thrive on them! It is for this reason that God is able to easily use us in each other's lives. Sometimes, though, we allow life to creep in and we use the excuse of being too busy to connect with each other. We lose out on those very relationships and friendships that we crave.

Today let's put aside some of our busyness and reach out to someone who needs us to be their encouragement and to believe in them. Let's put each other first.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Good Morning!

Today I wanted to leave you with a Psalm to reflect on. I think sometimes it is too easy for us to depend on someone else's words instead of on God's Words. There are times that we simply need to sit with the Bible and let God speak to us.

It was difficult to choose just one Psalm this morning. There were so many that I wanted to include. As I was reading through and deciding on one, what struck me over and over again was how important it was to record and remember what God had done in the past as an encouragement and reminder that He would not fail in the present. We need to do the same in our lives. We need to record what God has done for us so that we can use it to both praise Him and trust Him in the present.

Have a wonderful day!

Love,
Becky

Psalm 145

(NLT)

I will exalt you, my God and King,

and praise Your name forever and ever.

I will praise You every day;

yes, I will praise You forever.

Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise!

No one can measure His greatness.

Let each generation tell its children of Your mighty acts;

let them proclaim Your power.

I will meditate on Your majestic, glorious splendor

and Your wonderful miracles.

Your awe-inspiring deeds will be on every tongue;

I will proclaim Your greatness.

Everyone will share the story of Your wonderful goodness;

they will sing with joy about Your righteousness.

The Lord is merciful and compassionate,

slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

The Lord is good to everyone.

He showers compassion on all his creation.

All of Your works will thank You, Lord,

and your faithful followers will praise You.

They will speak of the glory of Your kingdom;

they will give examples of Your power.

They will tell about Your mighty deeds

and about the majesty and glory of Your reign.

For Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

You rule throughout all generations.

The Lord always keeps His promises;

He is gracious in all he does.

The Lord helps the fallen

and lifts those bent beneath their loads.

The eyes of all look to You in hope;

You give them their food as they need it.

When You open Your hand,

You satisfy the hunger and thirst of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in everything He does;

He is filled with kindness.

The Lord is close to all who call on Him,

yes, to all who call on Him in truth.

He grants the desires of those who fear Him;

He hears their cries for help and rescues them.

The Lord protects all those who love Him,

but He destroys the wicked.

I will praise the Lord,

and may everyone on earth bless His holy name

forever and ever.

Monday, February 11, 2008

Strength of Character

We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:3-5, NLT)

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4, MSG)


Yesterday we were out hiking with my boys, ages 2 and 5. We decided to go straight up a 30 foot hill of mud and gravel. My five year old took one look at the hill and decided immediately that he couldn't and wouldn't make it to the top. He gave up without even taking one step forward. He didn't just give up... he complained. Loud and long. All about how there was no way he could do it. I let him know in no uncertain terms that he had no choice in the matter. He was going to the top, period. End of story. His choice was whether to continue complaining as he was pushed, pulled and dragged up the hill, or to be positive and confident in the adventure knowing that he would feel incredible once he was standing on the top.

We started out pushing and pulling. And he complained. Because he had already made up his mind that he was going to be unsuccessful, he got stuck in blackberry thorns, slid on some mud and gravel, and even fell a couple of times. Then, about a third of the way up, something clicked with him. He decided he could do it and that he was going to accomplish it on his own. He didn't need any hands-on help; he just needed our encouragement and cheering in the background. And cheer we did. We were so amazed at his change of heart and his persistence that we just stood there at the bottom watching and yelling out praise. About 7 or 8 feet from the top, he couldn't seem to get his grip. I told my friend that we needed to stay back where we were, giving him only verbal encouragements, and let him work it out on his own so that he could have that sense of accomplishment when he reached the top.

He worked and worked and worked at it. He could see the top and refused to give up. He listened to our advice about where to put his feet and hands next, and his persistence paid off. He reached the top and a giant smile spread across that little face of his. He was so proud of himself! He had accomplished a feat that has now given him the confidence to face bigger and harder hills.

Sometimes I think trials in our lives work the same way. When we persist and listen to God's Words and to His encouragement, we are able to persevere through the trials to the top of the hill. Sometimes God takes a "hands-off" approach because He knows that the end result of making us persevere through the trial without being "rescued" is that we are going to develop strength of character and hope.

Even when it feels like the opposite is true, God never leaves our side. The truth of the matter is that He is right there with us saying, "I've got confidence in you!!"