#236 - Above All Else

Good morning! :) SO.... let me put out a preface. I read the devotion from Friday on my mobile phone over the weekend. I noticed some obvious spelling errors, that almost made me laugh... (hear & here... and there was one other that I caught). Anyways, thank you in advance for grace! :) With kids, sometimes all the time I have is to read my Bible, have my own quiet time with the Lord, and write a devotion. It's a jam-packed time that doesn't always allow me to proof-read before posting when someone is yelling from there bed, "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" And before he tries crawling out, I need to go get him and get his day started. So, THANK YOU for your grace in the occasional spelling or grammar errors. Sometimes I go back, read, catch & correct them... but sometimes I do not. Well... with all that said, let's go ahead and jump into the Word this morning. :)

Proverbs 15:14a - The mind of him who has understanding seeks knowledge and inquires after and craves it... 

Proverbs 31:15a - She rises while it is yet night and gets [spiritual] food for her household...

Isn't it great to hear from the Lord? When you ask & He gives you direction. Not just general direction, but direction very specific to you and your situation. Direction that encompasses the details of your life. How to accomplish what needs to be done with a strenuous work schedule or with kids running around (feeding them, changing diapers, feeding them again, etc, etc). Isn't it awesome that we have a Voice that not only is alive today, but who actually will speak to us & direct us. He looks down and sees what we may not see. He sees the outcome before we are even obedient to His direction.

This morning, this is part of what He told me,

Continue in this priority with Me. This time should be above all else. I have the answers, the solutions to the questions you have not even asked yet.  

"This priority with Me." As I have had a 6 week or so break from writing devotions, I've really enjoyed my mornings and getting into a routine with my newborn. Trinity has been a definite blessing from the start. Although, I knew it was important to maintain my morning quiet time with the Lord. Sometimes it morning passed, and it was my "early afternoon" quiet time, but nonetheless, it was time receiving direction from my Maker.

"Above All Else." The Holy Spirit reminded me this morning, that above ALL other priorities, above everything else that "I" think is important, my time with Him is the MOST important. I may not have nailed down the status that the Proverbs 31 woman has, in rising "while it is yet night" and getting spiritual food, but my continual goal is to get DAILY spiritual food for myself and my household. "Above All Else." Gaining this spiritual food is ABOVE ALL OTHER THINGS, it is the MOST important task of the day. It is the FIRST "big event" of the day, as my husband would say. This time allows us the opportunity to get direction.

I remember a time in my life when I did not spend daily time with Him. I remember the feeling of chaos that accompanied me throughout the day. I remember the feeling of "not having enough time" to do it all. I remember the feeling of stress that followed me. I was making decisions and acting on my OWN knowledge and abilities, I was not relying on the wisdom & direction from the Holy Spirit. As I compare that time in my life with my current life, I can definitely say life is much more peaceful now.

Two people come to mind who have children & many responsibilities. As I think of the last conversations I've had with them, I remember the feelings that permeated from the one mom... just talking with her I could hear the stress & chaos in her voice. From previous conversations, I knew that in the process of having children, her time with the Lord had been pushed to the back burner, and it was obvious. Life seemed to be filled with chaos & stress, disharmony & lacking unity. The other mom that comes to mind, has an equally full schedule with many responsibilities, actually probably more responsibilities, though with I speak with her on the phone, peace rings through the receiver. Peace. If I have been questioning something in my own life, just talking to her and hearing her voice brings a peace that is indescribable. I KNOW that she spends daily time with her Father. I know that she has a "prayer closet" that sometimes she wakes up to visit in the middle of the night. I know that her time with the Lord comes Above All Else. It is obvious by her life. Her life is still definitely full, but a life of peace & joy. A life filled with DIVINE direction from her Maker.

Above all else, that is how I want others to speak of me. I want my Maker to shine through when others speak with me. Above all else, I want Jesus to be who people see when they see me. Above all else, when I make decisions about my day, my family & my life, I want it to be decisions directed by the Holy Spirit, not merely thought up on my own. Above all else, I want the peace of God to shine through my life & my home. I want people drawn towards me because they feel the peace of God when they are around me.

Above all else. What is the priority that shines through your life? What is "Above All Else?" Is it obvious to others? Is it your job? Your family? Your business? Soccer practice? Basketball? Swim team? Crafts? Working out, exercising? Or... is it your God? Is it your time with the Lord? Above all else. What is "above all else" in your life?

#232 - When You Feel Like Thomas...

Proverbs 15:29b - ...He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous (the upright, in right standing with Him). 

Proverbs 31:30 - Charm and grace are deceptive, and beauty is vain [because it is not lasting], but a woman who reverently and worshipfully fears the Lord, she shall be praised! 

John 20:24-29 - ²⁴But Thomas, one of the Twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came.
    ²⁵So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it].
    ²⁶Eight days later His disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, though they were behind closed doors, and stood among them and said, Peace to you!
    ²⁷Then He said to Thomas, Reach out your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand and place [it] in My side. Do not be faithless and incredulous, but [stop your unbelief and] BELIEVE!
    ²⁸Thomas answered Him, My Lord and my God!
    ²⁹Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, Thomas, do you now believe (trust, have faith)? Blessed and happy and to be envied are those who have never seen Me and yet have believed and adhered to and trusted and relied on Me.

Have you ever been in a situation where doubt just seemed the easiest thing to believe? The odds were stacked against you, your faith level felt low, automatically the 'rock-kicking' position was the state of your feelings and faith. You look at past situations and see what appeared to be failure, and by how things look with this new situation, it's just going to be a repeat. Friend, today, there is hope for you to believe!


Earlier in John chapter 20, the disciples are gathered together in fear. They are in fear of the Jews. They sit behind closed doors, in one feeling, fear. Little did they know, their Friend, their Beloved, their Missed Savior was just moments away from walking through that closed door. Just moments away. Upon seeing Jesus, and the holes in his side, hands & feet, the disciples believed. They saw! All but Thomas saw. What if one of the others would not have been in the room that day? Eight days later when Jesus reappeared, would we also be reading about "Doubting James?" or "Doubting John?" All the disciples except Thomas were there when Jesus appeared. They saw. 


Now go with me, go with me back to that time. Can you imagine the grief you would feel after the passing of your Friend, your Savior. The mourning, the sadness. Sure, He promised He would come again, but sadness still held an overwhelming sensation in your body. When would He come? Was He just saying a parable again? Telling a story? And here, eight days after Jesus appeared to all the other disciples, He appears to them again and Thomas is present. Though eight days prior, Thomas says, "Unless I see in His hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe [it]." 


As Jesus walks in the room, it does not say that Thomas actually did place his finger in the nail prints, or put his hand in Jesus' side. But he just says, "My Lord and my God!" I can only imagine at that very moment Thomas may have fallen to the ground, embraced his Friend, his Lord, his Savior. So happy to believe. So happy that He really was alive! 


Then Jesus talks about you & I! He says BLESSED are those who have believed and have not seen! That's Me! That's You! "Believed" in the Greek (Jn 20:29), also is translated, "to place confidence in."


Have you trusted Jesus with your salvation? Have you turned your life over to Him? Are you saved? Then, Jesus HERE, in this scripture is talking about YOU! Two thousand years ago, He was talking about YOU!  


Today, from the worlds perspective, the odds may appear to be stacked against you... but all we have to do is to CHOOSE to believe. We don't have to know the details, the outcome, how everything is going to come together on our behalf. All we have to do is CHOOSE to believe. All we have to do is place our confidence in the ALMIGHTY ONE!


Build your faith up today! Build your belief up today! Put your situation in God's hands and leave it there! Put scripture to work for you. Check out the power behind these confessions! They are for YOU & for ME! 

• All things are possible to him that BELIEVES!
• My God shall supply ALL my needs according to HIS riches in glory!
• I can do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!
• With God for me, who can be against me? 
• My God gives me the desires of my heart!
• I have FAVOR in the sight of God & Man!
• My God does exceedingly & abundantly above ALL I can ask, think or imagine! (WOW! That's a lot!)

When you feel down & out... when you feel like Thomas, "How could I possibly trust or believe until I see some results." I encourage you... cast your situation on the One who came to save you! Cast your situation on the One who CHOSE to die for YOU! He CHOSE you! Will you CHOOSE to believe in Him for your situation? When you feel like Thomas, Choose the Word. Choose the truth. Choose to trust. Choose to place your confidence in your Savior! Choose Jesus!

#218 - Don't Fret! Expect Favor!

Good morning! Well.... I'm officially 33 weeks pregnant today. I get to go to the Doctor this morning to check and see how Trinity is doing. :) Whoo-hoo! Our little girl is growing and SO is mama's belly! I measured my belly the other day.... I have definitely surpassed Tyler!! I am currently 44 inches around. Whoa! I have also graduated out of most of my bed-time t-shirts and have started snagging Tyler's t-shirts. Ha! All is well though. Trin is healthy, I am healthy, Tyler & Tyler Jr are healthy.... and we are all excited to meet Trin in a few weeks. Wow! Could be as soon as 35 days and I will be full-term. It seems closer when you break down the days. I'm definitely doing my best to enjoy each day! Tyler Junior will soon not be an only child getting all the attention, so I want to enjoy this time. Although, I must say, it will be nice to have my body back! :)

Ok... ok... let's get into the Word this morning so I can scoot off to the Doctor. :)

Proverbs 15:15 - All the days of the desponding and afflicted are made evil [by anxious thoughts and forebodings], but he who has a glad heart has a continual feast [regardless of circumstances].

Proverbs 31:25 - Strength and dignity are her clothing and her position is strong and secure; she rejoices over the future [the latter day or time to come, knowing that she and her family are in readiness for it]!

Have you ever found yourself asking questions similar to these?: How are things going to turn out? Will it be good for me? Will I like the outcome? 


I've found personally that it really takes an active effort to keep my thoughts on the positive, rejoicing over the future, though I may not know the exact details of how circumstances will turn out. I don't know if you can relate, but in a time of change it can be easy to err on the beginning of Proverbs 15:15, allowing anxious thoughts and forebodings to creep in. What are "forebodings?" The dictionary defines it as a strong inner  feeling or notion of future misfortune. Proverbs 15:15 tells us that days are made evil because of this very thing, dwelling on the possibility of future misfortune. That is what makes ALL THE DAYS evil, by dwelling on the potential negative that COULD happen.

Do you see the glass half empty? Or do you see the glass half full? Do you expect favor in the situation you are in? Or do you look at all the possibilities where things could turn wrong? If we broke things down, we could say that Proverbs 15:15 is telling us to SEE THE GLASS HALF FULL! Take on an optimistic spirit. Take on a FAVOR mindset. Be favor minded!

Our Proverbs 31 friend is rejoicing over the future. She has done what she can do. She has prepared what she can prepare. She determines within herself, to now, rejoice over the future. The preparations have been made. Like her thoughts are, "Let the outcome be what it may, but I am going to set myself in agreement with favor. I believe that God is working everything out on my behalf. I am prepared. I am ready and the future is going to bring great things to me & my household! With God on my side, who can be against me?"


Don't fret. Don't care. As it says in the 1 Peter, "Cast ALL your cares on Him for HE cares for you!"  


As you set yourself in agreement with the WORD and not the WORLD, watch God work on your behalf. Regardless of circumstances, regardless of the situation, put yourself in agreement with the Word. Speak it out loud!

"MY GOD will even make my mistakes to prosper! I walk in divine favor! All things are working together for my good in Jesus Name! With God for me, who can be against me? ALL things are possible with God. Favor, favor, favor! God's favor is working for me now!"

Don't fret! Agree with the WORD and watch favor line up on your behalf!

 

#194 - Where is the Prize?

Good morning! :) God amazes me. His timing is perfect. And.... he cares. He cares about everything in our lives. He cares about our needs, our wants, our desires. His desire is to bless us, we are His children! I see things at such a deeper perspective now being a parent. How the desire for a parent is to provide MORE than just the bare necessities of a child, but to provide the fun things too. To provide those things for your child where their eyes light up with excitement, they are filled with joy. Whether it be just time playing with them, swinging them around or whether it be a new toy, the joy it brings to a parent to provide MORE than the necessities is now quite apparent. God wants to do the same thing for US! He wants to do that for YOU! He wants to see you giddy! He wants to see you so excited at the blessings HE brings to you. Just like a parent. He IS YOUR parent! Isn't that a blessing! He is OUR parent! He is OUR Father! That is good news. Let's get into today's Word...

Proverbs 15:23,29 - A man has joy in making an apt answer, and a word spoken at the right moment--how good it is! ....He hears the prayer of the [consistently] righteous...

Proverbs 31:16 - ....expanding prudently....

Just yesterday, God amazed me. He does it frequently, but it is fun when you can see how God's timing is better than our own. Several months ago I was considering pursuing some avenues that I "hoped" would provide some extra income in our family. I remember as I thought about it and considered it, in my mind I just didn't feel at peace about it. It was going to call for a lot of time researching some things on line, then if MY PLAN even panned out, MY PLAN was going to cause me and Tyler Junior to have to travel one way about 4 hours, on a frequent basis. To me, my plan sounded very toilsome. I was willing to make it work. I was willing to FORCE all of the puzzle pieces into place, even if they did have to be bent some. I was willing to make MY plan work and let God tag along.

In the back of my mind as I continued "mentally" pursuing this idea, I still settled with a feeling of hesitancy. I did not have peace. One day in my quiet time, I finally just heard clearly, "No. Not now." I had received my direction. I did what most children may do when they don't get their way, I protested. "But... but but but...." I wanted God to know why MY IDEA was a good one and why it should work NOW! It was MY IDEA and I wanted to do it NOW! lol. I laugh just thinking about how that does sound like a little child, nonetheless that was how our conversation went down. Needless to say, I eventually listened. I hung up my idea, not knowing if anything would ever come from it or if it would hang forever, un-pursued.

But isn't God amazing. Isn't his timing perfect and his connections divine?! I have continued to daily do the things that I felt like the Lord was leading me to do. I have continued to just be obedient (for the most part.... an occasional plight for forgiveness would come in). I have stuck to what I KNEW I was directed to work on. Sunday after church as I was talking to our Pastor, he said something, prophesied, over this specific area. I made a comment on the way home from church to Tyler, but just left it at that. If GOD wanted to open up doors, I was going to let him but as it stood, I was just going to be still with the, "No. Not yet."

Then, wouldn't you know it, just yesterday, someone came up to me talking to me about the very same thing. They did not know I had hung up this "plan" just months ago. They not only came to me to specifically make some recommendations, BUT they also gave me a name to this divine connection. The divine connection is someone they knew well, and is the business owner, the actual person I would need to speak with about my idea. They are not 4 hours away, but right here in Columbia!

I think about how it would've turned out if I would have pursued MY PLAN on MY TIME. I think of how the last 3-4 months would have been toilsome, time spent on the computer searching things, time spent driving places that were in vain. Time. Wasted time. I just sit here and thank the Lord that I listened.... sure, maybe stubbornly at first, but I didn't pursue MY plan in MY timing. As this person talked to me, I just felt an abundance of peace. I didn't hear harps, or birds chirping, but I felt peace. I felt like THIS was God's Timing on the idea that I had. HE had planned this person to talk to me. And who knows, if they wouldn't have seen some things I had done, if I wouldn't have continued to be obedient in the day-to-day things I was called to do, they may have never contacted me to connect me with this God-Contact!

Sometimes the word "wait" can be the hardest word for us to hear. Wait. "But, but but but.... I want it NOW! I want it NOW! Work it out NOW God!" His timing is SO much better. Even when it's hard to wait. I once heard Tony Evans talk about this very subject. He said something like this: "There are two scenarios. Both of these single women want to get married desperately. They want to find Mr. Right. Take the first lady. She gets to work at 8:00 in the morning, busies herself for the Lord immediately upon arrival. It seems like no time has passed. She has pursued exactly what the Lord has wanted her to pursue with excellence. What seems like about 5 minutes goes by and they look down at their watch and wouldn't you know, it's already 3:30! It's close to time to go home. She has been so busy getting things done, that she hardly noticed how much time had passed. Then, there is the other woman. She gets to work at 8:00 in the morning. All she can do is sit there and think about how frustrated she is that the Lord hasn't brought her the "Mr. Right" she has been waiting on. She sits there, sulking, doing nothing. Not pursuing the calling God has on her life because she wants to be married. She wants Mr. Right. So, as she sits at work, it seems like five, six hours has passed. She looks at her watch and in utter discouragement she sees that it is only 8:05! All this doing nothing and only 5 minutes has passed!" His point in the story was this, if you are a believer and still clinging on to a promise that is yet to be fulfilled, pursue the calling on your life with fervor!! Time will go by so quickly and the prize that you have been longing for all along will be waiting for you on the other side of your obedience!


Now... I don't care who you are... that is GOOD STUFF! That is some AMEN material right there! The prize that you have been longing for all along will be waiting for you on the other side of your obedience! 


Holla! Amen!

Be blessed my friend!