I asked my dear husband to write this weeks devotion due to my hectic schedule. I was blessed as I read it. I pray that it challenges you as well.
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On the Spot
Read Luke 18:18-23, ( I dare you.)
I think about being put on the spot. I was put on the spot today, asked to do something that I really did not feel like doing. The funny thing about it is that it brought to mind almost immediately the parable of the rich young ruler. After reading this parable and asking the Lord for discernment, I began to get an understanding of the depth of sorrow that the young man must have felt. He truly wanted to inherit eternal life. I mean, he didn’t just ask Jesus how he could get it……he said “what shall I do….” This guy already had it figured that he was going to get there. He just needed to know what to do next. This is when Jesus put him on the spot.
I get asked to do things I don’t want to do. I get asked to answer for things I really don’t want to answer for. Some things happen to me in front of people I don’t want to see it. Sometimes I am made to be responsible for things I don’t care to be responsible for. Somewhere in this heart of mine is a little (don’t I wish it were little!) piece of selfishness that just wants it all to go the way I want it to go. For thirty some years I had never found myself put on a “spot” that I could not avoid, ignore, or just plain not give a darn about. One day I could no longer avoid the truth. I was put on the spot and I had to answer for the truth as I knew it. It was hard because I knew that it meant serving something other than me. It meant that I had to give up everything I had, and this meant everything, to serve another. Even today my flesh was screaming to not give in and do what I know the Lord would want me to do. So here I am.
This rich young man thought he had the answers already. He wasn’t asking because he was truly ready to commit. He had ulterior motives. Hmmm. Many times I too have these motives. But the day I ran out of places to hide from the truth I already knew was the day that God put me on the spot. I too was full of sorrow when faced with the decision to commit myself to a life for Christ. It was time to die. Nobody really wants to die. It is what made the rich young man sorrowful, I believe. Today I am happy in Christ, not in the state of my physical life and all of the things tied to it. It was a death well worth dying to be birthed again in the joy of serving a King that has a place for me in His kingdom. Every day I am put on the spot, nothing has changed about this. The difference is that I now find myself blessed to serve another, and I no longer feel the need to ask “what shall I do…..” (Luke 18:18-23)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
R-e-s-p-e-c-t: find out what it means to HE!
To help walk through this transition time, I have begun a mentoring process with a dear friend. She offers many years of experience and lots of wisdom and spiritual maturity. I am blessed! In meeting with her recently, she sensed the Lord encourage her to share the following scripture verses from 1 Peter 3. First we read it in the NIV version, then the Message and last in the Amplified Bible. I have copied the Amplified version below. As married women, I encourage you to read, and reread the verses out loud and ask the Lord to massage this into your soul. The bold and italic emphasis in verse 2 is mine.
1 Peter 3 (Amplified Bible)
1 In like manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them, and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives,
2 When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him--to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband].
3 Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes;
4 But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God.
5 For it was thus that the pious women of old who hoped in God were [accustomed] to beautify themselves and were submissive to their husbands [adapting themselves to them as themselves secondary and dependent upon them].
6 It was thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham [following his guidance and acknowledging his headship over her by] calling him lord (master, leader, authority). And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you].
I have begun a word study on the words shared in Verse 2. Just what exactly does reverence mean? What about respect? As God perfectly orchestrates things, just this week I began reading a new book titled "For Women Only" by: Shaunti Feldhahn. Guess what the first chapter is about? Yep, you guessed it, RESPECT. It was eye opening for me and through confirmation after confirmation, I believe that is what I am to share about in this devotion.
In a nutshell, to share a portion of what I am learning: showing respect to my husband has NOTHING to do with how he acts or what he's done. Showing respect is not something he should earn. Showing respect to my husband is a choice I make. Sometimes, I have to consciously make a choice to respect him numerous times throughout the day, and often times, I fail and must ask forgiveness. Nonetheless, I am committed to learn and put this principle into practice.
Just as women have a basic need to feel loved, guys have a basic need to feel respected. In the aforementioned book, the author shares an experiment she observed while at a conference on relationships. The room is divided - men on one side and women on the other. The question is asked, "If you had to choose, would you rather feel alone and unloved in the world OR would you rather feel inadequate and disrespected by everyone?"
The author (who is a woman) shares that she thought to herself, "What kind of choice is that? Who would ever chose to feel unloved?" But, the responses were shocking. The majority of the men raised their hands to indicate they would rather feel alone and unloved than disrespected. Likewise, the majority of the women raised their hands to indicate that they would rather feel inadequate and disrespected than unloved.
So, I asked my husband this question, as if to prove it's validity, again, I was flabbergasted at the response. There is something to this respect thing!!
I know that for women, especially women in our circumstances, you might be asking, "but my husband has put me through so much", or "but I don't trust him", or, "he doesn't respect me, why should I respect him". I have had all of those thoughts myself. BUT, I am compelled to encourage us all to begin to show respect to our husbands, not only when he is present, but when we're talking with our friends and even as we think about them in our thoughts.
1 Peter 3 (Amplified Bible)
1 In like manner, you married women, be submissive to your own husbands [subordinate yourselves as being secondary to and dependent on them, and adapt yourselves to them], so that even if any do not obey the Word [of God], they may be won over not by discussion but by the [godly] lives of their wives,
2 When they observe the pure and modest way in which you conduct yourselves, together with your reverence [for your husband; you are to feel for him all that reverence includes: to respect, defer to, revere him--to honor, esteem, appreciate, prize, and, in the human sense, to adore him, that is, to admire, praise, be devoted to, deeply love, and enjoy your husband].
3 Let not yours be the [merely] external adorning with [elaborate] interweaving and knotting of the hair, the wearing of jewelry, or changes of clothes;
4 But let it be the inward adorning and beauty of the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible and unfading charm of a gentle and peaceful spirit, which [is not anxious or wrought up, but] is very precious in the sight of God.
5 For it was thus that the pious women of old who hoped in God were [accustomed] to beautify themselves and were submissive to their husbands [adapting themselves to them as themselves secondary and dependent upon them].
6 It was thus that Sarah obeyed Abraham [following his guidance and acknowledging his headship over her by] calling him lord (master, leader, authority). And you are now her true daughters if you do right and let nothing terrify you [not giving way to hysterical fears or letting anxieties unnerve you].
I have begun a word study on the words shared in Verse 2. Just what exactly does reverence mean? What about respect? As God perfectly orchestrates things, just this week I began reading a new book titled "For Women Only" by: Shaunti Feldhahn. Guess what the first chapter is about? Yep, you guessed it, RESPECT. It was eye opening for me and through confirmation after confirmation, I believe that is what I am to share about in this devotion.
In a nutshell, to share a portion of what I am learning: showing respect to my husband has NOTHING to do with how he acts or what he's done. Showing respect is not something he should earn. Showing respect to my husband is a choice I make. Sometimes, I have to consciously make a choice to respect him numerous times throughout the day, and often times, I fail and must ask forgiveness. Nonetheless, I am committed to learn and put this principle into practice.
Just as women have a basic need to feel loved, guys have a basic need to feel respected. In the aforementioned book, the author shares an experiment she observed while at a conference on relationships. The room is divided - men on one side and women on the other. The question is asked, "If you had to choose, would you rather feel alone and unloved in the world OR would you rather feel inadequate and disrespected by everyone?"
The author (who is a woman) shares that she thought to herself, "What kind of choice is that? Who would ever chose to feel unloved?" But, the responses were shocking. The majority of the men raised their hands to indicate they would rather feel alone and unloved than disrespected. Likewise, the majority of the women raised their hands to indicate that they would rather feel inadequate and disrespected than unloved.
So, I asked my husband this question, as if to prove it's validity, again, I was flabbergasted at the response. There is something to this respect thing!!
I know that for women, especially women in our circumstances, you might be asking, "but my husband has put me through so much", or "but I don't trust him", or, "he doesn't respect me, why should I respect him". I have had all of those thoughts myself. BUT, I am compelled to encourage us all to begin to show respect to our husbands, not only when he is present, but when we're talking with our friends and even as we think about them in our thoughts.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Integrity
I had been having excessive headaches and I finally heeded recommendations that, at age 34, I should have my vision checked. Bottom line, I got glasses. I have one eye that's great (20/20) and one eye that's a little off (20/40). If both my eyes were the same, that wouldn't be much of a problem. However, because one eye was over-compensating for the other one, that triggered excessive headaches for me every day.
As I brought my new "fashion statement" home, I asked the Lord to give me "His eyes". I asked Him to show me people I come into contact with throughout my day that need a smile, a touch, and some encouragement. I asked Him to show me what He sees in people, people created in His image. I asked Him to give me eyes of love as I communicate with my family during trying times. And, above all else, I asked Him to show me what He sees in me, His daughter.
Throughout the week, He has taught me many things. One of the lessons I learned was about David.
David was a man after God's own heart. Many of us have heard stories of David. At a young age he killed the mighty philistine, Goliath; he was an anointed king; as king he served God with his whole heart; he was also was a adulterer and a murderer.
YET, in the Bible in 1 Kings 9:4, as the Lord is talking with Solomon about his father David, it says: "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did..."
Integrity of heart?? Uprightness?? Doesn't God remember David and Bathsheba (adultery)? David and Uriah (murder)?
I looked up "integrity" in the dictionary and I found definitions like:
- adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
- the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished
- a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition
Yet, God describes David with integrity. When God exposed his sin, he repented. Not only did he repent, he got back up and continued his walk with the Lord.
Lord, I ask You to teach us about integrity. I ask that you would put a desire in us to walk in integrity of heart, not just as David did, but as your Son Jesus did as He walked this earth. I ask that if there is sin in our lives, you would convict us, forgive us, and help us to our feet once again. Lord, may You be pleased with integrity in our hearts. I ask that we begin to look at others, as well as ourselves, with Your eyes. Thank you Jesus for your Word. Amen!
Mark 12:14
They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
Proverbs 13:6
Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
As I brought my new "fashion statement" home, I asked the Lord to give me "His eyes". I asked Him to show me people I come into contact with throughout my day that need a smile, a touch, and some encouragement. I asked Him to show me what He sees in people, people created in His image. I asked Him to give me eyes of love as I communicate with my family during trying times. And, above all else, I asked Him to show me what He sees in me, His daughter.
Throughout the week, He has taught me many things. One of the lessons I learned was about David.
David was a man after God's own heart. Many of us have heard stories of David. At a young age he killed the mighty philistine, Goliath; he was an anointed king; as king he served God with his whole heart; he was also was a adulterer and a murderer.
YET, in the Bible in 1 Kings 9:4, as the Lord is talking with Solomon about his father David, it says: "As for you, if you walk before me in integrity of heart and uprightness, as David your father did..."
Integrity of heart?? Uprightness?? Doesn't God remember David and Bathsheba (adultery)? David and Uriah (murder)?
I looked up "integrity" in the dictionary and I found definitions like:
- adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.
- the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished
- a sound, unimpaired, or perfect condition
Yet, God describes David with integrity. When God exposed his sin, he repented. Not only did he repent, he got back up and continued his walk with the Lord.
Lord, I ask You to teach us about integrity. I ask that you would put a desire in us to walk in integrity of heart, not just as David did, but as your Son Jesus did as He walked this earth. I ask that if there is sin in our lives, you would convict us, forgive us, and help us to our feet once again. Lord, may You be pleased with integrity in our hearts. I ask that we begin to look at others, as well as ourselves, with Your eyes. Thank you Jesus for your Word. Amen!
Mark 12:14
They came to him and said, "Teacher, we know you are a man of integrity. You aren't swayed by men, because you pay no attention to who they are; but you teach the way of God in accordance with the truth.
1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity.
Proverbs 13:6
Righteousness guards the man of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.
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