God Likes Being a Parent

"The Lord will not abandon His people on account of His great name, because the Lord has been pleased to make you a people for Himself" (1 Samuel 12:22, NASB).

     While we are parents, do we realize that we also get to be children? God will always call us his children. He enjoys being our dad, and we can enjoy being his child. That means we can still ask him our questions the way a child would. It means we can still tell him that we don't have it all figured out. It means that we don't have to bear the weight of providing for all our children's needs. We can simply ask our Father in heaven to take care of them in the same way he takes care of us.

     Children aren't afraid to say when they are frightened, confused, or worried. They are expected to take these needs to their parents and get direction and comfort. We can do the same with God.

     Parents, you have an invitation to go to God as a child. He delights in this because he loves being your Dad. Can you relate to God fearlessly as a child would? 

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

Wednesday, August 22

  James 2:17 17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 

 
Read James 2

Heart Center

Brothers and sisters, think about the things that are good and worthy of praise. Think about the things that are true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected (Philippians 4:8, NCV).

     We've said it to our kids on a number of occasions. "You have two choices." Then we proceed to give them their options. Probably one of the choices would be better, but we give them two options to ensure we have a back-up. God also gives us choices. Because of free will, we choose how we spend our time, what we invest our energy in, and what we fill our hearts and minds with.

     His desire for us is that we choose him. He wants us to stay in communication with him as we are faced with daily choices. We keep God as our focal point and continually meet him back at our center, so we don't ever steer too far off course.

     Where do you choose to spend the majority of your time? What choices could you eliminate to stay centered on Jesus? In a busy life of choices, it is important to know your back-up is also your best option--seeking God and choosing life with him. 

Corporate Gathering

Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25, NKJV).

     Sometimes getting to church is hard. The idea of spending a Sunday morning at home on the couch in our pajamas is tempting--especially when it has been a long week. The work it would take to get ourselves and others ready to go and out the door is maybe more energy than we have at the moment. Perhaps we feel like going to church is a waste of time when there is so much catching up to do at home: the lawn needs to be mowed or the kitchen needs a deep clean.

     Is church worth the effort and the time? Always. Worshiping with fellow believers is refreshing. There is strength that comes from being surrounded by the body of Christ. At church we can receive prayer, encouragement, and comfort in knowing that we are not alone. Church is a place we can find rest and feel at home. We are united with family,receiving a greater understanding of who God is.

     Do you find it hard to make it to church consistently? Even when your body is tired, your soul will feel renewed. When your schedule is hectic, you can experience peace. It is definitely worth the effort. 

Faith on an Island

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit.The other man's parcel of land remained barren. After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, all of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing. 

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island.The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a booming voice from heaven, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the Voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.

The Seasons of Life

The Seasons of Life

There was a man who had four sons. He wanted his sons to learn to not judge things too quickly. So he sent them each on a quest, in turn, to go and look at a pear tree that was a great distance away.

The first son went in the winter, the second in the spring, the third in summer, and the youngest son in the fall.

When they had all gone and come back, he called them together to describe what they had seen.

The first son said that the tree was ugly, bent, and twisted.

The second son said no – it was covered with green buds and full of promise.

The third son disagreed, he said it was laden with blossoms that smelled so sweet and looked so beautiful, it was the most graceful thing he had ever seen.

The last son disagreed with all of them; he said it was ripe and drooping with fruit, full of life and fulfilment.

The man then explained to his sons that they were all right, because they had each seen but one season in the tree’s life.

He told them that you cannot judge a tree, or a person, by only one season, and that the essence of who they are – and the pleasure, joy, and love that come from that life – can only be measured at the end, when all the seasons are up.

If you give up when it’s winter, you will miss the promise of your spring, the beauty of your summer, fulfilment of your fall.

Don’t judge a life by one difficult season. Don’t let the pain of one season destroy the joy of all the rest.

Limitless

     Do you struggle with where you fit? Are you on a hunt to find your purpose? Do you feel like you've changed, and the purpose you thought God had for you seems vastly different now? It can be so confusing, can't it? When we think our purpose is unclear, we can easily become blind to God's capacity.
     Friends, God has no capacity. We serve a God without limits. He tells us that, in him, anything is possible. You don't need to have confidence in what you can do--only in what he can accomplish through you. He is capable of absolutely anything, and his plans for you run deep.
     Again and again they limited God, preventing him from blessing them. Continually they turned back from him and wounded the Holy One! They forgot his great love, how he took them by his hand and with redemption's kiss he delivered them from their enemies (Psalm 78:41-42, TPT).
     God, I open my heart and mind to the fullness of your love. Thank you for my purpose in life. Help me walk in a way that will fulfill that purpose. 

Prayer for Healing

God, you know me so well. You created me. You know the number of hairs on my head, and you even know the thoughts conceived in my heart before I ever vocalize them. You've told us to come to you and ask for every need of life. You are Jehovah-Rapha, the God who heals, and you have the final word on my destiny, the number of years I'll live and serve you on earth.

I'm coming to you today as your child, longing to hear from you and asking for your divine healing. There's so much I don't understand about life. But I do know that with one touch, one word, you can make me whole. Please forgive me of my sins, cleanse me of my unrighteousness, and begin your healing from the inside out.

I don't always know what your will is Lord, especially in times like now, when I desperately seek your face. I offer you no promises, no bargains, no deals to exchange for my health. I simply bow my heart before you to tell you the desire of my heart: that I want to spend as many years as I can loving you here, loving others, and wanting to become more like you. However you choose to accomplish that is up to you—and okay with me. If you use doctors to provide healing, give them wisdom to know what to do. Regardless of how you accomplish it, the healing you give is always miraculous. And you deserve all the praise.

Time for Celebration

     Birthday cake, colorful balloons, banners, and joyfully wrapped gifts...celebrating our children's birthdays is a wonderful and timeless tradition. We take extra care to make sure that the birthday girl or boy feels loved, treasured, and valued. Birthdays are an opportunity to celebrate another year with our sweet children. We ponder their wonderful place and presence in our family.
     We are not the only ones who enjoy celebrating our children. It warms God's heart to celebrate them as well. He was the one that created them with so much thought, care, and detail. Each day in our children's lives has value and importance to the Father. To him, every day is worth being celebrated.

     "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).

     Do you know how loved and celebrated you are by God? The way you celebrate your children is the way the Lord loves to celebrate you--every single day. He loves to love you.

    

BIBLE VERSE OF THE DAY

Thursday, August 16

  James 1:2-4 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

 
Read James 1

WHAT OCCUPIES YOUR MIND?

Philippians 3:20

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Too Earthly Minded?

Are we living on Earth but living with the end in mind? What I mean is, do we live each day knowing that our citizenship is not here but in heaven (Phil. 3:20)? We are already in the kingdom if we’ve been born again (John 3:3) since the King of that kingdom died for us, was raised again, and will take us into that kingdom someday (soon?). No matter what we suffer with today, the glory that’s coming cannot even be compared to what will be revealed someday (Rom. 8:18). Every day I get up, and it’s a little bit harder because this body is decaying rapidly the older I get, but it’s going to be rebuilt someday with the eternal hands of God (2 Cor. 5:1). Today we have the image of a dust-made body that is passing away, but someday we’ll exchange it for a heavenly image and an immortal body (1 Cor. 15:49

Too Heavenly Minded?

Is it possible that we can be too heavenly minded to be any earthly good? I don’t believe so. In fact, I think we’re actually more earthly good when we are heavenly minded because we have this hope of glory in us. This hope of heaven is laid up for us already, and that’s part of the message of the Gospel (Col. 1:5). What is the worst thing that could happen to us today? We could die, and then, oh no, we’d suddenly be in the presence of the Lord! How terrible–not! See my point? The moment we leave this earthly tent, in the very next instant we’ll be with the Lord; Paul was confident of that (2 Cor. 5:8). Are we? I hope so. Of course, I’m in no hurry because as long as you and I are drawing breath, God is telling us that He’s not done with us yet. We’ve got work to do, the work of heaven!

Keep Looking Up

I love the analogy of keeping our eyes looking upward in eager expectation and anticipation of Christ’s return. Jesus will come down from the heavens with a voice of an archangel, and when that trumpet sounds, the dead go first and then we go next (1 Thess. 4:16) to ever be with our Lord. This will take less time than the blinking of an eye (1 Cor. 15:22). Then we’ll be with the Lord forevermore (1 Thess. 4:17). It can’t get any better than that, can it? Imagine the reunion with our long-lost loved ones who trusted in Christ. Think about meeting all of those heroes and heroines of the Bible. Imagine rubbing shoulders with King David, Abraham, and Paul, but first and foremost, I want to see Jesus, fall at His feet, and worship Him. Shouldn’t that occupy our thinking today while we live on Earth?

A Closing Prayer

Great Creator God, You will call again to the handiwork of Your hands, for You won’t leave me in the grave but call me to Yourself to be forever in Your presence. Please help me to dwell on the heavenly things while still here on Earth, and in Jesus’ name I pray.

Amen

Bible Verse of the Day

Saturday, August 04

Romans 5:8  8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Read Romans 5

Admitting Fault

     Depending on how old your children are, they may not know yet that you are not perfect. If you are still in that honeymoon phase of motherhood, enjoy it; it will be over soon enough.
     Because we are all sinners, our kids will see us sin. Because of their proximity and the intimacy of the relationship, they'll see it a lot. Let them see! Admitting our faults and failures is one of the best ways we can teach them about God's grace. Let them know God forgives us the moment we regret and confess our actions.
     If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts (1 John 1:8-10, NLT).
     Do you struggle with letting your children see you vulnerable, less-than-perfect side? Or have trouble admitting when you are in the wrong? Ask God to help you examine your heart, and to bless you with the freedom and confidence to admit your shortcomings--to him, to your children, and to yourself. Thank him for loving you just as you are.

Bible Verse of the Day

Thursday, August 02

  Luke 18:42-4342 Jesus said to him, “Receive your sight; your faith has healed you.” 43 Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God. 

 
Read Luke 18

Bible Verse of the Day

Friday, August 03

Genesis 4:7  7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.” 

 
Read Genesis 4

Truly Special

     We all want to believe that we are special. Most of us grow up being told that we are, and it feels good to believe it. But over time, we look around and realize that, really, we are just like everyone else. Doubt begins to creep in, making us second guess ourselves and damaging our self-confidence.
     Long before you were even a wisp in your mother's womb, you were set aside and marked as special. You were chosen to be God's special possession, and that's a pretty amazing thing.
     You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9, NIV).
     Thank you, God, that you see me as special. I revel in that knowledge today. You call me out of the darkness of the ordinary and bring me into the light of the extraordinary. You have hand-picked me and you love me.

Expectations

     How many mothers have dropped their children off in the nursery at church and left them crying? Not wanting to release their grip on safety, the children cling to their mothers like newborn kittens, claws out and not letting go. Moms start whispering to them that they will be fine, that mommy will be back, that they will have fun with their friends. Somewhat reluctantly, they hand them over to the childcare volunteer with an apologetic look and quickly back out of the room. It can be a devastating feeling.
     The morning they envisioned of sitting and gleaning wisdom from the sermon has vanished. Instead, they stare at the screen wondering if their child's number will be called. They're distracted from fully enjoying the morning they had expected. Expectations. Our expectations can let us down in unthinkable ways. They can take us away from enjoying the moment, and are often too controlling.
     Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off (Proverbs 24:14, ESV).
     How do expectations sometimes hinder your experience? Every once in awhile, practice the art of giving up your expectation to God. It is out of your hands and rests in the hands of the Father who knows best.

Value in the Menial

     The tasks of motherhood can sometimes take on an oppressive quality. As intelligent, vibrant , beings, full of life and promise and acquiring wisdom every day, mothers can begin to feel underutilized, underappreciated, and overwhelmed.
     When this happens, take a look at Jesus and what he showed his disciples. His last task--his final act of service--was to pick up a towel, get down on his knees, and wash their feet. Tenderly, lovingly, he took each disciple's foot into his hands, removed the grime, and soothed the blisters and the calluses. It was a lowly job, and it demonstrated the highest love. This is how precious you are to me, his simple act said.
     "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you" (John 13:15, NLT).
     Can you allow this verse to help you begin to see the more menial, thankless aspects of your role in a new way? Do you believe you are following Jesus' example when you wipe runny noses, change dirty diapers, or even pick up discarded juice boxes and soda cans? Why, or why not?

Box Full of Kisses (Love)

Some time ago, a man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box to put under the Christmas tree.

Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.”
The man became embarrassed by his overreaction earlier, but his rage continue when he saw that the box was empty. He yelled at her; “Don’t you know, when you give someone a present, there is supposed to be something inside?”
The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and cried;

“Oh, Daddy, it’s not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They’re all for you, Daddy.”

The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.
Only a short time later, an accident took the life of the child.
Her father kept the gold box by his bed for many years and, whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.
Moral of the story: Love is the most precious gift in the world.

Puppies for Sale (Understanding)

A shop owner placed a sign above his door that said: “Puppies For Sale.”

Signs like this always have a way of attracting young children, and to no surprise, a boy saw the sign and approached the owner; “How much are you going to sell the puppies for?” he asked.

The store owner replied, “Anywhere from $30 to $50.”
The little boy pulled out some change from his pocket. “I have $2.37,” he said. “Can I please look at them?”
The shop owner smiled and whistled. Out of the kennel came Lady, who ran down the aisle of his shop followed by five teeny, tiny balls of fur.
One puppy was lagging considerably behind. Immediately the little boy singled out the lagging, limping puppy and said, “What’s wrong with that little dog?”
The shop owner explained that the veterinarian had examined the little puppy and had discovered it didn’t have a hip socket. It would always limp. It would always be lame.

The little boy became excited. “That is the puppy that I want to buy.”
The shop owner said, “No, you don’t want to buy that little dog. If you really want him, I’ll just give him to you.”
The little boy got quite upset. He looked straight into the store owner’s eyes, pointing his finger, and said;

“I don’t want you to give him to me. That little dog is worth every bit as much as all the other dogs and I’ll pay full price. In fact, I’ll give you $2.37 now, and 50 cents a month until I have him paid for.”

The shop owner countered, “You really don’t want to buy this little dog. He is never going to be able to run and jump and play with you like the other puppies.”
To his surprise, the little boy reached down and rolled up his pant leg to reveal a badly twisted, crippled left leg supported by a big metal brace. He looked up at the shop owner and softly replied, “Well, I don’t run so well myself, and the little puppy will need someone who understands!”

The Blind Girl (Change)

There was a blind girl who hated herself purely for the fact she was blind. The only person she didn’t hate was her loving boyfriend, as he was always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry him.

One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her – now she could see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, “now that you can see the world, will you marry me?”
The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying:

“Just take care of my eyes dear.”

Moral of the story: When our circumstances change, so does our mind. Some people may not be able to see the way things were before, and might not be able to appreciate them. There are many things to take away from this story, not just one.

Control Your Temper (Anger)

There once was a little boy who had a very bad temper. His father decided to hand him a bag of nails and said that every time the boy lost his temper, he had to hammer a nail into the fence.

On the first day, the boy hammered 37 nails into that fence.
The boy gradually began to control his temper over the next few weeks, and the number of nails he was hammering into the fence slowly decreased. He discovered it was easier to control his temper than to hammer those nails into the fence.
Finally, the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He told his father the news and the father suggested that the boy should now pull out a nail every day he kept his temper under control.
The days passed and the young boy was finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone. The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence.

“you have done well, my son, but look at the holes in the fence. The fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won’t matter how many times you say I’m sorry, the wound is still there.”

Moral of the story: Control your anger, and don’t say things to people in the heat of the moment, that you may later regret. Some things in life, you are

The Butterfly (Struggles)

A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared. He sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Until it suddenly stopped making any progress and looked like it was stuck.

So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily, although it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings.

The man didn’t think anything of it and sat there waiting for the wings to enlarge to support the butterfly. But that didn’t happen. The butterfly spent the rest of its life unable to fly, crawling around with tiny wings and a swollen body.

Despite the kind heart of the man, he didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle needed by the butterfly to get itself through the small opening; were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings. To prepare itself for flying once it was out of the cocoon.

Moral of the story: Our struggles in life develop our strengths. Without struggles, we never grow and never get stronger, so it’s important for us to tackle challenges on our own, and not be relying on help from others.

The Obstacle In Our Path (Opportunity)

In ancient times, a King had a boulder placed on a roadway. He then hid himself and watched to see if anyone would move the boulder out of the way. Some of the king’s wealthiest merchants and courtiers came by and simply walked around it.

Many people loudly blamed the King for not keeping the roads clear, but none of them did anything about getting the stone out of the way.

A peasant then came along carrying a load of vegetables. Upon approaching the boulder, the peasant laid down his burden and tried to push the stone out of the road. After much pushing and straining, he finally succeeded.

After the peasant went back to pick up his vegetables, he noticed a purse lying in the road where the boulder had been. The purse contained many gold coins and a note from the King explaining that the gold was for the person who removed the boulder from the roadway.

Moral of the story: Every obstacle we come across in life gives us an opportunity to improve our circumstances, and whilst the lazy complain, the others are creating opportunities through their kind hearts, generosity, and willingness to get things done.

A Pound of Butter (Honesty)

There was a farmer who sold a pound of butter to a baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the right amount, which he wasn’t. Angry about this, he took the farmer to court.

The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure to weight the butter. The farmer replied, “Honor, I am primitive. I don’t have a proper measure, but I do have a scale.”
The judge asked, “Then how do you weigh the butter?”
The farmer replied;

“Your Honor, long before the baker started buying butter from me, I have been buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every day when the baker brings the bread, I put it on the scale and give him the same weight in butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker.”

Moral of the story: In life, you get what you give. Don’t try and cheat others.

Water Isn't Concrete

     Have you ever stepped out in "blind faith" and said yes to something crazy that God called you to do? The valley of decision can be long and difficult, so when we finally take that step of saying yes, we can expect everything to come together almost instantly on the other side.
     But, when God calls you to get out of the boat, to walk on the water with him--you can't expect to step out onto solid ground. Water will never be concrete. Why are we surprised at the raging waves that at any moment could sweep us under? The circumstances in life are never going to be sure. Our plans are never going to go off without a hitch. After all, we're trying to walk on water. But if we keep our eyes focused on his, we can walk across even the most tempestuous waters, as if they were simply solid ground.
     Peter said, "Lord, if it really you, then command me to come to you on the water." Jesus said, "Come." And Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus (Matthew 14:28-29, NCV).
    Lord, keep my eyes locked on you so that when I step out in faith in response to your calling, I will walk on even the most difficult waters as if my feet were planted on solid ground.