Off and Running

“Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
I do not fight like a man beating the air."
I Corinthians 9:26 NIV

Right after the last piece of pumpkin pie has been devoured and the last turkey sandwich has been gobbled down my brain switches immediately to Christmas preparation. This morning as I stroll through my garden I find myself savoring the last of the beautiful hot pink Camellias. The brisk fall air encourages me to wrap my scarf around my neck a little tighter. This morning the message is clear, it is time to toss the pumpkins and begin to prepare for Christmas. As I began to think about Christmas I also began to struggle with the commercialism that surrounds Christmas and excludes Jesus. In response to my thoughts I bow my head and ask God to show me how he would have me prepare for Christmas.

So as I begin to shop, decorate, bake, entertain, wrap gifts, and mail cards, I will try to simplify my efforts as I prepare for Christmas. I will also look for ways that I might center more on Jesus. It is indeed a shame that this must be a conscious effort, but the noise of our society bombards us with a million alternatives. One of my main resolutions this year is to participate selectively in the many activities, yet find time to be alone with the One whose birthday we celebrate and to spend time meditating upon the events surrounding the birth of Christ. I have found in the past that it is possible to form wonderful Christmas traditions that include Jesus.

All of us are attacked on every front by the commercialism of Christmas. However, it is important to step back and take a deep breath and evaluate all that is on our plate. What will we keep and what must go. Below are some questions that have helped me to pick and choose the way I will spend my time and energy as I prepare for Christmas. I know that I will be running, but I hope that as I run my Christmas marathon it will be with meaning and purpose. Here are some questions to consider.

What can I do to make my Christmas “Quiet Time” special?

How much time am I willing to give to each Christmas project?

How can I enhance my Christmas projects with spiritual significance?

Does this activity bring me joy or frustration?

How can I eliminate the frustration and replace it with joy?

I love Christmas! I look forward to all of the festivities leading up to December 25th. It is an exceptional opportunity for family togetherness and sharing. I am always amazed at the story of the virgin birth of Jesus Christ, the appearance of the angels, the humble shepherds, and the simple manner in which God chose for his son to enter our world. I marvel at the forgiveness, obedience and devotion of Joseph, the availability of Mary and her accepting heart. The focused determination of the wise men was amazing as they searched for the star. Last but never least, what about the music of Christmas? Oh… how I love the music of Christmas! I pray that this year you will join me as we embrace the Christmas season with spiritual thoughtfulness and eternal purpose.


Questions:

Today’s questions are found in the body of this week’s devotional. Please take time to consider each question prayerfully. God is able to inspire and direct your steps as you prepare for the birthday of his Son.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Christmas is a beautiful time of year. I joyfully look forward to celebrating your birth. Help me Jesus to be very intentional this year, as I endeavor not to overload on meaningless activities and push you aside. May I put you first and seek to know your heart and mind for me as I plan a special Christmas that will bring joy to my family and glory to you.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

The Trees of the Field Clap Their Hands

“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Isaiah 55:12 NIV

Although autumn is beautiful, it sill is not my favorite season because the crispness of autumn signals the coming winter. All of my flower gardens suffer the sad effects of the cool days of autumn. The annuals die and my perennials are in need of being cut back as they prepare for their winter nap.

Yet there are moments in autumn that our amazing God dips his creative hand down to earth and swishes his glorious paint brush over the trees creating a thrilling scene! It is especially beautiful against the back drop of a deep blue cloudless autumn sky. This exquisite picture is indeed a feast for my eyes!

I believe this may have been what the prophet Isaiah was describing when he wrote that the mountains and hills burst into song and the trees of the field clap their hands. The display of the rich red, orange, gold and yellow leaves of autumn are indeed reason for the trees to clap their hands in praise to their creator. It is this autumn beauty that ushers in the harvest and Thanksgiving Day.

Every Thanksgiving, right before prayer, our family sits before our Thanksgiving feast and each of us pick up the two kernels of Indian corn that has been placed at our plate. As a small basket makes its way around the table every adult and child drop into the basket their corn kernels, and one at a time each person express two special blessings that they want to thank God for.

This year my thanks will not be for the many temporal blessing of provision that God has given to me, but rather for two other amazing gifts. The first gift is the joy that I have in my soul even during days of trouble and uncertainty. The second gift that I am grateful for is God’s sweet gift of his peace.

This Thanksgiving I want to join in with the trees of the field and clap my hands in praise, worship, and thanksgiving for two of the most satisfying gifts that God could ever bestow upon me, his joy and his peace.

Questions:

Can you think of a special time when you witnessed the beauty of nature praising God?

What two things are you the most thankful for this Thanksgiving?

Prayer:

Dear God,

Thank you for such a beautiful visual of how the trees of the field clap their hands in praise and worship. God, create in me a pure heart that also praises you in delight for all of your amazing works. Today I bow before you with a thankful heart for the many blessings that you have brought into my life. Thank you also for your joy and peace.

In Your Son’s Name I pray. Amen.

Spending Time With God Each Day...Is It Opitional?

“He makes me to lie down in green pastures:

he leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul:

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.”
Psalm 23:2-3 NIV

Is spending time with God each day optional? Of course it’s optional! God doesn’t force himself on anyone. Is it wise to start your day without greeting God and saying hello? Well no, not really. I have personally found that when I hurry through my day without connecting with God in a significant way I seem to loose my focus. I become more focused on myself, my work, and my desires. My emotions are open for attack from others and my feelings seem to get hurt easier. As the day moves along I find myself becoming more stressed and more dissatisfied with life and others, and on a scale of one to ten I give myself about a nine and a half in the irritability and crabbiness categories! Now mind you I said that’s me, not you! Satan is also very aware when I have become distracted and have lost sight of my spiritual focus. He desires that my thoughts would be self centered instead of Christ centered.

For me meeting with God early in the morning is best. You see I’m old and the memory is going! I’ve got to hit it while my mind is clear and I can still think. When my children were small this was not a good option for me. During that time of my life it was quick prayers on the fly with a more intentional time with God during their naps, if I even tried at all! If you are a male or female in the work arena you may need to find another solution. Perhaps going into work a bit earlier, closing your office door, sitting alone in your cubical, or sitting in your car a bit longer before rushing into work. You might try listening to praise music on the way to work and shooting up a prayer to God as you worship him through music. There are many devotional books that take just a very few minutes to read or a flip calendar for your desk that has a scripture with an inspiring thought. Or you might try eating your lunch in a quiet place while you have a time alone with God. Of course, there is evening. You may find that evening may be your best option for plugging in to God, but in reality the day is already over and you have missed out on the jump start of God’s strength that you could have drawn from all during your day.

Guilt is the last thing that any of us need but encouragement to raise the bar in our life to include God is beneficial. One of the biggest misconceptions about spending time alone with God daily is that it must be done at a particular time and place. The amount of time is up to you and if you miss a day that okay. Just keep trying. God knows your heart. I am sure that God would rather have a few moments of your pure worship opposed to you being a self-righteous person setting down for an hour out of duty. Our time alone with God is a personal goal to be aspired to and improved upon as we live out our life here on earth.

The longer I live the more I treasure my time alone with God. There is something to be said about being able to shut out the noise of life and to separate myself from other people and go one-on-One with God. It is in this the time that I am carried to a higher level of intimacy with God. It is a time of comfort and encouragement. It is a time that I can love on God and he can love on me. It is a time when I can learn more about God and his incredible ways.

I have many tools at my disposal to help me grow in the Lord and all are good and have a purpose. However, I have found that at some point I still have to turn off the minister on the radio, put away my Bible study lesson, stop reading that highly recommend Christian book, turn off my praise and worship music, and though it pains me to say this, turn off the computer and skip reading blogs. I have found that it is so important for me to make an effort to shut out the Christian world and spend one-on-One time alone with God simply reading the Bible and praying without distraction. I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God wants all of us to lie down in a green pasture, and sit beside the still waters while we allow him to restore our soul. God wants to be the One to lead us and redirect our path. He wants to restore our focus to his righteousness because he loves you and me and wants us to be the best we can be. Yes, spending quality time alone with God is optional. But in order for us to have the spiritual growth that we desire – it is necessary!



Questions:

Do you have regular time alone with God?

Do you desire to have a regular time alone with God but keep allowing your busy schedule to crowd time alone with God out of your life?

Do you agree that for personal spiritual growth spending time alone with God each day it is not an option but rather a necessary activity?

Can you find a personal solution to finding time to be alone with only God?


Prayer:

Dear God,

I do see that choosing to not to spend time with you is indeed an option, but choosing to avoid personal time with you is not a good idea. Please replace the guilt I feel regarding this choice with a deep desire to spend time alone time with you. Please show me how I can fit this one-on-One time with you into my already busy day. God I admit that sometimes I am better at this than other times. Show me how to sit aside good things for greater things. More than anything else, I pray that you would fan the flame of desire in my spirit so that I will want to be with you, not out of obligation, but rather out of love. God I want my days to run smoother, I want to live less stressed, I desire to be less irritable, I want my life to reflect you as I go through my day. God, I need the power in my life that only comes from spending time alone with you.

In Your Son’s Name I Pray. Amen.

Cared for by Jesus

“…Come and have breakfast.” John 21:12a NIV

When was the last time when someone cooked breakfast for you? If you are like me, I’m the cook! Young mothers are so busy that often they don’t even get to eat breakfast. I would imagine that many of you are rushing out of the house and into your car with only a food bar in your hand. Some of you will simply skip breakfast because you overslept and didn’t have time to eat.

It was again during my time alone with Jesus in the garden that he stirred my heart with the truth of yet another scripture. It was the story found in John 21:1-14. This is an amazing story. Jesus had been crucified and laid in the tomb. Jesus had risen and was making some unexpected appearances here and there to the disciples. The fact was the disciples were out of work and it seemed that their boss had closed up shop. What else was there to do but go back to fishing?

It was night time and several of the disciples (including Peter) went out to fish. They fished all night and in the early morning someone from the shore called out, “Friends haven’t you any fish?” At this point they did not recognize Jesus and probably didn’t appreciate the fact that this man was rubbing it in that they didn’t have any fish! Jesus then said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” This story further reveals that when they did, the catch was so great (153 fish to be exact) that they were unable to haul the net into the boat. At this point John recognized Jesus. Then Peter (the one who had denied Jesus three times,) jumped into the water and ran to meet Jesus! Peter was in such a hurry that he left the others to drag in the fish. How appropriate! Some work and some socialize.

Now here is the good part. When they all got to shore they realized that Jesus had laid a fire of burning coals and there was some fish on it and some bread. Jesus simply said, “Come and have breakfast.” Jesus took the bread and fish and gave it to his friends.

I am stirred deep within my heart and moved to unbelievable tears of joy when I realize that Jesus would cook breakfast for me. Just as Jesus provided for the physical needs of his loved ones, he has and will continue to provide for my physical needs a well. The second amazing thing is that no matter how many times I may fail Jesus, he never fails me. I am so glad that he allowed Peter to eat because I know that even in my failures Jesus loves me so much he would never deny me an opportunity to eat with him. He is the bread of life and there is plenty to go around.

Questions:

Do you remember a time when Jesus was this personal with you?

How do you feel about the fact that even in your failure Jesus is always
faithful to you?

Prayer:

Dear Jesus,

Today I am so thankful for your amazing love to me. I am blessed to know that even when I am not faithful, you are. Thank you Lord that you love me in such a personal way that you would cook breakfast for me! That kind of personal care and attention to my physical need is mind boggling! I pray that this knowledge will enable me to trust you more and that it will challenge me to seek you and spend more time alone with you.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Visiting the Secret Garden

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day…the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:8 – 9a NIV

Very early this morning I wrapped myself in an afghan, poured a cup of coffee and walked out on my back porch. The sky was still dark. I sat silently listening to God’s creation. Insects chirped their symphony of praise while the birds still slept in their nests. As I entered my heart’s secret garden I attempted to clear my mind of all clutter. I waited silently for Jesus to speak. Even though I could not see him or feel him, my faith told me he was there. I was comforted to be in his presence.

After a bit of time had passed my Master Gardner, Jesus Christ began to teach me. As he often did in scripture, he began with a question. “Paula, what do you think needs to come out of your garden?” My reply was, “nothing Lord; I love it just as it is!”

Jesus began his silent teaching through whispering A thought into my mind. He spoke only one word “resentment.” He said you have made progress in forgiveness and in acceptance, yet you still need to deal with this deep rooted weed of resentment.

I determined this morning that even though I may be able to forgive and accept the ones who offend me, I still resent them critiquing me and my values. I feel hurt when I am ignored and I resent that I am not valued by the offender. Rejection is hard to accept.

It was in the garden that Jesus began in love to teach me. Jesus spoke to me in kindness and he assured me that if I would allow him to uproot the resentment weed I would become a more effective Christian. Down deep in my heart I so want to be a person of godly influence. I realized that in that moment I was not strong enough to remove that deeply rooted weed of resentment that was entangled in my heart. A weed of this size would require a powerful tiller. The divine tool I needed here was the Holy Spirit. So on that day I gave God permission to excavate the deep root of resentment. He assured me, as he always does, that I would not miss this weed of resentment because he is all that I need and he is more than enough!

Today I am reminded that Jesus was ignored. Still today, Jesus is not valued by those he loves. He faces rejection everyday. Yet he continues to love humanity. Jesus stayed focused on the Father and the reason that he came to this earth. He had no time for pity parties. He moved on doing the work God had given him to do. Jesus saw the bigger picture and he knew that it was for the eternal good of all humanity to walk away and not waste one a minute on resentment. For my eternal good I want to choose to say good-bye to resentment. Resentment does not belong in the garden of my heart and when it tries to return I will definitely need to call for divine help.

Questions:

Have you ever waited and listened for God to whisper his truth to your heart?

What did he say?

Is the noise of the day so loud that you cannot hear God speak?

Will you today make a place where you can be alone with God and listen to his voice?


Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

I admit my life is so busy that I am greatly challenged by finding not only time but “quiet” time to be alone with you. Help me to find a creative way to carve out that special time to meet you in the garden. Lord, I desire to meet you in the secret garden of my heart.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.

Speaking to God as Friend to Friend

“A man of many companions may come to ruin,
but there is a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”
Proverbs 18:24 NIV

I have to admit that in the past I have had butterflies in my stomach when the thought of trying to develop an intimate personal relationship with Jesus would be discussed. Some of us avoid intimacy and others are not good conversationalists. Some of us do all the talking and never listen when others speak.

I have found that the very best teachers and ministers are those who are real. I also love a minister or teacher who has the ability to speak spiritual truth and show you what it looks like in the real world. I for one need examples and word pictures. I need to know how to apply spiritual truth at the grocery store, the shopping mall, at my dinner table, in the car, on the job, and at family functions. I need to know what the truth is and what it is not.

You may find the idea of meeting God in your heart’s garden to be both beautiful and comforting, or this scenario may make you feel like you are stepping into a fantasy world and greatly uncomfortable. At first I was not comfortable spending time with Jesus. My life was complicated, cluttered, and busy. It was stressful for me to sit down when there is so much to be done. I admit that many times in my life it has been hard for me to focus for more than five minutes on spiritual things and praying for longer than two minutes was out of the question. Unless I was in trouble, I simply did not have that much to say to God. God seemed to be far away and aloof.

The truth is that God welcomes us into his presence. He knows we are frail and unaccustomed to being in his presence. God is patient, kind and loving as we attempt to learn how to move into a deeper relationship with him. I continue to be amazed that the God of the universe desires that I know him intimately. He wants all of us to speak to him everyday and all through the day as friend to friend.

So when I became intentional about developing a daily friendship with Jesus I tried to think of him as my very best friend. I asked myself, how do I treat my very best friend? I then began to implement those same acts of friendship with Jesus. I now speak to him as a friend who cares about all aspects of my life and understands my concerns. Figuratively speaking, we chat over morning coffee and we share secrets over a cup of afternoon tea. As I talk to Jesus I express my frustrations and I admit my fears. I tell him of my challenges. I tell him of my joys. I confess my sin and shortcomings. I tell him often what his friendship means to me. I thank him for being in my life and for all that he has done for me. I ask him for his advice, help, and guidance. I then practice listening to the voice of my friend. Shhhhh…I must be still…be quiet… what does Jesus have to say to me?

What scripture will he remind me of today and what thoughts will he place in my mind. This kind of simplicity and honesty is prayer in its purest form. My friendship with Jesus begins early in the day in a private place set apart for just my friend and me, and it continues throughout my busy day. It even continues as I sleep. Jesus is becoming my first thought in the morning when I get up. Together we begin our day, ready to do it all over again. Jesus is my dearest friend!

Questions:

Who is your best friend?

How do you treat that friend?

How would you feel if you no longer had that friendship?

Are you in a relationship with Jesus?

Are you willing to try to treat Jesus like your best friend?

Prayer:

Dear Lord,

Help me to desire a special friendship with you. Help me to start simple and build on that simple beginning. Give me the faith to believe that you care about me and want to be in a personal relationship with me. Lord, I pray that our friendship will continue to grow stronger every day. Thank you for being a friend that sticks closer than a sibling, a parent, or a spouse.

In Your Name I pray. Amen.