Thank You for Reminding Me (A Prayer of Thanks)

Thank You for Your word today Abba.

Thank You for reminding me to be patient.

Thank You for reminding me to pursue my purpose, not so that I can earn my forgiveness, but to please You.

Thank You for reminding me to treat everybody as if they were You.

Thank You for asking me the question, “Would you treat Jesus that way?”

Thank You for reminding me that my rewards are not always here on earth, but they will always be in Heaven because You promised me that.

Thank You for this beautiful day Father and thank You for speaking to me this morning reminding me to “Get ready”, and to “Be prepared.”

I don’t know what is next Father, but my faith is in You.

Thank You for reminding me to keep my eyes on You and to never look away no matter what.

Thank You for reminding me to be persistent in my faith and to trust that I don’t have to be in control anymore.

Thank You for reminding me to let go and let God. It is the biggest relief that I have ever felt.

Thank You for reminding me that I am to look to You in any situation.

Thank You for showing me Your beauty: Your beauty in nature, Your beauty in relationships, Your beauty in the human spirit, and in children.

Thank You for making me laugh Abba. I love Your sense of humor and I love the way that I sob afterwards from pure joy when I FINALLY get answers to things that I have prayed about for so long.

Please keep revealing Yourself to me and through me Abba. I am forever grateful that Your Holy Spirit lives in me.

Thank You for Your grace. Please remind me to extend this same grace to everybody that I encounter in life, including those who hurt me.

Father I pray that we all come to You, and if there is a way that I can help make this happen, thank You for reminding me….

In Jesus name,

Amen

Discipleship

1 Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.  But do this with gentleness and respect.

I chose this verse because I feel that it goes directly along with our mission statement here at ICRC, “Going into the community, imitating Christ by feeding body and soul.”  I feel this way because when we are out in our community, we are going to be asked questions about God. Therefore, we should be prepared to answer them. Here a just a few questions that might come up:

How do you know the bible is true?

How do you know Jesus is really who He claimed to be?

What is your answer?

Here are a few of mine:

Because when I saw myself through Jesus’ eyes, instead of my own, I saw my worth.

Because I can close my eyes and imagine my head on His shoulder when I feel sad and that is where I find my peace.  He is always there when nobody else is.

Because He continues to pick me up even when I make the same mistakes over and over again.

Because He gives me hope.

Because He taught me how to forgive others and let go of what hurts me.

Because He taught me the true meaning of love.

Because He IS love.

Because when everybody else leaves, He stays.

Because He gives me strength when I can’t stand on my own.

Because He saved me!

Because His grace is given to me and I don’t have to earn it.

Because I’m a hard one to break, but He did it…

 My Prayer

 Thank You Abba for breaking my heart for what breaks Yours

In Matthew chapter 9, verses 37-38, You said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”  “Ask the Lord of harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

So, Abba, we ask You today to do just that!  Send us, Your workers into Your harvest field.  Thank You for opening our hearts to Your missions and for showing us what needs to be done.  Thank You for providing us with the courage and the wisdom to get these things done and thank You for trusting us with these tasks.  Thank You also for encouraging us to be leaders and to lead by example so that others will see with their own eyes the Fruits Your Spirit, and in turn decide to become servants as well. 

And Abba, thank You for providing us with the answers to the questions that people may ask while out in the community, and thank You for helping us to be prepared.  Thank You for allowing us to be honest, genuine, and sincere with those that we strive to build relationships with, and most of all, help us to be a reflection of You.  Thank You for revealing our purpose to us, and then for helping us to carry it out.

In Jesus beautiful Name,

Amen

"Dying to Yourself"

What does it mean to “Die to Yourself”?  This is a question that a dear member of my church family asked me one Sunday morning when she mentioned that this would be a good topic to write about for my Blog, and she was correct!  This is an excellent topic because although I had an idea of what it means, I’m not completely sure that I could have put it into words at that time if somebody asked me.

So, I prayed about it a few times over the course of about a week, asking God to give me the answer, but it did not come right away.  I did my best to remain patient, although I will admit that I did ask God to speed it along just a little bit, because I really wanted to write about this topic, and then just a couple days ago, He gave it to me.

God showed me the answer to this question as I was scrolling through Facebook one afternoon, and I came across a post that said, “If the bible calls it a sin, your opinion doesn’t matter.”  This post caught my eye, but what really caught my attention was the name of the page that shared it and that was, “Women Made for His Glory.”  So, I clicked on the page to check it out a little further, and it was there that God showed me the answer that I had prayed about. This is what I read:

Do you know who you are in Christ?

You are forgiven.

You are chosen.

You are whole.

You are redeemed.

You are a new creation.

You are worth more than many sparrows.

You are set free from bondage.

You are God's workmanship.

You are an overcomer.

You are a child of God.

You are an heiress to the Kingdom.

You are wonderfully and fearfully made.

You are written on the palm of His hand.

You are a vessel of honor.

You are a crown of splendor.

You are worth more than rubies.

You are dead to sin.

You are alive in Christ.

You are the salt and the light.

You are a temple of the Holy Spirit and living God.

You are more than a conqueror.

You are healed by His stripes.

You are fearless and powerful.

You are more than your past.

You are more than what you wear.

You are more than who people say you are.

You are HIS.

You are MADE FOR HIS GLORY!

How is this the answer you might ask?  Well, I believe that this is the answer because to truly “Die to Yourself”, you must recognize and believe ALL of these things.  You ARE whole. You ARE chosen. You ARE more than your past, and if you know God well enough, then you know that He will use your past for a purpose.  He will use your past to strengthen you and to give you a deeper understanding of people so that you can connect with them on a more personal level.

I think dying to yourself means letting go of your ego.  It means that when people need help, we need to stop saying, “What’s in it for me?”, and just help them, and then give God ALL of the glory.

I think dying to yourself also means seeing yourself through God’s eyes instead of the worlds.  He is our Father, our Abba, and He is so proud of you so you should be proud of yourself too.  How do I know that He is proud of you?  Because I know that He sees us in complete perfection through His Son Jesus Christ.  After all, that is why He sent Him to die for us. In other words, God’s word in Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me, and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

And in John 3:30, God’s word says, “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

So, my advice to you dear friends is to increase your opportunities to spend more time with God.  Schedule a time in your day that is just for Him.  Study His word and seek to understand it through prayer, research, and asking questions. Join a small group, attend worship services, praise Him often, and serve those in your community, in Jesus name, for His glory, not yours.  This my friends is how you “die to yourself”, by seeking Him first and trusting in Him more, and by opening yourself up so that He can work through you to meet the needs of others.”  We are His vessels, and once we recognize this, then we have truly “died to ourselves.”

Prayer:

Thank You for creating in us a new heart Oh God.  Thank You for reminding us that we must “die to ourselves” every single day, due to our own ego, our own self-righteousness, and our pride.  Abba Your word in Mark 10:45 says, “For even the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Help us to remember this Abba.  Help us to increase our opportunities to be with You and to move closer to You so that we can hear You when You speak.  And when You speak, help us to be ready to listen and to follow.  Help us to model our lives after Jesus and to be ready to do the work that You have set out for us to do.  Help us to surrender to Your will so that we can “die to ourselves” daily and serve the community in Your name; without hesitation, without fear, and without our own agendas. 

We ask all of these things in Jesus beautiful name,

Amen.

Spiritual Gifts

God’s word in 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 says, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.  There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.  There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.”

In the beginning of 2020, when Pastor Tom was our Transition Pastor at Immanuel, I was attending his Bible Study classes on Wednesday nights.  I really enjoyed all of these classes, but there was one class in particular that I was especially interested in, and that had to do with discovering our Spiritual gifts.  I had heard people talk before about Spiritual gifts, but I really had no idea what they were exactly, so I couldn’t wait to see about mine!

So, this particular Wednesday night, Pastor Tom passed out a “Spiritual Gifts” Survey taken from youngadults.lifeway.com. (You can find this survey by clicking on the link provided at the end of this devotion.) He passed the survey out towards the beginning of class so that we would have lots of time to work on it and answer the questions, and then we planned to talk about our answers and the gifts that we discovered about ourselves at our next meeting. Unfortunately, Covid 19 hit us soon after that, and the Wednesday night classes were cancelled indefinitely.

So, instead of talking about the gifts that I discovered with my classmates and Pastor Tom, I decided to look into them a little bit further by myself to get a better understanding.  For example, I scored the highest in the gift of “Mercy.”  After reading the definition of mercy on the “Gifts Explanation List” (also shared below from youngadults.lifeway.com), I decided to do a more extensive search on Google and look up what the strengths and weakness might be for someone with the gift of mercy.  I did this by going to the Google Search Bar, and then typing in “Spiritual Gift of Mercy, Strengths and Weakness”, and then I visited several of the websites that came up and I took notes. This is what I found:

About Mercies:

·        Those with the motivational gift of mercy have a divine ability to sense hurt and to respond to it with love and understanding.

·        Those with the gift of mercy are kind and gentle.

·        Prophets, organizers, and teachers have a tendency to project their attitude on others, whereas those who have the gift of mercy are more likely to sense how others are feeling.

·        Mercies are drawn to other sensitive people.

·        Mercies are the backbone of the prayer power in the church because they feel that they MUST pray. Nothing else can release their emotions or capture God’s heart better than prayer!

Strengths:

·        When Mercies are walking in the Spirit, this gift equips them to reach out to people who are suffering but would likely be reluctant to tell others about their needs.

·        Mercies are attracted to people in distress, people others might run away from.

·        Mercies love the unlovable: handicapped, seriously ill, elderly, the wounded in spirit, and the outcasts.

·        Mercies embrace humility because of their own weaknesses and failures.

Weaknesses:

·        Mercies need to be needed.  If they don’t get involved, they have a tendency to focus on their own hurts and fears.

·        Mercies are indecisive, tossed to and fro by their emotions.

·        Mercies often become rescuers, allowing others to depend on them instead of depending on God.

·        Mercies often avoid conflict that is sometimes necessary. They would rather hide from their enemies or avoid them than confront them, even when they are in authority over them.

·         Immature mercies tend to be smart and impatient, reflecting their own self-condemnation by lashing out at others who they consider to be as weak and sinful as they are.

So, Friends and Family, now that you know a little bit more about me (Stacia), wouldn’t you like to learn more about yourself too?  What are the Spiritual gifts that God has blessed you with?

I have to tell you that it was so exciting for me to learn and understand more about myself while doing this!  There were so many times while I was doing my research that I had an “AH HA!” moment, because I finally started to understand why I do some of the things that I do, and why I am drawn to the people that I am drawn to. Sometimes people have made me feel ashamed of my gift because they say that I allow people to take advantage of me, but in this study, I have learned that I have nothing to be ashamed of at all! God made me this way for a reason, and what some people might see as being taken advantage of, I see as loving like Jesus, unconditionally, and there is no shame in that!

In Ephesians 2:10, God’s word says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

With that being said Friends and Family, God is making us aware of the needs that He wants to meet, through us, for His glory, so take some time today to learn about your gifts, and then once you’ve identified them put them into action! Oh, and I would love to hear what you find out! God Bless you on your journey!

SpiritualGiftsSurvey.pdf

GiftsExplanationList.pdf

Here are a few things Scripture tells us about spiritual gifts taken from youngadults.lifeway.com.  Take some time to reflect on these verses today and then pray and ask God to reveal your special gifts to you.

·        Each believer is given at least one gift (1 Corinthians 12:7).

·        The Holy Spirit determines who receives which gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11).

·        Each gift is equally valuable (1 Corinthians 12:21-26).

·        We are to use our gifts to serve others for the benefit of the body (Romans 12:6-8; Ephesians 4:12).

·        We are commanded to use our gifts (1 Peter 4:10).

·        Exercising our gifts will help us develop spiritual maturity (Ephesians 4:13).

Prayer:

Abba thank You for blessing us all with our own unique Spiritual gifts.  Thank You for providing us with the tools that we need to utilize these gifts, and for the wisdom to know how to use them in a way that glorifies You.  Thank You Abba for leading us to learn more about ourselves which in turn teaches us so much about You too.  You are just so amazing Abba!  I can’t even explain the feeling of joy that only You can give to us when we discover something new, or better yet, when You reveal these things to us. It is overwhelming, exciting, and life changing, and we thank You for it.

In Jesus Beautiful Name,

Amen.

The Gift

1 Samuel 5:1-4 “After the Philistines had captured the ark of God, they took it from Ebenezer to Ashdod.  Then they carried the ark into Dagon’s temple and set it beside Dagon. When the people of Ashdod rose early the next day, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! They took Dagon and put him back in his place. But the following morning when they rose, there was Dagon, fallen on his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord! His head and hands had been broken off and were lying on the threshold; only his body remained.”

Reading this verse took me back a few years ago to a time when I was visiting a friend at her house and she gave me a gift.  The gift was a small, golden, Buddha statue.  Now, at the time, I didn’t really know much about Buddha and I don’t think that it even occurred to me that he was worshiped like a god by many.  I just remember being very excited about this gift because I was interested in mediation, healing, and finding inner peace, all of the things that Buddha was known to represent. 

So, when I made it home from my friend’s house, I decided to put this Buddha up on display in the windowsill of my dining room.  I placed the Buddha statute on top of a rock so that he would sit up high next to some pictures that I had up there and a cross, and then I went to bed. 

The next morning when I got up, I went downstairs, and I noticed that the statue had fallen off the rock and onto the floor.  I wondered how that happened. It couldn’t have been the cats because the window was up too high, but then I thought nothing more of it as I picked him up and placed him back up on top of the rock. 

Now I would like to take a moment to tell you that I had just started coming to church regularly at this time and I was beginning to learn more about God. I learned during some of our services and in my small group, that we are created in God’s image and that just as we are emotional beings, our Father is too.  God has feelings.  He is pleased when we praise Him and proud when we do good things.  He also gets angry, and He is a jealous God just as His word says in Deuteronomy 5:9, where we read, “You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God.”

So, with that being said, the Buddha statue fell a few more times over the next few days and I continued to pick it up and place it back up on that rock next to the pictures and the cross, and then one day, the statue went flying out of the windowsill and hit the floor right in front of me as I stood in the kitchen fixing breakfast. The head broke off when it fell and rolled right underneath the table and I was astonished! How in the world did that just happen when I was literally standing right there, and I knew that nothing had touched it?  Then suddenly something clicked inside my head and I understood!  Buddha was not to be worshiped and I had placed him high up on top of a rock for all to see and admire.  Suddenly I had a new understanding about what was happening right before my very eyes, and I was sorry.  I was sorry that I worshiped somebody other than God, and I was sorry that I had hurt my Father’s feelings, and/or made Him angry, so I immediately picked that Buddha statue up and threw it in the trash. 

Did I throw Buddha away because he is not good? No.  Did I throw him away because I don’t like what he represents? No.  I threw Buddha away because I am a Christian and it was made very clear to me that I shall worship no other than my Father in Heaven.

In Exodus 20:3, God’s word says, “You shall have no other gods before Me.” and in 1 John 5:21, He says, “Therefore, My dear friends, flee from idolatry.”, and in 1 Corinthians 10:14, “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.”  So, who will you choose to worship?  I choose God, and while I still have respect for Buddha and what he stands for, just as I do for other religions, I will never worship him again or place him high up on a rock.  God is my Rock, always was, always is, and always will be. 

Question

I’m sure that we have all known people who have done things like visit a psychic to learn about their future instead of trusting in God’s plan, or somebody who worships false idols such as Buddha, or another who may idolize money and material things more than God.  So, my question is, How do we approach these people respectfully and tell them that what they are doing is wrong?  How do we tell them that not only is God hurt by their actions, but that He may become jealous and angry about it as well?  

In my situation, I had no idea that what I was doing was wrong until I was taught that it was not OK.  I think that this may be true for others as well because when we do not know God personally, or have a relationship with Him, then we don’t take His feelings into consideration the way that we should.  So, how do we help others figure this out? Especially those who may not attend church or study God’s word?  Do we approach them with this information and hope that it is well received? What if it isn’t? Do we just pray for them, knowing that God will open their hearts in due time, when He feels that they are ready?, or do we do nothing at all? 

Prayer

Abba thank You for all of the ways that You teach us about what pleases You and what does not. Thank You for forgiving us every time that we have hurt You either intentionally or unintentionally and thank You for opening our hearts to understanding.  Thank You Abba for ripping off the blinders and for untangling the web of sin that has encapsulated our hearts and drawn us from You.  Thank You for helping us to teach others about You and for opening up their hearts so that they are ready to receive this message.  Thank You Abba for teaching us to put complete faith in You knowing that above all else, You are the one who will guide us and meet our every need and thank You for the comfort and the peace that this provides. 

In Jesus Beautiful Name, Amen.

Are You Ready for Your Bumper Sticker?

I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have a problem with road rage anymore, but I will shamefully admit that I have gotten angry and flipped somebody the bird a time or two, and yet here I am, calling myself a Christian. How can that possibly be?  Well let me tell you how my Father spoke to me in this situation, I’ll start from the beginning:

Thursday night I was driving home from my mom’s house to pick up my sister Chloe and my niece Tasha.  We were going to go to Aunties house for dinner.  As I’m driving down Mt. Hope in the left lane, the truck next to me in the right lane starts to move over into mine without looking first and almost sideswiped me.  So, I laid on my horn, and I mean LAID on it, and I’m sure it scared the bejeebies out of the guy because he moved right back over into his lane and then I sped past him shaking my head.  Instantly, I heard this voice inside of me say, “Did you really have to do that?”  “You could have just honked once and slowed down.”  Now some of you might argue and say that is my guilty conscience talking, but I knew exactly who it was when I heard it, so I said, “I’m sorry Abba I will try better next time.”

So, I make it to the house, and I pick up Chloe and Tasha.  We go to Aunties and eat dinner.  We spend a little time there, and then we headed home. As we were heading home, this truck ran a stop sign and again I almost got hit.  So, what did I do?  Well, I didn’t get mad and yell at him, but I did lay on my horn again, and then I turned toward my sister and my niece, and I said, “What is wrong with people?”  “Is it a full moon or something?”, and by the way it was, and then once again as we made our way home, I heard that little whisper, “You did it again”, and I said, “Abba, please forgive me and give me another chance.”

So, now its Friday afternoon the next day, and I’m driving home from work on 496.  The sun is shining, the weather is beautiful for the first time in weeks, I’ve got the windows down and the music playing, and I’m feeling pretty good. Then all of the sudden, this little white car comes flying up behind me!  He is so close that I can’t even see his front bumper in my rearview mirror, and then we came into a construction zone.  Now I know he can’t see the traffic stopping in front of me because he is traveling so close to my behind, so I started to slow down way back to avoid him crashing into me at the last minute.  Well, he didn’t like the fact that I slowed down, so he decided to blow his horn and swerve around me into the left lane, and as he was doing that, I could see him screaming at me.  But then he looked forward and saw the stopped traffic and he had to slam on his breaks. So, what did I do you might ask?  Well, I laughed at him as I passed by, and that is when my middle finger went up, and yet I have failed once again.

So, I go home for a little bit and I do some things around the house, and I start to think about all of the sermons I have heard about having a bumper sticker on your car or a fish that represents Jesus, but then driving like you represent someone else, and I thought to myself, “I’m sure glad I don’t have a bumper sticker on my truck!” and then I laughed and I thanked God for pointing this out to me, and I asked Him once again to please Help me do better.

And This leads me to the park later that evening.  I went to pray and to write about the “Bumper sticker” story, but instead God took me in a different direction, and He reprimanded me in a way that only He can.  I’m not even sure that I would call it a reprimand because it was so gentle, yet effective, and it brought me such joy afterwards that I cried. 

So, like I said, I wanted to write about how God spoke to me about the bumper sticker, but first I wanted to find a bible verse that spoke to me directly about being more like Jesus so that I could focus on that in my writing.  To do that, I googled, “How to be more like Jesus”, and that led me to Ephesians chapter 4, verses 1-3, “As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.  Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love.  Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

This verse jumped right out at me, but being somewhat new to reading the bible, I wasn’t sure who was speaking, so I decided to look that up too.  I found out that it was Paul, but while I was doing that, I also came across this really great devotion on redeeminggod.com called, “The Seven Attitudes of Unity”, and I just had to read it.  To sum it all up, I will define them below:

1.      Lowliness- is humility, seeing ourselves as small, regarding others as more important than ourselves, unworthy of attention.

2.      Gentleness- is great strength being withheld. Strength under control, and power restrained.

3.      Long Suffering- is a quality of self-restraint.  You do not hastily retaliate.  You have the power to take revenge, but you choose not to. 

4.      Bear with One Another- Put up with others shortcomings, just like you would with your own children, knowing that when they make mistakes, they are learning and maturing.

5.      In Love- Agape love defined as unconditional with no strings attached. Never ending, the kind of love that God has for us.  Agape love is not an emotional love, it is a love bound to the will of God. 

6.      Unity of the Spirit- In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 1, Paul is giving us instructions on how to walk as a Christian. His first instruction is to walk in unity.  So, when you have conflict with somebody, don’t expect them to change first just so that the two of you can get along.  Instead, examine your own heart first. What could you have done differently?  What can you do now to fix it? And remember, unity does not come from us, it is given to us by God when we become Christians. It is simply our task to maintain it in His Spirit for we all have the same Spirit living within us, and when we are in disunity, it is like we are trying to divide God.

7.     Bond of Peace- Peace with others begins with peace with God. “It is only when the peace of God rules in our hearts that we can build unity with another.” Colossians chapter 3 verse 15.

And last but not least, the author of this devotion goes on to say, “Gentleness does not mean never getting angry, even God got angry sometimes.” “Gentleness means getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reasons.”  In Ephesians chapter 4 verse 26, God’s word says, “Be angry and do not sin.”

So, with that being said, I feel like God’s reprimand was to teach me what it means to be in unity with other Christians, even when I am doing something as simple as driving.  Am I still a Christian even though I flipped that man the bird?  Yes, I am, because I made a mistake and I am forgiven, and who knows, that guy might also be a Christian who made a mistake.  Maybe he had a bad day, maybe he was frustrated by other drivers like I was the day before, or maybe he doesn’t even know God yet, and that was my missed opportunity to reflect a Christian attitude towards him and be humble.  No matter what the situation may have been, I know that I am grateful for the lesson that I learned through it, and I pray that the next time I have an incident with another driver, I will do better, with God’s help. 

Question

Do you think that the lessons that we are taught take root in us right away, or do we get it over time?  In my experience, it takes time. As a matter of fact, I am still learning this lesson as I just had another encounter on the road the other day, even after I wrote this devotion, and it did not go well at all.  So, how do we make sure that these lessons are implemented into our daily life so that we can truly live a life worthy of the calling that we have received?

 Prayer

Father thank You for Your very important lessons and Your gentle reprimands.  Thank You for being patient with us as we learn, grow, and mature.  Thank You for Your Spirit that lives in all of us and please forgive us when we try to divide You.  Thank You for speaking to us in a way that we can hear You and understand what You have to say.  Thank You for guiding us through the scripture and through life and thank You for helping us be an example to others.  Thank You Abba for self-control, lowliness, gentleness, long suffering, helping us to bear with one another in love, unity in the Spirit, and for a bond of peace.  

In Jesus Name,

Amen

"When Time Stands Still"

While worshiping at the park one evening, I encountered an experience that I could not explain.  I experienced a moment where I felt like time had stood still. 

I went to the park that day to read, pray, and meditate.  I started out by reading a couple chapters from my “Women of the Bible” book, and then after that, I turned on some meditation prayer music. 

Before I started to pray, I decided to praise God first for speaking to me so clearly through what I read, and I thanked Him for helping me understand it.  I also praised Him for His goodness and for always being there to listen to me and to lift me up.  I thanked Him for the peace in my heart that I feel after spending time with Him, I thanked Him for being my provider, I thanked Him for carrying me through all of the hard times in my life and for giving me His strength to get through them.  I thanked Him for loving me unconditionally, I told Him how amazing He is, and how beautiful His creations are, and as I went on and on from there, my eyes began to close, and the world around me began to slowly disappear.  I don’t even remember hearing the meditation music playing anymore, or anything else for that matter, I just remember feeling this overwhelming sense of peace and euphoria that I cannot explain.

After a while, I “woke” up, for lack of a better word, because I know for sure that I wasn’t actually sleeping, and I was still in the same place, but everything around me had changed.  There were different cars parked next to me that I never heard pull up, and a group of people standing just outside of my truck having a very loud conversation that I never heard until after I opened my eyes.  The mediation music was still playing, but the song had changed, and I remember feeling a little bit confused because what felt like just a few minutes to me, was actually over an hours’ time!

Well, needless to say, I spent lots of time trying to figure what actually happened that day, and then one day while I was in prayer, God gave me these 4 words, “When Time Stands Still”.  When I heard these words, I assumed that He wanted me to write about my experience, and that this would be the title of my devotion, but for some reason, every time I tried to write about it, I couldn’t find the words.

So, instead, I decided to do some research on Google to see if this had happened to anybody else, and what they thought about it, and that is how I came across an article written by Father Ron Rolheiser, titled, “When Time Stands Still”.  At that point, I knew immediately that God did not give me those 4 words so that I could write about my experience, but instead so that I would recognize this article when I saw it and then learn from it exactly what He wanted me to know!  It was so exciting! 

In this article, Father Ron suggests that time actually CAN stand still, and he quotes a German scripture scholar Gerhard Lohfink, who says that we can and sometimes do have an experience of time as it will be experienced in eternity. Lohfink says that we experience this whenever we are in adoration, which is the highest form of prayer, where we ask nothing of God, but instead just adore Him. 

He then goes on to say that lament, petition, and thanksgiving are also good forms of prayer, but in them, we are still focused in some manner on ourselves, our needs, and our joys.  However, in adoration, we look to God’s beauty, His goodness, His truth, and His oneness so strongly that everything else just drops away. We stand in pure wonder, pure admiration, ecstatic awe, entirely stripped of our own heartaches, headaches, and idiosyncratic focus.  God’s person, beauty, goodness, and truth overwhelm us so as to take our minds off of ourselves and leave us standing outside of ourselves, being free of our own selves, which is the very definition of ecstasy.

Thus, to be in adoration is to be in ecstasy – though, admittedly, that’s generally not how we imagine ecstasy today. For us, ecstasy is commonly imagined as an earthshaking standing inside of ourselves, idiosyncrasy in its peak expression. But true ecstasy is the opposite. It is adoration.

Moreover, for Lohfink, not only is adoration the only true form of ecstasy, but it is also a way of being in heaven right now, and of experiencing time as it will be there. Here’s how he puts it: “In the miracle of adoration we are already with God, entirely with God, and the boundary between time and eternity is removed.”

To quote Lohfink’s exact words, he says, “Time can stand still! And it stands still when we’re in pure admiration, in awe, in wonder, in adoration. In those moments we stand outside of ourselves, in the purest form of love that exists. At that moment too we are in heaven, not having a foretaste of heaven, but actually being in heaven. Eternity will be like that, one moment like a thousand years and a thousand years like one moment.”

“When we adore, time stands still – and we are in heaven!”

https://ost.edu/when-time-stands-still/  By Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI. This article originally appeared on ronrolheiser.com.

Prayer:

Abba thank You for the many ways that You lead us to the things that You want us to know.  Thank You for teaching us to seek you and for speaking to us along the way.  Thank You for showing us just a small glimpse of heaven, a place where we can worship and adore You forever. and Abba we thank You for Your word in Revelation chapter 22, verses 5-9 that says, “There will be no more night.  They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever!”  Thank You for this hope that we have in You and what You did for us.

In Jesus Name,

Amen

When God Corrects US

I found this devotion shared by Proverbs 31 Ministries at, www.proverbs31.org., and these are my answers to the questions asked:

God’s word in Job 5:17 says, “Blessed is the one whom God corrects; so, do not despise the discipline of the Almighty.” (NIV)

It takes a caring friend to whisper, “You have something stuck in your teeth.” That tooth tip is meant to be helpful, not harmful. We are wise to recognize correction — either big or small — as a chance to improve, instead of a challenge to be rejected.

What I’m hearing when I read this verse is that instead of tuning into our negative emotions, all we need to say is, “Thank you”, because when we are being corrected, it is out of love..

When you’re corrected, what is your immediate response?

·         Most of the time I am grateful, but sometimes,

·         It hurts my feelings,

·         It angers me, or

·         Embarrasses me, and it

·         Triggers my ego and makes me want to prove them wrong even if they are right.

When the Lord nudges us and says, “Child, you need to go apologize to your friend …” or “You spoke very rudely just then …” we can learn to respond with the words “Thank you.” Thank You, Lord, for correcting me because You love me. Thank You for helping me become more like You.

This was VERY difficult for me at first.  Apologizing is not easy, especially when you feel that you are right, and they are wrong. 

For example, my daughter and I used to butt heads often.  She is just like me, so when we would have a conversation that got heated, neither one of us wanted to stop talking until we were able to prove our point, and if we felt like it was not being received well, then we would get angry!

Well, after doing a devotion similar to this one, I made a conscious effort to try not to argue with her anymore. (I chose to pick my battles because sometimes the things that we argued about didn’t even matter that much.  They were not harmful or life changing, so I decided that it was better to salvage our relationship than to be “right”.)

 I also made a conscious effort when I was wrong, to go back and apologize to her instead of just leaving it alone and acting like it never happened, and just by doing these 2 things, my relationship with my daughter changed drastically. 

·        She calls me now or sends messages just to say, “I love you mom.”

·        She is more willing to talk to me now ,and shares more personal information with me.

·        and she even asks for my advice!

·        And the best part is that she recognizes and talks about God which is something that she didn’t really do before!  She even calls and asks me for prayer sometimes and that is exciting for me because my greatest hope is that my children will know and love Jesus Christ!

Being a child of God means that God loves us too much to allow us to continue uncorrected in sin.  Therefore, when He nudges us and convicts us of our actions, and we feel it in our hearts to apologize, then we need to just say,”Thank You”, and then do exactly that!

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we struggle with sin and need Your loving correction. Thank You for intervening in our lives over and over again. Thank You for working on our character and behavior so that we can look more like You. Please help us to welcome Your discipline and to submit to Your will, giving us a gracious attitude toward others.

In Jesus Name, Amen.

Jesus Eats with the Sinners

Mark 2:13-17 Jesus Calls Levi and Eats With Sinners

13 Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to Him, and He began to teach them. 14 As He walked along, He saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed Him.

15 While Jesus was having dinner at Levi’s house, many tax collectors and sinners were eating with Him and His disciples, for there were many who followed Him. 16 When the teachers of the law who were Pharisees saw Him eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they asked His disciples: “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

17 On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

I like this passage because I feel like I can relate to Levi.  When I think about the people that I love and that I would like to come to Jesus, they all fall into the “sinners” category, and even though we are ALL sinners, I believe that there are some people who are looked down upon in society more than others.  People who are deep in sin, slaves to addiction, and whose sin has destroyed their lives.  Those whose sin has caused them to lose their jobs, their marriage, their children, their money, or their health.  These are people whose sin has cut them off from the rest of the world and caused them to become the outcasts of society, and I feel like these are MY people.

I have loved ones who are addicted to alcohol, drugs, sex, profanity, and idols.  I have loved ones who are homeless.  I have loved ones who party, drink alcohol, and use profanity.  I have loved ones who have lost their children to the system or have given them up for adoption, and I have loved ones who have stolen, been dishonest, cheated, and prostituted themselves.

These are the people that I choose to minister to.  People who know just how broken they are and make no attempts to hide it.  These are the people that Jesus came to call, and if we are His disciples, then that means that they are the people that He is sending us to call upon. 

These are the people that I relate to because I once lived a lifestyle similar to theirs, so I know the strength and the courage that it takes to come out of it, and I know what it feels like to be transformed.  I also know that it is impossible to do it alone.  We need God’s strength, His guidance, His wisdom, and His leadership.  These are MY people because I feel like everything that I experienced in life was for God’s purpose, so if I can relate to even just one person who is going through something similar right now and have the opportunity to give them hope through Jesus Christ, then I know that it wasn’t all for nothing.

Questions:

Jesus sat with the sinners, but He did not sin with them.  This sounds easy, but in my experience there are always temptations, especially if you are joining people who are living the same lifestyle that you used to live.

1.      Is it possible to “sit with the sinners”, without joining them in sin?

God’s word in 1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

2.      In my experience, some people in my “old circle” feel uncomfortable around me now that I have openly professed my faith.  They either don’t come around anymore, or they act differently because they think that I will judge them.  Why do you think this is?

3. How do we respond when we talk about Jesus to somebody, and they openly chastise Him in front of you?  It’s hard not to become defensive.  It is also hard sometimes to speak up and defend Him when you feel like it is not being received, but if I don’t speak up, I feel like I have let Jesus down and that hurts.  What is the best thing to do in this situation?

 I think that the most important thing that we can do is be a role model.

The other day, my friend, who has not come to know Jesus personally yet, but lives with me and sees me walk with Him daily, was talking on the phone, and I heard her say, “I will ask Stacia to pray for you, she is a woman of God and I have seen her prays answered.”, and then she said, “No, I’m serious, just wait and see!”  This made me so proud because not only was she bragging on me being a “Woman of God”, but she was also bragging on God Himself and the power of prayer! Now I know that even though she doesn’t call herself a Woman of God yet, someday she will because that seed has been planted and she is starting to recognize it. Praise the Lord!

Prayer

Thank You Abba for many opportunities to minister to others and to give them hope.

Abba there are so many people that need You today.

Some that don’t even know yet that YOU are the answer that they are looking for.

Some that don’t even know yet that YOU are the peace that they so desperately need.

Abba YOU are the way out of a life filled with so much hurt, sadness, anxiety, and chaos.

Thank You Father for choosing us.

Thank You Father for open hearts, open minds, and open communication so that we can minister to Your people who are our people as well.

Thank You Father for taking the bad experiences in our lives and turning them into something good.

Thank You for encouraging us to tell our stories so that we can relate to others and so that they can relate to us too.

And thank You Father for the seeds that you have already planted or will be planting in the hearts of those that we love and also in the hearts of those that we do not yet know.

Please help us continue to be role models representing You and Your love,

And please help us to “sit with the sinners”, without joining them in sin as this is not an easy task.

In Jesus Beautiful Name,

Amen

His Holy Spirit

A pamphlet came in the mail a while back titled, “Let Christ Live in You”, it was a devotion written by Jason Peebles.  In the beginning of this devotion, Jason says, “The amazing truth is that God does not live in buildings or temples, but in the hearts of His people by the Holy Spirit.” This phrase took me back to a moment in time when I had just become the secretary here at Immanuel, and I was having a conversation with our Pastor one morning.  This was a time that I was eager to learn about God and who He is, and I still am by the way, but before I get into that, I have to give you a little background first for explanation.

I went to church regularly when I was younger, I even took confirmation classes and became a member at Shephard of the Hills when I was 21, but even so, I never really grasped the concept of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  I also didn’t have a relationship with Jesus, and I will admit that the only time that I prayed was when I was in trouble and needed to be saved. And to do this, I thought that I had to be on my knees with my hands folded and my eyes closed.  So, to make a long story short, eventually I drifted away from God and quit going to church all together. 

Now it is 20 years later, and I am here at Immanuel.  I only came the first time to make my mom happy.  She had invited me over and over again, and over and over again I blew her off until one day, I had it on my heart to show up and surprise her. So, I did, and it was alright.  It was even kind of cool with all of the instruments on the stage and the praise team, and the people were so friendly and nice! So, I went back again the next Sunday, and again a couple Sundays after that, and then, one day I joined the Burcham Life Group because Linda asked me to and who can say no to Linda Burcham?, and it was there that I learned how to pray. 

The Burcham Life group was just beginning a bible study called “40 Days of Prayer”, by Rick Warren, and I dived right in!  I enjoyed the videos and the conversations afterwards with my group, and I also enjoyed taking my workbook to the park to do my homework and pray afterwards.  It was during this time that I learned that I could talk to God like He was my best friend, and that I could talk to Him anywhere, even with my eyes open!  This was so exciting to me and for that reason, I wanted to know more!  So, I added another study at the park called, “Bible in a Year”, and then after that, I decided to join Pastor Rich’s adult bible study classes on Wednesday nights, and that leads me to the morning with Pastor Rich and that conversation in the office.

Now let me remind you that I was still a brand-new secretary and very nervous about it.  So, Pastor Rich comes into the office like he always does to say, “Good Morning”, and he says, “So what did you think of the class last night?”  We were learning about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, so I replied, “I thought it was great!” “It was cool to learn about the Holy Spirit and to find out that it lives inside of me!” and then Pastor Rich corrected me and said, “HIS Holy Spirit lives inside of you, not It.”  “His Holy Spirit is not a thing; it is God Himself.”, and I think that my heart stopped right there.  I felt my face turn red and I was so embarrassed that I had made that mistake in front of the pastor, and then from there, all of the self-doubt and the lack of confidence kicked in and I wondered, “How in the world am I ever going to be a secretary sending out emails and talking about God to a church full of Christians, when I don’t even know what I am talking about?  Heck I couldn’t even get it right in front of the pastor, so what happens if I make a mistake in an email that at least 100 people are going to be reading?”, and I thought to myself, “Oh man, what have I gotten myself in to?”

But then, after Pastor Rich left, and I sat there, it didn’t take long before HIS Holy Spirit kicked in and convicted me.  He did that by helping me to understand in my heart that Pastor Rich was not correcting me to make me feel stupid as my “Old Self” might think, but instead he was correcting me to teach me a very important lesson, a lesson that would eventually change my life.   

This lesson was life changing because once I looked into it a little further and did some more studies on my own about HIS Holy Spirit and how He lives in me I eventually started to see myself differently.  I started to see myself through His eyes and my confidence soared.  I could actually see His light shining through my eyes when I looked in the mirror, and I could feel it when I spoke to other people about Him, and let me tell you, before this happened, I could never even look anybody in the eyes while speaking to them for more than just a few seconds. I always looked away.  But now, I was having full conversations with people outside of my comfort zone, without the urge to look away because NOW my confidence came from Him. 

It was also life changing for me because I started to treat myself differently too.  I stopped all of the negative self-talk and instead started to pray when I felt weak or insignificant. I also started recognizing my strengths and my gifts, and how I could share them with others, and guess what, writing was one of them! So, why should I be afraid now to send an email when all I have to do is pray first and ask Him to speak through me? 

And last but not least, I started to love myself more and respect my body because once I learned that this is His temple and not mine I wanted to take care of it.  I stopped physically harming myself when I was angry or frustrated, something that I had done since I was a kid, and I started to eat different and exercise.  I started to smile at strangers and my road rage even got better! So many things changed for me, so much more than I could ever put on this paper, and that is why I want to share this message with so many others so that they can experience these changes too! 

A Prayer of Thanksgiving

Abba in Acts 5:32, Your word says, “And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.”

Thank You Abba for Your word and for the opportunities that You provide to share the message of Your Holy Spirit with others.  Thank You for opening our hearts to You so that we can see ourselves through Your eyes and recognize just how amazing and wonderfully made we are!  Thank You Abba for loving us enough to change us for the better.  Thank You for continued growth and wisdom and thank You for increasing our faith each and every day.  Thank You for the messages that You send, through other people, through the mail, through Your word, and through the whispers in our hearts.  Thank You Abba for choosing to make our hearts Your home. 

In Jesus name,

Amen

A German Poet Goethe Once Said

A German Poet Goethe once said, “Treat a man as he appears to be, and you make him worse.  But treat a man as if he were what he potentially could be, and you make him what he should be.”

This led me to look up verses in the bible that speak about how we should treat others, and here are a few that I found:

•  Luke 6: 31- “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”

• John 15: 12- “This is My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.”

• James 2:1-5- Favoritism Forbidden “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. 2 Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”  Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised those who love Him?

And one of my favorites: 

• Hebrews 13: 2- Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unaware.

So now I am thinking about potential, and what that means, so I looked it up. Potential is defined as, “What you can do, but have not yet accomplished.” Potential creates a sense of self-worth, confidence, and value, but let me tell you this, reaching your potential is not based on your own efforts, it is about surrendering yourself to God and letting His will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.

Questions:

1.       What are some ways that we can help others to realize their own potential?

-We can help them to find their identity in Christ. Psalm 139:14, “I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!”

-We can help them find their spiritual gifts so that they can produce fruit and find joy.

-We can help them recognize that their purpose in life is to praise God and to serve others in His name.  This was something that I struggled with for a long time because I did not know my purpose or why I was here, but as soon as I realized this, things changed for me.  I started to look at people differently and the world around me changed. 

-And we can encourage them to step out in fear.  Fear is what holds us back at times, but as soon as we become brave enough to take that first step forward, it gets easier.

2.     It is hard to reflect inward and realize our own faults when we are being judgmental, but we naturally have thoughts that just pop into our heads, and they are not always good ones, so what do we do with these thoughts when they come?  How can we change our way of thinking to naturally accept others even if it makes us feel uncomfortable?

I read this on the internet but cannot remember where to reference:

Consider this, if you had a $20 dollar bill, it has most likely been used to buy alcohol and drugs.  It has also probably been stolen a few times, used to bribe somebody, or for other immoral, unethical purposes.  However, its value is not determined by what it has been through, it is determined by its maker, the US Treasury.

 Prayer

What is love in God’s eyes?

Love is unconditional.

It is an action, and a service to those that we are close to and to those that we are not.

Love is worship unto Him,

It is gratitude, grace, and forgiveness.

Love it not self-serving, but instead self-sacrificing.

Love is giving of ourselves wholeheartedly,

without question, without understanding, and without complaint.

Love is sharing in the Good News!

Love is withholding opinions and criticisms for the sake of relationships instead.

Love is sometimes saying something hurtful,

gracefully because it needs to be said.

Love is kind,

Love is the fruits of His Holy Spirit.

Love not only lives in our hearts, but in our minds, our souls, and in our energy.

Love is a lesson to others about how people should be treated.

Love is a choice.

Love is positivity and good character,

But most of all, love is Jesus,

And Jesus is love.

Thank You Father for this precious gift.

In His Beautiful Name,

Amen