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 Romans12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will. |
Need a Change A recent issue of a fitness magazine claimed that an individual creates a habitual behavioral pattern by maintaining that behavior pattern for twenty-one consecutive days. It sounds so simple; just do something for twenty-one days and a life long pattern is developed. So why is it that after hundreds of baths kids do not want to take baths? Why is it that those who have been Christians for years still need to learn to live clean? Why is that transformation to a higher quality of fitness, nutrition, life, work, and spirituality seems so difficult? Why is that which comes naturally, well, seems to come so natural?  It is not
like we do not want to change. We promise that we are going to change
today - well, make that tomorrow. Twenty-one days later the good
intentions have stagnated in a sewer system of excuses and complaints. We
shrug our shoulders, feel guilty, and powerless about being unable to pull
our life together and clean up our act. It seems easier to just do what
comes natural and carry around the smut. To disguise our filth we pick on
others or watch television shows that depict how shamefully dirty the rest
of the world is. Sad how focusing on someone else's dirt makes us feel
better about ourselves.So how can
we transform our lives? How do we clean off the grime of a lifetime and
become the people of God we are called to be? Transformation is hard work
that continues a lifetime; one day at a time. Looking to the Olympic
athletes for inspiration, we find individuals who not only want to win the
gold or visualize winning the gold, but also go to extra-ordinary lengths
to discipline their mind, emotions and body to become excellent enough to
actually win the gold. They certainly call upon mental, physical,
emotional and spiritual resources within themselves, but they also look
outwardly to a coach for assistance and accountability. During the years
of training they have been injured, insulted, won, and lost. Yet, they
press on and resubmit themselves to their coaches.If we
aspire to press on in living out our faith we soon discover we need
assistance and accountability. Our support system is found in Jesus and
the community of the faithful. Through Jesus we not only attain salvation,
but also accountability to God's view of the world, sin and evil. This
accountability is essential for discovering God's will in our life. We
must have time with God so we can see ourselves as He sees us. We need to
"fess-up" to the dirt that is in our life and surrender to God.
We can see the dirt but only He can cleanse it away. Then we need to keep
ourselves clean by not touching what is dirty. We need to share our
struggles with the faithful so that we can be encouraged and so we do not
lie to ourselves about what we are experiencing.Dirt may
come natural, but it doesn't feel good. Why not take twenty-one days and
immerse yourself in the cleansing power of Jesus and the community of the
faithful.
Prayer Search me Jesus. Show me the dirt in my life that offends You and keeps me from knowing Your will for my life. Give me the strength to give my dirt to you so that I can come away clean. Encourage me, Jesus, through your presence and through other believers so that I can stay clean. Amen. Additional Scripture Psalm 139:23-24 Pam Bailar |
NOTE: This page contains 5 devotions. Pick
one using the above buttons. |
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| I Thessalonians 3:13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones. |
Holy Habits = Clean Creations When I first accepted Christ as my Savior I had the false assumption that all would instantly be made right in my heart and mind. That God's Spirit would somehow wash away all bad thoughts, words, ways, habits, etcetera, that I would be a new and clean creation in every way. Wow, was I in for a surprise! As
Christians, who have put our faith in Christ and accepted Him as our
Savior, we are truly a new creation. In our Spirit. But, the old mind has
a lot of cleaning up to do. Not to be discouraged though. As we humble
ourselves before our loving Father, confessing our ways, He delights in
cleansing us and forming us into His image. It is God who works in us to
will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:13) What He
does ask is that we begin the process of renewing our minds by looking
into His perfect word, as in a mirror, and allowing His Spirit to reveal
what needs washing."Unholy
Habits" are what have placed layers of dirt upon us. The best way to
remove that dirt is by replacing it with "Holy Habits." Each
time the devil tries to hand you a dirty deal - something less than the
excellence that God desires for you - resist, flat out refuse, and choose
a Holy Habit. Stop right now and decide what your Holy Habit is going to
be.By placing
ourselves under the washing of God's Spirit daily, through prayer and His
word, He is able to reveal His thoughts and ways. For instance, perhaps He
is helping you overcome anger or impatience. While you are in His
cleansing presence you may hear these words from James 1:19-20: "My
dear child, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to
speak and slow to become angry, for one's anger does not bring about the
righteous life that God desires." Then, as you go through the day and
the evil one tries to get your anger emotions riled up, humbly submit to
God's word, resist the devil and watch him run, while God draws ever
nearer to you.God
desires to make every part of us - spirit, soul and mind - crystal clean,
ready to reflect Him in every thought, word and way. Let's let Him.Prayer Loving Father, sometimes our heavenward journey gets tough so we must keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Let us remember that in our struggle against sin, we have not yet resisted to the shedding of our blood as Christ did for us. May we consider our Savior, who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that we do not grow weary and lose heart. Continue to cleanse us and make us the holy, clean creations you desire us to be. Give us the strength to submit to you, resist the devil and draw near to you, knowing that you will draw near to us. Thank you, Father. Additional Scriptures Hebrews 12:1-11; Isaiah 57:15; Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 1:13-14; I Thessalonians 4:7 Becky Curtis |
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| Lamentations 3:40-42 "Instead, let us test and examine our ways. Let us turn in repentance to the Lord. Let us lift our hearts and hands to God in heaven and say, "We have sinned and rebelled, and you have not forgiven us." |
Now, Go Do the Right Thing This is a confession in and of itself: I listen to Dr. Laura Schlessinger. She is a radio talk show host who gives moral advice. In my car, while I'm dropping off kids or waiting in traffic, I listen to the people who call in and I think to myself, "How pathetic" or "I guess you got what you deserved." I know this passing of judgment isn't right. I certainly have my own 'moral dilemmas' to deal with and shouldn't criticize others for theirs. We all have them. They range in severity from clothing choices to lying and stealing. God calls us to reflect inward
in prayer and to not pass judgment on others. Only he can give us the
strength to make the right decisions when faced with the challenges life
throws at us.Prayer Lord , help us to take life one day at a time, to concentrate on our own shortcomings and sins and not to criticize or gossip about others. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Ruth Moorman
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| Matthew 5:48 "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." |
Practice Makes Perfect It never happened. No matter how many hours I gave to practice basketball, I still had an embarrassingly amount of room for improvement. Why was I so awful at free throw shooting? Why was my footwork so sluggishly behind those of my teammates? I don't know where I first heard it but it seems like I have always been consciously aware of the saying "practice makes perfect." I found out, as a high school basketball player, that "practice makes perfect" simply isn't true. However, I did find out that the saying did contain a large amount of truth. While not becoming perfect, I did improve as a result of the hard work. Isn't our
relationship with God similar? Everyday we are to strive to become the
person whom God wants us to become. Although we may realize that we will
never achieve perfection, it should definitely be our daily goal. The only
way to better ourselves is through diligence and discipline. It is not
easy to become a better person. We must put forth a great deal of effort
to be of pure mind and heart. This takes a disciplined focus on God in the
midst of the deceitful distractions placed in front of our life paths. All
too often we cry aloud: "Oh well, I am only human." This is
exactly the mentality that Satan wants us to possess. God has high
expectations of us all and, thus, we should have the same of ourselves.
While we may realize that we will never be perfect, it should nevertheless
be our aim in life. If we don't strive for perfection, we will never
become a better person. If we don't become a better person, we will not be
able to help God.Prayer God, I have fallen short of your expectations. I am sorry. There are still areas in my life where I need to hand over power and authority to you. It is going to take effort from me in order to get things right. I am willing to help you in any way that I possibly can. Additional Scriptures Psalm 18:30-32; John 15:4-5 Jim Schul
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| Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. |
The Throne Zone When I was young, I remember getting caught stealing. It was an experience in humiliation and dread. The man who caught me gave me permission to tell my parents myself rather than call them to come get me, with the stern warning that he would call that evening and make sure I had told them. Talk about anxiety! Had there been any way to avoid telling my parents - my Dad, in particular - I would have done it. But I was neatly caught with no escape. I told my Mom and in her compassion she even tried to be a buffer between Dad and I. Sometimes you will have someone in your life who, though they love you and intend to help, actually may hinder you from getting to the Throne Zone by trying to rescue you. I was left
quaking in fear in my room, waiting for the judgment of my Dad to come
down on my head. The worse part was my own humiliation and sense of loss.
I had let my Dad down. I disappointed Him. Part of me wanted whipped - at
least I could feel better.My Dad
came home and got down on his knees on the floor with me in my bedroom. I
was so scared I was almost hysterical and he firmly told me to be still.
He told me a story of when, as a child, he got caught stealing and how he
felt. He knew I had suffered all day and was not willing to give me more
punishment, but instead told me He loved me. In the blink of an eye, my
trouble was gone. My burden lifted. I expected punishment and found grace.Even now,
tears well up as I remember how I felt when Dad lifted my burden of sin
from my shoulders and assured me of His love. "Because he himself
suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being
tempted." (Hebrews 2:18)When we
come to the Throne of Grace, we will not find a punishing Father. No!! We
will find a Daddy full of tender mercy and compassion for our weakness. He
doesn't demand we come to the throne for confession, to punish or wound
us. He tells us to come so he can lift the burden of sin from us and
breathe life into us. Jesus has already paid the price and taken my
punishment. Because of His wounds, I am made whole.It's His
kindness that leads to repentance. It's His love that draws me into a Holy
lifestyle and makes me want to change. By the way, I was never tempted to
steal again. Grace had changed my heart. Psalm 73:26 says, "My flesh
and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion
forever."Prayer Lord, your compassion and mercies never fail, but are new each morning. Deliver me from the fear and the rebellion in my life that keeps me from your Throne. Forgive me for running from you, for not relying on your finished work on my behalf, but sitting in disbelief instead. Your word says there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1) I accept and rely in faith upon this truth and I ask that you change my heart to agree with your truth where I am in sin and conflict with your word. When I try to pay for my own sin, instead of seeking you, I become proud. But when I find undeserved mercy at your feet, I am humbled and grateful. Reveal to me my sin, Lord. How can I know what is in my heart? Only you can. Thank you that I can trust you to reveal what I need to know and repent of. Prepare my heart and bring me to repentance. Lord, send your fire to burn up what is not of You in my life. You are my portion. And my boundaries have fallen in pleasant places, indeed. I love you. In the name of our Lord, Wonderful Counselor, Merciful God, Jesus Christ. Amen Additional Scriptures 1 John 4:18-19; Hebrews 10:16-23; II Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53:5 Lisa Sowry |
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