Category Archives: God’s Plan

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December 2, 2015

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God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, God's Promises, Holy Spirit, Knowing Him, Salvation: A New You

ONLY ONE WAY

Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.” [John 14:6 (NLT)]

Santa Rose de Lima-Abiqui NMWhen my children were young, they sometimes balked at trying a new food that I’d prepared. After pointing out that, while I was short and could cook, I was not a short-order cook, I always offered them a simple choice: some or none. God gives us the same options regarding His son Jesus Christ: take him or leave him! Just as I didn’t offer my children a different entree, God doesn’t offer us any alternatives for salvation.

When Jesus said, “I am the way,” he was pretty clear on our lack of options. He didn’t say, “I am one of the ways.” He is the only way. He didn’t say there were several means to come to the Father; there was only one—and that was through Him. It’s not only an offer that can’t be modified, but it’s also an offer than no one else could ever make.

Moreover, there is nothing that we can substitute for belief. We can’t buy or bribe or our way into heaven. Being famous or even especially kind or generous won’t do it. Jesus is the way and he makes it abundantly clear that he is the one and only way. We must take His path and follow in His footsteps. He is the truth and the reality of God’s promises. He is the life and only with him will we have eternal life.

Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have God’s Son does not have life. [1 John 5:12 (NLT)]

Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. [Ephesians 2:18 (NLT)]

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November 24, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, God's Plan, Obedience, Trusting God

A CHANGE IN PLANS

The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.” … Abraham never wavered in believing God’s promise. In fact, his faith grew stronger, and in this he brought glory to God. He was fully convinced that God is able to do whatever he promises. [Genesis 12:1, Romans 4:20-21 (NLT)]

laughing gull - VB780webThis morning’ s news reported a federal grand jury’s indictment of a Utah man for making a bomb threat against a hospital last September. The false threat led to the hospital being evacuated and locked down for several hours. The man had nothing to do with ISIS or any terrorist group; he just made the threat to disrupt the hospital’s operations enough to cause the postponement of his wife’s scheduled C-section that day. He was in Idaho at the time and wanted the procedure delayed so that he could be present for the baby’s birth. Now, facing up to ten years in prison, it may be quite a while before he gets to enjoy that child.

While life rarely goes according to our plans, most of us don’t resort to bomb threats. Consider Mary—she was a carefree young girl busy with wedding plans when an angel interrupted her life with the message that, in spite of her virginity, she would have a baby. That certainly put a damper on the wedding plans and her relationship with Joseph. What about Noah—the farmer turned shipbuilder? Constructing an arc on the back forty and gathering a boatload of animals certainly interrupted his family’s comfortable life. Things were going well in Ur when Abraham and Sarah were told by God to pull up stakes and move miles away to an unknown place. Certainly Hosea wouldn’t have deliberately chosen a wife knowing she would be unfaithful to him, but that’s what God told him to do. Elizabeth and Zechariah had resigned themselves to being childless when she became pregnant. While a blessing, it had to be a challenge for the elderly couple—diapers and midnight feedings instead of quiet afternoons in the sun. Elisha was a farmer with a team of oxen, Isaiah a scribe, and Amos a shepherd; they hadn’t attended prophet school, but that’s what God called them to be. Andrew, Peter, James and John were fisherman and Matthew collected taxes; they all had careers when Jesus interrupted their lives and turned them into disciples. Paul, the Pharisee tent-maker, was on a mission when blinded on the road to Damascus and the persecutor of Christians became a preacher for Christ. None of these people asked God for a life change; it was God who called to them and God never asked any of them if it was a convenient time.

The Utah man who made the bomb threat apparently missed the important life lesson that the world does not revolve around us. But then again, while our behavior isn’t as extreme as his, we all have difficulty accepting that fact at times. God, however, has an uncanny way of reminding us who’s really in charge. One look at the lives of family and friends tells me that God continues his holy interruptions. Blessings, difficulties, challenges and assignments do not arrive according to our time schedules. God’s plan is not written for our convenience and we can’t call in a bomb threat whenever we don’t like His timing. Instead of God accommodating us, we are to accommodate Him and follow His plan, not ours. It may not be convenient or even what we wanted and we may feel ill-prepared or overwhelmed but, like those faithful people before us, we have to trust God and say, “Here I am, Lord!”

Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?” I said, “Here I am. Send me.” [Isaiah 6:8 (NLT)]

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” Luke 1:38 (NLT)]

So Noah did everything exactly as God had commanded him. [Genesis 6:22 (NLT)]

 

 

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November 5, 2015

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God's Plan, God's Word: The Bible, Knowing Him, Nature, Peace of God, Sharing Our Faith, Spiritual Gifts

WHY DO I DO IT?

Anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. But how shall they ask him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? [Romans 10:13-14 (TLB)]

I’d been asked to answer why Jesus moved me to write a Christian daily devotional. There certainly are times I ask myself that same question. I wondered how to reply to that query as I walked the swamp/bird sanctuary this morning.

corkscrew swamp sanctuaryOriginally a city girl, I never would have expected spending at least one day a week on this boardwalk in the midst of water, ferns, cypress, herons, hawks, spiders and gators. A private person, I would never have expected to share my faith journey so publicly either. While contemplating why I do it, I started taking pictures of the swamp. I silently complained that, no matter how many shots I take, I’ve never managed to capture the beauty, mystery and sense of peace I find in this strange place. Neither words nor photos can capture why I love it so—and yet I continue to try. I will admit that I didn’t love it at first. We first visited out of curiosity but became intrigued enough to come again and again and learn more about it. Now, whenever we have visitors, the swamp is a “must do” activity. Being so familiar with it, we can show them where the deer might be found, the gator family lives, the scarlet hibiscus and blue flag iris hide, the baby owls roost, and the woodpeckers nest—all of which we missed on our earlier visits. We can explain how the strangler fig grows, about the cypress knees, which wading bird they’re seeing, and what the seemingly dead resurrection fern will look like after a rain—none of which we knew when we first visited. We didn’t love the swamp at first but, as we came to know it, we grew to love it and want to share that love with others.

So, what compels me to post a Christian devotion five times a week? Just as I want to share my love of the swamp with our guests, even though I’m neither botanist nor zoologist, God has somehow tasked me with the sharing of my love of Jesus with strangers, even though I’m neither theologian nor minister! He’s given me the desire to share my faith and my failings, the peace of God and the struggles of a follower, the comfort of His presence and the guidance of His word so that others can experience the peace, love and joy that comes from a relationship with Jesus and reading the Bible.

My words and photos can’t do justice to the swamp so, if you’re ever in Southwest Florida, be sure to spend some time at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. You’ve just got to experience it for yourself. The words of my devotions can’t do justice to God, either. My prayer is that people will find them interesting enough to encourage them to delve into God’s word for themselves and take their own journey of faith. You’ve got to experience God firsthand and, as we found with the swamp, once you know Him, you’ll love Him. Unlike our favorite swamp, however, there’s no admission fee.

A true faith in Jesus Christ will not suffer us to be idle. No, it is an active, lively, restless principle; it fills the heart, so that it cannot be easy till it is doing something for Jesus Christ. [George Whitefield]

When the Council saw the boldness of Peter and John and could see that they were obviously uneducated non-professionals, they were amazed and realized what being with Jesus had done for them! … [Peter and John replied] “We cannot stop telling about the wonderful things we saw Jesus do and heard him say.” [Acts 4:13, 20 (TLB)]

For just preaching the Gospel isn’t any special credit to me—I couldn’t keep from preaching it if I wanted to. I would be utterly miserable. Woe unto me if I don’t. If I were volunteering my services of my own free will, then the Lord would give me a special reward; but that is not the situation, for God has picked me out and given me this sacred trust, and I have no choice. [1 Corinthians 9:16-17 (TLB)]  

swamp lily-great egret-blue flag iris

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September 28, 2015

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Challenges & Difficulty, God's Grace & Love, God's Plan, Salvation: A New You, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

ROAD REPAIRS

God’s business is putting things right; he loves getting the lines straight, setting us straight. Once we’re standing tall, we can look him straight in the eye. [Psalm 11:7 (MSG)] 

old world wisconsin-129webIllinois really has only two seasons: winter and road construction. The intersection by my northern home was under construction for nearly three years. In an effort to make a five-way intersection into a four-way, one road was closed entirely and another was straightened, roads were widened, and turn lanes and new lights added. During this time, there was no easy way to get anywhere from my house. I had to go east before going west, north before going south, and allow an extra twenty minutes to get where I used to get in five. No one enjoyed the slow traffic, detours, closed lanes, delays, missing driveways, and closed roads. Unfortunately, they all were necessary to straighten out a road in a dangerous intersection. The work is finally done and I was pleased at how smoothly traffic flows in the new configuration. Of course, as a result of this improvement, I’ve had to make some changes in my life since the road I used to take home is closed; fortunately, a new one was opened. Unfortunately, since this is Illinois, there is more construction on the same road, just a few miles further north so more delays are likely for the next few years.

Like IDOT and roads in need of repair, sometimes God has to straighten us out. Chances are we won’t like it any more than we like road construction. We won’t be able to continue doing things the same old way but, on the plus side, He’ll offer us a new way and better way. Like the intersection by my house, our lives will be vastly improved once God has set us straight. And, just as the state never seems to stop with the road work, God is never quite finished with us. There’s always something to straighten, smooth out or repair. It’s best if we just let Him do the work.

What a God! His road stretches straight and smooth. Every God-direction is road-tested. Everyone who runs toward him makes it. [Psalm 18:30 (MSG)]

A tribute to God when he comes, When he comes to set the earth right. He’ll straighten out the whole world, He’ll put the world right, and everyone in it. [Psalm 98:9 (MSG)]

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September 25, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, God's Plan, Obedience, Temptation & Sin, Trusting God, Wisdom & Guidance

WORDS OF WARNING

Our kings, leaders, priests, and ancestors did not obey your Law or listen to the warnings in your commands and laws. [Nehemiah 9:34 (NLT)]

WARNING -8042webAlthough I heard the rumble of thunder and saw flashes of lightening, they weren’t what woke me from a sound sleep at midnight—it was the klaxon-like sound coming from my cell phone. My foggy brain figured it to be a weather alert and, since I could already see there was a storm, I rolled over and went back to sleep. After checking my phone the following morning, I saw it had been a warning about flash floods in our area. While running errands later that day, I saw the damage left by the storm and understood why the warning had been sounded. Since I had been safely tucked into bed in a house set on high ground, ignoring the flood alert didn’t endanger me. If, however, that had been an alarm about a tornado, I might have regretted not looking at the message or heeding its words of caution.

It’s not just weather warnings that we tend to ignore. Every time a smoker lights up, he is ignoring clearly written warnings on his pack of cigarettes. Do we always slow down when we see those yellow signs warning of a sharp turn, poor road conditions or a hidden entrance? As many times as we women are advised to regularly check our breasts for suspicious lumps, most women I know don’t. We’re cautioned about the dangers of the sun and yet we use tanning booths rather than sun block. Every year, the commuter trains in our area are delayed because people have ignored the warning lights and bells at a railroad crossing and, even though the waiter warns us that the plate is extremely hot, we will touch it nearly every time.

The Bible is filled with warnings; in fact, the word “warn” and its variations appear 173 times in my NLT translation. Add words like “heed,” “beware,” and “be careful” and it is obvious that the Bible is filled with cautionary advice and admonishments. The Israelites failed to heed the various words of warning given them by Moses and the many prophets that followed him and we’re not much better when it comes to abiding by the cautionary words of the New Testament.

Let us never forget that words of warning are a blessing in disguise. Like the annoying weather alerts, they are there for our safety, protection and welfare. It is, however, our responsibility to listen to and abide by them.

So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. [Ephesians 5:15-20 (NLT)]

When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. [Galatians 5:19-21 (NLT)]

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September 11, 2015

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Faith & Hope, Fear & Doubt, God's Plan, Knowing Him, Peace of God, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets, Trusting God

ON A NEED TO KNOW BASIS

I also saw something else here on earth: The fastest runner does not always win the race, the strongest soldier does not always win the battle, the wisest does not always have food, the smartest does not always become wealthy, and the talented one does not always receive praise. Time and chance happen to everyone. [Ecclesiastes 9:11 (NCV)]

purple coneflower - MHSP087webSometimes, in the hope of protecting the integrity of secret or sensitive information, access to information is limited to a “need to know” basis. Of course, WikiLeaks and a variety of journalists have proven that there’s little that is ever truly confidential. The HIPA Act and all of those forms we sign when visiting a doctor are supposed to keep our medical information private and on a “need to know” basis. Having just learned that my medical insurance records have been hacked, it seems that a “need to know” status isn’t much of a safeguard to one’s privacy. In spite of all sorts of precautions, hackers, whistle blowers, and informants manage to access and leak information whether we need to know it or not!

There are times we think God is keeping certain information from us that we have a need to know. We want to know the answers to “Why?” Why did he get Alzheimer’s? Why did she go into a coma? Why did this child get leukemia? Why does my child have Down’s syndrome? Why the tornado? Why didn’t the driver stop? Why can’t I have children? Why was he at the wrong place at the wrong time? Why is her child in the gifted class when mine struggles to keep up? Why didn’t she listen? Why did he kill himself? Why is there so much hate and hurt? Why did so many die in such a senseless act of terrorism? Why couldn’t you save them? Why do bad things happen to good people? Why?

I freely admit that any sermons I’ve heard that tried to answer those questions failed miserably; they left me dissatisfied and empty. The short answer, of course, is readily available in Genesis: bad things happen because man sinned. That answer, however, is anything but satisfactory. The only sermons that ever made sense were the ones conceding that, while we’re in this world, there never will be an acceptable explanation for why bad things happen.

The answers to the cries of “Why?” are on a “need to know” basis. We’ll only know the facts we need to know at the time we need to know them. If we truly needed to know, God would tell us; but we don’t, so He won’t. It’s in God’s job description to know the answers to those questions; it’s not in ours. Our job description simply requires us to trust in Him and in His plan. It appears that the angels are all rather content with their positions so we shouldn’t count on them leaking any privileged information our way. We just have to accept that when, and if, we ever need to know why, God will supply a satisfactory answer. We don’t need to know why; we just need to know Him!

You are only human, and human beings have no right to question God. An object should not ask the person who made it, “Why did you make me like this?” The potter can make anything he wants to make. He can use the same clay to make one thing for special use and another thing for daily use. [Romans 9:20-21 (NCV)]

We know that in everything God works for the good of those who love him. [Romans 8:28a (NCV)]