The Word

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

~ Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

The Prayer

Father, this verse stops me in my tracks!  Be kind… Be compassionate… Be forgiving… These are not options ~ they are commands. Being kind to all, regardless of whether the kindness is returned. You've commanded us to be kind ~ period!   As far as compassion, it stretches beyond small children in mission pictures with swelled bellies and dirt floors. The compassion of which You speak should be extended to all regardless of how they make ME FEEL! It's so easy to have compassion for those we deem "worthy" of it. Stretch my compassion to reach beyond, to those who don't seem in need, but who are in GREAT need.  Then, there's forgiveness… YOU forgave me! I was undeserving, yet You forgave me ~ completely, wholly, totally. May I embrace Your forgiveness.  May I offer forgiveness.  May I get passed offenses. May I walk as You walk.  May I live YOUR kindness, compassion and forgiveness. Thank you… In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

The Share

If you are joining us today & “Seeing & Praying”  THIS WORD, we’d love to encourage each other on the journey. Part of this experience is to share and see what the Lord reveals to each of us we come together in community to share the Holy Word. We encourage you to journal, create & pray through this verse and share that with our Wednesday with our community by commenting below. We hope that with all of us centering on one verse that the Lord will reveal much. 

My website was a victim of a recent WordPress attack. I’m careful with passwords and wifi and security issues, so I was unnerved to find out I could still be hacked.

As I frantically rebuilt my site, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper something even more unnerving: “Is your website more important than your relationship with Me?” I nearly choked at the thought. NO, Lord! Of course it isn’t! “Then why are you so panicked at the thought of losing it?”

My heart broke. My site is a big part of my ministry, but had I allowed it to crowd my relationship with my Heavenly Father?

I hadn’t been neglecting my quiet time and Bible study was still a priority in my life, but maybe it wasn’t my top priority. I grabbed my Bible and a blank legal pad, and got down to business: spending time with the Father. I sat at my dining room table and felt my body relax as Jesus’ words soaked my parched spirit:

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. ~Philippians 3:8 (NIV)

I closed my eyes and let that truth sink in.

Yes, Lord. Knowing You IS the greatest thing, and if I lose my blog or the ministry You’ve given me, it will be worth it to know You better. I looked around the dining room and remembered so many big family celebrations. We passed platters of turkey, bowls of pasta, slices of birthday cake. I thought about all the hours I’d spent preparing meals for my family and friends to enjoy around that table. Then it hit me: I can design my dining room with beautiful paintings, furniture and tablescapes; but it’s of little value if I don’t have anything to serve. All of that happens in the kitchen. I can design my blog with beautiful backgrounds, widgets and links; but it doesn’t matter if my posts don’t encourage others and point them to Jesus.

All of that happens in the Word.

So I’m getting back to my first love: knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I’m asking Him to reveal the things that crowd my relationship with Him, including social media. I know He’s called me to certain areas of ministry, and I want to obey Him with those; but it’s easy to spend so much time serving in His name that I miss time sitting at His feet. Question: How do you keep life’s demands from crowding your relationship with the Lord?  

Susan Stilwell is a freelance writer, motivational speaker and Bible study leader who loves discovering God at work the ordinary, day-to-day stuff of life. Passionate about God’s Word, she’s a prolific devotional writer and a popular guest blogger. She and her husband Steve enjoy their empty nest in the beautiful mountains of southwest Virginia. You can connect with Susan on Twitter at @susanrstilwell and on her website, www.susanstilwell.com

He wasn’t afraid to take the back roads . . .

And when He did He rode in on a donkey. That’s just one tiny step up from an old-busted-out John Deere lawnmower running on three bald tires, a wheel rim and a shot out suspension.

He was born amongst the cows and chickens. Extra brownie points for the goats. Goats are awesome.

His best friends spent all day out on the lake.

He was predicted by the old folks before He ever showed up . . . just like your Grandma’s arthritis when it rains.

He showed up every fish tale known to man with that multiplying-the-trout thing. My husband would like to know what bait He used.

He fixed broken people . . . and he never even used duct tape.

He once hung out in the wilderness for a whole 40 days.

He brought a whole new meaning to hanging out in a tree stand when he literally hung out standing on a tree.

Here He camouflaged my sins.

But it didn’t end there.

Just like biscuit dough – He rose.

Thank God for Jesus . . . who made His grace spectacular and yet simple enough for a country girl like me to understand.

Sarah takes a few minutes in the video below to share her experience with seeking God's presence everyday. 

Our pint-sized kitchen was clean and comfy as my sister and I were sitting around the oak table eating a snack when our mother dashed in from the den. We cautiously eyed each other as mom pulled out pans, beaters, sugar, flour and peanut butter.

Me, being the talker of the two said, “Hey mom, whatcha making?”

She turned with hands on both hips and said with a hint of dread, “YOUR daddy is going hunting for a few days, and I thought I would be the ‘good wife’ and make his favorite cake for his trip.”

You see, mom was not a fan of Dad’s love of hunting, she lived with it, tolerated it, but loved it? Not one bit. However, on this particular day, Mom taught us how to be a loving wife along with how to tame your temper with one swoop of her hand.

Mom baked away, I wouldn’t say with total enthusiasm, but no pans were being slammed either. The smell was wonderful, but as cakes sometimes do, the three layers split and slid uneven while the peanut butter icing oozed out and pooled on the plate. Not a beautiful cake but yummy nonetheless.

Mom was quite tickled that she did the ‘good wife’ deed, and in addition, had not been pouting or pouring guilt on his head. God was, I’m sure, impressed.

Proudly the cake sat on the kitchen counter and within the hour Dad came in through the carport. Mother grinned as she stood beside the lopsided prize.

My sister and I sat with legs crossed as dad opened the door and instantly spied the cake. We then watched in silent horror as he opened his mouth allowing his left-brain to slide out and mock the appearance of the oozing cake.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

With one incredible lunge, mother grabbed the gooey cake with her bare hands and swiftly stuffed the entire thing down the disposal. Absolutely stunned, dad tried to stop the destruction by yelling, “Nooooo Honey, nooooo, I LOVE your cake!”

But, to no avail, the cake was gone…traveling down the left-brained pipe with only a whiff of the peanut butter aroma lingering from the sink.
Dad was devastated and mom was, well a bit miffed but recovered rapidly due to dad’s quick repentance and her just as quick forgiving spirit.

I share this true story to point out how our hasty, non-thinking words can hurt someone’s heart and backfire at the same time.

This also shows how my mother controlled her temper. Knowing her as I do, the fact that she threw the cake in the sink versus on top of his head showed great restraint. I think most women have had that urge a time or two.

God may do the same thing when He disciplines us. I would imagine that there are so many times that He would really like to pounce on us but He holds back and takes another route. I’m grateful He doesn’t give us what we deserve.

So the next time someone does something out of love for you…just smile and say, ‘thank you,’…I’m thinking my dad wished he had.

“The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” –Proverbs 12:18

“Why is it not lighting up?”

My daughter Grace called through the dark to me.

“Honey, it IS lighting up,” I explained. “But glow in the dark things just glow. They don’t really project light,” I told her and waited for her to ask what project meant.

It’s hard to explain to a three-year-old the difference between a light-up unicorn pillow that puts stars on the ceiling and the glow-in-the-dark dinosaur from her kid’s meal. I kept trying to explain it in different ways, but honestly, none of them made sense to her.

And as I explained, I realized something huge.

I don’t want to be a glow-in-the-dark Christian.

Glow-in-the-dark Christians seem great at first; they light up the darkness. But unfortunately they aren’t connected to a power source. So they quickly lose their glow.

If you know about glow in the dark things, you know how they glow brighter after you hold them close to a true power source – like an overhead light, a lamp, or ever better – the sun.

Many of us are glow-in-the-dark Christians at first. We glow stronger when we hang out with other Christ followers who have a power source or when we spend time with the Son. But light without a true power source isn’t lasting. That kind of light doesn’t project light on the things around it; it merely glows.

So how do you move from glow-in-the-dark to projecting the True Light? You have to be plugged in. Plug in to God’s Word, and to prayer time with the Creator of all things. You just might be surprised at how far His light will project through you.

So tell me, are you a light up unicorn pillow or a glow-in-the-dark dinosaur?

The Word

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.

The Prayer

Heavenly Father, I am so grateful that we can put our trust in you. When the things of this world fall apart, when our loved ones leave us, when we face rejection and abandoment, when disaister turns our world upside down — in all of this we can trust you. Not just with our mind, but with our hearts. Our whole selves. We don't need to lean on our own understanding. Actually, Lord, you tell us to NOT do that. We need to trust in you, not in what we think we know, but in knowing what you say is true in your word. In the trouble or trial or blessing alike, we are called to submit to You, O Lord. Forgive us, God, for we so often rebel against submission. Forgive us for not humbling ourselves into submission to you. God enable us to learn how to do that well for with it comes a promise we all want — for You to make our paths straight. Thank you, Lord, for this promise. May we embrace it through living with trusting hearts and submissive lives unto you and for your glory. In Jesus' Strong Name, Amen.

The Share

If you are joining us today & “Seeing & Praying”  THIS WORD, we’d love to encourage each other on the journey. Part of this experience is to share and see what the Lord reveals to each of us we come together in community to share the Holy Word. We encourage you to journal, create & pray through this verse and share that with our Wednesday with our community by commenting below. We hope that with all of us centering on one verse that the Lord will reveal much. 

Several years ago when my boys were little, I volunteered at a chili supper at the elementary school where my middle, and most impetuous son, Kristopher, was attending at the time. 

It was time to clean up and I was doing my part, but didn’t really know my way around a commercial school kitchen. I went to reach into a sink full of hot water to retrieve a cookie sheet and lunged down into the water so fast without noticing the sign above the faucet that said, “CAUTION: WATER REACHES TEMPERATURE OF 190 DEGREES!” which is just below the boiling point.

The rest of the evening was a blur, but I do remember the principal taking me to the ER, my husband meeting me there, feeling this excruciating pain, and my arm being a ghostly shade of white.  They confirmed that I did have second degree burns from my fingertips to above my elbow and to expect a rough night. As soon as we got home my husband called our pastor and family and many people started praying for me. Thankfully I slept like a baby; I never woke up one time.

I still believe in the God of miracles. I have seen others healed and heard of wonderful miraculous things that God has done in my lifetime and I am sure you have too. But I can’t tell you that I went to bed thinking, “I wonder if God will heal me tonight?” But when I went back to the doctor the next day I told them I had no pain and they said that was impossible with what I had been through, no one recovers in 24 hours from what had happened to me! So they proceeded to remove the bandages and when nothing was left but the antiseptic cream she turned around to get something and I started wiping it off. The doctor screamed that I was rubbing off skin! She was nearly hysterical. But I knew I was healed! 
She could not believe it, and just kept looking at my chart and then back at my arm and saying it was not possible. There was not one blister or scar, absolutely nothing! God had completely healed my arm! She still did not know how to react to the miracle; she just kept shaking her head and saying she had never seen anything like it.

Every time I walked in that school they called me the Miracle Lady. I never wondered why the accident had happened. I KNEW why. It was for the Glory of God! It was worth that few moments of pain for people to discover that He still heals and performs miracles today!
But what about the seasons in our lives when God chooses NOT to heal? So many times we hear that it is always the will of God that EVERYONE be healed. And even worse are those that say that God will always heal IF we have enough faith.

We have all been in church services where people have wanted to be healed and come forward for prayer and been told that if they only believed they would be healed. Then if they do not receive their miracle they feel as if somehow it is their fault. We all believe God can heal but do not realize what we are doing to those that are hanging on to these words for all they are worth! They may leave a church service thinking there is something wrong with their walk with God because they were not healed! This should never happen.

Let us consider perhaps that sometimes it is not the Lord's will or His timing that we be healed. I am not saying the Lord puts these things upon us but I am saying that He can make something good out of them. He has a better plan.

Paul tells us that he was given a thorn in the flesh to keep him from thinking he was something he was not! “So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh… Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, ‘My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.’ So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.” 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 NLT.

Some say it was a sickness or infirmity, others that it was the persecution that he faced on a daily basis. Regardless, the Lord did not see fit to take away this “thorn” from Paul’s life! He told Paul that healing wasn’t necessary in this situation. He was given the thorn to TEACH and to learn and then he was given grace as a means to cope and take him through his suffering. If God’s grace was enough for Paul why wouldn’t it be enough for us today?

Our suffering serves a purpose as well. The healing is not always the goal, but our changed spirit, changed heart or attitude is! 
Many wonderful men and women of faith today have been stricken with disease and not healed. Did they lack faith? Of course not! Their living brought glory to God and their dying brought glory to God!

Yes, God is glorified by healing! But He is also glorified through the life of a Christian whose faith is not diminished because of their illness. They continue to walk with God in spite of the pain and suffering they go through on a daily basis. In fact, they flourish! 
We must have faith that God CAN heal, but we must accept that God may not always heal if it is not His will at the time.

 
“…I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:10.

But he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:27 ASV

I started looking at this photo and could barely pull my eyes away. Look at it a minute, really look. Let your eyes wander across the colors, dwelling on the ones that catch your eye. Notice the watery mixes and the one empty white square.

Do you see what I see? Yep, you got it: Possibility. Potential. Old and new, pure and tainted, bright and dark, viscous and dried, vivid and dull. I see experimentation, someone playing with how the colors will mix, creating something new from the limited materials provided. As much as I appreciate the raw materials, though, that’s really all they are. What captivates me is not what I see, but what I imagine it could become. There’s no way to predict that ahead of time, though — oh, we could study the artist’s previous work, her subject matter, and her sketches. But even then, the best we could do is make a vague guess. Even if we know her plan, she may have to react to happy accidents (or unfortunate mistakes), taking the painting in a very different direction than planned.

One person, with the best of intentions and lots of passion, still might fall very, very short. This artist might create something bold, graphic and contemporary; that one a delicate, carefully rendered, lifelike portrait. The next person might manage, in a few careful strokes, to evoke the stormy sea at night or a field of wildflowers or a dense, rich wash of color so beautiful we wish we could dive into the page, into the beauty, letting it surround us on all sides, overwhelming our senses.

It all depends on the abilities, vision, and talent of the one doing the painting.

But put this palette in a skilled master’s hands, those of a competent craftsman, one who can see the potential, who can imagine things we cannot — and these simple colors will be transformed into beauty, transparency, dimension, delicacy, boldness. Symbolism, representation, accuracy, truth. Depth and nuance, shadows and light.

Like prayer — endless possibility. Go ahead, study the palette again, but this time view it through this lens. Hope and promise, beckoning to us — ready and waiting for what could be.

It’s all about the artist. Put the watercolors into God’s capable hands, and let Him figure out the best way to put them all together. The exact mixes, the ideal placement on the page, the contrast between elements, how much water and pigment are needed and how the colors blend — it’s all up to Him. The best part? We’ve already seen His work. We can relax knowing He doesn’t make mistakes, and trust in His abilities and His vision.

We just need to yield the brush.