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Okay Lord, Now I Need … a Piece of Chocolate

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“Now it came about that when Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became furious and very angry and mocked the Jews … But we prayed to our God … So we carried on the work…”

Nehemiah 4:1, 9, & 21, NASB

Chocolate ID-10054941I walked into my kitchen and totally forgot what I was aiming to get. (Can this be happening to me already? Sure is … so frustrating!) As my mind scrambled to recall why I stood there, I good-naturedly spoke, saying, “Okay Lord, now I need …” And since I couldn’t recall the item, I filled in the blank with–you guessed it– “a piece of chocolate.” After eating said piece of chocolate, I’m trying now to focus.

Life gets crazy sometimes, and responsibilities bulge like an expectant mom ready to give birth. While God provides the strength and diligence required, I’ve been known to wander in circles before buckling down to work. Distractions, unexpected situations, procrastination–all of these can sidetrack me in my attempts to do what needs doing. Thankfully, God brings me around to the place where I accomplish the necessary. Despite me or life’s circumstances, He always finishes what He begins.

We might face opposition and obstacles on the way, but as long as we press forward with God’s will, we Will. Make. Progress.

Take Nehemiah for example. God called him to rebuild the wall, and he faithfully set about the task. Regardless of others’ anger, belittling, and threats, Nehemiah resolutely carried on his work. He knew what the Lord desired, and he didn’t allow anything to stop him. I’m so encouraged by his example: He prayed … and worked. Prayed some more … worked some more.

Now, I’m not facing anything as daunting as rebuilding a wall. Yet honestly, writing today’s devotion feels like a wall. I’ve struggled for a topic and delayed writing for that very reason. Dishes, laundry, and unpacking have claimed my attention. Then, after finally settling on this passage from Nehemiah, something unexpected–but very worthwhile–arose.

Dear friend, can you relate? What “wall” has God called you to rebuild? Does it stress and overwhelm you? Are others attempting to prevent your progress? We can combat our enemies the same way Nehemiah did: Pray and work. Pray some more … work some more. 

And hey–a piece of chocolate doesn’t hurt either :) .

Love to you in Christ as you labor for His glory,

Emily

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Knowing Perfection

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“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

Ephesians 2:10, NIV

019The large, burly instructor ripped the nose from the face of my clay sculpture and threw it across the room while shouting words of disapproval. At the time, I was too frightened for them to register, but his disparaging remarks left a lasting impression deep within my spirit. The mere remembrance of that dreadful day causes me to shudder.

The setting for this traumatic experience: a big-city art school in the South. The perpetrator: a ruthless sculpture professor who enjoyed intimidating freshmen. His target: the clay head I painstakingly labored over. His casualty: me.

I was proud of my creation. And the nose―well, it was just about perfect, at least in my eyes. I had no clue someone would view my creation with less pride. Nor did I realize how my view of myself and my ability was about to change.

Words―emit power! Their tentacles probe deep into our souls, unearthing emotions we are unaware exist. Words have the capacity to change how we think, feel and act. They have the power to uplift or to destroy.

Regardless of the power of the words that he spoke, it was neither my instructor’s words nor his actions that wielded the deathblow to my spirit. It was the negative self-talk I continued to feed my soul. My destructive internal words wore away at my confidence, not only in my individual creativity but in who I believed I was as a person. I second-guessed myself and my abilities. My God-given potential slipped from view. I only saw my failures.

God, our Creator, looked on all He had made and said it was good. We are His masterpiece―the pinnacle of His creation. It saddens Him when we view ourselves with disdain. We are created to do good works through our relationship with Him in Christ. It grieves Him when we minimize our assignments and dismiss our roles in His divine plan.

God envisioned the work first. Then He envisioned us. He created us for His specific purpose and enabled us to complete it. It isn’t about us at all. It’s about knowing our Creator and realizing His desire for us to join Him in His work.

The enemy is out to destroy our God-given tasks. He is out to destroy us.  It is essential that we resist the destructive words of the enemy and follow the detailed plans of our Instructor.

We are a team.  And as we work in tandem, we will truly know God’s perfection.

Blessings,

Starr

Hidden Motives

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“So you can see we were not preaching with any deceit or impure motives or trickery. For we speak as messengers approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He alone examines the motives of our hearts.” 

1 Thessalonians 2:3-4, NLT

Hidden_Agenda_Pic“I invited five ladies to our Bible group, this month. I got them all saved, had them join the church, and even got them to sign-up for donations to our new Reach-a-Sister-Fund! I’m pretty sure I’ll be moved up to group leader and featured in the church bulletin soon! Go God!”

“We need to pray about all those sad, poor people I visited on our recent missions trip! Honestly, having to live like that! They are so blessed that we could come to them! How else would they know the love of Christ, without us? We’re all they have to hold onto, you know! Bless their little hearts! God is good!”

“Ladies, we want to thank our sister for inviting three new ladies to our Bible study group, and encourage them each to keep coming back! Let’s all give God the praise and our sister a round of applause!”

Which scenario reminds you of godly women carrying the Good News to others with pure motives? I hope it wasn’t the first two!

Sometimes, the people we attempt to reach with the Gospel message suspect our motives. They’ve literally and figuratively shut doors in my face and the faces of countless number of Christians, believing our motives to be those of Sister Self-Promoting and Sister Self-Righteous, above!

The truth is we really can have hidden motives when we reach out to others in sharing the message of Jesus Christ. When we place importance upon anything (how many; people we’ve impressed with our “sainthood”, people “we’ve gotten saved”, people we’ve invited to church, or financial pledges we’ve secured) above our genuine compassion and love for unsaved people, we are operating out of hidden motives.

Each time we profess to have saved someone, we misrepresent the power of God, whose message we claim to spread! We don’t have the power to save anybody; only God does.

“For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.” (John 6:44)

Before we connect with others, let’s examine our motives, and ask God, the Holy Spirit, who guides us, to empower us to make the necessary corrections that will keep our motives godly.

To effectively reach others with the Good News, we must share it from godly, loving, open motives, rather than from loveless, hidden ones.  This pleases God.

By grace through faith,

Rita