us to get out of our box? I don’t know about you, but I’m so very thankful that God doesn’t box me up because of my bad choices of the past. He has picked me up, brushed me off, and guided me in the direction of an abundant life in Him. So today, is there someone that you need to let out of their box? My prayer is that we would realize when we’re boxing someone up and quickly change our mindset about that individual and be ready to watch who they can become in Jesus.
20…God’s Value
Good morning! “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” I recently had my home and land appraised. It was weird for me to have someone looking over what I have and putting a value on it because there are so many variables when it comes to determining a value. The appraised amount is partially based on the value of what others in my area have. What’s crazy is that the value is subject to change based on what other homes and land sell for. Things are so subjective that two appraisers can appraise the same home and come up with different values.
While the appraiser’s numbers can change, I’m thankful that the value the Lord places on His children NEVER changes. As Scripture tells us, He loves us so much that while we were still sinners, Jesus died for us. Romans 5:8 says it this way, “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Now that’s a love we can always count on.
Something else that will never change is the Bible. Once we realize the worth of Scripture, we no longer read it just so we can check it off our list of something we need to do. Instead, we consider it to be the fuel that our body needs. God’s love and His Word are never subject to change. It doesn’t matter how much the world changes; they remain the same. God’s love and His word are the beauty in the eye of this beholder, helping to navigate me through this life. Praying they are the same for you!
21…Don’t Open the Door
Good morning! I have a little fall display at my house. It consists of a bale of hay with mums and pumpkins in front of it. A couple of my pumpkins are green and they look just like an apple. You guessed it … they are called apple pumpkins. Although the outsides are different, they are what you’d expect a pumpkin to be on the inside. I had to trash one of the pumpkins already. When I picked it up, I found that it was rotten on the bottom. And upon further investigation, I discovered that the inside of the pumpkin was rotten too, even though the outside still looked good. It made me think about how in life we often try to disguise sin by wrapping it up in something that looks appealing or pleasing. But when you take the cover off, the sin remains. You might be able to conceal the sin for a time, but just like how the pumpkin rotted, sin that is left unchecked in our lives will start a decaying process in us and lessen our witness for God.
Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:27 that we should not give Satan an open door to enter into our lives. “And do not give the devil an opportunity.” The enemy gets that opportunity when we try to cover up our sin instead of dealing with it head on. Satan is just a big bully. Once he gets one foot in the door of our life, he makes himself at home, where he keeps doing more damage, and we begin to drift a little further from the Lord. The good news is that there is a way to put this bully in his place. And that way is through Jesus. James 4:7 tells us that if we will resist the devil, he will flee from us. My prayer for us is that we don’t allow the enemy to put even a toe in our life. Instead, I pray that we keep our focus on the One we want to 100% fill our lives … Jesus!!
22…Mold Me
Good morning! As I was looking through some pictures, I found a picture of Alan and I that had been taken seven years ago at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. We went there to celebrate our birthdays. We both turned 50 that year and so did Silver Dollar City. We were sitting in a sleigh in front of one of their huge Christmas trees. Such good memories. One thing we enjoyed there was watching craftsman at their trade. My favorite craftsman was a potter making clay pots. As he worked at the wheel, he’d take a lump of clay and mold it into a beautiful and unique pot. He took his time perfecting that pot, patiently smoothing out all the rough spots and imperfections. It was amazing to see what he could create out of a lump of clay.
It reminded me of the verse in Isaiah talking about God being the Divine Potter. Isaiah 64:8 says, “But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father, we are the clay, and Thou our potter; and all of us are the work of Thy hand.” Just like the potter we saw in Branson, God is very patient with us, smoothing out our imperfections, which will one day mold us into that perfect vessel that He designed us to be.
All of us are a unique creation with the same goal of being transformed into the image of Christ. I guess the question we need to answer is, “Are we willing to let the Divine Potter mold us into a beautiful vessel or will we fight that process and remain an imperfect lump of clay?”
Here’s to letting God smooth out our flaws!
23…Getting Rid of the Ashes
Good morning! As it gets closer to the end of October, we tend to hear about lots of hay rides and bonfires going on. I was thinking about those bonfires as I was picking up sticks and yard debris and throwing them in my fire pit to burn. When my fire finally burned out, all that remained were ashes. I took those ashes and tossed them aside as they had no value to me. I was reminded about those ashes when I read 1 Corinthians 3:12-15.
Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which has been built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.
As believers, we know that our salvation is a free gift but the Heavenly rewards that we get once we are in Heaven depend on the Kingdom work we do here. Those works will be put through the fire and our good works for the Kingdom will remain and those that were not pleasing to the Lord will burn up and only ashes will remain. Those ashes will be tossed aside, just like I did with my fire pit ashes, and whatever works remain will be rewarded. Here on earth, I only want ashes as the end result of my fire. But in Heaven, when my works are tested by fire, I want as few ashes as possible to remain. Hope this is your goal, too!
24…Peace vs. Chaos
Good morning! We have several feral cats at our place, a baker’s dozen to be exact. The other day when my granddaughter was here, she accidentally let one get inside the house. I was able to get the cat cornered in my bedroom and closed the door. As it freaked out, it pulled down some blinds, knocked almost everything off my nightstand and the same with the dresser. That stupid thing decided it was going to camp out underneath the dresser. So, I had to go to Plan B.
As I was getting the leaf blower out of the garage, my son and his family pulled up. Of course, he wanted to know what I was doing with the leaf blower so I quickly filled him in. When I returned to my bedroom, I stuck the leaf blower under the dresser and turned it on high. That cat came flying out from the back of the dresser and ran crazy through the room again, but this time my son was able to grab him and boot him outside.
Do you ever have chaos in your life???? It seems like the chaos in our lives always comes when we absolutely don’t have time for it. You know, when our schedules are so busy you almost have to pencil-in sleeping. How many times have you caught yourself saying, “Seriously, I don’t have time for this?” But John 14:27 tells us that Jesus left us a valuable gift to combat the chaos … His peace. Regardless of our situations in life, His peace is always available for the taking. He is NEVER too busy to extend His peace to us. That concept of never being too busy for us boggles my mind since there are a gazillion people He offers that peace to. So, my prayer is that we accept this beautiful gift He gives us. Here’s to worshiping the Prince
