Devotions

Insights from Memorizing

May 072012

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20

Recently I spent an afternoon with a dear friend at her home here in Germany. We had some tea in her second floor apartment, and then decided to go for a walk up her “mountain”. It was quite a steep hill with a clear view of the sunlit valley below. She shared with me how for most of her life it has been extremely difficult for her to memorize scripture, but how she recently had been able to memorize 100 verses, and that in fact she had memorized them as she walked up and down her mountain. “The Lord gave me these! I hadn’t been able to memorize before!” she said. Her words encouraged me and I went home determined to attempt memorization again, and to do it while walking and jogging.

My first reaction was that this is great! I had wanted to be outside and get exercise, but always felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything with my mind. In other words, my mind would get bored. A quick glance at my little pack of memory verse cards, and I had something to focus on. It was also good to be away from certain mundane but persistent distractions. Memorizing things at home had not worked since my mind was suddenly fascinated by the pattern on the floor or a noise from outside… basically anything could become more fascinating than committing a Bible verse to memory. While walking and running however–more walking at first until I got a few phrases down, since it is hard to read while jogging–I found that moving my feet at a steady pace helped me focus my mind on only the words in front of me.

So I should have been all set right? One of my first verses to tackle this way was the one written above, Galatians 2:20. “I have been crucified with Christ…” Wait a minute, those are powerful words. Much more powerful when I’m saying them out loud and about myself! I wasn’t able to finish memorizing this verse until I had faced some of my selfish living (unwillingly at first), died to it, and lived by grace. It was a little discouraging to not even be able to remember two sentences for a while, but I couldn’t until I had dealt with my sin.

On a later run/walk I was repeating this verse and made another discovery. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who gave himself for me,” I panted. Did you notice what I left out? The phrase “who loved me” is missing! I came up against another thing that my mind wasn’t believing. He loves me! Boy do I need this reminder as I pant down my path.

Romans 12:1 also made me pause on yet another run. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers, to offer you bodies as living sacrifices…” No, wait, I left a part out. “Therefore, I urge you, brothers,in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” Once again I had left out a key part. I am offering myself to a merciful God. More panting and pondering followed that thought.

My conclusion? I need to memorize verses. I need to fill my mind with the truth because if I don’t, it fills up with lies! I shouldn’t be discouraged about how few I can get down pat, because I just need to keep working on them. Always.

Submitted by Taryn Keller

The Wedding Cake (part 2)

Devotions

Apr 302012

To recap the events in part 1; Charity had made a wedding cake as a gift to the bride and groom and had wonderful plans on how to decorate it, only to discover that her decorating job had been given to someone else instead. Now for the rest of the story….

I felt so much grief in being unable to fully give the gift I desired to give. He showed me how much more we must grieve Him when we don’t fully receive His perfect and holy gift!

I thought to myself, “Wow God, thank you for showing me that.” Even though I desired to share what He had just revealed to me, my heart still felt disappointed–and a bit angry. Then God gently said, “Charity, it isn’t about you and this is their wedding and their choice. Why are you angry? Is it because you cannot have photos of the finished cakes, thus making the possibility of starting a business look more bleak? Who is that about? You or Me?”

God is so faithful to uncover my sin, while still allowing my feelings to teach me a new lesson about how we as believers can grieve Him. He helped change my attitude so that I happily desired to do my best on the promised cakes and deliver them with a smile! God does not withhold anything good from those who ask. He gives to us so graciously even when we don’t deserve it. What a good example He is in showing us to not be bitter or unforgiving, but to lovingly give whenever we can.

Here is a verse He continued to show me during this week of my cake trial and lesson. “…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

He doesn’t give up on us even if we may refuse Him at times. He promises to finish! We must remember our humanity and inability to see the big picture. Just because we may reject His help and blessings it does not thwart or ruin His plan. Yes, we will pay the consequences and miss out, but He has a perfect plan and is so much bigger than us and our mistakes.

To finish my story, the wedding day arrived and I can joyfully say that I brought the cakes with gladness, excited about the gift I could give. While setting it up, I was surprised to be asked to decorate it with the items her sister had bought. Funny how things work out, isn’t it?! None of this had to happen but God chose to teach me a lesson and changed my heart and in turn blessed me! What is God teaching you today, this week, this year? He has begun a good work in you, and is not finished yet!

Submitted by Charity Stadler

The Wedding Cake

Devotions

Apr 232012

Excitement and joy was contagious in our family because my husband’s older brother was finally getting married! Since I enjoy baking and decorating, I was thrilled that they accepted my offer to make the wedding cake. I carefully baked, frosted, and piped detailing on the layered rounds. I was having such fun, my husband suggested I start a business and I even had potential clients from his work. I envisioned capturing the masterpiece on camera with cascading roses perfectly placed on each tier. To my dismay, their plan did not match mine at all. In fact, I was replaced in the decorating role by her sister. The idea of not being able to complete the job I had started made me very sad. I became worried the cake may fall or be damaged while others played with it and I would somehow be responsible. I even began to regret that I had offered to give this special gift at all.

My cousin, a fellow cake decorator and artist, had known how excited I was and also knew my disappointment. She kindly wrote me a note and a poem to encourage, sympathize, and gently point out my wrong attitude.

A Wedding Cake Epitaph By: Elnora Lee White

Charity Lynn, Charity Lynn,

‘Tis no sin to make a cake–

to frost and bake, but not to decorate.

‘Tis a trial, no easy smile,

but you have done a service same,

had you frosted the cake with Jesus’ name.

‘Tis also no sin, Charity Lynn, Charity Lynn,

To grieve the cake it might have been.

It was a relief to be able to share with her that just prior to reading her words I had been in prayer with my parents and God had given me peace. Suddenly my eyes were opened with new insight. I felt so much grief in being unable to fully give the gift I desired to give. He showed me how much more we must grieve Him when we don’t fully receive His perfect and holy gift! When you or I choose to accept His free gift of salvation with excitement, He celebrates with us. What do we choose after that though? Do we ever say, “Yep, that is good, but I really don’t want anything more, so please leave me alone now and let me be. This is good, but I really don’t want you to do any more work in my life”? Yet here the God of the universe–our creator–has an amazing plan that is so beautifully designed for us. Are we choosing to simply miss out on all that is grand and glorious in His plan by only taking the cake (if you will)? When we open our hearts to His gift but then refuse all the added blessings and beauty He would like to make of us along our journey, what are we saying to Him? Whether it is a lack of faith, love, wisdom, or accountability, how we must grieve Him. He loves us so much and wants to give us more than we can imagine, yet when we want it our own way, we miss out on fully enjoying His grand plan.

“…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6

(Stay tuned for part 2)

by Charity Stadler

Motivation of the Heart

Devotions

Apr 162012

“Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; ¹⁶the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; ¹⁷the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment.” Philippians 1:15-17

Motivation—why I do what I do—is important. This passage shows a contrast between two kinds of preaching (service). The first is clearly an error to avoid. There were those who were preaching from a heart of envy and strife. When I serve the Lord I must pay careful attention that I am not trying to prove myself. I cannot be envious of success or opportunity that God gives others. Comparison stimulates envy with a voracious appetite. Comparison can tempt me to feel that God is not blessing me, that he is leaving me out, that I am not good enough, and all manner of defeated thinking. The motivation of strife—proving yourself right or better than someone else—is even more destructive to the body of Christ. Selfish ambition erodes pure motives. I see that it is important to guard my heart from both comparison and selfish ambition in all that I do.

On the other hand, Paul recognizes that there are others who preach out of love and are good with the role that God gave Paul—no spirit of competition. Acting from pure motives, this group demonstrates the example to follow. Although Paul is referring specifically to the service of preaching, the importance of pure motivation is vital in all that I do. From the most mundane task to the most powerful work in life, selfish ambition, envy, and strife destroy pure motives. Selfish ambition is concerned with what others see and think. It is focused on acquiring, achieving, and impressing for personal benefit or recognition.

Pure motivation is Christ-focused and Spirit-led and has these characteristics:

1. In the name of Jesus

2. Prompted by love

3. Thankful in attitude

4. Hearty effort and sincere heart

5. For the glory of God rather than to please men

6. In obedience to Christ—doing the will of God from the heart

7. Not looking for physical reward or recognition—understands that God recognizes all good that we do and brings fruit. God repays our service on His economy, not ours.

“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” – Colossians 3:17

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.” –Colossians 3:23-24

“Slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the sincerity of your heart, as to Christ; ⁶not by way of eye service, as men-pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. ⁷With good will render service, as to the Lord, and not to men, ⁸knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free.”—Ephesians 6:5-8

Ginger Harrington

A Rhythm

Devotions

Apr 092012

I’ve learned the good things in life all have their rhythms.

As a child I learned to play the guitar, awkwardly strumming and counting beats in a measure.

Baking bread is an art with a rhythm: mix, knead, rest, rise, knead, rise, bake.

I breathed a rhythm with all my strength that January night my baby was born.

Today I am counting my stitches, crocheting a scarf for a friend. Never mind that I wanted to have it finished by Christmas and here I am, after Valentine’s and still single-single-double-skip. There are uneven places that mark where I hurried. A steady pace and concentrated eye, a still and relaxed body are the key for me.

As I sit and my hook goes in and out, the soft grey yarn gliding through my fingers, I embrace the slow and steady nature of this work. I settle in, cozy on the couch in the quiet of babies’ nap time, aware that other tasks will still be waiting when I have finished a few more rows.

I begin to savor the pace, the predictable rhythm. Single-single-double-skip.

As I sit and count my stitches, I can almost imagine myself in this same rhythm in fifty years, grey-headed, and crocheting single-single-double-skip. I hope I’ll be a kind, loving, praying old woman. And as I begin the next row, I say a prayer for the one who will wear this scarf.

Single-single-double-skip, quiet and listening now, observing the rhythm of winter outside my window. Thinking of rhythms of life and death, birth and rebirth, etc. With each steady, sacred stitch I trust I am becoming that kind, loving, praying old woman.

Fifty years of growth won’t make me kind enough, unless Jesus changes my heart.

I hope this rhythm and many others will be more practiced by then. And I pray I will have finished this scarf by then!

The moon keeps track of the seasons, the sun is in charge of each day. When it’s dark and night takes over, all the forest creatures come out. The young lions roar for their prey, clamoring to God for their supper. When the sun comes up, they vanish, lazily stretched out in their dens. Meanwhile, men and women go out to work, busy at their jobs until evening. Psalm 104:19-23

by Jordan Carlson

Personal God

Devotions

Apr 022012

The sky was a dull grey on Wednesday morning. It matched my attitude perfectly. I knew what was on the morning agenda: make coffee, make breakfast, make lunches, comb unruly hair, drive kids to school, put a load of laundry in, unload the dishwasher, load it again, change a diaper. While reading Goodnight Moon to my toddler, I searched for something new in the great green room. Something to change my outlook, something to give me hope that life wouldn’t always be this way. There was nothing.

Even the heron, who sometimes flew across the lake as we drove to school, had not shown herself for several weeks. Maybe she, too, was bored with her routine. Driving home after the morning school drop off, a song on Christian radio that should have touched my heart, didn’t. My heart did not have the energy to listen. As I crossed the bridge which spans the lake, something lightly brushed the car’s windshield. It was the heron’s wingtip. She was flying across the lake, and it seemed that she wasn’t expecting my car to be on the bridge as she flew over. Until now, I had only had the pleasure of watching her from far away. This encounter with beauty was so close, almost too close. It took my breath away. Was God doing this to wake up my heart? As if to answer my question, there she was again, flying the opposite direction, right in front of the car. The fog inside me lifted, and underneath was clear blue sky.

I know that God is patient, merciful, and gracious. He is also just, righteous, and jealous. But none of those attributes brings me to my knees as quickly as his personal love. Why would God care about my boredom? I wasn’t in pain or in danger. I didn’t even ask for his help. Our God cares about us THAT MUCH. He’s concerned about boredom! He’s so very personal. So intimate. So sensitive to the quirks of our fickle souls. It is almost impossible to believe. Maybe that’s why so many people don’t believe in a personal God. He seems too good to be true. He doesn’t fit their version of reality. I want to live so close to my Very Real God that someone might notice and dare to believe that God loves her personally.

“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15

Submitted by Gervais Baptist

Army of One

Devotions

Mar 262012

Ephesians 4:2-6 KJV

With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling;

One Lord, one faith, one baptism,

One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

My husband has now been serving for almost 20 years, which makes me feel sometimes that I have served that long too! Throughout those years the army has gone through several mottos. You will probably recognize some of them; “Be all that you can be”, “Army strong”, “Army of one”, etc… When the motto “Army of One” came out I did not care for it much. In my mind it did not represent what the army is about. It is not about that one person in charge or about the soldier of the month, but about all the soldiers regardless of rank, serving together for their country.

As I was driving down the road to pick up my son from football practice, I saw the bumper sticker “Army of One” on the back of a car. My mind went straight to Ephesians 4:2 and I was reminded of Paul’s plea to have unity in the body of Christ and many years after the fact (yes I am slow) the motto made sense. “Army of One” is not about that one soldier, but about one discipline, one uniform, one mission, one country.

As Christians, we also are an Army of One. We have one body (the body of Christ), one spirit (the Holy Spirit), one Lord (Jesus), one faith (Christianity), one baptism (baptism of fire through Jesus’ sacrifice and the Holy Spirit), one God (Abba) and one hope (eternal life). I know that each denomination will have their own interpretations of what each of those items should look like and I am not a theologian nor a scholar, but this much I know: if we can all agree on these basic truths we can be united. Unity makes us stronger. Becoming this army of one in Jesus assures us to be all that we can be. This is our strongest defense against the schemes of the devil. Dissension and quarrels are his favorite tactics.

From personal experience and from many testimonies I have heard, PWOC is a great place of unity. Women from various denominational backgrounds, ranks, and countries come together and worship one God with one love. It might not always look perfect, but I know that the sound of our praises make the devil cringe. Love one another. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. (James 4:7) Stand firm and join the rank of an Army of One.

Submitted by Muriel Gregory

King of Glory

Devotions

Mar 202012

…I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above Him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of His glory.” At the sound of their voices the door posts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. (Isa 6:1-4)

As I read these words recorded by Isaiah the prophet, I gazed out upon the new day God had given. That cool, dewy morning—with a soft blue-grey sky and tiny insects beating their wings in praise to their Maker—invited reflection. I sat in my own outdoor “throne-room,” a cushioned bench on a cement stair. While alone with my pink roses, stained glass pictures, and miniature rock garden, I felt struck by a contrast.

The train of my robe (a Japanese kimono) was not required to fill my front yard, much less the great outdoors beyond. Pierced with gratitude and joy at the holiness and kingliness of Isaiah’s God and my High King, I recognized how His robe alone is worthy to fill His temple and the whole earth. I prayed, sitting near the threshold of my own front door, that people would sense the Spirit of the Most High when they came near or entered my home. Just as the voices of the seraphim praising their God had caused the temple of Heaven to shake, I yearned for my family to shake things up here on earth. (Lifting high His name above all names prepares us for eternity!)

In our opportunities to serve our families and communities we would do well to remember the words the Lord spoke to Isaiah. After Isaiah was purified by the burning coal from the seraph, the Lord reminded him and us that if you do not stand strong in your faith, you will not stand at all (Isa. 7:9). And we need to stand. I think of my eight-year-old son wondering what God looks like, or if there really is a heaven. I see my oldest daughter touched by our chaplain’s focus on God’s defining attribute of holiness thrice spoken. “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty.”

Isaiah’s image of heaven offers us hope. His call to stand in our faith gives us purpose. Our glimpse of a beautiful morning shows us God’s glory, with which the whole earth is filled!

Submitted by Elnora White

Trust and Obey

Devotions

Mar 122012

Times can be hard. Hearing my 3-year-old son sing the song, “Trust and Obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to Trust and Obey” over and over last week reminded me that I need to do that very thing. Recovering from a bout of bronchitis, I was unable to do much for over a week. Overwhelming thoughts began to fill my mind, a lengthy to do list appeared, and piles of laundry grew. What a blessing that God allowed my son to belt out those words when he did, because that is exactly what I needed to do! Stop worrying and Trust and Obey.

I am not alone in trials, for we all have them. But, how are we responding to them? In recent years my sister’s health has not been good. I can easily become scared that she may go to heaven at a young age, leaving her husband and kids behind, but I need to trust and obey. God tells us in….

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

He is also the great Healer and Physician. We must trust who He says he is!

Psalm 103:2-5 Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Seven years ago money seemed to blossom and grow everywhere and be the furthest trial from us. But now we are not left untouched. Seeing family and friends struggling with finances hurts as well. The burden often is heavy and more than we can bear. That is why Jesus promises to exchange our heavy load, and give us what is light. What relief! Read Matthew 11:28-30 and be encouraged! When sadness, depression, and grief want to set in as believers in Christ Jesus, what do we do? Trust and Obey. To actively trust him, we must believe that His word and promises to us are true. To actively obey him, we must follow him by reading his word, doing what He says, and running to Him in prayer.

Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Currently we are preparing our home to sell. This can be very exciting, yet overwhelming with all of the details of repairs, painting, cleaning, decor, and packing. Then of course questions like, “Where will we live? When will we move? How will our entire family adjust to a new area, friends, and school?” The list of unknowns goes on and on. Honestly, it is scary for me at times. Then I ask, “Am I doing what I need to? Am I trusting and obeying?” God commands us to believe in Him and obey. A favorite verse in Jeremiah comes to mind. You may know it as well.

Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

You may be able to relate to trials of illness, poor health, or finances. Maybe you currently have feelings of excitement or anxiety about your future. Do not let it consume you, for we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus! God loves us so much He sent His one and only Son for us. When we have faith, trust Him, and are obedient to what He tells us in His word, we have freedom and joy. That is why this simple little song can mean so much. “Trust and obey, for there’s no other way, to be happy in Jesus, than to trust and obey.”

Submitted by Charity Stadler

Fill it to the Top

Devotions

Mar 052012

Today at lunch I put my cup up to the soda machine. I waited and let the cup fill up to the top. I didn’t walk away with only an inch of drink in my 16 oz. cup saying, “that’s plenty—I only want a little bit.” I enjoyed my full drink as I ate my lunch, and then went back again to refill the cup before I left the restaurant. As I filled my cup, God pricked my heart with the reminder that He is the filler of the cup of my soul.

…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and [so] that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, [so] that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. -Ephesians 3:16-19 -(NASB)

A heart filled to the top begins with a request for God to grant empowering strength through the Holy Spirit in my inner being. There is a reason to pray for this strengthening: so that Christ may dwell, reside permanently, in my heart and that I may be firmly established in love. If that is not enough in itself, Paul continues with the result of Christ’s in-dwelling and love-grounding presence. These two conditions enable me to be able to comprehend (take eagerly and possess) and to truly know the love of Christ. Being strengthened with the indwelling of Christ and being rooted in love leads to greater understanding and experience of Christ’s love. The reality of this progressive blessing also leads to another effect: “that (I might) be filled up to ALL the fullness of God”! This prayer is about knowing Christ with a God-powered and God-filling completeness that isn’t just knowing facts. Increased understanding and stability in love and faith are results of God’s power at work deep within me. Often I am content with just a little bit of Christ and a little bit of knowledge. I can find myself expecting just a little love. As God works and I begin to understand, a little isn’t enough anymore. My roots of faith begin to reach deeper, growing with an increased vigor to know more of God. It occurs to me that my willingness and desire to receive is an important part of what God must strengthen.

How often do I come to You, Lord, with my heart ready to fill, but I walk away, content with just a sip, instead of being filled with the fullness You want to grant. I still look at being filled as partially dependant on my doing something right. This entire passage is about what You do so generously. What is my expectation? A little , a lot, or over and beyond?

I simply ask for more. The more I seek the meaning in these verses, the more understanding I receive. Will I walk away, content with a little, or will I remain and be filled with Your fullness. There is more than I can learn in a lifetime—so much height, breadth, length, and depth to Your love. May I never forget that Your power is at work within me. I ask for more understanding and You give it. I seek more and You show me more. Lord, let my spirit stretch that I may be able to receive more and more of all the fullness of You.

A little bit is no longer enough!

Submitted by Ginger Harrington

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Insights from Memorizing

The Wedding Cake (part 2)

The Wedding Cake

Motivation of the Heart

A Rhythm

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Trust and Obey

Fill it to the Top

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