Day 356 No Tiene Sentido

Bendecid a los que os maldicen; orad por los que os vituperan Lucas 6:28

Fuera del ejemplo de Jesús, este mandamiento no tiene sentido. Pero Jesús no demuestra la importancia de dejar nuestro destino en las manos de nuestro Creador y Padre. De repente, tiene un sentido perfecto. ¿Cúal es la mejor manera de derrotar a un enemigo? Ciertamente no es por castigar o matarlo. ¡No, la manera de derrotar a los enemigos es por tener la gracia de Jesús para captar a sus corazones así permitiendo que El los conforme a su carácter!

 

Dios Amoroso y Bondadoso, ablanda mi corazón y endurece mi voluntad para poder amar como Jesús amó. Que mi vida sea redentiva, aun para los que me oponen, odian y se burlan de mí. Utilízame, Padre Amado, para traer los demás a la gracia de Jesús. En cuyo nombre oro, Amen.

Day 355 It Happens: Short-term Memory Loss

And God spoke all these words: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” Exodus 20:1

After Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, they entered the desert in Sinai. There the people camped in front of the mountain while Moses went to meet with God and acted as a go-between for God and the people, including bringing with him the Ten Commandments.

Before they started this trip, though, God reminded them of two things: who He is and what He did for them. “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

Isn't it amazing how easily the people of Israel forgot these things? The Old Testament is riddled with the phrases like, “and the people did evil in the sight of the Lord,” and “the Israelites again forsook the Lord.”

How could the very people who witnessed the devastating plagues in Egypt, who walked on dry ground between two walls of water, and who followed a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day into the promised land forget and forsake the very One who made it happen?

But, I also know that I can easily forget what God has done for me and return to my complaints. I forget the peace instead of pain, the restored relationships, and the endless answered prayers. God is I AM. He is the deliverer. He is the same “yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)

Who knows? Maybe the journey from bondage to freedom causes short-term memory loss! Somewhere between the excitement of the journey and the reality of the road before us, we forget where we’ve come from and the One who delivers us. Today, take a few moments to re-chart your course.

Day 354 Stress is Suffering!

If you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your life to Him who created you, for He will never fail you. 1 Peter 4:19

Stress causes suffering, and suffering can lead to discouragement. If you bring your suffering to God with a pure heart, He will take it on himself to comfort you. Trust Him.

Day 353 Confession Time!

I confess. I'm jealous of a woman named Dee Williams. Dee decided to downsize and sold her 3-bedroom house to move into (my fav) an 84-square foot “tiny house.” Oh, man!

Williams says the transition liberated her from a monthly mortgage payment. She now owns her home—which cost a fraction of the price of her previous home—and she pays hardly anything each month in heating costs. But before moving in, she had to purge a lot of her possessions....precious possessions like old photos, love letters, and her college jacket all landed in the trash.

Apparently, in her quest to keep living light, Dee now allows herself no more than 300 belongings at one time. Contemplating making this (for me) tempting kind of change makes me wonder if I could do it....and whether I am still too attached to my "stuff."

In Mark 10, Jesus meets a rich man who wants to know how he can gain eternal life. The man says he has obeyed God’s commandments from childhood, and “Jesus felt genuine love for him.”

Despite the warmth of the moment, Jesus delivered some hard truth: “There is still one thing you haven’t done.... Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me."

The story doesn't have a fairytale ending. Jesus’ challenge crushed the man. His “face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions." The man knew he would have to choose Jesus or choose to stay snuggled up with his stuff.

For us as Jesus-followers, our call to “live lightly” isn't about the quantity or quality of our possessions: it’s about what we treasure.

Jesus said, “Wherever your treasure is, there your heart will also be also."  So. What do we treasure?

Day 352 An Encouraging Word

"Don't let unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Eph. 4:29

What kinds of words and expressions help bring love, joy, and peace in my life?

- Speak words of encouragement. When someone tells me I'm doing a good job, that I'm on track, that I have done something important--their words strengthen me for accomplishing more good things.

- Sincere compliments build us up. When people say that I gave a wise answer to their question, that my example was an inspiration to them, or that somehow I changed the course of their life, I rejoice knowing that God is at work in me.

- Thanksgiving should be part of our vocabulary always. The apostle Paul was especially good at this. In Corinth, there were difficulties that he wanted to straighten out, but Paul still expressed gratitude for the spiritual gifts the believers there were using. He encouraged them with promises of God's faithfulness.

Who could use an encouragement, compliment, or words of thanks from you today? Don't let this day end without delivering it!

God, your Word builds us up. Help Sarah (and me) to speak so that others can benefit and grow in joy and peace. Bring people into her life today who do the same for her! Amen.

Day 351 Planting Coconuts

The vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. Jer. 18:4 

Did you know that if you put a coconut in sea water it can survive for a couple of months? Coconuts have also survived a lot of good and bad press...for a while in the '60s, coconuts were "bad because of their fat content. Now, like with the ramped-up use of coconut water, it’s promoted for its health benefits. Supposedly, about 100 products are currently made from coconuts in the US, and every bit of it can be used.

So can we. By God Himself. Like a coconut, we eventually need to be planted and used. And God can make and remake us over and over again to fit His purposes. Our minds, our hearts, our talents, our physical abilities, even our limitations—He can use them all—to make an impact on this world. Nothing is insignificant when prompted by God.

So, next time a coconut falls from a tree and nearly threatens your life, consider its many wonders and possibilities—the medicinal properties, the building and landscaping possibilities, or something deliciously fun like fresh coconut cake.

Think about your own talents and abilities and what you’d like to do with them. Then ask God to align your own desires to match His. Ask Him again to use every bit of you to accomplish His work.
Be open to change and flexible enough to be reused and reshaped. The steps may be small or large—but the impact may echo into many generations.

Lord, If a single coconut can impact so many, what will You have me do? My heart, mind, and body long to be shaped according to Your purposes, and reshaped as often as needed.Amen.

Day 349 Complete Prayer

Every true prayer has its background and its foreground. The foreground of prayer is the intense, immediate desire for a certain blessing which seems to be absolutely necessary for the soul to have; the background of prayer is the quiet, earnest desire that the will of God, whatever it may be, should be done. What a picture is the perfect prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane! 

In front burns the strong desire to escape death and to live; but behind there stands, calm and strong, the craving of the whole life for the doing of the will of God.... Leave out the foreground--no expression of the will of him who prays, and there is left a pure submission which is almost fatalism. Leave out the background--no acceptance of the will of God, and the prayer is only an expression of self-will, a petulant claiming of the uncorrected choice of him who prays. 

Only when the two are there together, the special desire resting on the universal submission, the universal submission opening into the special desire is the picture perfect and the prayer complete.

Phillips Brooks