The Twist

By Cheri Cowell –  

Call it good parenting. Call it bribery. But all of us have done it. We have several more errands to run and the children are getting restless. So, we offer to take them to the park, stop for Happy Meals, or allow them to choose the movie that night “if you will help me get these last few errands done.” If you will…then I will… God uses this same parenting technique with us, but His comes with a twist.

II Chronicles 7:14 is often quoted to make the point that God set up this “if you will do this (humble yourselves and turn from evil)” then God will forgive and heal the land. Some say that because we have not humbled ourselves and turned from evil, God is withholding His forgiveness and blessing.

What this explanation leaves out is that throughout history we’ve repeatedly not held up our end of the bargain, and yet, God still sent Jesus. Jesus is the twist. He rewrites this parenting technique to say, “even if you don’t. . . I will still forgive and shower you with blessings”.
“. . . if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chronicles 7:14 NIV).

Prayer: God I praise You for being the ultimate parent who, although maintaining the “if you will” goal, steps in with a twist—the twist of grace. Help me see Your grace as the reason to fulfill my end of the bargain.

Triggering God

By Cheri Cowell – 

Triggers can be both good and bad. From psychology we’ve learned even a gesture or the tone in someone’s voice can trigger a memory and a reaction. Some of those are good, like the memory of a loved one. On the other hand, some of those memories cause pain or anger. The worst triggers are the ones we don’t yet recognize. They’re the things which send us reeling or raging.

God has triggers. The Bible tells us that how we live our lives toward others, whether freely giving and open or stingy and closed, trigger God. Often the workplace rewards stinginess, but God’s Word makes it clear He is triggered to bless those who give spontaneously without regard for the cost. He will bless those who freely give to others in all their work, in all their ventures, and in all they do.

“Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers GOD, your God’s, blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures” (Deuteronomy 15:10 MSG).

Prayer: Lord, I know I grumble about the difficult job I have. Help me to turn my frown into a smile by doing that job as if I were doing it for you.

God’s Sleep Aid

By Cheri Cowell –  

We are a nation of insomniacs. This conclusion comes from a recent survey showing how many Americans are taking some form of sleep aid. Advice abounds for non-medication solutions. From forming a bedtime routine to removing the television from the bedroom and lowering the temperature, there is a long list of things one can try. If you’ve worked through this list and are still tossing and turning, perhaps it is time to look for an underlying reason.

God’s sleep advice doesn’t begin when we are readying for bed, but rather at the start of the day. We are to order our steps to walk uprightly, to walk in such a way that we can hold our heads high. When we walk this way we can rest assured that as our heads hit the pillows and our minds review the steps of the day, we will be at peace. God’s sleep aid will help us fall into peaceful sleep because our waking steps were godly.

“He enters into peace; They rest in their beds, Each one who walked in his upright way” (Isaiah 57:2 NASB).

Prayer: May my steps throughout the day bring peaceful sleep when I lay down at night.

Blame Game

By Cheri Cowell – 

The devil gets a lot of blame. ‘The devil made me do it’ is a common refrain. Some people say this teasingly, but they don’t really believe it. However, some truly believe Satan is to blame because he is the ruler of this world. He tempts, he snares, he sets traps, and he is indeed conniving. On the other hand, some blame God. They say if God is all-powerful and nothing happens without His approval, then God is ultimately to blame when things go wrong.

Humans make plans and they make choices; that is true. It is also true that the devil is the ruler of this world, and God is the Ruler of All. But the Bible also makes it clear that if men and woman plan evil steps, God will turn them over to those evil ways. Likewise, if they choose the ways of God, God will order their steps and bless their efforts.

“People may make plans in their minds, but the LORD decides what they will do” (Proverbs 16:9 NCV).

Prayer: God, forgive me for playing the blame game when things go wrong. May the plans I make be ones that bring blessings from You.

On the Team

By Cheri Cowell –

Try as hard as I might, I simply have two left feet when it comes to anything sports- related. I can’t even throw a frisbee without looking like a platypus. It is pitiful. So you can imagine how I dreaded the elementary school practice of choosing among classmates for a team. When gathered for this hated drill, I’d stand behind the tallest person I could find so when I was chosen last it would look like it was because I wasn’t seen and not because I wasn’t wanted. But I knew. I was only chosen because someone had to take me. It was embarrassing. It hurt.

Millions of little boys and girls, now adults, still carry this childhood wound. They need to know, as I learned, that there is Someone who chose them. He actually chose them before the beginning of the world. As I walked about the mall the other day this verse ran through my mind and I began to look at each person who I encountered as someone who was chosen by God. I wondered what a difference it would make in each life if they knew this truth. The more I pondered this the more my heart began to ache for a chance to share this truth with just one of them. My prayer became a plea for the opportunity to tell someone they were chosen for the team.

“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—” (Ephesians 1:4-5 NIV).

PRAYER: Dear God, help me see each person I meet today as someone chosen for Your team. Open a door for me to share that truth with just one person who needs to know they are on The Team.

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