Holy Glasses

By Cheri Cowell –

One of the little frustrations of life occurs for me when I get my hair cut. When the hairdresser has finished cutting my hair, he hands me a mirror so I can see the back. But I can’t see a thing until I pull my glasses from under the cape and put them on. The mirror won’t do me any good without my glasses. We, as Christians, are like the person sitting in a salon chair, being handed a mirror from God, who says to us, “Look and see what great things I have done.” We strain to see what He is talking about, but often we miss it. Why? We need to put our glasses on.

You and I sit in God’s salon chair day after day, inviting Him to remake us in His image. He tells us great things, and hands us a mirror so we can see into the heart where His great work is being done. But we don’t see anything. He points the mirror toward others so we might see and thus believe the promises for ourselves, yet still we can’t see. Then He gently whispers in our ears, “Put on your glasses.” We pick up the Word of God and through that lens we begin to see and discern the heart of God. The living and active Word of God helps us to see things we cannot begin to see on our own.

“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV).

PRAYER: I praise You, God, for the living and active Word we have been given. Give me eyes to see, through the reading and studying of Your Word, what You are doing in my life and in the lives of others around me this week.

Never Doubt Obedience

By Carin Leroy –

My three-year-old grandson and his family visited recently, and his Mom was trying to get him potty-trained. Since I had a bowl of gumdrops up high, she bribed him with, “If you use the potty, I’ll give you a candy.” As he eyed the colored sweetness, he understood that if he accomplished what Mommy asked that he would get a reward. It wasn’t long before he started tearing off clothes and heading to the bathroom.

He returned with his little hand out saying, “Candy?”

Sure enough, he would get the promised treat. He learned that obeying and accomplishing a certain task provided a promised reward.

Just as my young grandson was learning the benefits of obedience, we can also be assured that when we listen and obey God’s voice that we will also be blessed.

An example of faith and obedience bringing personal blessing was David. As a young man, he was anointed to be king by the prophet Samuel (I Samuel 16). But instead, he was met with hardships for many years. Yet his choice to have faith and obedience did eventually bring him the kingship of Israel.

Many in the Bible were personally blessed because of obedience:

• Mary’s obedience meant she was the mother of Jesus.
• The widow saved her son from slavery when she obeyed the prophet by collecting many jars and filling them with the last of her oil (II Kings 4).
• Abraham became the father of a nation because he obeyed God when He said, “Go to a land I will show you” (Genesis 12).
• The disciples caught a huge net of fish because they obeyed Christ’s command to cast the net once more (John 21).
• The man born blind received his sight when he listened to Christ and washed the clay off his eyes in the Pool of Siloam (John 9).

Charles Spurgeon once said, “Love is the chief jewel in the bracelet of obedience.” Obedience will flow from a heart that truly loves God. Blessing will follow. We may not understand or see instant results (just like young David), but we can trust we will be blessed, too. Not only do we gain the benefit of growth and maturity in our spiritual life, but we reap the outcome of that step of faith to obey. Never doubt what your obedience to God will accomplish.

PRAYER: Lord, give me a heart that obeys because of a true love for You. Remove any rebellion in my life, so that I can fulfill the purpose that You have for me. Help me not to doubt what my obedience to You will accomplish.

“How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, who obey the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His rules, and seek Him with all their heart, who, moreover, do no wrong, but follow in His footsteps. You demand that your precepts be carefully kept. If only I were predisposed to keep Your statutes! Then I would not be ashamed, if I were focused on all your commands…With all my heart I seek You. Do not allow me to stray from Your commands!” (Psalm 119:1–6, 10 NET).

God’s Billboard Company

By Cheri Cowell –

I love to read billboards. Of course, there are some vulgar and inappropriate things on some and I have to quickly turn my eyes. But for the most part, I find a lot to think about on these giant-sized commercials. A few anonymous Christian businessmen banded together several years ago to create the now famous God-sayings on billboards across America. Some of my favorites are Let’s meet at MY house Sunday before the game, That Love Thy Neighbor thing…I meant that, and Have you read my #1 best seller? There will be a test. Did you know that God invented billboards? He sure did!

Today’s scripture includes the instructions given for the first sanctuary on Mount Schechem. Later, the Samaritans would rebuild a sanctuary there to their God, and Jesus would tell the woman at the well that He was that God. In this passage the instructions are given for a sort of billboard. God must have really wanted them to make the writings clear so all would see them and be reminded of them, and not be able to dismiss what they said. Likewise, God’s Words need to become so familiar to us that they become like a billboard in our souls.

“And thou shalt write upon them all the words of this law, when thou art passed over, that thou mayest go in unto the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, a land that floweth with milk and honey; as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee. Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister” (Deuteronomy 27:3-4 KJV).

PRAYER: O Lord, help me make Your words and promises like a billboard in my heart so I will always be reminded and not be able to dismiss Your greatness.

Bless the Woman Who Loves Him Now

By Cynthia Ruchti –

The message came through Facebook, as crisis messages often do these days. An urgent message. My son needed help.

So here I am, bringing ice packs for twenty minutes every hour. Keeping a cool washcloth on his forehead. Urging him to try some crackers so the medicine won’t upset his stomach. And listening to him snore a very manly snore.

My son is twenty-seven. I’m his mama, but the call came from the woman who loves him now. The one who had to go to work today. The one who cares so much that she didn’t want to leave him alone when he was in that much pain. So she called us, his parents. Dad took the first shift. I’m taking the second.

Yes, the chicken soup is on the stove, even though it’s more tradition than anything. I don’t remember chicken soup listed as a cure-all for torn tendons in the neck. It’s the thought that counts. And that delicious smell.

I’m praying for my son while he sleeps, even though he didn’t and wouldn’t ask. As I pray, I’m thanking God for the woman who loves him with a tenderhearted love and who reached out to make sure someone was here when she had to be gone.

I wonder if that’s how God feels when His people rally around those in trouble, the hurting, those sick to their stomachs with grief. I wonder if He says, “Bless you, dear one,” to those who care so much they’ll call in reinforcements rather than leave the hurting person alone to fend for himself or herself.

My son is temporarily broken. But it’s a deep comfort to know someone else loves him.

Our churches and neighborhoods are full of broken people. Can God count on us to love them? For whom are you making spiritual chicken soup today?

PRAYER: Lord God, our Healer and Sustainer, it’s an honor to care for the hurting in Your Name. When I get caught up in my own schedules, my own routines, my own problems, yank my chain, Lord. Jerk me back into consciousness of those all around me who need someone to sit with them for a while, listen to them, or to love the ones they love no matter what’s going on in their lives.

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:36 NIV).

It’s My Party

By Mollie Bond –

One person at every party wins these titles: drama queen, party-pooper, Debbie downer. When I was 12, you could have called me Debbie.

At my friend’s thirteenth birthday, her mom let us watch a “scary” PG-13 movie: Death Becomes Her. I was almost 13. My mom said I could watch it. After eating pizza, watching the movie, and calling the radio station to play “It’s My Party,” we fell asleep in New Kids on the Block sleeping bags under a cake-covered tablecloth fort.

I woke up at 2 a.m. haunted by scary parts of the movie. I saw blood-drenched limbs everywhere. I put my hand gently on the wall, avoiding light switches. I found the phone, called home and said, “I’m going to die! Come get me!” My sleepy parents talked me out of my wild fear and fetched me in the morning.

We read in Genesis of how Joseph’s eleven brothers dramatized a scary moment, too. Reuben and Joseph’s other brothers had sold Joseph long ago. Joseph became head-honcho in Egypt. Not knowing what became of Joseph, his brothers came to Egypt to buy food and did not recognize him. Joseph pretended to believe they were spies and kept Simeon, a brother, in prison.

Reuben, the “I told you so” brother, thought this evil ruler of Egypt was going to lock up Simeon forever because of his past. Reuben wailed, “Oh, how terrible!” (True.) “We killed Joseph!” (Not true, they sold him.) “He cried out to us and we didn’t listen,” (True.) “and we’re going to die!” (Not true.) Reuben exploded into a woe-is-me party. It’s his party and he’ll cry if he wants to.

Sometimes our memories warp and we exaggerate scary moments. What stressors seem magnified now, but won’t matter in a week, a month, a year? What scary memories haunt you? Are you remembering them correctly, or are they food for a pity party?

PRAYER: Father, I’m calling on You because I remember something horrible, but perhaps it wasn’t as terrible as I remember. I’m glad You took care of me and want to use those scary moments for good. I’ll dry my tears and scale back the drama. Amen.

“Speaking among themselves, they said, “Clearly we are being punished because of what we did to Joseph long ago. We saw his anguish when he pleaded for his life, but we wouldn’t listen. That’s why we’re in this trouble.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to sin against the boy?” Reuben asked. “But you wouldn’t listen. And now we have to answer for his blood!”” (Genesis 42:21-22 NLT).

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