Clean Desks

Cheri Cowell –

I was always a clean desk person. When I left work at the end of the day I liked leaving it clean and clear so the next day I would come in to a clean desk. Then I heard this little tip. Before leaving your desk for the day, start the next project. Just start it and leave it there on your desk where you left off. When you come back in the morning two things will happen. First, you will notice your brain has worked on the unfinished project while you slept. Second, you’ll know where to begin and will dive right in. This little tip has saved me from my clean-desk-self. God has another tip for the clean-deskers in the parable below.

The house is swept but not washed, and Christ has said, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. The house must be washed, or it has none of Him. Sweeping takes off only the loose dirt, while the sin that besets the sinner is untouched. It is swept from the filth that lies open to the eye of the world, but it is not searched and ransacked for secret filthiness. Here is the note for clean deskers: unless the house is filled with the Holy Spirit and the graces the Spirit brings unclean spirits will simply move right back in.

PRAYER: God, help me to not simply clean my house, but wash it clean through the blood of Jesus. Fill my clean home with Your presence so there is no room left for anyone but You.

“When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first” (Luke 11:24-26 NIV).

The Healing Power of Rain

By Hally Franz –

I wrote a couple of years ago about the devastation caused by a tornado in my home state. This summer, we in Middle America have experienced a terrible drought. Water conservation, deep well subsidies, lost corn crops and brown lawns have marked the past several months preceding Hurricane Isaac.

While others along the gulf coast were suffering through the high winds and torrential rains of the storm, we waited for the rains to come. When the rain arrived early in September, it was welcome relief after weeks and months of nearly no precipitation, a summer where we mowed grass only a few times.

It’s funny how a few healing rains can turn brown, patchy grass into green, growing lawns so quickly. Soon after the downpours left behind by “Isaac”, it was time to get on our mowers again. Color came back to our fading flowers, and trees that had started shedding dry leaves in August retained their foliage a bit longer, until the more typical commencement of fall.

It’s amazing to see how quickly a life can be turned around by the healing power of a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Repentance, forgiveness and baptism, fellowship with Christians, and time spent in worship and study – these are the life-changing activities that convert a drab, dormant, lifeless existence to one filled with color and growth and hopefulness.

As exciting as it is to see my lawn regain its lush, emerald beauty, and to return to a regular schedule of grass-mowing, it is much more pleasing to see His hand at work in the lives of new believers.

Never underestimate the healing power of rain.

PRAYER: Almighty God, healer of dry lawns and arid hearts, thank You for rescuing us from lives of hopelessness and drear, for bringing instead the hope of salvation and eternal life to those who believe and trust in You.

“Praise the LORD, 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” (Psalm 103:2-5 NIV).

Pause for 4.2 seconds

By Elaine James –

I love going boating, but struggle with seasickness. I popped two Dramamine in my mouth and washed them down with a glass of water to go on a fishing adventure with my husband on Lake Michigan. He assured me that he checked the weather report and that the lake was safe. I have heard horror stories that have ended in deaths on that lake. With a good weather report and a beautiful day, I was ready to go.

We started out in calm waters until we hit the breaking wall and the waves were large but there were no white caps so it seemed safe. I was peaceful as I gazed at the beautiful sky, sun and other scenery. It was so quiet. A verse popped into my head “Absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.” Still a complete calmness came over me. With no fear in me I was inquiring of God “Is this a forecast of what is to come? Is it going to be over for me and my husband?” I remained calm, with no fear. The words danced in my head and was almost like a song “To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.”

Silence was broken with my husband hollering “Get the net, I’ve got a big one on the line” I was struggling with it. I yelled, “How in the world are we going to get that fish in the net?” I knew if we lost the fish, I would be held responsible. The fish flipped in the boat, but I felt gross! We had to get back quick before I lost my lunch. We returned safely and celebrated an eighteen pound salmon, his biggest catch ever at that location. Later, he tweeted a picture of the fish and referred to me as ‘Lainey my #goodluckcharm.’ Yah, I like that!

When we got home, my daughter blurted out that I was talking too much and asked me “Mom can you slow down and pause for like 4.2 seconds?”

I have always wanted to ask that same question.

Can you pause for 4.2 seconds to receive this effective word? Pausing for a few seconds to peacefully remember that this life is grand at times but the time in eternity will even be superior.

Will I be ready? I answered that on the lake as calm as can be. Yes.

I have spent many years memorizing and studying God’s word. Moments like this fishing experience (not the seasick part) help me to appreciate how the Holy Spirit can whisper to me in just 4.2 seconds.

PRAYER: Father in Heaven, thank You for continually giving me a message and helping me to welcome it into my life. Truly Lord I am a follower of You and I am aware that You are exercising the words in me and giving me superhuman power. In Jesus name I pray, Amen

“And we also [especially] thank God continually for this, that when you received the message of God [which you heard] from us, you welcomed it not as the word of [mere] men, but as it truly is, the Word of God, which is effectually at work in you who believe (exercising its superhuman power in those who adhere to and trust in and rely on it]” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 Amplified Bible).

My Car or My Oversized Purse?

By Janet Morris Grimes –

While the gas was pumping, rather than cringe at the rising prices, I chose instead to clean out my car.

I started with the trash, which proved to be a series of receipts or unopened junk mail, and a newspaper that featured the plight of the homeless in our area. Next was my prayer journal and a couple of partially read books, which I slid into a rear seat pocket. The umbrella went into the trunk, where it fought for space with the jumper cables, a bottle of coolant, a quart of oil, and an unexplained decorative glass bottle of Coke.
In the back seat was a box that held my bottle of water with a hook that I take on walks with me, a leaking bottle of Benedryl, and a mismatched series of things that travel best in boxes. A bottle of hairspray. A comb. Some extra deodorant, and exercise clothes, and my tennis shoes with an extra pair of socks.

A flowered bag of clothes no one will claim also rests in the back seat, something I need to ask my daughters about next time I see them.

The keys that I need to get into my mother’s house are in the console, along with a few barrettes or ponytail holders, a broken pair of sunglasses and our GPS system. In the side pocket of the door are some maps, an ice scraper, and a miniature phone directory.

In short, my car has become the place I keep everything I could possibly need at any given moment.

It is my oversized purse.

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank You for the way you care for us, even in the midst of our idiosyncrasies. You created us to be funny, quirky, and to be able to laugh at ourselves. Thank You for this gift, and we hope we bring a smile to your face from time to time as well.

Homeless With or Without a Home

By Peter Lundell –

I spent two and a half days with a group in my church on skid row in Los Angeles (thank you to Pastor Tony who hosted us). If you go there any time day or night, you’ll see hundreds of people on the sidewalks. We served in the missions and walked the streets with Pastor Tony, getting personally acquainted with some of the people. We also got a tour of the rehabilitation efforts going on.

I was astonished to see the clinics, rehab centers, and even a high school for the homeless. Our guide, who had once been on the street himself, told us 99 percent of the people who end up on the street don’t have to stay there. There is help.

The most important efforts are those of rehabilitation. Feeding and sheltering are essential, and serve as the doorways to getting and staying off the streets. Mental illness, addictions, and fierce independence keep many from getting that help.

I thought about all the people who have homes. But they can be spiritually homeless. Outwardly they may look fine, but inwardly they may be lost and hurting, covering up confusion and pain with the nice things money can buy. And just like the physically homeless, they don’t need to stay that way. There is help.

When Jesus walked the earth, He tended to hang out with less-than-reputable people. Religious types didn’t like that. But He told them He came for sinners, for people who need transformation.

If I think about it, and without judging, I suspect there are spiritually homeless people all around us. Are you in any way spiritually homeless? Or do you know someone who is? What difference could you make in that person’s life—or even your own?

PRAYER: Father, in Your arms is my true home. Lead me to turn away from everything that would hinder me from You. I seek you and set my heart on you for both my life that is seen and that is unseen.

“Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:3, NIV).

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