A Thorough Housecleaning

By Rosemary Flaaten –

The mocha cheesecake had served its purpose. Our dinner guests had exclaimed about its silky texture and rich coffee and chocolate flavor. But now the last half sat on the third shelf of my refrigerator. Every time I opened the frig door it seemed to call my name and lure me in for just one more bite. By the end of the weekend, the majority of that cake had made its way from the third shelf onto my muffin top.

During this same weekend I was reading the book of Joshua where the Israelite’s fearsome leader gives his final charge. Joshua knew the Israelite’s propensity to allow their hearts to wander away from the true God and that they were at greatest risk of doing this by allowing the subtle infiltration and acceptance of other gods. His admonition? “Throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.” (Joshua 24:23)

I was quick to congratulate myself that I didn’t have any god statues in my house. But, as I licked the remaining crumb of cheesecake from the corner of my mouth, I was reminded that gods are anything we idolize and give our devotion. I had to admit that that cheesecake had a hold on me. That weekend I had given my devotion to a mixture of cream cheese, coffee and sugar and in doing so I had not upheld my commitment to God to eat healthily and disciplined.

So the choice lay before me. My frugal upbringing reasoned that it would be wasteful to throw out anything edible. “Keep it. Someone else in the family might want it”. But as I stood before the refrigerator, I knew I had to act on the Holy Spirit’s prompting from Joshua’s words, “Throw away the foreign gods among you.” Oh, the freedom my spirit felt when the last of that cheesecake made its way down the garbage disposal. It was gone and I was no longer held captive by an idol in my midst.

Do you have any idols that linger, pulling at your desire and causing you to stumble? Be ruthless. Nothing is worth taking the risk of allowing our hearts to be pulled away from our one true God. Do a thorough housecleaning today.

PRAYER: Help me to be strong and courageous to rout the idols from my life.

“But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul” (Joshua 22:5 NIV)

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).

Filled to the Measure

By Susan Dollyhigh –

My stomach growled, and my eyes searched for a clock, as if needing to confirm the body’s signal for hunger. The clock, strategically hung over a snack machine, confirmed that I’d missed lunch. As I sat there in the waiting room of the full-service car wash, I glanced out the window where soap suds and water were flying, and all thoughts of counting points for my diet washed out of my brain.

I knew better. I’d been taught H.A.L.T., the acronym for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired – conditions that leave us vulnerable to temptation. But five hours had passed since my skimpy breakfast of a mini-bagel, and “H” had taken control of my brain.

From that moment on, I operated on auto-pilot. Pick up purse from floor; pull out wallet, open change compartment, dig out quarters, walk over to snack machine. My eyes settled on a bag of baked cheese crackers, and I rationalized, those aren’t so bad. But with quarters ready to slide into the slot, my eyes slid down – to the peanut butter sandwich crackers, known as Nabs. In Weight Watchers, one pack of Nabs counts five points- which is equivalent to a whole meal.

Those Nabs were good. I washed them down with Diet Coke. No harm done, that will be my lunch.

However, when I returned home, I found myself in the kitchen foraging for food. I opened a cabinet. Hmm; think I’ll have a cookie. Munch. Munch. Those chips look pretty good. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Whoa! Sanity returned and I realized I’d certainly put more than enough calories into my body. So why am I still hungry?

I looked at the cookies and chips in the cabinet. Because I’ve filled my body with junk! I finally poured healthy cereal into a bowl, and covered it with skim milk. I sat down at the kitchen table, ate the cereal, and felt nourishment flow throughout my body. Whew, finally contentment.

I’ve found the same thing is true of our souls. Many times we try to fill them with “junk” by eating or starving ourselves, sleeping or being a workaholic, making money or being a shopaholic. We may turn to drugs or alcohol, or even try to dull our senses with TV or the internet. But none of these things satisfy us, and any of these things in excess can even end up hurting us. Our souls were designed to be filled only with Christ. When we allow Him to fill us, He gives us the power to let go of destructive things, and to find peace that comes only from our souls being filled to the measure with the fullness of God – and we are finally free to experience true contentment.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank You for dwelling in our hearts. Thank You for loving us. Please help us to grasp and to know Your great love so that we may be filled to the measure with all the fullness of You.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV).

When There’s No AAA

By Peter Lundell –

My friend, Ron, along with several other men was driving through the African nation of Burundi to meet local people about orphan assistance projects. None of these Americans spoke the language. Their radiator erupted, and steam billowed from the engine.

Ron automatically pulled out his AAA card. But he was in Africa. Then a boy came by with water on his head. Out there, water is a precious commodity for which people commonly walk long distances.

With a hole in the radiator, the car broke down about every two and a half kilometers. Thirty-eight kilometers lay between them and their destination—all of it through rural areas. And AAA was half a world away.

The car broke down twenty-four—yes 24—times. Imagine your car breaking down that many times on one trip. And these guys were doing this for God.

We might ask why God would allow such trouble to people traveling to the other side of the planet to serve Him. Why wouldn’t God provide something else, like a better car? Or why wouldn’t He supernaturally prevent the engine from continual breakdown? Because this problem provided a graphic illustration of something more important: Every single time the car broke down, God provided. Each of those breakdowns happened by a stream, a pond, or as someone generous to give their water was walking by.

Which do you suppose is more important to God: (A) Making our lives easier so that we no longer need Him—and forget about Him. (B) Showing faithfulness in meeting our needs and drawing us closer to Him when we’re in trouble.

You also may have experienced this sort of thing. Think how God works in your life: He loves you so much He’ll let you have trouble. And He’ll meet you in the middle of it.

“My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 NIV).

“Father, You are the one who meets my needs. I commit to grow my attitude and trust You rather than get upset when things go badly. Meet me and grow me and draw me closer to You in the midst of my needs.”

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