You have chosen…Wisely

By Elaine James –

“But choose wisely, for while the true Grail will bring you life, the false Grail will take it from you”, said the Grail Knight. Indiana Jones chose the grail and the Grail Knight responded “You have chosen… wisely.”

As I drove away from church, I heard a whisper in my head quoting these famous lines from the Indiana Jones movie. The night before that, a lot was whirling through my head as things in my home were getting complicated. My mind had made up every excuse not to attend church.  I asked God for peace. No peace came with my decision of not going. I’m always praying that I would clearly know the will of the Father with the sign of peace from Him. In the end, peace came when I heard the whisper “just go, you go alone.” I left a house full of family members and overnight guests, feeling that peace that passes all understanding.

At moments in the car there was a battle in my mind. I was thinking: “If you go home that would be good. There is a ministry there after all.” Next thought: “But seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness and all shall be added.” I don’t want to seem religious about church to anyone, but I am most concerned about following the Spirit of God. I was blessed with a great fellowship and message at church.

It was when I was driving home that I heard the whisper from God: “You chose wisely.” Lol! “God you are funny quoting a movie,” I thought. That day I became very aware of God and sensed His perspective in life’s circumstances. There was clarity! It was like God and I were fully connected. I could cry now as I write this because I sensed God saying: “Tell my people Elaine, that my word is true. When you seek me first all shall be added.” I experienced a closer bond with God and that matters more than any material blessing God can give me. My passion is that others will experience that too!

Rotten Tomatoes gave Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade a whopping review of 89%. Audiences liked it at 91%. The story of a crusade still intrigues many audiences. A crusade needs person to be extremely focused and committed towards achieving the end results. Our crusade is to choose wisely.

PRAYER:  Lord, thank You for each day where Your mercies are new. Help me to choose wisely.

BIBLE VERSE: “Grow a wise heart—you’ll do yourself a favor; keep a clear head—you’ll find a good life” (Proverbs 19:8 MSG).

Outta Sight, Outta Mind

By Susan Dollyhigh –

The Sweeper Vac’s battery charger resided on the counter in the butler’s pantry of my 1927 home. It was ready to connect with the batteries when they became weary and drained. After spending time in the charger, the batteries were rejuvenated and the Vac was ready to tackle whatever task the day might bring.

One day in a cleaning frenzy, I tucked the charger into a drawer instead of leaving it out for the world to see. As the saying goes, “outta sight, outta mind.” I soon forgot about my Sweeper Vac and returned to using a broom, even though it left me with a pile of crumbs to clean up.

Weeks later, I saw the neglected Sweeper Vac sitting forlornly in the corner of the cleaning closet. I pulled it out and pushed the button to turn it on, but all the life was drained from its batteries.

Just like that Sweeper Vac; I have a Charger, too. For many years, I kept it in a drawer instead of leaving it out for the world to see, and it became “outta sight, outta mind.”

But when I came to know my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, I discovered the importance of my Charger, which is God’s Holy Word. I removed my Bible from the drawer and placed it on my kitchen table where it resides, waiting for me to connect with my Father.

When I spend time in God’s Word each morning, I am spiritually rejuvenated and better equipped to tackle whatever task the day might bring. I’ve also found that with God’s Word hidden in my heart, there’s a lot less mess for me to have to clean up at the end of the day.

PRAYER: Father, I thank You for proving to me over and over that You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

BIBLE VERSE: “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who are unfaithful to you. But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds” (Psalms 73:26 – 28 NIV).

Through the Valley

By Janet Morris Grimes –

It is difficult to see clearly from the valley. The path ahead is frightening; the path behind, too painful to look back. There seems to be no escape; the only way to get through it is to get through it. But with the end nowhere in sight, even that seems futile, at times.

It is in the valleys that we realize there are no shortcuts. You can’t bypass it. You can’t go around it. Perhaps that is why we find them so scary.

But God says not to worry. As a matter of fact, He knew there would be valleys. High points, countered by low points, blended together to form the timelines of our lives. He never promised it would be easy.

But what He did promise is even more gratifying. He promised to be there. Always. From start to finish. From our mountaintop experiences to the moments that literally drop us to our knees.

God appreciates the valleys, not because He enjoys seeing us in pain, but more so because He knows that is when we will be calling His name. In the valleys, He gets the chance to speak to us, one-on-one. And He knows we will listen.

It’s not that He chooses only to reveal Himself to us in the valleys; that is just when we seem to take notice. Finally.

So, whatever valley you may be traveling through, know that you are never alone. Treasure this time, claim it for growth, and keep moving toward the end. One foot in front of the other.

And if possible, be thankful for your valleys.

Because wherever God meets us is holy ground, even through the pain.

And maybe even because of it.

PRAYER: Dear God, Thank You for our valleys, for revealing Yourself to us during our darkest hours. Thank You for loving us enough to go before us, to prepare the pathway through it. Thank You for reminding us that we are not strong enough to handle the valleys alone, but that You are with us always. Your strength is more than enough. It is there, in Your capable hands, that we release our burdens unto You.

BIBLE VERSE: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4 NIV).

Oh, the Thinks You Can Think

By Elaine James –

“Lord heal my knee in the powerful name of Jesus, thank you Lord,” boldly I prayed.

I woke up with this constant pain in my knee that made walking difficult. “Last week I did a long bike ride and other activities and I was fine,” I said to myself. “Why all this pain today?”

I caught myself rationalizing, reasoning, imagining and being emotional. The book, Oh, The Thinks You Can Think, by Dr. Seuss comes to mind.  It is about the many amazing ‘thinks’ one can think and the endless possibilities and dreams that our imaginations can create.

Talking to myself again, I asked “What’s the point of all this thinking and wasted time?”  God has been teaching me for years about the mind and how much time I waste on my thoughts. I have come so far with my thought life and this was just a test. God has trained my brain with discipline. I gladly accepted the discipline years ago when I found myself exhausted at the end of a day and realized I had not even exerted any physical energy. Back then it would have been days before I stopped worrying about aches, pains and thoughts like “something must be seriously wrong with me.”

At some point we need to go further with God and understand just how important what we think affects our walk with God. One day a whisper came: “Read Hebrews 12.” For weeks I read it over and over again. It’s the chapter on God loving us so much he disciplines us. Reading it helped me realize that God the Father loves me so much that he does not want me to stay where I am at. In order for me to move, he needed to correct my thought patterns and emotions. I often think of Paul being disciplined by God and how humble he became. Throughout history and even still today, Paul’s changed life helps others to grow closer to God.

Listening and learning from God has helped me to captivate my thoughts and build my life of obedience into maturity. Quite often, our aches and pains get our attention and stop us from thinking about things that are more important in life. Watch out! Oh, the thinks you can think!

AUTHOR QUOTE:  Think about what you are thinking, you may be thinking too much!

BIBLE VERSE:  “Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. ‘Make level paths for your feet,’ so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed” (Hebrews 12:12-13 NIV).

Devo Family Topics

Hope After ‘I Do’ – Art Fulks

A little girl recounted the story of Snow White to her mother. After telling how Prince Charming kissed Snow White, bringing her back to life, she asked, “Do you know what happened next?“ 

Her mom answered, “Sure, they lived happily ever after.”

The girl frowned, “No, they got married.”

Getting married and living happily ever after are not always synonymous. God created marriage to be happy, but sin disrupted it. Hope in Christ makes it possible again. 1 Peter was written to persecuted believers who faced great financial and cultural pressure. Yet he says there is hope in following God’s prescription for marriage.

Peter encourages wives to focus on their own actions, even if their spouse is unreasonable. By not preaching or nagging, God uses you to reach the heart of your husband. Ruth Graham once said, “My job is to love Billy. It’s God’s job to make him good.”

He also encourages wives to not merely focus on their appearance, but on character and attitudes. Physical beauty is quickly overshadowed by harshness or a quick temper. God places high value on spiritual fruit like gentleness and self-control. And healthy reverence for the husband’s God-given role allows His blessing and intervention even in difficulty.

Peter writes one very challenging verse directly to husbands, calling us to not simply coexist with our wives, but to do life with them. We often compete to have our needs met, but God calls and enables us to be completers of each other, to become a vivid picture of Christ.

He challenges men to intentionally work at knowing the intimate part of their wife’s heart, which takes a lifetime. Chuck Swindoll says, “Most wives who are walking with God won’t fight you for it, but they will long for it…some die longing for it.” Your pursuit of knowing her will make your wife long to be in your presence.

Finally, Peter prescribes granting wives a place of honor. She may not think like you, but she is an heir of God and He has honored you with the privilege of being her husband. No more tearing her down publicly or privately.

Taking God’s prescription is not always easy and cannot be applied only as a contingent to your spouse’s response. But you can trust God’s plan. Remember, God’s timing is not ours and He is at work.

There is hope after ‘I do’!

“You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered” (1 Peter 3:7 NASB).

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