Recovering Couch Potato

By Elaine James –

As I plopped on the couch, my mind raced with the disappointments of the day. I asked myself, “What do I do now? I feel like giving up!”

Have you ever felt like that? Maybe you have asked yourself this same question: “What’s the point of going on?”

It took me a moment, but I stopped. I prayed, “God teach me what to do with this disappointment.”

My next thought was, “You have been reading through the Bible. Continue right where you left off.”

I got my Bible and returned to the couch, opening to the book of Job. My heart almost stopped when I read how Job suffered, yet he said these words, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth. After my skin is destroyed, this I know that in my flesh, I shall see God” (Job 17:25-26 NKJV).

I leapt off the couch to jot down the glorious anthem, that was then playing in my head:
My Redeemer lives, He lives!
I spoke with Him this morning
And He lives
The tomb is empty.

I need to remember Job’s words when I feel sick, afraid, frustrated, disappointed and numb. Those words helped Job put things back into perspective, and they can do the same for me. My priority is to remember who God is, what He did for me on the cross and that He still lives for me today. This was my gentle reminder of why I am here and how life’s circumstances can either take me away from God or bring me closer to Him.

Give God a chance. He is here for you. Don’t plop down on a couch and give up! Maybe today you need to be reassured. Job’s skin was being destroyed. Have you ever felt that way? What seems to be destroying you? Maybe you heard news about a friend making bad decisions, you were turned down for a job, or even worse.

I am here to reassure you that you can become worry/anxiety-free by trusting God and waiting as He, step by step, leads you. If you believe in Jesus, you will see Him face to face one day.

PRAYER:  Lord, I lift up ______________ (Tell God specifically what is going on in your life.) I give this to you.  I am reassured that I shall see you. Knowing this gives me peace. Thank you, thank you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV).

Excess

By Cynthia Ruchti –

“Whatever you don’t need, just leave it here.” That’s what I told him.

My husband was leaving for a fishing trip early in the morning. He knew better than to wake me, just so we could have one more kiss.

Leaving before dawn meant he had to go to bed the night before way earlier than my night-owl self could imagine. With my husband contentedly snoozing and dreaming of smallmouth bass and walleyes, I closed up the house for the night and made him the lunch I knew he’d need for the trip. But how large a lunch? Did he plan to stop on the way? How long was it going to take him to get to his destination? I should have asked before he fell asleep.

To make sure he had enough, I made him an abundant sack lunch and left a note. In addition to, “I love you. Have a great time,” the note also said, “Oh, the lunch? Whatever you don’t need, just leave here.”

When I got up the next morning, I saw the note with his own scribbled “Thanks! Love you, too!” added to the bottom. Several of the elements of the lunch I’d prepared rested in the fridge, waiting for someone else to need them.

Hmm. Made me think. I wonder if that isn’t a message the Lord communicates to His children. “I’ve prepared more than enough for you, given more than enough. Whatever you don’t need, just leave here for someone else.”

I think the Lord also says, “You’re carrying a load of things that aren’t helping. They’re weighing you down and making the trip more cumbersome than it has to be. If you don’t need them—and trust Me, you don’t—leave them here. With Me”

Who would argue? “But, Lord, I need that worry, that anxiety, that stress. I need that remorse, this extra bag of guilt for things You’ve already forgiven. Don’t I?”

A popular praise song reminds us that none of us has time for the upkeep of maintaining or hauling around cares and regrets that the Lord has already covered with His Love.

PRAYER: Father God, it’s the weight of a deadline that’s creating unnecessary baggage today. Thinking about it is making it worse than it actually is. I don’t need to haul that around when I’m trying to be nimble. Lord, help me leave it with You. And tomorrow’s care? I’ll need Your help with that, too.

“Casting all your care upon Him, for He careth for You” (1 Peter 5:7 KJV).

 

Faith

By Peter Lundell –

God chooses to connect with us. Great! Who wouldn’t want to connect with God? But there’s a catch: He is the Supreme Creator and Master of the Universe.

God is loving and forgiving. But if we fully connect with Him, He wants it on His terms. That may seem like a bummer at first, but it’s like when we were kids and mom or dad made us brush our teeth. Those of us who still have teeth are thankful we brushed. In the same way, we eventually find that God has good reasons for why and how He does things.

He gives us tons of evidence to verify His existence. Sift through ancient documents or dig in Israel’s dirt or look through a telescope or a microscope and you’ll find good reasons for faith. That’s good, but agreeing with doctrines or being nice to the Supreme Being won’t make Him say, “Hey, let’s spend eternity together.”

I’ve noticed that God refuses to relate to anyone except on the basis of faith. He’s adamant about this, and no one’s ever been able to change His mind. In the past I tried to relate to God as one intellectual to another—debate our ideas, see what I could get away with. Guess how far that got? As far as the thick line of faith that God demanded I cross.

Faith, by definition, steps beyond rationality. Whether we call that step a “leap of faith” or a logical progression beyond reason into relationship, faith steps past the mind and into childlike trust. God insists and will have it no other way.

If you think about it, it makes sense. God is not negotiating business deals or debating in academic symposiums. He wants our lives. And in return, He gives us His.

PRAYER: Lord, Master of the Universe, You have given me countless reasons to believe, and I thank You for all You’ve shown me. I also affirm my pure and simple faith that goes beyond all the good reasons and into trusting you for who you are and how you love me.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).

How Our Brains Know God

By Peter Lundell –

If you ever want a scientific basis for connecting with God, here’s one:
Andrew Newberg, a neuropsychological researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, studies two kinds of reality: One is physical or “baseline” reality—the brain’s perception of material objects (a chair, a table) and sensations (warm, cold). In contrast, he attempts to scientifically verify the brain’s perception of spiritual reality, which he calls “Absolute Unitary Being.”

Some argue that what we think is spiritual reality—for example, God—is nothing more than neurological blips or chemistry changes. In fact that’s what happens in our brains when we experience spiritual phenomena.

The problem with this argument is that the brain experiences physical reality in exactly the same way—through neurological blips and chemistry changes. So even the most hardened atheist or scientist must either take the possibility of spiritual reality seriously or discount all perceptions of reality and conclude that we all live in a dream state.

Isn’t this fun?

Persons who engaged in Newberg’s research consistently testified that the experience of spiritual reality was more “fundamentally real” than that of physical reality. Wow.

Newberg theorizes that spiritual and physical reality are two versions of reality that may be complimentary. That makes biblical sense.

I’m not concerned that Newberg doesn’t take a Christian point of view. A person can perceive God’s existence, just as we perceive his physical creation, without knowing or submitting to Him.

The significant point is that Newberg is doing breakthrough scientific research on the ways in which God created the human mind to perceive Him, as well as His creation. He is giving us a solid scientific basis to say that faith and perceptions of God are as real as the physical world around us. That’s worth getting excited about!

PRAYER: Lord, you have made me with an amazing brain. As others learn how it works, I dedicate mine to you that I would truly have ‘the mind of Christ’ (1 Corinthians 2:16 NIV).

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14 NIV).

If We Are the Body, Why?

By Donna McCrary-

“But if we are the body, why aren’t His arms reaching? Why aren’t His hands healing? Why aren’t His words’ teaching…why is His love not showing there is a way?”

These lyrics by Casting Crowns blasted straight to my heart. I glanced around at the 6,000 plus women packed in the coliseum. Six thousand mothers, daughters, wives, and BFF’s praising God in our own unique way. We are the body of Christ!

The drum beat of my heart suddenly seemed louder than the pounding state-of-the-art sound system. The powerful lyrics cut straight to my soul. Why? In that moment it was the Holy Spirit asking me, little unimportant me, “Why don’t you see me?” I glanced around the coliseum as the tears started streaming from my eyes and the burning why question pieced my thoughts. God softly asking, “Why don’t you see my hands healing? Why aren’t my feet moving? Why?”

For the remainder of the conference, I found myself searching for the answer to the simple question. Each speaker shared their own struggles and heartaches.  Then each shared the redemptive power of God’s perfect plan. This only stirred in me a deep hunger to answer the question of ‘why’ burning in my soul. I found myself crying out prayers between breaks, “God, show me! Show me how I can know you intimately. Show me how I can see you moving daily in my life. Show me how I can speak boldly like Peter and John. Show me how I can experience water walking faith! Show me how my life can be a living testimony of Your indescribable love, your unexplainable grace and mercy. Show me! Please, God. I am willing and wanting to experience You like never before!”

Determined to answer the why question, I searched the scriptures to glean wisdom from those who were part of the body that experienced the grace, love, and miracles of Jesus first hand. There it was, a simple answer spelled out in red letters, “put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34). Easy to read, hard to live! But if we are the body, why aren’t His hands healing?

Perhaps you should also ask yourself why?

PRAYER: “God, show me where I am living out my own selfish ambitions. Show me the sacrifices I have been unwilling to make for You. Help me today to follow You!”

“Then He called His disciples and the crowds to come over and listen. ‘If any of you wants to be my follower,’ He told them, ‘you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross, and follow me’” (Mark 8:34 NLT).

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