Help My Unbelief

By Janet Morris Grimes-

I know myself well. So much so that it bothers me at times. I am well aware of my weaknesses. I spend more time with my flaws than I’d like to. And some days, I’d give anything to just snap my fingers and be rid of them forever.

Maybe you have felt this way.

But I have learned this much. My imperfections are magnified with each day I spend focusing on them. Anxieties, insecurities, guilt, regrets. The more power I hand over to these things, they more they take over my life.

I wonder what would happen if I got over my shortcomings and embraced the more abundant life God intended for me. I wonder if the reason I feel so alone is because God created me to be unique, and I will never be fulfilled until I am fully following His, and only His, plan for my life. I wonder what would happen if I took such massive leaps of faith that I have no choice but to let God carry me the rest of the way. I wonder if all along, He was just waiting for me to leap. I wonder if the only weapon Satan has left to use against me is myself.

Yes, I wonder.

What if I did the opposite of what comes naturally to me, each and every day? What if I got out of the way, recognizing that the less there is of me, the more of Him others can see? What if God is able to use these weaknesses to touch the lives of others? What if my weaknesses only serve as a spotlight to God’s strengths?

What if, by not believing in myself, I am actually saying to God that I don’t think He can do it? Can He really use me, in spite of myself?

There is a story in Mark Chapter 9 about a man who brought his demon-possessed son to see Jesus. He begs Jesus, in verse 22, “If you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

If he can? Jesus challenges in verse 23, “If…? Everything is possible for those who believe.”

The heartbroken father answers in a painfully honest way, a way in which most of us can relate.

“I do believe. Help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24).

That is my prayer for each of us, that God will recognize our unbelief and strengthen us. We do believe. We want to. We hate the doubts, the regrets, the times we forgot to leap. Help our unbelief, and use us to touch a broken world.

Joint Maintenance

By Robin J. Steinweg –

Joint Maintenance—TV, magazines, newspapers, health journals—everywhere I look I see supplements for joint maintenance. Well, I’m here to tell you I tried them and they don’t work; I look around this joint and it’s as much a mess as ever!

If the joint to which I refer is my soul, then the statement above isn’t precisely true. It’s not in the mess it was before Jesus saved me. In my early twenties I opened my heart’s door to Him, and He came in and swept the place clean as a whistle. White spankin’ new. He powered away my sin-stain as far as the East is from the West. The Bible word for it is justification (“just as if” I’d never sinned).

The tricky part is ongoing: maintenance. To keep up the purity Christ initiated in me isn’t possible on my own. It would be like trying to pound a nail into a board with a wet noodle. The Bible word for it is sanctification (being molded into Christ-likeness), and it requires God working in me with my cooperation.

• His Spirit convicts me of wrongdoing. I confess it to Him and ask Him to change me.
• I read His Word, the Bible. He interprets and explains it to me.
• I pray (not just asking for things, but listening to Him). He responds to me and communicates with me.
• I spend time with other growing, maturing Christians. He loves on me and speaks to me through them.
• I praise Him (because He is worthy). He inhabits my praises.
• I obey Him. He makes Himself real to me.

So if I want the joint to stay clean, I have to maintain it. But I need supernatural help. A joint venture or joint ownership requires working together.

Joint Maintenance!

AUTHOR QUOTE: The high-potency formula for the maintenance of this joint is God at work in me + me yielding to God’s work in me.

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:20, 21 NIV).

Today’s devotional is by Robin J. Steinweg. Robin’s life might be described using the game Twister: the colored dots are all occupied, limbs intertwine (hopefully not to the point of tangling), and you never know which dot the arrow will point to next, but it sure is fun getting there!

Now Is the Time

By Cami Checketts –

Do you struggle with procrastination like I do?

I often find myself putting off important things. Tomorrow I’ll study and ponder my Scriptures… instead of just reading them. Tomorrow I’ll make more time for fun and I’ll play with my boys longer than five minutes. Tomorrow I won’t eat a bowl of ice cream (but I really need one tonight!).

The Bible warns us not to put things off. “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light” (Romans 13:11-12, KJV).

And many wise people have spoken to us about it too:

• “Never put off till tomorrow what you can do today.” Thomas Jefferson
• “I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, let me do it now; for I shall not pass this way again.” S. Grellet
• “When it comes to eating right and exercising, there is no, I’ll start tomorrow. Tomorrow is disease.” V.L. Allineare

The time to get healthy and fit is right now!

It’s great to make goals and to plan for tomorrow, but we need to live for today. I enjoy having a list of lofty goals, but if I don’t focus on today I’ll never accomplish any of them. Today I will eat in a healthy way. Today I will go visit my adopted grandma. Today I will respond with patience and love when my four-year old is flailing on the ground screaming for a donut.

It is easy to get overwhelmed if we think we have to do everything perfectly for the rest of our lives, but if we can take it one day at a time, it seems more manageable.

Today is the gift we’ve been given. For some, there might not be a tomorrow. Savor today. Make it great. Accomplish the things that are important and love the ones you’re with.

What are you going to do today that you have been putting off?

Cami Checketts is a wife, mother of four boys, exercise scientist, and author. http://camicheckettsbooks.blogspot.com – http://fitnessformom.blogspot.com

The Ultimate Cost

By Carin LeRoy –

Many claim he was a genius. He knew eight languages fluently—English, Spanish, French, Italian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin and German. Some say he spoke each one so well that they all sounded like his native tongue when spoken. He earned a master’s degree by the age of 21. He had a love for language and was considered a great linguist. But his life’s work cost him greatly.

William Tyndale was born in 1494. His great passion in life was to translate the Bible into the English language from the original text of Hebrew and Greek. He believed the Bible should be in the hands of every person, even the common ploughboy. His worked tirelessly to translate even though he encountered great opposition. Forced to leave England and go in exile for years, he continued his work. Relentlessly, he carried on until betrayed by a friend who handed him over to authorities. He was thrown in jail and accused of heresy. He suffered for over a year without light, enough food or sufficient clothing for warmth. He was burned at the stake and died as a martyr in 1536 at the age of 42.

From the ashes of his burnt body rose a great monument to commemorate his life’s work. In 16ll, the complete Bible was printed in the English language. About 90% of the King James Bible is Tyndale’s work. His translation and the way he crafted words into English are said to be literary genius. Many of his phrases are still in use today.

This year marks 400 years since the completion of the King James Bible. Even though it cost him his life, Tyndale’s dream came true. Every English-speaking person has the opportunity to open Scripture and read it for himself. As I think on the hardship and ultimate sacrifice of Tyndale’s life, I wonder if we don’t take this for granted. At our disposal every day we have the ability to read, to study and to understand the Word of God. Thousands of other languages of unreached peoples still have no Scripture in their language. Let’s be thankful today for our ability to have and read God’s Word. Let’s pray for those who still do not have it in their languages.

PRAYER: Lord, thank You that we have the Bible in our own language and the freedom to read and study Scripture each day. Help me not take this great privilege for granted. Send out workers into areas of the world that still need Your Word translated into their language.

“How sweet are Thy words to my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth. Through Thy precepts I gain understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path,” (Psalm 119: 103-105 KJV).

Today’s devotional is by Carin LeRoy, wife to Dale and mother of three grown children and one almost-grown teenager. She has been a missionary with Pioneers since 1982. Her passions are family, missions, piano, and writing to challenge others to live faithful lives for God.

Fast Time and Fast Food

By Lynn Rebuck –

I have long admired the Amish. Recently, I learned yet one more reason to respect them: some pay no mind to daylight savings time.

A friend who used to drive for the Amish (a car, not a team of mules) told me that when arranging pickup times, the Amish would inquire whether the pickup time she stated was “fast time” or “slow time.”

Fast time is how the Amish refer to our odd practice of changing the time arbitrarily based on the calendar and someone’s bright (no pun intended) idea.

Clearly, Fast Times at Amish High has a whole different meaning than at Ridgemont High.

It seems that the cows belonging to the Amish pay no regard to the man-made ritual of time change and prefer to give their milk as previously scheduled.

This year I was reminded that the great state of Arizona also shows udder disregard (okay, pun intended that time) for the switch to daylight savings.

So why is Arizona so rebellious? Do they just like to make it difficult for airline travelers who panic about making it to their Phoenix connecting flights in time?

To complicate things even further, the Navajo Nation, which is located within the boundaries of Arizona, follows daylight saving. However, the Hopi Nation, which is surrounded by the Navajo Nation, does not.

So, if you are hoping to pick up a Hopi friend in Arizona soon after the switch to daylight savings, you’d better take extra care in coordinating schedules. It is possible that preceding predicament may wind up as a word question in a math textbook.

Hawaii doesn’t change the clock either. They are still “hanging ten” while the rest of us are hanging eleven or twelve.

So what gives these states the freedom to regulate their own time? Well, states have the right to opt out of daylight savings under the federal Uniform Time Act of 1966. They need only pass a state law to do so, as Arizona and Hawaii have done.

In 1987, an extension to daylight savings time was enacted as part of another federal bill. What was the driving force behind that change?

French fries.

Yes, you read that right.  French fries.

What’s the connection? To find out, email me at Lynn@LynnRebuck.com.

Well, it’s time for me to go change the clocks. I think I’ll set them back another hour instead of springing forward. I could use the extra sleep.

Lynn Rebuck is an award-winning Christian humor columnist, speaker, and comedian.  She was once asked to be the keynote speaker at a silent retreat. Her column/blog appears weekly in print, online, and on Amazon Kindle.  For more of her humor, visit www.LynnRebuck.com, email her at Lynn@LynnRebuck.com, fan her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter. © 2011 Lynn Rebuck

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