Hiding Behind Trees

By Peter Lundell –

I was walking by a junior high school physical education class and saw two boys hiding behind trees. The trees were six inches in diameter, maybe less. Anyone who looked their way would have seen these boys looking like fools trying to hide behind skinny trees. I stopped and stared at them, partly to make them nervous, but mainly for my own entertainment. Amazingly no one in the class noticed them, or maybe they did and paid no attention. The whistle blew and the boys ran out as if they’d participated all along.

Ding-a-lings. They might have felt good about succeeding in their little scheme, but I wonder if they’re taking little steps in a lifetime pattern of avoidance. I hope I’m overreacting here.

Yet it struck me that people can live their whole lives that way—hiding in the open and pretending to participate. Or not even bothering to pretend and always being spectators. Confession: I’ve done it, probably more times than I’d care to inventory.

How do we do this? By watching and listening without doing. By procrastinating on an idea until it fades. By learning and talking about something without putting it into practice. We’ve all “hidden behind trees” in some way.

My concern is that we fully engage with the life we’ve been given—rather than make ourselves comfortable and let life pass us by.

My deeper concern is that we fully engage with the spiritual life God offers us—rather than get complacent and let God’s promises and possibilities pass us by.

We all engage differently. But whatever we do, it will cost us time and energy and sometimes money. It takes effort and may involve risk. But it will be worth it. Always. And for eternity.

PRAYER: Lord, rebuke me if I ever hide behind trees. Lead me to engage in the world, to be a living temple of Your Spirit in the world around me.

“As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. ‘Follow me,’ he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him” (Matthew 9:9, NIV).

Today’s devotion is by Peter Lundell, author of the award-winning book Prayer Power. A rising new voice on connecting with God, Lundell is a pastor, Bible college teacher, and conference speaker. Visit him at www.PeterLundell.com for his inspirational “Connections” and free downloads of articles, parables, short stories, and book chapters.

Waiting for Ephesians 3:20

By Dianne E. Butts –

Last month I told you about the short film I’d be making in February for the “168 Film Project” contest. As I write this, I can’t really report on that whole story because it is still in progress, so I’ll leave that for next month. This month, let me tell you a little of what’s been going through my mind during this whole exciting crazy adventure of faith.

I wonder if you’re like me. I like to plan. I like to know what’s happening. I like to figure things out in advance and then work the plan. But this whole act of faith thing, making a movie in a week adventure, hasn’t been like that exactly.

Yes, we’ve been making lots of plans. Yes, we’ve been working hard to get things in place so when the time comes for the camera to roll, we’ll be ready. But there is a ton that we can’t plan for.

We can’t write the story or script until we get our assigned Bible verse. So we can’t really know what we’re going to need. So we can’t get everything figured out. So I’m feeling a little crazy about it all.

This is where faith enters, right?

But my mind asks, Will God work everything out? Will He bring people to the fund-raiser dinner? Will that dinner make enough money to pull off this project? Will we be able to write a decent story? Will we find actors? What about props, make up, hair? I think we still need a gaffer. (Now, tell me again what a gaffer is?) What about…

Wait a minute. What happened to my faith walk? This is me, trying to do it all, trying to plan it all. But this is a faith walk, right? God will come through. I know He will.

Do you get like that? I do. When we can view the big picture from afar, we can say, “Sure. I know God will show up. He’ll work everything out. No need to worry.” But when we’re sitting in the middle of the chaos, and we need the funds, and we need the people, and we need so much and we can’t see where anything we need is going to come from…we feel a little panicky and wonder if God will really come through with everything we think we need.

If there’s one thing I’ve heard loud and clear from the good people at the “168 Film Project,” it is to trust that God will show up! He is in this project and we get to be amazed at what He will do for us as we pursue making a short film in a short time with a short budget based on His Word.

Based on His Word. How can you go wrong with that?

So as I lie awake at night wondering if anybody is going to show up at the fundraiser (Please, Lord. At least enough to pay for the spaghetti!), I remind myself over and over that this is what it’s like to live waiting for Ephesians 3:20:

“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…” (Ephesians 3:20, NIV).

Immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine…When we’re waiting on Ephesians 3:20, that’s what we’re waiting to witness. It will happen. God has promised.

“…to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen” (Ephesians 3:21).

May we each live this month expecting God to show up in Ephesians 3:20 ways!

Dianne is the author of the new book, Deliver Me: Hope, Help, & Healing through True Stories of Unplanned Pregnancy (www.DeliverMeBook.com) and an aspiring screenwriter. Her script, A Cowboy’s Faith, was inspired by a true story in her Deliver Me book and was a finalist in the 168 Project’s “Write of Passage” 2010 contest. (Currently a producer is talking with Dianne about making her script into a short film!) When she’s not writing, she enjoys riding her motorcycle with her husband, Hal, and gardening with her cat, P.C. in Colorado. www.DianneEButts.com

Are You Eating But Not Satisfied?

By Julie Morris –

Have you ever noticed how often the Bible says, “You will eat and be satisfied”? What a wonderful promise we can claim! But some people miss out on this blessing. Instead, they are like I was—continuing to search for something to satisfy their hunger—when God had already provided it.

Let me tell you about someone else who hungered needlessly:
A poor young man, named Antonio, lived in Italy in the early 1900s. He dreamed of coming to America, so he worked to save his money and his family took up a collection for him. Finally he had enough to book passage on a ship. His mother packed him a large basket of food and he was on his way.

He tried not to eat much, but a week into the voyage his food ran out. Desperate for something to eat, he searched the upper decks where the rich people stayed. He discovered that when they didn’t want to go to the beautiful dining room, they had food delivered to their rooms. When they finished eating, they’d put their trays in the hall for the steward to carry away. Sometimes, there was food they didn’t eat on those trays: stale bread, dried chicken bones and sour milk. Though they tasted terrible, Antonio devoured these left-overs.

Finally, on the last evening of the voyage, a steward spied Antonio as he searched through one of the trays sitting in the corridor. When Antonio told him what he was doing, the steward’s expression reflected his amazement. The steward asked Antonio sadly, “Didn’t you know that the meals are included with the price of a ticket?”

Let me ask you a question.

Are you living like Antonio—famished and constantly searching for something to satisfy your hunger when God has already paid the price so that you can eat and be satisfied?

In Psalm 103:5, God tells us that He satisfies the hungry with good things so our youth is renewed like the eagle’s. And in Psalm 63:5, He tells us that when we have a close personal relationship with Him—loving Him, praising Him, clinging to Him—our souls will be satisfied as with the richest of foods.

I know from experience that Psalm 103:5 is true. I lost my weight over 25 years ago—and my horrendous food cravings disappeared with my harmful extra pounds. I discovered that God really does satisfy the hungry with good things—things that are good for us. And I can tell you too that I feel better (and younger) now than I did all those years ago.

I also know that Psalm 63:5 is true. When I learned practical things I could do to draw closer to Jesus and be guided by Him, my soul became satisfied…as with the richest of foods.

Thankfully, I am no longer living like Antonio—eating but not satisfied. But if you are, don’t give up. There’s hope for you!

Adapted from Guided By Him…to a Thinner, Not So Stressed-Out You!

Julie Morris is the author of 12 books, a dynamic motivational speaker and founder of two Christian weight-loss programs: Step Forward (www.stepforwarddiet.com) and a lighter and easier version of Step Forward, Guided By Him (www.guidedbyhim.com).

Caleb’s Choice

By Carin LeRoy –

Have you ever been around negative and complaining people? They are not pleasant to be around. Many years ago I knew a friend who had a negative outlook on most everything. You name it, she complained about it. I liked this friend, but when I was around her I felt dragged down, too. Her pessimistic attitude had become a way of life, and she refused to look at the positive side of anything. From my perspective, her life was miserable because she chose to make it that way.

Negative attitude sees the worst scenario or the gloomiest outcome. Discouragement, unhappiness and cynicism can take hold in our hearts. God is not seen as being in control, and our faith becomes shallow as we choose to perceive life from this angle.

Grumbling and complaining against God resulted in the Israelites wandering 40 years in the wilderness. Because of their negativity and lack of faith, God prevented all but two from entering the Promised Land. “How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. So tell them, as surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say: In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land” (Numbers 14:26-30 NIV). God sees complaining and negativity as a serious offense.

But Caleb was different. He followed God with his whole heart. “But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to” (Numbers 14:24 NIV). When others around him were frozen in fear and grumbling against God, Caleb spied out the land knowing he trusted a God who would conquer all the difficulties the Israelites faced. He was allowed to enter the land as his reward. Caleb made a choice to trust in a God who was much bigger than his circumstances.

Negativism not only affects us, but influences those around us—our family, friends or coworkers. Be like Caleb; have a spirit that is willing to trust in an all-powerful God. Challenges will come, but what attitude will you have? It is a choice. Decide to be positive.

PRAYER: Lord, help me not to be a complaining and negative person. Give me a heart that sees You bigger than my circumstances and a willingness to be positive.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things” ( Philippians 4:8 NIV).

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.

Grampa’s Sermons

By Emily Parke Chase –

When one of my brothers, in a sentimental mood, decided to give each of our kids a recording of their grandfather’s sermons, the response was, um, muted enthusiasm. So I was surprised when those tapes began to lead a wild life of their own.

Mind you, my children were all under the age of ten at the time. They were not inclined to listen to their mother in person, let alone a series of sermons on a cassette tape. That is why, one day when he was ridding his closet of clutter, my oldest son sneaked the tape into his sister’s room and hid it in her pile of clean laundry. And when she found it? She dutifully returned it to her brother, this time hiding it in his underwear drawer.

From that time on, they passed the tape back and forth year after year, ever escalating the value of the hiding places. When Tim became a teen and began dating, his girlfriend invited him to dinner at her home. After the meal, she served him lime Jell-O for dessert. Inside the green gelatinous mountain, courtesy of his sister, was the cassette, carefully preserved in a ziplock bag.

When children go off to college, don’t they all look forward to receiving care packages? Our daughter asked a house guest from Wisconsin to take along an unmarked box and mail it to Tim’s campus mail box. He ripped open the out-of-state package with enthusiasm only to find not home-baked cookies but Grampa’s sermons.

When our family moved out of state for a year, our daughter Prisca was still in high school. She played volleyball for her new school’s team, and at the end of the season, the coach called her out at halftime for special recognition in front of all the fans.

“Prisca has been a powerful assist to our team this year, and we will miss her greatly next year,” he concluded. Then he presented her with a beautifully wrapped gift. Flushed with pleasure, Prisca returned to the bench, pulled off the ribbon and lifted the lid of the box to discover a note from her brother and . . . the infamous plastic cassette.

Did anyone ever listen to the sermons? Yes. Driving across the country on a road trip, Tim stuck them in his tape deck. Hearing his grandfather’s voice was far sweeter than, um, lime Jell-O.

“Everything that is now hidden . . . will eventually be brought to light,” Mark 4:22 (NLT).

The author is busy listening to sermon tapes. Visit her at www.emilychase.com to learn about her books, including Help! My Family’s Messed Up!

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