In our world, materialism is rampant. Bigger is better, faster is better, more expensive is better, and newer is better. Jesus agrees… IF the thing we are talking about is the room we give Him in our lives. Our Savior came to us in a manger because there was no room in the inn for Him. I am reminded that it is up to us to offer Him all the room we have. (By the way, can you imagine being the innkeeper who turned down the Savior of the world? Later, how would you feel? ) As followers of Jesus, we never want to deprive Him of room He needs, but sometimes, I think we do deprive Him. We give Him less space than He wants, which is a Supersize portion.

When you go to a fast-food joint, (faster is better), the worker will ask you, “Do you want to supersize that?” or “Would you like a large for just fifty cents more?” They are trained to get the most out of us. They are a business that thrives on our asking for more. Our relationship with Jesus also thrives on us asking for more… of HIM. Our desire needs to be supersized because He is! In Psalms 33:5 ESV, these words spoke of His fullness.

“He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.”

Full. Full goodness. Full righteousness. Full justice. Anything that Jesus, God or the Holy Spirit does, they do in a big, meaning very full, way. Here’s part of Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians. He wanted them to really grasp the fullness of God.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, 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 3:17b-19

The thing is…we cannot fully comprehend God’s fullness, but we can still ask Him for it, so we serve Him with a full heart. It is a simple but profound concept that He can live in us so that we do things fully for Him. We can be dedicated, consistent and fully loving when He is in our hearts. We fill our stomachs, gas tanks, refrigerators and pantries. Why not keep our hearts full too?

Dear Lord,

You are so full of awesomeness that our minds can’t think it; our words can’t explain it; our prayers cannot express it and our hearts cannot fathom being so full of You. Please take up as much room as You need so that we may do Your will better, and fuller. All we know is that You are infinite and fullness comes naturally to You. Thank You for making a way that we could live with You in us. We love You so much! Amen

GROWwork: Read Ephesians 3:17-19, but insert “I” where it says, “you.” I just tried it and it reads like a plea for God to fill me with all He can. Why settle for less? Let’s ask for more of Him:)

Love and prayers to all!

Tina

December 2, 2020

Because we are starting the month of Jesus’ birthday, the idea of ‘gifts’ is on my mind this morning. The word ‘gift’ has warm and wonderful connotations. A gift is something we give to someone on their birthday or other special occasion, because we care about them. We will be giving Christmas gifts soon. God cares about us and gave us the best gift ever, His own Son! He also gave us spiritual gifts.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. James 1:17 ESV

There was a time when I thought God did not give me a gift. I felt useless in the church because I could not find “my thing” to do for Him. Some people can sing like angels or preach or teach or play instruments well. I was very concerned until my best friend’s dad told me, “You are meant to be the best Tina God made you to be.” That phrase is part of the reason I am writing the blog. He encouraged me to be me and not compare myself with others. What a blessing to have that godly encourager as a friend! God used him.

If God can use a Christian-killing man like Paul and a little boy named David and a prostitute named Rahab and Moses who stuttered, He can certainly use every one of us. Not only can He use us, He wants to use us! No big talent is needed, just a big faith in God and the desire to please Him. We receive His gift and can serve each other with it.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. 1 Peter 4:10 ESV

Paul lists some spiritual gifts here. The Spirit of God gives us what He deems best.

To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills. 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 ESV

Dear Father,

Thank You for making us like we are and loving us as we are. Show us please, how we can serve You in the church as part of Your team. We thank You for Your gift of Jesus and the Holy Spirit who teach and direct our hearts and hands and feet. We want to please You by actually using the spiritual gifts You gave us. Please help us remember it is Your ability that fully equips us to serve. Nothing else matters more than pleasing You. We love You so much! Amen

GROWwork:

Write down, or think of, ten things you are good at or enjoy doing. Write down things you did as a child that you used to love. Can any of these be used for God? He allows us to do Kingdom work!

Might He be calling you to be an encourager or something else that will show others the love of God? I will pray that you find that. It is NEVER too late to begin giving your gift back to God and watching Him work through you.

You are loved. You are special. You are gifted! Prayers for God’s best to you all,

Tina

November 30, 2020

It Depends On Others

We come to part three of this series. In Part One we focused on how our loving actions stem from our love for God, our Master. Part Two taught us that our actions are shaped by our own choices of who to serve, ourselves or the world or God. Today we will consider that growth in our Christian walk depends on others.

It really does.There are so many facets that a growing spiritual life entails, but I wanted to focus on our view of others for a moment. We know we are commanded by the Lord to love others, but how much? How often? Why is it so important?

The first and best place to look for answers is always the Bible, so let’s go there. Here is what Jesus says :

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. John 13:34-35 NIV

How loving He is to share His commands so we can be successful in serving Him and God properly. He points out that EVERYONE will know we are following Him, just because of the way we love! That’s a pretty amazing statement! Loving others tells them about Jesus:)

It is easy to love someone who is nice to us. It is usually easy to love other Christians because we are one in the Lord. But what if others are not nice or Christian? I found a verse that I don’t remember reading before!

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.  Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one. Colossians 4:5-6 NKJV

God, us, and others…We all relate to each other. Depending on our love for God, love for ourselves and love for others, we make choices that reflect our level of commitment to each other and to God. It is all relative. Those choices, made based on Jesus’ command to love will determine if we grow stronger in our relationships or weaker. That is the underlying theme of this series. Everything is relative, but love is the bonding agent between us all. Love is the motivation. Love is the answer.

Paul is talking to the Colossians about giving grace to non-believers. He suggests we speak carefully, with grace and wisdom and use our time wisely. We will draw people to want to know Jesus when we treat them as Jesus would. The wisdom Paul says to use is found in God’s Word, in great supply!

Dear Father:

Thank You for guiding our time in Your Word. You teach us so much. Your best for us is that we desire to do our best for others. Please guide as You love to do, giving us a glimpse of the “big picture” of how important it is to always relate with love. Thank You for the abundant supply of inspired words You gave to the authors in the Bible, that guide our actions. You make it possible for us to live for You and love for You in a world that sometimes doesn’t. We love You so much! Amen.

GROWwork:

List one positive change you can make to improve your relationship with God. Find a verse to encourage you to do that this week.

Pray for love and grace to relate to others this week. Look for opportunities to use the bond of love to draw others to Jesus.

Love and prayers to all. Have a great day!

Tina

November 29, 2020

It Depends on Us

In part one yesterday, we focused on how our actions depend on God. We may act respectfully and characteristically of God because we love Him so much. We are His servants, although we are treated like His children. We obey our Master, Father…if we choose Him, that is. We may choose God and righteousness or the enemy and our world’s gods. The choice is ours.

No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money. Matthew 6:24 NIV

It is just not possible to serve two masters. Whatever master we choose, we will draw closer to and emulate. Others will be able to tell who we serve by what we do the most. Do they see us hate, turn away from, listen to, turn towards, help, pray for others? Do they see us being loving or selfish, kind or unkind? We shoulder both the responsibility and the privilege of deciding who we want to look like….Jesus or the world. Here’s a couple verses that can guide our actions:

He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:30 ESV

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:3-4

Dear Father:

As Your child and as Your servant, I am happy to serve You. I don’t always make the best choices on my own, however. I need Your wisdom and guidance every single day of my life. Thank You for loving me so much that I see how to love others, with grace that forgives. Thank You for Your constant presence in the Holy Spirit that coaches me to obey You more and better. I love You! Amen.

Friends, this was the hardest devotion to get down on paper. I think it is because we DO have so many choices, and the important choices we make either move us a step toward God or away from God. It is all up to us but it is not about us. It’s all about God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and doing their will.

Love and prayers to all!

Tina

For today, tomorrow and Monday, I feel led to do a three-part devotion with the series title being, “It is All Relative.” Today’s devotion is:

It Depends on God

You know how you can talk to some people about absolutely anything, because they are a best friend? You can pick on them or tell them when they are right or wrong?And with others, are you not as free because you are not as close? That’s the subject of our next three devotions. How we act depends on who we are relating to. God is no exception to this.

As Christians, we should treat God as our Master because, well, He is God! We are His bondservants. As defined in Merriam Webster’s dictionary a bondservant is “one bound to service without wages.” also : SLAVE Paul’s letter to the Colossians describes how bondservants should relate to their masters:

Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.” Colossians 3:22

Paul was telling bondservants to obey their masters, not just because they are owned, but because a sincere heart shows respect to God. The way we behave is a reflection of how we feel about God. He explains in verse 23 that ALL we do needs to be as if we are doing it for the Lord.

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24

Everything we do is relative. All of our actions need to point to our love and respect for God. That seems like a simple point, but it has huge implications; it changes everything!

When we work a job, Paul’s advice suggests we do it as if God was our boss. When we cook a meal for our family, we are to do it as if God was there. It means we think before we speak. What we say, think, do, feel, etc., depends on our love for God. Our actions mirror His patience and love. It ALL depends on God.

Dear Father,

Thank you for inspiring Paul to write this message that is so vitally important to our spiritual lives. In order that we shine the light of your love, we need to act it out in all we do. You are our master and we want to obey You always. Please help us focus on servanthood as we enter the Christmas season. Remind us, with the Holy Spirit’s nudging , that our actions tell others who we depend on for our joy and strength. May ALL we do honor You. We love You! Amen

GROWwork:

When we let our actions depend on God’s approval, what things may change?

As for me, I will be more patient and respectful of others. With the Lord’s help, I will listen better. We are doing ALL of it for the Lord:)

Love and prayers to you all,

Tina

***This is actually Friday’s post. I wasn’t feeling well yesterday, but I am all better!

Do you ever feel like life’s chores tug at you from many different directions? I do! I feel the tug to put away Thanksgiving decorations, decorate for Christmas, clean out the fridge of leftovers, plan menus for next week, get the car inspected, get my winter clothes out and summer ones packed away, make a Christmas gift list and start shopping and do some writing. (my favorite) It’s tough to know where to start when there doesn’t seem to be an end. My focus is non-existent but my worry is present!

The good news… I know a trick that really works! This idea came from a dear pastor of mine. When I was a teen, Reverend Daily paid special attention to us teens. Very often in his sermons he would talk directly to us. One Sunday, he was talking about the importance of reading our Bibles. He offered that, if we read the Bible just 15 minutes a day, our grades would go up. It didn’t make sense to me, but because I trusted him, I tried it. In no time, I had a more positive attitude, better focus and my grades went up. True story!

Before Reverend Daily said it, God did! After Moses died and Joshua was going to take his place as the leader of the Israelites, God said to Joshua,

“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 ESV

There is a peace that comes from reading your Bible. Jesus meets us there while we read and He will teach us and encourage us every time. As the verse states above, we are to be careful to do all that is written in the Bible. That means our priority list will have Jesus at the top. We will hand over burdens to Him and trust Him to guide our path. We will pursue the Lord, on purpose, all during the day and night. We will tug at Him instead of feeling tugged.

Dear Father,

You are all that’s good. You help us every time we need it, which is often. Please meet us in the Bible each day and feed us what You want us to be filled with. Focus our eyes on You so that other things, lesser things, don’t stress us out. Thank You for not minding that we tug at You a lot. We trust You and love You and want to both of those better! Amen

GROWwork:

Look up a verse or two about trusting God and post them in your house somewhere where you will see them often. Remind yourself to tug at the Lord often. He doesn’t mind:)

Love and prayers to all!

Tina

Today is a Thanksgiving Day, like no other before. If you had told me, last Spring, that the next eight to ten months would be the “twilight zone” of all time, I would have said you were crazy, when you weren’t. If you told me I would be going to six stores to find toilet paper, I would have laughed. But…I am not laughing.

Well, I wasn’t at first. Then, I took some advice from someone, a doctor actually, who listened to my concerns and anxiety and suggested I take on a hobby. A hobby? Fun? I think I was more shocked than anything that the doctor would suggest focusing on something other than the pandemic. How could I think of fun things when I had to stock our supplies and clean off all groceries with sanitizer and make sure we have ten of everything?

I exaggerate for effect, sort of. All I knew is, if I didn’t worry, then the problem of Covid would devastate my family and I. Needing to stabilize our shaken up world I did not think of fun as a viable solution. However, just to follow doctor’s orders, I started to consider her words. Then it hit me hard!

The enemy of this world is thrilled right now. He is seeing us all focusing on the bad, what has changed, the security we have lost, the fun we no longer seek. He is having fun at our expense! Our worrying is a joy to him. He whispers to us that we are doomed and we NEED to worry and fret and attack each other over differences of opinion, as to how to beat this Covid monster. He is a liar!

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. I Peter 5:7 -8 ESV

Why am I listening to a lying prowler? Since when do I take my marching orders from the devil? Why am I letting him dictate how I think? He is so dead wrong. We CAN still be secure. We CAN still have security. We have Jesus! He hasn’t gone anywhere or changed in character or presence. In fact, He never ever changes.

As the enemy of the world wants us to see the dark, the negative, and make us worry, Jesus wants us to see His and God’s light. In other words, Jesus wants us to see what He sees, NO darkness. I get it now, Jesus… You can’t see darkness because you actually ARE the light!

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5 ESV

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 1 John 1:5 ESV

Dear Jesus,
Please help us take care of our families the best we can, while standing in Your light. The world has enough darkness, so we are thankful for Your constant light. Thank you for joy you give us as we focus on you. We love you! Amen

Thank you for reading. My hope is that you realize what I didn’t at first…we can have hope and faith in what we cannot see. We can still have joy in the Light of Jesus. Enjoy your day, even though it is different. Jesus is there with you:)

Love and prayers to all! Hang in there. Seek Jesus. Seek fun:)

Tina

You are my King, the One I serve. It’s my delight to honor You.

You are my soul’s true guiding light. I’ll follow roads You lead me to.

No matter how the journey goes. There will be highs. There will be lows.

But this one thing I know is true. I know full joy in loving You.