Shield

The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” Genesis 15:1

My husband has quoted this verse for decades. Certainly, we would all love to hear these words as if God were speaking directly to us.

However, from what do we require or need to be shielded?

We may desire someone to guard us from natural disasters, evil people, sickness, old age and death and to even protect us from crises that come from our own wayward choices.

Yet, we know some fine people who have had to face these grievous conditions. We also know of those who have learned to cast their cares upon the Lord, and He stands by them, a shield around them, in their darkest hours.

The list we make for God’s rescue is endless. Our knowledge of His ability to fix all things turns into expectations for Him to do something, now, about our struggles.

So…when God encouraged Abram in today’s verse, what was the fix He was offering?

First of all, of what might Abram have been afraid?

In the previous chapter, Abram had won a battle against several evil kings and rescued his nephew, Lot, and his clan. Was he fearful of retaliation from those kings?

Or, perhaps verse 2 gives a different reason for his fear. He might never have children (though God had promised him in Genesis 12 that nations would come from him).

Of what are we afraid?

Second, if you read about the already mentioned battle, you’ll notice that Abram was offered a reward by someone great, but he turned it down!

What is the fix? Or better said, “Who is The Fix?”

God!

‘I’ am your shield and great reward.

Abram, there is something far better I have to offer you than these accolades and accomplishments. I offer you myself and my protection.

Don’t be afraid! ‘I’ am here with you.

Fear is such a waste of our time. Trusting in His bigger plans is our best use of energy and thoughts. Faith in His goodness is our best goal. He is a shield even in the lack of our highest hopes or the presence of our deepest pain. He is enough.

So, how is God our reward?

Blessings are sought as we go out of our way to obey Him in difficult circumstances. If we are ‘good,’ surely He will give us a prize, a treat or even great riches! And sometimes, these come our way.

Yet, if we go deeper into the best reward we could receive, it would simply be God Himself. He gives us His very presence. When we finally acknowledge and remember God, we can be at rest.

Psalm 73:25-26 says, “Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

The outcome of our obedience has its own benefits. A good life is a good reward. However, when our obedience is met with good or even bad results, God is still our shield and reward.

Lord, God, Ruler of the Universe, Jesus, son of God, oh, how we love you. We are thankful that you are a shield and a great reward for us. Strengthen our faith. Help us to have a greater measure of trust. We look at the stars and remember your promise to Abram. That promise was indeed fulfilled. You are a God who does remarkable things in our lives, as well. Help us to put our full hope and dependence on you and not in the things this earth can provide us. In Jesus name, Amen.

Be Our Strength

Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress. Isaiah 33:2

Hearing the cries from His children, deeply touches the heart of our Father. The brilliant start of a new day is the perfect time to pray. We raise our voices and lift our eyes to the Almighty and ask Him to help us in our time of need.

Be our strength!

Our gaze is fixed. When troubles arise, we know to whom we must turn. When the awareness of blessings comes, we know to whom we must praise.

Today’s verse is so simple. It leads us to pray during times we don’t feel like we can make it through another day.

Be our strength!

When we don’t know what to say or how to handle a situation, we can pray for God’s power to outweigh our weakness, for His wisdom to overcome our foolishness, for His compassion to chase out our apathetic hearts, and that we, too, may find a way to love and serve.

Help us, Lord, not only to simply make it through this day, but to make a difference in your Kingdom.

Strength emerges from Him in many different ways when we pray for it. Sometimes, we receive outward strength like when we feel God’s presence in the quiet or experience the sweet kindness of family and friends. We also receive inner strength in the midst of doubt or temptation, especially when the going gets tough. And through time, these trials may increase our faith or cause us to come to a new level of trust and power.

Be our strength!

When we pray for God to give us strength, we must be willing to step up to the plate. Are we making responsible decisions and plans that line up with the strength we request? Or, are we idle and sluggish, expecting God to do everything? Do we choose wisely instead of from impulse or emotion?

God gives strength by helping us to get up and get busy with our lives and to make good choices.

It’s all well and good to cry out to the Father to help us, but in the end, if we are holding on to a grudge, to anger, fear or anxiety, the very prayer we pray can be blocked by our own doing. We may define our prayers for strength as one thing, but God may answer our deeper needs. He may give us strength to forgive, to release the anger or work through our differences or the strength to trust Him in our fear and anxiety.

When we remove the barriers of sin, our hearts will have a spacious place to receive from God the greatest strength we need for the day.

There is so much power in following the Lord in everything we do. He helps us to be the best of who we are.

Father, we present our day to you in the early morning hours and grab hold of your hand for strength. Remind us throughout the day who you are and what you have provided for us. Help us to let go of wayward ways. Give us eyes to see and ears to hear you even in the hardships we face. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Mind Space

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even their own life–such a person cannot be my disciple (Luke 14:26).

The verse is simply saying: make room to love Jesus’ Lordship over your life more than anything else (family, friends and even your own self). Everything else holds a lesser priority.

The verse says, “EVEN YOUR OWN LIFE” should not rule over you more than He.

That’s the part that got to me when I read Luke 14.

The Bible says, “He…seated him [Christ] at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church” (Ephesians 1:20-22).

How is it a positive thing to choose Jesus and becoming His disciple as the highest priority of my life, higher than everything else?

I benefit from living this kind of life. My family benefits from my godly focus. Far from being neglected, they are treated with more respect and love. Others in my life benefit. They receive the joy I have from the overflow of following Jesus. I am more stable, my sleep is more peaceful, my food is more balanced and my choices reflect more wisdom.

Following Jesus puts all of life into perspective. It gives meaning to my life. It helps me not to stray and wander into sin. My life is abundant and bountiful no matter what I possess or lack.

The world is a better place when I wholeheartedly live for the Lord. I am God’s vessel and ready to do His will.

I am led to see the value in people around me. Their gifts become more apparent. I want to fan the flames of who God made them to be. I am less critical and more encouraging. I am less grabby and needy and more apt to release people to be themselves. I celebrate the God who lives in them, even if this means losing some of myself for the sake of Christ.

This life is not simple. I find myself sometimes alone in what I do for the Lord. I may not have the perfect popularity or be totally understood.

My heart, however, discovers how great it is to GET to trust in the best thing there is to trust, Jesus!

“Hate” in the passage means loving Jesus more. I fill up the space in my head with thoughts of Him, with thoughts of worship, adoration, altars (on which I lay down other things that take up the space in my head). I place supreme emphasis on thoughts of self-denial for Christ, not caring so much about feelings, views and possessions, but instead, caring about God’s kingdom.

When I receive something I’ve longed for, I enjoy and thank God for it. But I don’t make that my all. I’m not dependent on that to make me happy.    

The second passage I want to examine, says:
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, He said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.” They were very sad and began to say to him one after the other, “Surely you don’t mean me, Lord?” Jesus replied, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born.” (Matthew 26:20-24)

How might my choices reflect a life that is, as free as possible, from betraying my Lord? 

What does betrayal look like in me? Just name any sin, wrong attitude or motive. We all do it, everyday. We all betray Him in some form or another, and we all experience the consequences of our choices.

Whatever reasons I have to betray Him also betrays my spirit and soul. I am poorer and more destitute in spirit than the poorest on earth when that happens.  

How does the choice to follow Him and NOT deny Him positively affect me?

I live a life of joy instead of regrets. My spirit and soul are enhanced and abundantly fed. I have all I need to give bountifully to others and serve Christ.  

How can I live this better life? I can go back to the first verse and see what happens when I put Jesus above all things! I can watch what happens when my choices are thought through and intentionally given over to the Father. I can retrain my mind to put Christ above all.  

Lord, I take all that occupies my mind and give these to you. I love that in your presence, I GET to learn not to put my trust in anything else, I GET to learn how not to worry and how not to be overly angry. I know I can never live a perfect life, and I am so grateful for your son who died on the cross and covers my sins even today. I know that I cannot follow Jesus without your power working in me. I submit my life to you this day. Please go before me as I forsake anything that would get in the way of serving you. Alert me by your Holy Spirit if my attitude or heart is about to betray you in any way. Help me to make right choices and follow you. I want to be your disciple. In Jesus name, Amen.

My Last Day

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).

I don’t think about death very much, but in preparation for today’s verse, I thought about it all week long. Not the obsessed, dreary kind of thoughts. Instead, my mind led me into excitement about squeezing every drop of life out of every day I have left.

I want to LIVE life, completely aware that this could be my last day. I don’t want to have a lot of regrets when I die.

Okay, I know, a regret-less life is impossible.
I’ve made a ton of mistakes. Some sins I’m not even aware of. However, my Lord took care of all that darkness in my soul when he died on the cross for me.

Any energy I might spend on regrets, I want to spend on loving and serving my Savior until my last breath.

Every day God gives me, I awaken born again. I have no guarantees that I will be here tomorrow. But I know I have TODAY.

Last week something happened. I began to envision the reality that this could be it for me (no diagnosis or evidence, simply an exercise I took to heart). I thought about it many times over. What would I do if I knew this was my last day?

What about you? What would you change, if anything?

Would you clean up clutter so not to leave so much behind?
How would you greet your spouse?
Would you hug people tighter. Would you linger longer to listen to what they had to say?
Would you spend more time with your kids?
Would you say what loving words needed to be said without holding anything back?
Would you say more prayers for those you love, for them to stay close to the Father (loving them through prayer)?
Would you do normal things like take a nap, exercise, watch a movie, eat well (to care for God’s temple), sleep well and listen for God’s voice?
Can you see yourself becoming more bold and daring?

This week, I lived a normal life, just with a new twist: what if God took me home, today?

I loved the focus of my thoughts! I want to do this every day. I dove in like a lion running after its prey, and my prey was anything that might stand in the way of LIFE. I wanted the hindrances to be conquered with all the zest I could muster.

With awe and humility, in whispering tones I say aloud, “This has been a GOOD week; giving, speaking (both loving and hard truths), receiving, resting, and constantly remembering not to waste a moment of my time.”

The following are a few beautiful, inspiring verses I thought about:

Psalm 90:12 “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”
(Oh, how I need wisdom.)
John 13:1-38 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. …Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.”
(Jesus is my most passionate example for how to live life to the very end.)
I Peter 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
(Love – the highest, greatest goal on earth.)
Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”
(Good reminder to give it my all.)
Matthew 25:21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’”
(Words I long to hear and to say to others!)
Philippians 4:11-12 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
(I can’t do this life without contentment, period.)
I Chronicles 16:11 “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”
(His face is all I want, all I need until my last day. Then, I will truly see Him face to face.)

Lord, it is for your glory I worship and adore you with my life. Please teach me how to truly hear your voice telling me your will, telling me what pleases you. Help me to live today as if I would no longer breath tomorrow. When my thoughts start to fret about my wants and needs, show me your glory. Let me see you high and lifted up. Let everything else fade from sight. Fill me up with your presence. Give me energy and strength to do all you would have me do this day. And like a butterfly, rebirth and renew my life. Let the beauty of the Lord set me flying high in the sky to show the world who YOU are.

In Jesus name, amen.