Dream like a gold medalist!

As I watched the USA women's gymnastic team take the gold tonight, I couldn't help but tear up and be so proud of these young girls. What a HUGE accomplishment at such a young age. I wonder how long these girls have been dreaming of this moment?

Probably since a very young age.

To become a gold medalist, one can only imagine the hard work and training that brought them to this moment. No doubt, sometime along the way, thoughts of discouragement and giving up probably crossed their mind. But obviously, to make it all the way to London, something or someone pushed these girls to pursue their dream.

Have you ever had such an incredible dream of wanting to be something, or doing something really great and inspiring? But somewhere along the way you backed away from it. Perhaps you thought, "I could never do that!" Many times we do not see what God sees.When we lack self confidence, God sees strength and endurance. If only we could see what He sees, if only we could see that it is God that is pushing us thru, encouraging us to go all the way!

Moses did not see what God saw! Moses lacked having a good self-image. He did not see himself as a gold medalist. Probably because he had made such a terrible mistake earlier in his life, that he ended up spending 40 years in the wilderness. Moses had a dream. He often dreamed of delivering Gods people. But it appeared that dream was dead, for he was nothing but a failure.

God did not see things that way! He did not see Moses the same way Moses saw himself. When God approached Moses in the wilderness, He never asked what kind of winning record he had. In fact, God never even mentioned his shady past, He just told him to go to Pharaoh and tell him to let His people go!

Moses, reluctant because of his own self doubt, wondered what difference he could possibly make...

"And Moses said unto God, Who am I that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? and He said, 'Certainly I will be with you.'" EXODUS 3:11,12

It really didn't matter who Moses was but rather, Who was with him!

You may not be dreaming of being on a USA team or competing for a gold medal, but whatever your dream may be, the enemy will try hard to trip you up and trick you in believing that you are not good enough. But that is not at all what God sees.

You may not have a past full of wins. You may not even have a long list of credentials.But you don't need any of these things as long as God is with you. With God, you are already a winner!

Do you have a dream? Ask God to help push you as you pursue it and with Him at your side, you will be able to go for the gold!

Are we just playing church?

When my kids were small, they loved to play house. We would turn a card table, a blanket and camping lanterns into a a "playhouse". With the blanket draped over the card table, they would set housekeeping up inside. Pillows to sit on, plates and cups set up to eat from and camping lanterns lit inside as their lamps. The kids would even make drawings and tape them on the inside of the blanket as if they had art on their walls. This makeshift "house" fullfilled their imagination for hours.

Eventually my kids outgrew this game of playing house. Wouldn't we think it odd to see grown ups still playing "house"? But yet, we don't think it odd or think much of grown ups playing "church".
Whenever we place anything else, other than Jesus, as the most important thing in church life, we begin to play church.

Jesus is the most important thing in church, it is not the programs, it is not how many are in attendance, and it is not even about how much money is given in the offering. Jesus STARTED the church and He DIED for the church, however, He NEVER started a building fund!

Don't get me wrong, I'm all for taking care of the church. In fact, I think that we SHOULD take care of God's house. The carpet shouldn't be raggedy, the paint shouldn't be peeling and by all means God's house should be clean. After all, we wouldn't want our own house to falter in these things, so why would we permit the house of our Lord to fall and crumble?

Sometimes, we outgrow our space and it may be time to build or purchase something bigger, many churches have experienced this and resorted to starting building funds. I have contributed towards such funds in the past. Building funds are not bad, in fact, it can be good, especially to provide more space for new Christians coming into the fellowship. However, when the building funds, or building a bigger church becomes the main focus of each service, I have to ask myself if this is what God was talking about when He said He would "Build His church"?

MATTHEW 16:18 "...upon this rock I will build My church, and all the powers of hell will not prevail it."

Jesus did not die for buildings. The church is not a building. It is people, His people. When Jesus spoke to the Apostles about the church He founded, He said it was going to be built on the One thing that would outlast everything else...it would be built upon Him!

Jesus is calling us, His church, to be ready for He is coming for His bride one day. Nobody knows the time or day of His coming, but we must be ready for His return. He is looking for a spotless church, not a clean building with perfect carpet, but He is looking for a church (His people) who have put Him first in everything.

When we begin to implement man made ideas in the church, we are literally ignoring God for what He founded the church upon...

"These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God." MATTHEW 16:18 (NLT)

Almost everyday I run into someone who is looking for authentic love, but they don't seem to be looking for it at church. This hurts my heart, and it makes me wonder if we have gotten too caught up in new programs and new buildings instead of reaching out to new converts.

Just as my kids outgrew playing house, it is my prayer that we will outgrow playing church as well and get back to the basics...the basics that His church was founded upon. Buildings are nice, but people are more important. May we be careful of what we are investing in.
 

THANKFUL THURSDAY...confidence

When my kids were younger, they all played baseball. Even though they all started playing at a young age, they still had to practice. No matter how much they practiced, I have to admit when it was time for them to batter up, I always got nervous for them.

I was one of those baseball moms that encouraged their kid all the way from the dugout to the home plate. Cheering for them and encouraging them with a "You can do this!" "Get a base hit!" It always saddened me to see one or two players that did not have anyone at the game doing the same for them. You could see a big difference in how these players walked up to the plate. They lacked confidence.

Having confidence almost always earned a hit or a base. I personally watched players that walked with a swagger to the plate, anticipating a big hit. These were players with alot of confidence and almost always made contact with the bat.

I'm personally not a good ball player, but my kids were. They are all grown up now and some days I really miss those baseball days. But I will always remember the swagger they had as they approached the plate. That is the same kind of swagger I desire to have as I approach the Throne!

“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” -Hebrews 4:16

Many times we bring our needs and petitions before God but we lack confidence. However, just like a baseball mom, God is cheering for us and encouraging us with a "You can do this!" He wants us to have swagger to know that His love is real and there is nothing too great for Him!

May we have confidence and anticipation as we approach His Throne. His mercy and grace will be sure to be a grand slam when we do.

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and I am very grateful that I could host TT this month. I am also grateful that we can come before Him with confidence! How about you? What are you thankful for today? Share your post with us below. Be sure to join us next week over at GRACE ALONE, Iris will be our host for the month of August!

LACED WITH GRACE...Jesus, take the wheel

Today you can find me over at LACED WITH GRACE, where I have shared a devo with the readers entitled "Jesus, take the wheel"...
"Yesterday our teen daughter took her drivers road test for the first time. It was time to see her months of practicing pay off. She has been driving with her permit for several months now and has really gotten to be a pretty good driver. I have to admit though, at first, there were many times that I wanted to grab the wheel from her. Sometimes she got too close to other vehicles, and her backing out and turning the wheel wasn’t always timed correctly. But as she ..."

CLICK THE LINK to read this entire post!

He loves me, He loves me not!

Today's younger generation seems to be constantly looking for love. Unfortunetly, many of them are looking in all of the wrong places. Our teen daughter has been dating her high school sweetheart for almost 2 years and I am thankful that she has found someone that has remained faithful to her for so long. Many of her peers seem to go thru dating relationships like they do a toothbrush...changing them every 6 weeks.

It seems that young couples today base their love on chance instead of committment, faithfulness and trust. Sometimes giving your heart is taking a big chance, but love does not have to be so complicated. I think we make things more complicated than neccesary.

 Taking a chance on love reminds me of the silly game we use to play as young girls with a daisy. "He loves me" "He loves me not" "He loves me" "He loves me not" ...with each pull of the petal, hoping so desperately that the last petal will be "He loves me!"

And if for some chance, the last petal falls on "He loves me not", we would believe it. It took several years to pass before I came to realize that true love was not based on chance.

But even as an adult, I find myself playing the "He loves me, He loves me not" game with God. As silly as it seems to pick at flower petals to determine someones love, it is just as silly to question Gods love for us...

• I get a promotion at work...HE LOVES ME!
• My hours get changed at work...HE LOVES ME NOT!
• I sustain no injuries in a car accident...HE LOVES ME!
• The other driver sues me for damages to their car...HE LOVES ME NOT!

 

Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

God's love for us is not determined by any conditions. If we are disappointed, He still loves us. When we are happy, He loves us. When we are discouraged, He loves us and even when we mess up...He still loves us! There is no need to pull at flower petals to determine God's love. His love is not a love of chance, it is a love that will last for all eternity!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you for taking a chance on me and loving me so unconditionally. Help me to remember that no matter what I go thru, Your love remains. It never changes. I never have to doubt whether You love me or not because You will always love me. Thank you God! AMEN

  

Jesus Christ is my SuperHero!

In the aftermath of what has been called one of the biggest massacres, my heart and prayers continue to go out to the victims of the Colorado movie theatre shootings. What a tragedy. Not only for those who lost their lives, but for those who were wounded, their families that have suffered and also for the one who was responsible.

Who would have thought that an adventure at the movies could have turned so bloody. A ticket to see a superhero turned into an eternal ticket for some. It is my prayer that those who lost their lives that day knew Who their true Superhero was...He doesn't wear a black cape or mask and He doesn't drive a bat mobile.

It is easy for us to get caught up in these Hollywood films, actors creating a fantasy world that somewhere out there there is a Superhero that will fly in and save the day. The good guy verses the bad guy. Even though the plot is somewhat far fetched, the characters that depict the good and evil in the world is not far fetched at all. In fact, it depicts our world pretty well.

Face it, things that happen in our world are bad. It is filled with evil, wrong doing, and sin. Villains are trying to mask themselves as "good". But nothing about them or what they do or what they stand for is good. We get discouraged when we hear about things like the movie theatre massacre, we ask ourselves, "when will this end?", we fear the places we use to enjoy, it is no longer safe to even go watch a movie with our loved one. It is in these moments that I wonder if we have forgotten Who our true Superhero is?

Too many times I think all we see is the evil, and we can't see the good. It is easy to look around and cast everyone as the villains, and making ourselves the hero. We see ourselves as the only one in the world who is climbing tall buildings and fighting crime: in our workplace, we are the one set apart, not drinking, not cussing, not cheating on our spouse while everyone else does what feels good.

When we make ourselves the hero in our life scenarios, where does that leave God?

Isn't He the Author of it all? He is weaving each and every situation and opportunity into a plot that will have a victorious outcome for the Hero. We know that in every drama feature, in the end, the hero ALWAYS defeats the bad guy!

That is what makes God the perfect Superhero of all time! Every bad and corrupt thing does not go unnoticed by God. He is watching. He is keeping a record. And just when the dark, evil enemy thinks he is winning, God is going to swoop down, grab him by the throat, and snuff the evil, destructive, bad bone breath right out of him.

"For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves." Colossians 1:13

Even though the world is full of evil, we must never lose sight of the fact that thru it all, God is our constant. He will never change. He will not falter. He will not sway. He is the Alpha. The Omega. The Beginning and the end. He is our Protector. Our Shield. Our Fortress.

And...

 He is our Superhero who will be victorious in the end!

THANKFUL THURSDAY...encouragement

It seemed like if anything could go wrong this week , it did. I'm not just talking about having a flat tire, I'm talking about some heart wrenching stress in my life. It just about crippled me this week. It was the kind of week that I found myself dependent upon feeding my spirit with His Word in order to stay afloat.

Have you ever been so discouraged that you had to submerge your whole being into Gods Word to make it thru?

In such times, I could not make it without having a relationship with God. We need a relationship with Him. We also need relationships with others. Relationships play a huge part in Christianity. When we do not tune into God and others, most likely we will isolate. Isolation is not a good place to be. It is a place where we will feel alone, and not cared about. Many times this place of isolation will lead to depression and distress.

Encouragement can change things. It can change people.

“But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” Hebrews 3:13 (NIV)

Without encouragement a hurt can fester into a deep wound, anger can become bitterness, and temptation can end up as sin...all because nobody offered a listening ear, an earnest prayer or a word of encouragement.

Relationship with God and with each other can turn a bad day into a good one. It can turn a frown upside down. But it all starts with us. Not only do we have to choose to have good relationships, but we must choose to encourage someone.

Is there someone that you can impact with lending a listening ear, saying an earnest prayer or speaking an encouragement word? Encouragement starts with you today!

DEAR LORD: Thank you for lifting my spirit by promising that You will always be near. Thank you for those who spoke encouragement into me this past week, especially my family. Thank you for encouraging me so I can now encourage someone else. May You be honored thru my words of encouragement to someone in need today. AMEN

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY, we all need encouragement in our lives and I can't think of a better place to begin encouraging others than right here at TT! Your words and attitude of thanks always inspire and encourage me! Share your grateful heart with us by linking up below. :)