LACED WITH GRACE...half full or half empty?

Today I shared the following devotion with the readers of LACED WITH GRACE, hope you find your cup full to the brim today...

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It is the age old question… "Is the glass half full or half empty?”

What’s the answer? Really, it is all just your perspective. I guess I would have to ask, “Do you like a full cup or a half empty one? Depending upon what is inside the cup, your preference may change.

The Bible refers to having fullness to show the depth of joy we as Believers can experience. However many of us settle for the half full cup versus the full cup.

When I think of how full my spiritual cup needs to be I can’t help think about the Folgers coffee commercial… “Good to the last drop.” Reminds me of the little boy I once had in my preschool class. During snack time, I was passing out a couple of crackers for each student to have. After two times around the table with offering each one 2 crackers, little Paul got down from his chair and went over to the play area, he returned with a plastic glass from the play kitchen area. The next time I went around the table with another cracker, Paul held up his playtime glass and said, “fill it up!”

If only we, as Christians, could have that mentality of little Paul. Holding up our spiritual glass,  asking not to have it emptied but to fill it up, to the brim. Joy, as Jesus explains in Matthew, is not to be viewed as “half empty” but may it be “full”. And not just full, but “good to the last drop!”

Matthew 15:9-11 (KJV), “As the Father hath loved me, so I have loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.”

Many of us would gladly settle for half a cup, but Jesus urges us to desire that full cup of joy. He wants us to love Him wholeheartedly! He wants us to trust Him enough to obey Him.

When we choose to disobey Him, we are choosing half a cup of joy because our love is not wholehearted. We’re holding back, unsure of whether or not He will fulfill His promises. Rather than trusting in His Word, we choose our own ways, only to find out that we were wrong.

Keeping our cup full will come from obedience. As we learn to obey Him, trust Him and even test Him, our cup will remain full, never running dry.

How is your cup of joy looking today? Is it half full or half empty? I trust you will strive to keep it full to the top, overflowing with His love, His joy and His peace. For It is good to the last drop.

LACED WITH GRACE...Are we just material girls in a material world?

I have shared the following devo with the readers of LACE WITH GRACE today. If you haven't checked out this site before, we offer daily devotions by a team of awesome and spirit-led ladies!

We are living in a world today that saturates our mind with having money and possessions. Just look at what society screams at us … "our worth is based upon what we have and how much.”

This pressure is felt all the way from elderly down to the young. Teens are now spending more than ever before, unreal amount of money every year on music, video games, movies and clothes. Our attitude about having and having more only escalates from this point on into adulthood where we then have a need to have bigger houses, faster cars and fatter bank accounts.

Not to give attention to a very worldly singer but singer Madonna , a few years ago, really said it the way it is …”I’m just a material girl who lives in a material world!”

Could that be true of America? That we have just become materialists?

I read an account of two different women who clearly had issues when it came to money. The first, Imelda Marcos, married to the President of the Philippines had access to the national treasury of billions to finance her shopping sprees. It is said that she had a collection of 3000 pair of shoes, 1500 purses and 1200 designer gowns that she only wore one time.

The second woman, was Hetty Green. She rarely bathed and her underclothes would fall to pieces before she would buy another. Her children did not use hot water to bath and for food, she bought barrels of biscuits to live off of for months.

Reading about these two women caused me to think about what exactly was a “materialist”? Most of you reading this will probably agree that the first lady was clearly a materialist, but I would dare say that BOTH of these women were. One spent too much, while the other spent too little. But, the rest of the story is thatwhile Hetty Green seemed to be poor, in reality, it is reported that she made 7 million dollars a year! She apparently was obsessed with the all mighty dollar, not too far off from Imelda Marcos.

Many people think that HAVING money is the problem. Having it is not what makes us a “material world”, it is what we do or, rather, don’t do, with it that causes problems.

So you see, money is never the problem. But, it is our attitude about money. If we give more money for frivolous things than we do in the offering plate, we may need an attitude check.

Jesus challenged His disciples to leave EVERYTHING to follow Him. Today, it would be difficult for us to give up our Smart phones, our laptops and our satellite dishes. After all, many of us cannot even give an hour to pray or fast a meal, let alone fast a week. So, I wonder, while we live in such a materialistic world, what, if anything, would we be willing to leave behind as we pick up the cross to follow Him?

We may live in a “material world”, but we have the ability to choose to NOT be “material girls.”

“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” –Matthew 6:24

Whom (or what) will you serve?

THANKFUL THURSDAY...forgiveness and mercy

I remember watching Sesame Street with my children when they were young. Often, they sang a song on the TV show that went something like this...

"One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong." "Cake - Pie - Pudding - Motor Oil"

It was always fun to watch my kids pick out what they thought did not belong. If we as Christians could play that game, it might sound something like this:

"Mercy - Kindness - Compassion - Unforgiveness" "One of these things is not like the others, one of these things doesn't belong."

It is difficult to forgive others without mercy. Today, what I am giving God thanks for is His forgiveness and His mercy. And praying that I could have such mercy towards others.

"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven." Luke 6:36-37

PRAYER: Dear Lord, give me the ability to forgive others. Even when others hurt me or do me wrong, may I extend mercy to them just as You have extended to me. May Your love shine not only upon me but thru me. AMEN.

I am so blessed to have been your host for THANKFUL THURSDAY this month, next month you can find us over at Iris's place. Won't you join your grateful heart with ours today?

THANKFUL THURSDAY...Cleaning up the dust!

Dust mites love dead skin and some of the best places they feast on are pillows, bed covers, and blankets. This is not meant to freak you out, (but it may have). It is more to share the spiritual analogy between “dust” and “sleepy Christianity”.

Isaiah 52 says, “Awake, awake! Shake yourself from the dust, arise!”

I suppose we could say that sometimes we become sleepy Christians or dusty ones.

For the past 11 years I have operated a cleaning service business and one thing that I attack is DUST!  One thing that I have come to learn about dust is this.... it only comes from one thing - neglect! If we neglect our daily/weekly cleaning routine,  a build up of dust is inevitable.

As Christians, we must not neglect our clean up routine, otherwise our neglect will result in...

  * A dusty Bible, A dusty Prayer Closet and dusty, nasty Attitudes.

I am so thankful for the power of God's cleansing pledge, the cleaning power that wipes away every particle of unwanted dust in our hearts and minds. So friends, lets get on board with Isaiah and ARISE!

Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and I am glad for Gods cleansing power! How about you? What are you grateful for today?

But He knows...

As I read 1 Peter 1:7, I see that trials are only tests of our faith…

In Job, Job records his search for God…

“I go east, but He is not there. I go west, but I cannot find Him. I do not see Him in the north, for He is hidden. I turn to the south, but I cannot find Him.” (Job 23:8,9)

It may have seemed to Job that God had abandoned him. All of his efforts to find God’s presence in his turmoil led to nothing. Well, until we come to verse 10, which says,

“But He knows…”

Job acknowledges that God does know his state, and if God knows, then He MUST be near!

“But He knows where I am going, and when He has tested me like gold in a fire, He will pronounce me innocent.” (Job 23:10-12)

Hardly seems like words of anxiety or fear. In fact, Job expresses from his heart that he has an assurance of God’s faithfulness even despite of his trouble.

The question I would like to leave with you tonight is “Has God ever failed you before?”

I know. He has never failed me either. So, why would He fail us now? His faithfulness of the past is also the peace of our present and future.

 

Make me a sincere Christian!

Genesis 17:1 "And when Abram was ninety years and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram and said unto him, 'I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be thou perfect.' "

PERFECT?

What does God really mean when He tells us to be perfect?
The word “perfect” actually has the meaning of “sincerity.” To be sincere, not to be masked or to present yourself as something you are not. In ancient times, when someone would go to the potter’s house to buy a clay vessel, they would choose a beautiful vessel that met their needs and they would set it in the sun for a short period of time. The sun would soon reveal any cracks the potter may have repaired revealing an “insincere” vessel. It appeared to be one thing but all the while it was a damaged vessel.

God wants us to be sincere! To be absolutely honest before Him. If there is a “crack” in our lives, He wants to be the Master Potter and repair it! No other repair job will do. No other potter’s hands can do the work of the Master Potter.

The question is today, do you want to be whole and complete?

The Master Potter wants to mold us, make us and fill in any damaged holes. He is looking for some pure, blameless and complete vessels. May we all be perfect before Him. Sincere in all that we do, think, say and believe.

My prayer is that I could be a SINCERE Christian! How about you?

THANKFUL THURSDAY...one day at a time!

Well, here I am, embarking on the one weekend that nine months ago I was dreading. My baby girl is graduating on Friday night from High School and my son is graduating from college Saturday morning. Two life changing, thrilling, exciting, and bittersweet memories, all wrapped up in less than 24 hours of each other.

This weekend begins my empty nest. All my babies are now completely grown up, making their own decisions and flying, the best they know how to.

I thought that I would be really sad about this turn in my life, but strangely enough, I have a peace in my spirit and in my heart. Sadness is replaced with a joy of the time that I have been blessed with four great kids who now are making their own mark in their world. This momma is so proud and blessed.

I know that as both Anna ventures off to college and Jeremy ventures off into the work world, both of them, along with our two other grown children will make a difference wherever they go, whatever they do. For they have the Lord on their side. Placing each decision, each step and each adventure in Gods hands. I can't think of any other possible wish a momma could wish for.

"Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

For me, as the house becomes silent, and the all I have is memories of days gone by, I will take one day at a time, remembering all that was and looking ahead for all that will become.

Aren't you thankful for the memories that God has given you? I am. Today is THANKFUL THURSDAY and I am glad that you have joined us.