Mystery and Intrigue

Scripture: And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Luke 2:8-12

Our journey through the Advent Season can never be complete without examining the shepherds who heard about Jesus’ birth from a multitude of angles. First, try to imagine what that might be like… If we were out in a field maybe star gazing or perhaps trying to finish up a job and it had gotten dark, how we would feel if all of a sudden we see an angel with the glory of The Lord shining on them. Can you imagine how scary that would be?

Then I think, wow I sure am glad somebody else saw that, because if I was by myself I am certain I would think I had lost my mind. Either way I would have to go into town and search for a baby lying in a manger. Of course the burning question for me is, would I then believe it or would I write it off as some sort of coincidence?

The very sad fact is that most people do experience a “God-incidence” that they write off as a coincidence. It may not be angles singing in the sky, but it is perhaps a bad car wreck that they walk away from or a cancer they beat. They might at first acknowledge God is a real Savior, but then the shining glory wears off and they soon walk away from the manger looking beyond God in all other areas of their life.

We all tend to forget the mystery and wonder of God in our lives when life goes on normally and without calamity. It takes something miraculous to bring our focus back to the amazing qualities of God. I love that God is willing to do amazing signs and wonders to get our attention. But I fear we overlook him unless he is waving his arms and sending bright lights to speak to us.

You may not have seen an angel this week. You may not have experienced God in an amazing way. However, He is there with all the power and mystery of the virgin birth. God can only be overlooked if we are too busy looking at everything else. We must pause and rejoice in the quiet still moments as well as the miraculous dramatic moments of our lives acknowledging that God is God and worthy to be noticed.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: God of wonder, you have not changed. You are still as mysterious and amazing as you were the day Christ was born. Show us how to rejoice in the midst of our everyday lives. We want to experience the power and wonder of your son, Jesus, today and every day. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Looking for God is the only way we will learn how to recognize him. Ask God to show himself to you.

Love: Want some? Give Some!

I have been asking myself lately how I can love people more. I tell people all the time that they should read The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman because it has changed the way I love people. But I will say that when I examine my love I find that I am still very challeneged to love others the way that will make them truly feel loved. I find myself wanting to withhold love when things do not go my way. I have days where I really don't feel like loving anyone. And then there is the part of me that loves people the way that makes me feel loved. I find myself realizing that I loved them by doing something for them and not telling them they did a good job, or buying them a gift. Love is HARD!



This time of year as good humans we give. We give our time to ring a bell in front of Kroger. We give our money to charities like Angel Tree. We give our talents to decorate and make meals. All of these are noble causes, yet we get together with family and only tolerate one another. We have this desire to do good, yet we do not give our very best to those we claim to love the most. O help us, God!



So how do we refrom ourselves into Abassadors of Christ's love? One verse at a time. However reading and thinking is not enough, we must have a plan. We must go beyond our human capacities to love and cross over into the unlovable zone. You are getting ready to encounter someone in your family in the next 6 weeks whom you do not love well. I dare to venture that you do not even like them.



So the challenge: Phase 1) Set out in the weeks leading up to your "visit" to pray for yourself and that person every day. Ask God to give you mercy and compassion for them. Ask God to teach you how love them the way He does and how to communicate the love of Christ through you to them. Ask God to soften their hearts and help them respond to His love poured out through you.



Phase 2) Plan to do something extra for them when you are together. Suggestions: Ask them to go for a walk (spend some time), go shopping, eat lunch. Cook their favorite dish. Embrace them more than just at the greeting and goodbye. Make an effort to sit next to them. Ask them about their life and really listen (no lip service stuff). Get them a very personal gift you have to really think about giving (not expensive, but thoughtful). Tell them you love them at least 3 times during your visit. DO NOT IGNORE THEM, give them more attention than you ever have before (with discression).



Phase 3) Follow up on them within a month after you are together. Send them a card. Call and just leave a voice mail. Go beyond your normal love capacity with them even after the holiday.



Christ asks us to love above all things. It is easy to love those who are good to you and are easy to love. Even those who are not in Christ love those who are good to them. We can choose to hang out with peope who we like, but God chooses our family for us. He intends for them to teach us how to truly love and forgive. The character of christ can be forged uiin us through our family, if we will allow. God asks us to love those who are difficult to love, not just tolerate them on holidays. You can love, but only through the power of God. Other wise I think the love we give is just like what Beth Moore discribes in her Believing God Study on page 214.



"The One who adopted us into His royal family has called us to live according to our legacy. We are to literally live love. Fuzzy thought, isn't it? But check the verse again {Eph 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.} The very nature of love is sacrifical. In fact, if we're not presently feeling the squeeze and sacrifice of loving, we're probably exercising a preferential, highly selective, self-centered human substitute.



Not only have we been called to live a sacrifical love. At times we may also expend untold self-sacrificing efforts for years and even the rest of our lives without seeing and any apparent fruit. God has called us to love even when - "

we don't want to;
we don't feel like it;
we get nothing obvious in return;
they don't deserve it;
they're not worth it;
the don't even know it;
it makes no difference.
So who is it? Who will love with the love of Christ this Holiday? God, after all, loved you enough to give you Christ.



Leslie Stephens

McMinnville, TN


Prayer: Loving God, I can't love __________________ they way I should. Help me to stop loving them in my flesh and help me to love them they way you have loved me. Soften their hearts adn help them to recieve my love. I need the power of your Holy Spirit flowing through me, so that I can love with the love of Christ. In His name, Amen.


Prayer Tip: Always ask for the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit to flow through you.

Quote Taken from Beth Moore's Believing God Experience a Fresh Explosion of Faith Bible Study workbook Page 214

Valuable Things

Scripture: You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight. Luke 16: 15

If you are a mother, whether you enjoy it or not, you probably spend loads of time in your kitchen. I was thinking this morning about the three most important pieces of equipment in my kitchen aside from the appliances of course and every-day dinnerware. I determined that they were the items I used the most: a pot that I boil water for tea, a mix and pour bowl, and the slim spatula. Stop for a moment and think about what you use the most in your kitchen.

If you were to walk around any kitchen and pick out what you deemed to be the most valuable, you might pick out the most expensive looking items, like a nice mixer or a frilly coffee maker. However in my kitchen you would certainly not pick out the grungy pot where the tea bags steep. It is stained and bent in places. I would not even cook anything else in it because it is dedicated totally to making tea. (Keep in mind I am from the South) My guess is that is the last thing you would pick out to be of value.

The slim spatula is white and is not always perfectly white depending on what I do with it. However, it fits perfectly down inside a can to clean out the contents. It insures the remaining ingredients of any recipe are not left stuck to the last important piece, the mix and pour bowl. I honestly use this bowl every day. I would freak out if I went to try and find it and it was gone.

I was just thinking about how God must have realized that the value of a person or an item is not based on the net value. He took His son, the most valuable thing he had, and disguised him in a barn in a manager. Jesus, the King, did not ever wear jeweled crowns or robes. He always had the appearance of any old Joe. His name in that day was ordinary. You could not have gone into Nazareth and picked out Jesus as a king. He was a very unlikely ruler of any kind.

Inventory in our society puts dollar values on important things. We tend to overlook the valuable things in life until we are met with a reason to take stock of our lives. However when we examine how often we use certain items and realize that we do not want to have to do without them, they suddenly increase in value. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world and is contrary to what the world deems valuable. Much like I can’t fix anything in my kitchen without my mixing bowl, Jesus may not be valuable to you until you are aware of your sin and realize how you can’t do without Him. How much you are using Jesus will tell you how valuable He is to you.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: Amazing God, thank you for seeing the value in the small simple things. Teach me how to value Christ above all things. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Take time to journal your time alone with God, so that you can see how valuable it is to your spiritual growth.

Hidden Beauty

Scripture: Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 1 Peter 2:3-4

I'm reading an interesting book called, “Finding Your Own North Star” by Martha Beck. It was purchased for me by a friend who recommended it to me. While there are certain aspects of the book I cannot agree with, it has made me dig deep and really think about what I believe and who I am at my core. I read this most interesting few paragraphs which made me really think hard about the definition of 'beauty'.
Here is the excerpt for your own consideration...

"When the curtain of social judgment pulls back, it reveals the most amazing beauty.

I first became aware of this phenomenon when I was a college art student. Every few weeks, I'd join this or that group of artists, and we'd all pitch in a few bucks to rent a studio and hire a model. Most of the people we got to pose were college students with bodies that matched the social ideal--slender, fit, perfectly proportioned. (After all, who else would risk standing naked in a roomful of strangers?) And then, one day, we got somebody really different.
She looked well over sixty, with a deeply lined face and a body that was probably fifty pounds heavier than her doctors would have liked. She'd had a few doctors, too, judging from her scars. Shining purple welts from a cesarean section and knee surgery cut deep rifts in the rippled adipose fat of her lower body. Another scar ran across one side of her chest, where her left breast had once been. When she first limped onto the dais to pose, I felt so much pity and unease that I physically flinched. But we were there to draw her, so I picked up a pencil.

The thing about drawing is that you can't do it well with your social self. You have to bring out your essential self, which doesn't know anything about social stereotypes. And so, as I began to draw this maimed old woman, the most amazing thing happened. Within five minutes she became a person of absolutely wondrous beauty. She didn't look like a supermodel; she didn't have to. Her body, in and of itself, was as beautiful as a piece of polished driftwood, or a wind-carved rock, or a waterfall. My essential self didn't know that I was supposed to compare the woman to various movie stars, any more than it would have evaluated the Andes Mountains by judging how much they looked like an Iowa cornfield. It simply saw her as she was: an exquisite sculptural form.

When this perceptual shift happened, I was so surprised that I stopped drawing and simply stared. The model seemed to notice this and without turning her head, looked straight into my eyes. Then I saw the ghost of a smile flicker across her face, and I realized something else: She knew she was beautiful. She knew it, and she knew that I'd seen it."

Ok...this made me think of all the times I've found rocks and old driftwood and rusty things with holes in them and brought them home as my treasures, because they are treasures to me! Why do we hate our own flaws and faults? Why can't we see them as unique markings that set us apart and make us more valuable to someone who values true beauty? I love driftwood. I love rusty things with holes and sometimes, I even bring home things that are just a piece of it's former self. It's artistic to me!

I wrote this as a reminder to us all....Don't overlook the beauty all around you!...or even in yourself...

Dian Burch
Loudon, TN

Prayer: Almighty give me eyes to always see things and people the way you see them. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Take a time for silent meditation during your prayer time. You will not regret the silence.

Book Reference: “Finding Your Own North Star” by Martha Beck

Hiding Places

Scripture: Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Psalm 139:7

There is a song that I love. The music beacons a certain emotion. The lyrics are sneaky and at first you are unsure what David Wilcox is really even singing about. But over time I learned that “How Did You Find Me Here” is really a question I ask so often of God. Why does He even bother looking for me, because I stray so far off from the narrow path?

The lonely places in life can be so far removed from God or so it seems. But all the while He is the hunter. I am so often not just lost from the path I am actually hiding from God; much like Adam and Eve did in the garden. I just would rather him not see me like this. Then all of a sudden He taps me on the shoulder or more likely I feel him behind me. O goodness God, don’t look at me, how did you find me here?

I marvel at his relentless pursuit. Even in the mundane actions of life I look up and He is there: the laundry room, the grocery, the pick-up line, Wal-Mart. How many times have I just simply over-looked Him. I know I have looked straight through him and never even noticed Him. O but wait there you are, how did you find me here?

I have learned that I was not lost or hiding or away from him. He knows right where I am all the time. I am counting on that. He is right there behind me, you sneaky Dad… Thanks.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnvile, TN

Prayer: Pursuing God, thank you for never leaving me or forgetting where I was or am. I am so grateful for your constant love that keeps you hot on my trail. Amen.

Prayer Tip: Stop and think of where you saw or experienced God today. If you feel like you overlooked Him ask for eyes to see Him more clearly next time.
You might like to hear the song…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1XgiADRdr8&feature=fvsr

Crying Rocks!

Scripture: When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples!" "I tell you," he replied, "if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out." Luke 19:37-40

I love adventures. Anytime you go anywhere with 4 guys, it is always an adventure. My family recently had the pleasure of going to a local attraction called Cumberland Caverns. It is 32 miles of underground cave passageways and caverns. I am only brave enough to go where the electricity runs and the faint of heart tours take you. But that was enough to totally convince me that nothing is impossible for God!

Down under the earth about 400 feet we saw amazing rock formations and interesting sights some of which where breath-taking. They have a light show that tells the creation story and really brings out the marvel in your surrounding landscape. While watching the light show and listening to the creations story I was struck with total amazement of how big God really is. He left no detail to chance. Even the depths of the earth hold his glory. Without a doubt these rocks do indeed cry out and speak volumes about the glory of our great and powerful God!

So the question I raise is why do I fret and concern myself over the details of my life? I mean if God can swirl water underground to form caverns that hold life and support an entire ecosystem, He can surely manage the small details of my life.

I have some people in my life right now who are enduring some very difficult circumstances. These circumstances at times overwhelm me, so I know that they are feeling hopeless. However, I was so encouraged when I realized how much care God took with this cave. It took him thousands of years to form it in its entire splendor, yet He did not stop. In fact, He is still forming it! Hallelujah! God will not stop fashioning our lives to bring about His glory. Everything that we endure is only one more opportunity for us to direct our and other people’s attention to the author and giver of life.

Try and find something in nature that is not a marvel: the butterfly, the frog, the dessert, the mountains, the galaxy, a cave… The list goes on forever. If God cares for these things with such detail, He has not overlooked your life today.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: God of Creation, teach me to trust in your ability to make my life a living testament to your goodness. Amen.

Prayer Tip: When you are feeling discouraged meditate outside somewhere. God’s creation cries out to proclaim his power and might. You will not be disappointed in the encouragement you find there.

Gracious Reminders

Scripture: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-7

I love the way God sometimes sends us stark messages. There are so many times I grow discouraged in my work for God. I get to thinking that even though I know He raised up Prayers For The People You Love and He means for it to touch many lives, that I am not doing what God would have me to do. I grow pitiful and begin to doubt these promises. Then my loving God will send me a giant word of encouragement many times it comes as one of your orders, but sometimes it is more unsolicited than that.

Before we started our move I got a small envelope in the mail with what appeared to be child’s handwriting on the front. I did not recognize the name, but it was written with great care. Upon opening the letter I discovered that the young girl had received a prayer as a gift. She did not know me and had not been in touch with the person who gave her the prayer. Yet she must have needed to reach out to someone familiar. She needed a friend and she thought that I must have been one to do that prayer for her. Little did she know that she, in her broken penmanship, wrote me a lovely letter of encouragement.

I sat down to write her back today and even though it only took a moment I realized that I have failed to write many of you to tell you how much you mean to me. Writing a note does not take long and I know in the world of quick email-cell phone fixes we have cheapened our communication at times. I am sorry if I have not written to you personally like I should have and I pray that you will receive this young girl’s letter as your own. For each of you have helped give another prayer beyond the one you bought.

Your challenge is to take about 10 minutes this week and write a hand-written note to someone to let them know how they have touched your life for Christ. It will be rewarding for both of you. I always love it when God reminds me and fans the flame of His gifts in me.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: Thoughtful God, thank you for sending us just the encouragement we need to move forward in our faith. We know that you do not intend for us to remain in discouragement. Teach us to be encouraging to others when we ourselves are discouraged. Amen

Prayer Tip: One of the best ways to find encouragement in Christ is to pray for other people’s needs. When you feel discouraged do not focus on your needs, focus on the needs of others.

Certain Change

Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails. Proverbs 19:21

Another school year is closing in on us as we come to the end of the summer. However, it seems like the summer ends too quickly. And really it does end much sooner than it did for me as a child. I can remember when school did not start back until after Labor Day, funny how things change. That is the thing that I have been pondering most in the last few weeks. Change is always something that we know will happen, yet when things change it can be overwhelming.

If 5 years ago you had told me that the only house I ever knew growing up would burn to the ground, that I would loose my mother to cancer, that the family furniture store of 40 years would be closing, that we would have a new baby, that my husband would begin seminary and go into full-time ministry, and that we would be moving to Warren County, I would have probably said no how, no way! All that information 5 years ago would have been way too much change. I am learning that I am on a need to know basis with God. If I had known all the pain and sorrow that all this change would bring, I might have missed the joy and excitement for fear of the change. As difficult as all this change has been, it has brought so much joy and peace to our lives.

God’s plans are not ours. We can’t see the big picture and even if we could our understanding is so much smaller than God’s that we probably still could not agree with all that God decides is best for us. I am thankful that God is sovereign and that we can trust in His plan not only for our life, but also for everyone who loves Him and is called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) I am not sure how I could have handled any of the changes in my life had it not been for knowing that truth.

So let’s just go ahead and decide that this week is going to bring change. Some change will be good and some not so good, but all change will be part of God’s plan for us. The next thing we need to decide is that we will praise Him no matter what. No matter what change comes, no matter how we perceive that change, we will praise Him for He is God, and worthy of our praise. No change will ever change that.

Leslie Stephens
McMinnville, TN

Prayer: O great and sovereign God, your ways are higher than my ways, and I want to trust you no matter what comes my way this week. Amen!

Prayer Tip: Remind yourself of who God is and who you are in Christ every time you pray. Perspective will be a great source of encouragement for you.

Lessons From The Garden

Scripture: Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10

My daughter is about to be married on July 3rd. The rehearsal dinner will be held at our home with a BBQ and fireworks to include about 100 guests! As you can imagine this is a very busy time for our family. There has been quite a long ‘to do’ list at our house since early spring in order to get our outdoor spaces in proper condition for such a celebration. I asked my husband to forego the planting of a garden this year because I felt there would not be ample time to keep it weeded and to do the usual harvesting and preserving of our bounty. So, of course, my husband planted, not one, but two gardens.

My husband has a job where he often works out of town all week and is home only on weekends, which makes that ‘to do’ list even more daunting. This morning I trudged out to the garden at 7am to pick the beans which he had been unable to get picked over the weekend. It was already a muggy 82 degrees at that early hour as I began to pick on the 1st row. As I went along, I found some very large beans at the base of the plants which were obviously missed in the first picking performed by my 14 year old son. Those kind of beans are tough, so I just tossed them over the fence. As I progressed down the row, I scooted my stool along and from time to time I would glance back at the area I had just picked and find a few more beans I had missed on the first pass. I, then, understood how my son could have missed those beans I found when I started picking. It doesn’t seem to matter how thorough one might try to be, there are always those few things that just get overlooked until you look back and realize it was there all along. I was amazed how many times I thought I had cleaned an area out of all the ripe beans, only to lift up another vine and find a massive bunch hidden among the leaves. It took a determination to search and search, and then search again.

As I was observing these things about the obscurity of beans on a bean stalk, it made me think about all the times in life that I’ve thought I understood a matter fully, only to find in hindsight that I really was missing a lot of important information which would have brought me to a greater understanding. Looking back is a very important tool for learning. Hindsight is, indeed, 20/20! Take the time today to reflect over some situations from your past and be honest with yourself about what you find. It could very well reveal some hidden things which would greatly improve your harvest for the future!

Dian Burch
Loudon, TN

Prayer: Almighty God, thank you for planting good seed in our heart. Help us to always be reflective to see what you have done, and to find all the hidden things growing on our vine of faith. Amen!

Prayer Tip: Take a silent time of reflection during your prayer time and allow God to speak to you about things that may have been hidden during your busy day.

Floods of Mercy and Grace

Scripture: For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 28:11


I watched with unbelief as the flood waters rose in Nashville over the weekend and middle Tennessee received over a foot of rain in some places. The record amounts of rainfall sent creeks over roadways and shut down more than 50 roads in the Metro Nashville area. A flood indeed!

It is so hard during a natural disaster of such magnitude to see that God is in control. It is easy to second guess His provision for your life and wonder why it would be some many people’s fate to suffer such a devastating loss. I hope you will consider thinking differently about suffering and the mercy of God.

There were literally thousands of people who called on God to help them that may not have otherwise stopped to acknowledge God on Saturday. Many times it takes something devastating for us to stop relying on ourselves and start relying on God. We have limited control of most every situation, but we like to exercise that independence. That is, until we feel that the situation is well beyond our control.

God does not desire to harm us. His desire is for a relationship with us. He will use any means possible to bring about that in our lives. His desire is that we turn to Him first in every situation. The things that Satan intends to destroy us, God hopes will drive us into His everlasting arms.

I am certain God’s mercy was as powerful a force as the rising water was in TN. No doubt there was a flood of God’s mercy amidst the rain. My sincere pray is that through this difficult time that many will come to experience God and his amazing power. That through this disaster, God will reveal himself to the people of Tennessee and that they will stop and acknowledge their desperate need for a Savior.
What circumstance will God use to get your attention this week? If you will allow Him, He will use every aspect of your life to draw you closer to Him.

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Amazing God, be with the people of this state who are experiencing devastation. Make your presence known to them and be their God. Do not let us place our material possessions on the throne of our hearts. Amen.

Prayer Tip: When praying for our nation always ask God to use the circumstances to bring people to know Him more.

A Pinch of Sin

Scripture: "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? Matthew 7:3

How do we measure sin? I think we do it by judging others. O how easy it is to look at someone else’s sin and make ourselves feel better about our own sin. I mean after all we are not cheating on “our” husband. I have not “intentionally” cheated on our taxes. I have never “killed” anyone for goodness sake. Never mind the fact that I judged all the people who have done these things either in private or in public by just a quick wave of the pen.

The beauty shops are full of sinners, just dying to tell what they just heard from their last cut and color. Does that make them awful? Yes! But then again we are awful. The bible says even our best is like filthy rags for goodness sake!

So how do we stop passing judgment and carrying it into gossip? First of all we must recognize that being able to simply see and identify sin itself is a gift from God. Without divine grace we aren’t capable of even knowing what is right and what is wrong. If you haven’t watch MTV since they played videos, you should try it sometime. The youth of today have no idea what is sin. Because everything is acceptable! If you know that the things you see going on around you are sinful, then the first thing you should do is stop and thank God for eyes to see right from wrong.

Secondly, you should purge your own heart. Begin to search your heart to find if you have committed that sin either in your mind or in an act against God or someone else. Lastly you should not talk to anyone else about that “fact.” Go to God on behalf of this person you believe is sinning and ask God to have mercy on them and turn them from darkness to light.

Spiritual sight is a gift. It is called discernment and should be used to build others up and set them free. If we use it like a salve to make us feel better about ourselves, then we have turned what God meant for good into a distorted tool that covers up sin instead of exposing it to bring healing.

Am I guilty? You better believe it! Lord have mercy on us all, sinners everyone!

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Amazing God, before we were sorry you died for our sin. Give us eyes to see sin and turn from it. We want to lead others to the Savior. Amen!

Prayer Tip: Never exit a prayer time without asking God to reveal your sin and set you free.

The Queen of Denial

Scripture: 25 As Simon Peter stood warming himself, he was asked, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?” 26b Didn’t I see you with him in the olive grove? 27 Again peter denied it. At that moment a rooster began to crow. John 18

Holy Week always brings me to a place of self-examination. I like to reflect on the sacrifice Christ made for me personally. Also Easter kind of spot lights the characters for me. I try to put myself in the place of one of them and look at my own life in relation to theirs. How did they behave? How am I behaving?

Peter is an obvious choice. He is the beloved disciple. He is the one that Christ is said to have loved the greatest. He is a passionate dude. He got to walk on water. He cut off the guy’s ear in the garden when Jesus was arrested. He is also the one highlighted as the ultimate coward. He denied Christ not once, not twice, but three times in less than 12 hours!

I have looked at him closely on more than one occasion. I have wondered how someone could walk down the dusty roads of Jerusalem with Jesus and see with his own eyes the miracles, then be so afraid that he could be left powerless enough to deny ever knowing Christ.

This week as I asked these questions and looked closely at Peter’s life, I went to the bank to make a deposit. As I started to pull away from the window the kind clerk told me she had written my balance on the envelope. After the deposit, I still had a negative balance! O gosh! I had obviously miscalculated. I panicked! I did not have time to rush home and find the grave error, but I had kept out some cash to get me through the week. I gave her back the cash in hopes to get it all straightened out soon.

As I drove away from the bank I was so frustrated with the constant strain of everyday life that I began to cry. I started asking myself questions: How will I get this problem solved? When I do, will it just come up again? Do I need to change my plans and just go get a “real” job? I felt hopeless and afraid for my future. I called my husband and flew into him like he could solve the crisis with the wave of his hand.

Almost immediately I realized that I had reacted just like Peter. In the face of crisis I had gotten afraid. I had denied the power of God and lost hope for my future. Believe me, I have done that more than three times over my finances alone. I should be different standing on the other end 2000 years later. I know Jesus rose from the dead, Peter did not, yet I still responded the same way. I was afraid, frustrated, and hopeless. How many more times have I denied the power of God at work in my life? Way more than Peter, no doubt.

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Jesus, thank you for dying for my sin of unbelief even before I had the chance to let you down. Help me overcome my unbelief. Amen

Prayer Tip: Pick any bible character and repent for the sins you find them committing during your prayer time. We are all guilty of most every sin.

There is something in my finger

Scripture: If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. Matthew 18:8

Have you ever had splinter and needed help getting it out? I always have to turn my head because if I don’t, I will flinch when I anticipate the needle stick. Some people are so bad that they will pass out just at the thought of a needle stick. When I give blood I have to turn my head, if I don’t I will retreat out of fear of the stick.

Spiritual sticks are no different. God in his mercy treats us much like a careful physician. He examines the thorn we have in our flesh very carefully. He will shine the light of his Word and Son to help illuminate the area. He will pinch it up between his fingers and really expose the thorn well. But then just when he sticks the needle up to dig that thing out, we flinch and retreat! We know that once it is gone it will feel so much better, but we know that the process of giving over to the great physician will probably induce some pain.

Have you ever had something in your finger that you can’t even hardly see and it will fester and get sore? You know something is there but it takes a few days for you to confirm that yes there is indeed a little thorn in there. When you get it removed it may be smaller than the head of a pencil and I have wondered how in the world something so small can cause so much irritation.

O, I am thankful that God will make us uncomfortable in our sin. The Holy Spirit will bring conviction to us. It may only be a little tinge of pain, but you know it. That familiar feeling of, I have something wrong. At first it may not seem big enough to dig out, but after ad few days of that thing in there, you know it. Yes, I must let Him dig it out! Do not give in to your urge to retreat this week. Stick that flesh out there and ask Him to dig that splinter out!

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Great Physician, do a work on my flesh. Expose the splinter of sin that I may not even be able to see yet and dig it out! Amen!

Prayer Tip: if something makes your spirit squirm, best ask God to show you why.

Holy Matrimony

Scripture: “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” 1 Peter 4:12-13

Many of you do not know me or my story, but I am a 31 year old single girl who has waited a very long time for God’s provision in a husband. Now I stand on the brink of stepping into that blessed covenant we call marriage with the man God has chosen for me. While this is a joyous occasion, any who have planned a wedding know it can be a most stressful time leading up to the big day. Tensions run high between family members and bride and groom as the Refiner’s fire purges those idols that have long lain, unbeknownst to us, in our hearts. It’s a strange time of many mixed and extreme emotions and is made even more poignant in my situation by the fact that I am marrying an English gentleman to settle in his native land. Planning a wedding in itself is stressful, but meshing two different cultures adds a whole new level of compromise and tension and joy and celebration. Needless to say, this process has been one of much growth and discovery seasoned by many trials.

What has become clear to me through this process is that just because we are following God and obeying him, we are not guaranteed a life of ease and bliss. Things are not going to go just as we imagined them in our minds or just as we have dreamt they would be. I think I had been mislead to believe that if I followed God and walked in obedience that things would be as I desired. I believed this was what Christians called being “blessed”. However, if we read in the Bible, we see that being blessed does not always equate happiness and ease in life. One quick read through of the Sermon on the Mount shoots down that idea. Jesus himself says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven….blessed are those who mourn….blessed are those who are persecuted….blessed is you when people insult you….” (Matthew 5:3-11). You call that being blessed???!!! Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to be the ultimate pessimist or cynic by sharing all of this. I’m just seeking to establish within myself a Biblical perspective on my life and a true understanding of what it means to be blessed.

I recently was reminded of a verse that is quite familiar to me but, for whatever reason, hit me from a different angle the other day. It’s 1 Peter 4:12-13 “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.” What hit me was the line “…think it not strange.” I have noticed in myself lately that when something doesn’t go as planned or hoped, my initial response is one of surprise. I find myself asking the question, “Why is this happening to me? I’ve been obedient in seeking and following God’s will! Why would this be going wrong?” I think it strange that I’m experiencing a fiery trial. Who wouldn’t have the same reaction? All of us probably often have similar responses in the midst of a trial. Our initial reaction is to ask why and think it strange.

I was meditating on all of this on my way in to work the other morning, which takes me on a route through a national forest. I was noticing the trees along the way and how they have burn marks half way up their trunks, and I remembered that near this time every year they conduct prescribed burns throughout the forest. I generally expect to see fire and smell smoke on my commutes to and from work every year in early spring. I do not think it strange when I come upon that in the forest, as one might expect me to, because I know that this is the season assigned for prescribed burnings. However, one might be surprised to come across such a scene and be alarmed if they were not aware of the particular season and that there are forestry agents nearby supervising the entire process. I wonder how many phone calls 911 receives that time of year from alarmed motorists in the forest?!

Doesn’t this paint a startling picture for us, though? As believers, we have been “prescribed” fiery trials. We mustn’t think it strange when we experience them. In fact, the Bible commands us to rejoice in them! We should actually feel honored because we are partakers in Christ’s sufferings! As 2 Corinthians 4:10-11 says, “[we are] always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” This is exciting news! When we face these fiery trials, it is to make manifest the life of Jesus in our bodies! Our ultimate end and joy is not found in everything working out according to plan but in the life of Jesus being revealed in our hearts.

A beautiful wedding is much to be desired, but a beautiful Bride of Christ is so much more! I’m sure that my wedding day will be one of celebration and joy and, more importantly, blessed by God. And that blessing, whatever form it may come in, is what my heart longs for more than anything.

Micki Creasman
Clinton, SC

Prayer: Great Bridegroom, Help us realize the trials we are facing are simply grooming us for the great wedding day in which you will return to bring us home with you! Help us to allow these trials to make us beautiful in your sight. AMEN

Prayer Tip: Visualize your self standing before God dressed for a wedding. Imagine how He looks at you in all your wedding day frock. He loves you much more than any mere mortal can.

Scaly Skin

Scripture: Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1

Did you realize that all animals, at regular intervals shed their skin? Humans do it less obviously than say snakes who get rid of their skin in one large piece. Humans actually get a new skin surface about every 28 days or so. There are other species like crabs for instance that move out of their shells and find bigger shells as they grow. Humans do that too, but we call that shopping for a more comfortable size. Ha! Ha!

My sister forwarded these pictures to me that her brother-in-law made. Photos courtesy of Bobby Burch.

Here is this scaly reptile lying in one of the loveliest and softest of God’s creation. What a stark contrast. It struck me in such a way that I had to explore the very idea of this contrast.

I discovered that animals get really grumpy prior to shedding their skin. They will also stop eating as well. The lizard will actually rub itself up against a rock to free itself of its skin or soak in water to help the process along. I also found that there are problem sheds that can cause serious threats to the animal. If the old skin remains then the blood supply can be cut off to that toe or tail and cause it to become deformed or even die!

O my, now the contrast is even more defined as we look at our hearts and lives as humans. The scripture from Romans suggests that we must shed those sins that encumber or entangle us. Let’s view them as skins. They restrict us from growing in Christ. That unconfessed sin is keeping us from growing. Unless we break free of it then we are stuck in the old skin.

When I examined the photos above I thought to myself the lizard seems so relaxed and comfortable. He is unaware of how funny he looks and stands out among the lovely red rose. This must surely be the way we look in the palm of God’s hand. We rest comfortably there and then he asks us to shed that sin, so that we look more like him and we want to wiggle out of that safe place. However if we choose to escape the discomfort of growth we stay trapped in the old skin.

There is no way we can grow in Christ and stay the same! Like this lizard we are only a reptile among roses if we do not conform to God’s will for our lives. Perhaps you are stuck in an old skin. There even may be something in your life that is rubbing you the wrong way to try and free you. Seek God this week about those things that have you entangled. Shed your old skin and step into a new life looking more like a flower in God’s garden. Ask yourself, is this how I look in the palm of God’s hand?

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: Great Creator, I know you designed me in your image. Help me to shed those things that make me less like you, so that I can step into the skin of Christ. Amen

Prayer Tip: Without daily repentance, we may find ourselves comfortable in our sin.

Lamb Chops or Pork Chops?

Scripture: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Isaiah 53:7

I have been going through a difficult time lately. To be honest, I feel that my entire adult life has been difficult, but the past 3 years have been more difficult. It would be too personal to go into the specific details, but suffice it to say that my earthly existence, financially, has been spiraling downward in spite of all my efforts to salvage it. To make matters worse, I own a business which God has tremendously blessed and continues to bless, so I'm working really hard and still making good money but, nonetheless, find myself unable to stop the bleeding.

I've grown increasingly frustrated and angry as I watch my boat (my life) sinking. I want to blame someone. As I become more frustrated and angry, I have also become more impatient and short with others. My relationship with God has suffered, since, obviously I'm not moving in a more godly direction. I have sat many nights and early mornings in my regular place of meeting with God and simply cried, "Oh God, help me!" Deep down, I know that I've done all that I can do and that God is trying to answer earnest prayers that I prayed a long time ago. I have asked him, back in the day, to do whatever it takes to tear down every idol in my heart. I have told him that I want to truly know Him and come to real Christian maturity no matter what he has to do. I have begged God to allow me to see as he sees and to see myself as he sees me. I told God, I want to take the narrow path. I want to become more and more like Jesus. I told him, I want to lose my life for your name's sake. Now it has taken a few years, but I understand from God's instruction about self preservation and "coming out from the world and being separate". I see now how I've loved this world and tried to blend my Christianity with the world's definition of success. The reality of it is plain from my carnal anger that has surfaced as my life has been declining into what the world might call "failure".

Just a few days ago, my husband sent me on an errand for him. He operates a deer processing business and he often makes deer sausage. He purchases his spices from a local meat packing facility that processes hogs. My husband sent me there to pick up some spices for him. It's a huge place with many buildings. It's a family owned business. The people started it at their farm and it has remained in that same location for years. The hogs are grown at the same location in big covered sheds, so all of the process, from birth to death is conducted right there on site. I drove there to fulfill my husband's request. I pulled up to the office and got out of my car. When I did, I could hear the hogs from some other building squealing like bloody murder. I was surprised. I didn't expect that. It sounded like someone was killing them! I went inside to pick up my package and I asked the gentleman who helped me why the hogs were squealing so. I told him, "It sounds like you all are slaughtering hogs back there." He said, "That's right!"

As I drove away, I began to think about those hogs and the term, "squealing like a pig". It reminded me of two scriptures. One, where Jesus said, "Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you." Matthew 7:6 and the other, "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." Isaiah 53:7. I began to meditate on death and the difference between hogs and lambs. I watched a program on TV a few nights later where lambs were being caught out in a field and shorn. As soon as they were captured, they stopped struggling. They just went limp in the arms of the person holding them and they were silent!

The biggest red flag that we are resisting God is our own anger. I've been squealing like a pig as God has been leading me to the place of death. It's what I want in my heart, but it's scary. It is revealing my double minded ways. I'm ashamed of myself.

Dian Burch
Loudon, TN

Prayer: O Great Shepherd, teach me how to lie down in your arms like a lamb. I do not want to resist you and squeal like a pig when you begin to tear down those things that keep me from truly knowing you. Teach me how to be submissive to the work of your mighty hands. Amen

Prayer Tip: Unconfessed sin is a slippery muck that keeps God's hands from molding us into what He desires for us to become. Always make a time for confession of sin each day.

Grateful Meditation

Scripture: Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life—in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing. Philippians 2:14-16

We moved into the house where we are living Labor Day weekend of 2006. I am married to an appliance salesman and my ice maker did not work. It was so irritating and I complained about it constantly for 3 years. We remodeled the kitchen recently and now my ice maker works. I was so excited at first, but quickly began taking that for granted.

During the renovation something happened to my dishwasher and it has not been operable since before Christmas. This week we have had extremely cold conditions here in TN. The drain line to my washing machine froze and busted.

I went from having a broken ice maker to a broken dishwasher and a broken washing machine. As I sat in the laundry mat today, I suddenly had a change of perspective. I watched the television from across the room as the images of the cracked open Haitian capital flashed all over the news. My heart gushed with conviction!

How could I have complained about not having ice? The dishwasher and washing machine are much more important and I had taken them both for granted. But how can I complain about washing dishes when there was a family in Haiti that had never seen a dishwasher? How could I complain about going to the laundry mat when there was a woman in Haiti who washed her clothes in a muddy creek and had no running water? Furthermore, how could I complain about anything when there was a mother trying to find her dead child under the rubble of a school building or wondering what she will eat and drink for the next week or month?

Perspective...

Leslie Stephens
Winchester, TN

Prayer: O God Please forgive me for complaining! Teach me how to be content with what you have given me. Amen!
Prayer Tip: Always open and close your prayer time with thankfulness and praise.