Death to the Shopper

James 3:16 “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.”

I love reading The New Yorker when I have time.  There are some very interesting articles I’ve read and most of them really get my gears turning.  I’ve always hated shopping.  If I have to go, I know specifically what I’m looking for and I’m in and out.  Big crowds just aren’t my thing, especially when you’re fighting those crowds for something as ridiculous as a t-shirt.  I decided to allow myself the pleasure of reading a few articles this morning.  The first one I clicked on were horror stories about shopping.  I thought to myself, “More ammo to fight against it.”  As I began reading, my heart was deeply saddened for the desperate people.  Thanksgiving day, 2008, 2,000 people lined up outside a Wal-Mart to take advantage of the huge sale happening at the store.  The people in line were acting like savages to make sure they got what they wanted.  To shorten the story, people died because of the greediness of the crowd that day.  Reading this you’re probably thinking how terrible that is, right?  It’s pathetic and disgusting is what it is.  We’re willing to trample each other for material objects.  Things that may not even work in a year!  But we got what we wanted, right?  We hear about people getting trampled all the time in crowds.  I wait every black Friday for news of people getting hurt.  What is it for?  We’re unwilling to go out of our way to help someone on the street but, boy howdy we’re willing to risk our lives to get a shirt.  This world is backwards and it baffles me to see what we as humans are capable of.   

(To read the full story on your own, refer to the link I have provided.) http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/02/07/110207fa_fact_seabrook

Luke 12:15 “Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Sidetracked

Proverbs 4:27 “Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.  Look neither right nor left; leave evil in the dust."

My mom is really bad about getting sidetracked.  Even in the middle of a sentence she will forget to finish what she’s saying. We’ll ask her something and she’ll trail off because her attention got off on her computer.  We all laugh and get her attention back so we can reiterate the question for the answer.  Sometimes she will be so in her world I can sit two feet from her and say mom 7 times in a row and she won’t even notice I said anything.  We need to be like this in our walk with Christ.  We need to be so focused on the road He has us on that nothing can get our attention off.  We were only created to serve God and long after Him.  Don’t let the details of this world take that striving out of your heart.  Let that fire he created us with burn inside you until it consumes you-until it consumes those around you.  We all get focused on things we find so important to us and God is sitting two feet from us, calling our names over and over again.  We’re oblivious to His call because we have our head stuck in what we’re running after.  We don’t even notice His voice.  There’s a song that says, “Hallelujah, this is why I was made.”   The word hallelujah means, God be praised.  That is our only purpose on this earth.  God will find a way to get your attention if you don’t slow down and listen to His call.  If I were you, I wouldn’t wait until that point.  Embrace the reason you’re alive and praise God with everything you have.

Romans 14:18 “Your task is to single-mindedly serve Christ.  Do that and you’ll kill two birds with one stone: pleasing the God above you and proving your worth to the people around you.”

Reading the Person

Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger."

I have a terrible habit of being super blunt.  When someone asks me about making a decision or tells me about a decision they’ve made I reply in a very open manner.  I have a girl who reads this devotion that I’m going to use as an example.  We have a lot of conversations every Wednesday and Sunday night.  She usually knows what I will tell her if she ends up making a mistake.  This is my basic reply for anytime she messes up, “Don’t be stupid.  Knock it off.”  This works for her.  I know I can be that blunt with her and it helps her.  There are other people I know that would probably never come back to church or talk to me again if I were that blunt or harsh with them.  We need watch how we talk to people because our words can drive them away rather than bring them closer to Christ.  We have a responsibility to approach them in a loving manner.  With that girl, she knows I love her by choosing to be dead honest with her rather than dancing around the truth.  With other people, they need a gentle, reassuring approach to let them know they’re truly forgiven.  People will repent before God but won’t feel fully whole until they receive forgiveness from those around them they respect.  Don’t jump into a conversation with your fleshly words on your tongue.  Let God’s refreshing, fulfilling words come from your mouth so that people may leave you feeling refreshed rather than burdened.  

Ephesians 4:2 "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love."

Reminders

Colossians 3:9-11 “You're done with that old life. It's like a filthy set of ill-fitting clothes you've stripped off and put in the fire. Now you're dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom-made by the Creator, with his label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ.”

Doesn’t it feel great when you’ve gotten through something and you’re finally finished with it?  I had this assignment a couple of years back, in one of my education classes.  It had been posted for weeks but I flat out didn’t want to do it.  I usually was very good at doing my work early and hardly ever waited until last minute unless it was out of my hands.  It came down to the last day it could be turned in.  I got in front of my computer all ready to go.  I opened the assignment, read it, and stared.  I finally just jumped into it and finished, telling myself the whole time that there was money at the end of this education tunnel.  Every time I’m reminded of that assignment, I get that dreaded feeling again and am so thankful that it’s over.  I believe this feeling can bleed over into mistakes we’ve made in our life.  Once God has brought you out of your mistakes and given you a clean start, you’re overjoyed to have it over with.  Once we’re reminded of a mistake, those old feelings of being dirty or weighed down seem to creep over us.  They bring back the gross feelings of our past and it’s disheartening.  We need to remember that God has taken that from us and it’s no longer a part of who we are it was a part of who we were.  It’s been brought into the light which means it’s no longer covering our light.  Don’t let the shadows of past mistakes cloud the light of God shining from your renewed, pure heart.  When someone brings up a mistake you have made or you are reminded of it, proudly say, “God has made me new and that is no longer a part of who I am.”  It gives me goosebumps just typing that.  I’m telling you, come back from the depths of the crap you’re in and let God renew you.  I can say from experience, it hurt like nobody’s business and I had to regain trust but it was worth it.  The feeling of that regained trust and freedom, I realized, was something I had missed. The feeling of being separated from my God, I realize, I have never missed.

Romans 6:17-18 “Offer yourselves to sin, for instance, and it's your last free act. But offer yourselves to the ways of God and the freedom never quits. All your lives you've let sin tell you what to do. But thank God you've started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!”

Nothin' Hidden

James 5:16 “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed.”

I grew up in a good, Christian home.  Our beliefs got deeper and deeper as I grew older.  We were involved in a lot of ministries and because of that I was expected to be an example for those that we interacted with.  When I began my rebellious stent, I hid everything I did because I was ashamed and didn’t want everyone to see what I had done.  After all, I was supposed to be this sweet, little angel, right?  I woke up every day in fear that someone was going to figure out my secrets and I was going to have to face the real me.  I fell into a bad depression and I was miserable.  One day, my mom and I got into a fight and I just broke down in tears and yelled out everything I had done.  I was so broken that I didn’t care anymore I just wanted to be free from the weight that was dragging me down.  From that day, I have not hidden one thing.  Even if it seems small and ridiculous, I tell it to one of my family members anyway.  It will literally drive me insane if I keep anything in.  I used to hate being corrected and nobody enjoys it, but lately, I find myself more enjoying the corrections I hear rather than hating them.  I allowed God to bring me to the point where only He mattered and no one else.  Even though I try really hard, I will still have family members approach me and ask me to clarify things.  They know I don’t want to keep things hidden so they keep me accountable and help me make sure everything stays in the light.  I’ve been there and I can tell you, it feels amazing to not be weighed down by fears and secrets.  Tell someone that you respect about anything you feel you’re hiding.  You won’t miss out on the consequences of your actions but, the joyful, liberating feeling that floods your soul when it’s all unhidden makes it all worthwhile. 

Proverbs 12:15 “Fools are headstrong and do what they like; wise people take advice.”

Uneven Friends

Proverbs 18:24 “There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.”

I always end up putting things into levels or stages.  For example, with the people I know, I put them in levels of how close I am to them.  My levels basically go acquaintances, friends, good friends, and best friends.  Acquaintances are people I recognize enough to be able to say hello to.  Friends are the people I can stop and chat to but only discuss basic things with such as weather.  Good friends are the people I’ve known for a while and hang out with here and there.  Best friends are the people I can tell anything and trust with anything.  I’m not one to have more than one best friend at a time.  This is, of course, not counting my mom.  A best friend is an important responsibility.  They influence you and you influence them.  You encourage them and they encourage you.  It’s a support system, like adding a sibling to the family.  If you have a friend that’s not on the same level with you, things could get rocky. I am a very busy woman, I admit it.  I am constantly on the go and don’t often have time to go out and do anything.  I’m also very adamant about my faith which leads into me being careful of the movies I watch, the music I listen to, the places I go, and the holidays I celebrate.  I have a best friend who is the same way.  We both are on the same level and understand each other’s ambitions and beliefs.  We keep each other accountable and encouraged.  If we weren’t on the same level it would be hard for us to understand each other and to know when to keep each other accountable.  It would be hard to influence one another in the right way if our beliefs didn’t match up.  It would be a tipsy support system.  Any relationship you have in your life can influence you, make sure that that influence matches the convictions God has laid on your heart.

Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.”

Curiosity Killed the Cat

Hebrews 11:1 “The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see.”

I love puzzles.  I like to be challenged to figure something out.  If I can’t figure it out, it drives me insane until I do.  The other day, my friend and I were discussing a funny commercial we had remembered from when we were younger.  We both could remember every word to a song they sang in one of the commercials from the company but could not recall what company it was.  We tried using YouTube and still couldn’t locate a copy of the commercial or the name of the company.  After talking to a couple of family members, we figured it out.  I will often wake up in the middle of the night with a great revelation.  The last revelation I had wasn’t for something important by any means but it helped me sleep better once my mind conjured up the answer.  I recognized the voice of a cartoon character and couldn’t figure out where I had heard it before.  About 3 in the morning, I woke up out of a dead sleep with the answer.  I believe we all have that urgency to figure out the unknown and that sometimes will hinder us from fully believing in God.  We want to know and if we can’t figure it out it drives us crazy.  We aren’t meant to fully know and understand everything God does because He wants us to have faith.  It’s easy to see and believe but it takes more effort to trust when your eyes can’t take it in.  It’s said that curiosity killed the cat.  If we get so curious that we just can’t let go of the fact we can’t know everything and refuse to fully believe because of that, our curiosity will only bring us death.

1 Corinthians 2:6 “God's wisdom is something mysterious that goes deep into the interior of his purposes. You don't find it lying around on the surface.”

Peek-A-Boo

1 Thessalonians 5:22 “Abstain from evil [shrink from it and keep aloof from it] in whatever form or whatever kind it may be.”

I adore watching little kids play.  I used to know a little boy who would cover his eyes and exclaim, “You can’t see me!”  He thought just because he couldn’t see you that you couldn’t see him.  It was the cutest thing because he was so adamant about the fact that you couldn’t see him, even when you tried to explain to him you could.  He had such a childlike thought process about it.  When we mature and our mind develops, we realize that just covering our eyes doesn’t make things go away and it doesn’t make us invisible to what’s happening on the other side of our hands.  No matter how bad we want to believe that it does, it doesn’t.  We can choose to be blind to the truth of what’s going on around us.  We can cover our eyes and force ourselves to believe it isn’t there but, all that does is make us naïve and childish.  Uncover your eyes and realize the evil happening around you so you can be ready to take it on.  The bible says to flee all appearance of evil.  If you cover your face, you become blind and you are left defenseless in the line of fire.  We need to uncover our faces and stop acting like pansies.  Evil is real and just because we choose to believe it’s not there, that doesn’t keep it from noticing us and eating its way through our lives.  I don’t know about you, but I would rather know the location of my enemy so I can stay far away.  With hands over our eyes, the enemy has full range to do what he pleases because even in the open, he’s hidden from our view.

Proverbs 22:3 “A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered.”

Death for Life

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

I know I’ve said this a few times but, I really love fall.  I adore watching the leaves turn beautiful colors and then fall to make the ground a blanket of beauty.  Have you ever noticed that they don’t stay that color long once they fall?  They quickly turn an ugly brown and die where they fell below the tree.  What we don’t realize is the death of those leaves is life for the tree.  The leaves decompose filling the soil with nutrients.  The tree then uses its roots to extract these nutrients from the soil so it can continue to live.  In the same sense, Christ came as a beautiful thing but died so we can continue to live.  For nature, it’s a natural process for things to die so that other things can live.  With humans, we don’t have to die so that another person can live-just doesn’t work that way.  Jesus stepped out of the norm and did what isn’t done.  He threw out the natural order of things and provided a new order, one in which we were offered life despite our sins that deserved death.

John 15:3 “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”

Snot Rag

James 4:7-10 ‘So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet.”

Kleenex…I can’t stand when people blow their nose and then leave their used Kleenexes all over the house.  That’s gross.  I was at a friend’s house a very long time ago.  I went to pick up a book and felt something soft underneath it.  I turned it over and realized my hand was plastered on top of a used Kleenex.  Without thinking, I threw the book along with the Kleenex halfway across the room.  It disgusted me so much that I automatically wanted it far away from me.  We should be this exact same way with sin.  When it comes near us or we’re tempted with it, we should be so disgusted with it that we push it far from us, without another thought.  A lot of us have various excuses for why the sin we do have is ok.  No sin is smaller or greater than the other in God’s eyes.  Sin is just as ugly in any form.  Even though the snot was wrapped in a soft, white Kleenex, it was still just as disgusting.  The same goes for sin that comes along looking sweet and innocent.  Don’t be deceived.  Satan comes as an angel of light.  It will look innocent enough but when all is said and done, it’s not.  Don’t’ let any sin enter your life.  Throw it away from you like a nasty snot rag.

 2 Corinthians 11:14-15  “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”

The Mood Chain

Proverbs 15:30 “A twinkle in the eye means joy in the heart, and good news makes you feel fit as a fiddle.”

The other day, a friend and I were discussing the effects of someone’s mood on other people around them.  We decided it was like the food chain except it was the mood chain.  For example, if the boss for a company is in a bad mood, the manager will end up in a bad mood.  If the manager is in a bad mood the employees will end up in a bad mood.  If the employees are in a bad mood then they have a bad attitude when helping the customers.  The customers leave with a cramp in their day which could lead into them being short with their kids, and blah blah blah.  The chain continues and continues.  The bad mood at the end of the chain may not be as bad as it was at the beginning of the chain but, you can still see the effects.  I get annoyed with myself when I get in a bad mood because I know it’s not turning out well for those around me.  People don’t want to be around those who make them feel negative or grumpy.  Everyone is drawn to the person who makes them feel encouraged and positive.  If you don’t have a disposition that allows you to be approachable then how do you expect to use your life as an example of Christ?  Break that grumpy chain and put it in reverse.  Be the cause of a cheerful mood chain. 

Ecclesiastes 3:12 “I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live.”

Sticky Note

Proverbs 28:13 “You can't whitewash your sins and get by with it; you find mercy by admitting and leaving them.”

I love sticky notes.  When you work in a busy office they’re a necessity.  If you need to tell someone in the office something but they’re busy, you can write it on a sticky note, stick it on their desk, and then walk away and forget about it.  God wants to be our sticky note.  Give your junk to Him.  Let Him handle it for you so you can walk away and forget about it, relying on Him to take care of it.  If you go back and pick up the sticky note, how can He help you?  If I went back and took the sticky note off my fellow employee’s desk, how are they going to be able to help me?  Let God do His thing.  Just like you let sticky notes do their job, allow God to do His job with your problems.  My dad has a line in his new song that says, “I’m too weak to do this on my own but, I’m too strong to leave it alone.”  Don’t be so stubborn that you can’t let go and let God.  You’ll find out that being stubborn isn’t being strong and your weakness isn’t so small. 

Psalm 103:12 “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”

In the Land Where Time Doesn't Exist

2 Peter 3:8 “Don't overlook the obvious here, friends. With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day.”

Ah yes, the land where time doesn’t exist.  I feel as if this “land” could be my workplace some days.  Yesterday we were so busy I had sticky notes lining up on my desk like an army of ants.  The poor work-study was getting overwhelmed trying to organize the flow coming into my office.  Nobody realizes the time flying by and nobody cares for that matter.  I’ve always tried to figure out how that would feel every day, not caring about the time because you’re so absorbed in what you’re doing.  To God, a thousand years is like a day and a day is like a thousand years.  I can imagine how heaven will be, all of us praising God with all our might, time a thing of the past and the world we left behind.  God is not of the world and once we make it to heaven, we won’t be either.  Time will no longer matter because all of our focus will be on God in all of His shining glory. 

Revelation 7:9 “I looked again. I saw a huge crowd, too huge to count. Everyone was there—all nations and tribes, all races and languages. And they were standing, dressed in white robes and waving palm branches, standing before the throne and the Lamb and heartily singing: Salvation to our God on his throne! Salvation to the Lamb!”