When I was growing up you never knew when someone might shout out in a church service and say "God is good!" Then everyone else would shout back "All the time!" I just have to give a huge shout out to God today. He is so good. It has been a big week-end for us. If you have been following me you may know that we have been given a short period of time to get out of the house we are currently renting and had been trouble finding a new house and getting our financing. Well, as of this weekend we have our financing and are in the works on purchasing a beautiful home! God really worked it all out so perfectly- as He always does. We are not all the way there, but I am giving Him thanks and praise for what He has already done and in advance for what I know He is able to do.
Today is also my son's 10th birthday! It's hard to believe that I could have a ten year old son, time sure does fly. I pray everyday that I will be able to be a Godly example to Him and raise Him to love and serve God.
Also, my in-laws are in town for a short visit- and yes, that is a praise report I have amazing in-laws. They came up because my husband was ordained into ministry yesterday. It was such a great service. My husband and I have been involved in ministry of some kind for our entire marriage and we were both involved in ministry before that as well. I am so very proud of him and his heart for the Lord and for people. I don't think I'll start calling him Pastor though. :-)
What I know and firmly believe is that the Lord is faithful.
Philippians:19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.
Just a few verses up from there it says:
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.
So, what do you need, what are you worrying about instead of praying for? Tell God what you need and don't forget to THANK HIM for what He has done. No matter what you are going through no matter what we face, there is always something to be thankful for.
Family-Friends-Food-Shelter-A Church Family-Grace-Salvation.
Thank you Lord for all you have done and all you have provided!
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God's grace is so amazing, and I am so thankful for it. Grace is God's free gift, His unmerited and undeserved favor and forgiveness. It is never ending. But do you ever think that maybe since it is free and never ending that we take it to lightly or even for granted? We even use it as an excuse to continue in sin? God's desire and will for our lives is to live our lives pure and holy before Him. But we say, "I'm just a sinner, saved by grace." or "I'm only human!" What we really are saying is that we know that a little sin is acceptable, even expected, God's grace will cover us, right?
We should be grieved by our sin. It is the thing that separates us from God, it binds us and holds us captive. Romans 6:1 Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? 2 Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? ....15 Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! 16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. 17 Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. 18 Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. I think we have the tendency to grade our sins on a scale of "mehh, not so bad" to "God will strike you dead!" But to God, sin is just sin. That little white lie you told to cover up what you forgot to do so that you would't get in trouble with your boss or husband. Allowing so many things and people to take the place of God in our lives, and let's not even begin on the topic of gluttony! Our society- and myself included, have turned food into an idol all its own. We can't allow sin to sit and remain in our lives because we let it slide as normal. "Everyone is doing it" is not a valid excuse. So, am I saying that we should start wallowing in self-pity and guilt? NO! God does not condemn us, he offers us grace, freely and continually. But lets not overuse God's grace. Let's strive to live lives that are blameless and pure. Let's not be slaves to our sin, or apathetic to them. We should feel challenged. The idea is not to dwell on the past or our mistakes, but to learn from them and grow in maturity. It may be a little painful at first, but it's a pain that brings growth! We have been saved by grace and we are no longer slaves to sin. We are free! The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church at Corinth that had to deal with some tough issues, but he had a greater purpose in mind. 2 Corinthians 7:8 I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. 9 Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. 10 For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.11 Just see what this godly sorrow produced in you! Such earnestness, such concern to clear yourselves, such indignation, such alarm, such longing to see me, such zeal, and such a readiness to punish wrong. You showed that you have done everything necessary to make things right. Throughout the Bible, when God revealed Himself to different people or in different situations He often revealed a new name for Himself. In Genesis He is the great Creator, to Moses He was I AM, to David He was My Stronghold, My Helper, My light, to Job he was My advocate. He was called the Father to the fatherless, Righteous Judge. My Comforter, The God who Saves, the Lord our Healer, God of Peace, God our Strength, The One Who Sustains Me, The Potter, The Rock, My Refuge. The list goes on and on. This website has a list of over 900 names, titles, and descriptions of God.
In my own life and personal walk with God, He has revealed Himself to me in many ways. He has been my comforter, my guide, God of truth, a refuge, My helper, The God who Saves me, the God who judges righteously and test my heart and mind. I lean on Him every moment of every day and He never fails. As I face new situations and circumstances in my life He continues to reveal Himself to me in new ways. There are times when I need correction and discipline, and He is there. There are times I nee peace and comfort, and He is there. I am so thankful for God and who He is. Right now I am relying on God to be my provider, and I know that He is and always will be. He may not go about things the way that I want or think I need, but thankfully He has a much higher perspective then I do. He can see the endgame and knows what is best for me and my family. Who has God revealed himself to be in your life? Have you walked close enough with Him to know Him at all? There is a difference between knowing about someone, and knowing them personally. I can read all about a person, but until I spend time with them and talk to them I will never learn all there is to know. I can never truly understand their personality or have a relationship with them. We can never learn all there is to know about God, but we can have a relationship with Him. We can learn to know more and more about Him every day. So take a look thorough the list or in the Bible, or just looking back at your life. Who has God been to you? Take some time to thank Him for all He is and all He does.
I was driving around today, praying and listening to some music when God kind of reached out and whacked me. Has that ever happened to you? Right now I am trusting God for a lot of things in my life. And I do, I really do trust Him. I am trying to honor God with my life and follow his commands. So, why did I get a whack upside the head? As I was praying, I felt like God was asking me "Ashley, would you still do all those things(trust, honor, etc) if you knew you wouldn't get the "things" you wanted?" In other words, "Why are you praying, why are you serving Me? Is it so that you will get the things you want?" I know God will provide for me, but am I obeying Him because I want His provision or because I love Him? I am reminded of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abedngo. They wouldn't bow down and worship the idol that King Nebuchadnezzar set up, even when the king threatened to throw them into the fire.
Daniel 3:6-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.” They wanted to honor God with their lives, they trusted that God would rescue them, but then there is that line that I love..."But even if He doesn't, it would make a bit of difference...!" Lord, I Love you. I want to honor you with my life. Even if you don't provide the things that I want on this Earth. Even if I have to go hungry, or face suffering and persecution. Give me that kind of love, faith, and trust. You are the great I AM, the creator of the universe. I don't need you to do anything for me in order to earn or deserve my obedience and trust. The Bible tells us: My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19 But there are days when it seems like God is really not providing. There are times when it seems like He has just completely forgotten us. As good Christians we often put on our best Christian smile and hide the pain. We say, I'm trusting God to provide! But in our hearts we are broken and terrified. Do I have the kind of faith that can have real joy even when I'm in the fire? Do I have the kind of love that can stand and sing praises to God even when I am being burnt? God doesn't ask us to put on a show. He knows your heart, and he doesn't mind when you cast your cares on Him. Just don't treat Him like a vending machine that you just kick and walk away from when it eats your coins and doesn't give you your candy bar. When God isn't providing what you think you need, it's because He has a different plan in mind. That plan might include suffering along the way, but somehow He will work it out for His glory, not for ours. So, I think that is what God wanted to tell me today. His glory and mine are very different things. Even when I don't feel like God is providing for me and even if God's provision looks like a fiery furnace, I will still obey Him, still trust Him, and still love Him. This song Blessing by Laura Story just came to mind, I think it fits - Enjoy! We were driving down the Palmer Wasilla HWY today and passed a church that has one of those marquee signs that always has a short message on it. Today it said something like "Don't judge others just because they sin different then you." Isn't that the truth. We all struggle with different sin, we all have different faults and failures, but when we see something in someone else we like to point out the bad. "Did you see what a mess she is?" "Did you hear how she talks to her husband?" Did you see how she treats her kids?" "I would never....." And there we are, judging others. It's an easy trap to fall into. I try very hard not to judge others, because I know that my own life is so full of faults, failure, and sins that I don't want to be judge by others for. Matthew 7:1“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. 2 For you will be treated as you treat others.The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?4 How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Specks and logs, I'm full of both. We find a little area of pride in our own life, something that we are good at, and we somehow think that makes us better then someone else. Let's strive to be encouragers. Lets make a promise to not be involved in judging or criticizing others. I saw this post from Lysa TerKeurst the other day:
There is a big difference between sins and faults. A fault is having not organizational skills, a sin is If you see a sister in Christ struggling with a sin, it's ok to go talk to her about it in a loving way. We are here to build each other up and help one another face temptations. That's why we have one another.
Ecclesiastes 4: 9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. I want to be someone who helps other people succeed! I want to be an encourager and a true friend, not the type of friend who always says what you want to hear, but the type who will say what needs to be said IN LOVE. Would you consider yourself a worrier? Do you constantly think, "What if...?" What if the kids get hurt? What if the airplane crashes? What if I loose my job? I use to think that I wasn't a worrier, and when it comes to most things I'm really not. I don't worry about getting into a car crash, or that I might get cancer. I don't worry that my kids are playing with friends down the street and my get hurt. I have a few friends who worry about EVERYTHING!
Don't take a shower in a thunder storm; never stand under a ceiling fan; and make sure you have one of those glass breaking hammers, just in case you drive off a bridge and can't get your door open....I mean really, who thinks about stuff like that? So, what do I worry about? What are my "what ifs?" What if I fail? What if they don't like me? What if I say the wrong thing? What if they are judging me? What if I am really not a good friend? What if I'm not a good mom? I think the word insecure defines me fairly well. We all have what ifs in one form or another. Do you know what the opposite of worry is? PEACE. It's such a wonderful sounding word. Peace is a sense of security. It's when you trust that God has got everything under control. It's hard to imagine sometimes. So, how can I give God my "what ifs" in exchange for His peace? Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NLT Sounds pretty simple. What do you need? Ask God for it. I need to stop looking for and needing the approval of people. I need to remember that I am accepted and loved by God, no matter what. I need to stop worrying and start praying. I love that God's peace is more than we can understand. It's the kind of peace that doesn't make sense. There are times when things around us will be crazy, our circumstances will be a mess, but God gives us a peace that makes others look at us and say, "Why are you so calm? Why aren't you freaking out right now?!" He guards our hearts and our minds. Think about that for a sec. What goes on when you worry? You start thinking crazy thoughts and feeling crazy emotions. Your MIND and your HEART get all worked up and out of whack. But God's peace will guard our hearts and our minds so that doesn't happen. Trusting in God is the cure to worry. So, instead of saying "what if" I need to start taking steps of faith. Trusting that God will be there to hold me up, and hold me close. I would love to tell you that I have this thing all figured out. Motherhood, marriage, ministry, friendships...but honestly, I have to tell you, I have not got a clue. I feel like a complete failure most of the time in every single area. I learned so much this past week, and at the same time, I realized how little I know. A very challenging set of questions was put to us during one of the sessions. The speaker asked, "Who are you, and what breaks your heart?" I wrote that down in my notes and stared at it for the rest of the day. Who am I? What breaks my heart? What am I passionate about, what is it that brings tears to my eyes and causes me to want to jump to action? I honestly don't have a fully formed idea of what the answer to that is. Even though I don't know exactly what that answer is, I know that God does. God has the amazing ability to be able to see past who we are to who we were created to be. When He called Simon, he was just kind of a stumbling, bumbling fisherman. He asked a lot of dumb questions and got a lot of things wrong, but Jesus immediately saw his potential. He renamed him Peter, which means rock.
Peter may not have know who he was, but he did know who Jesus was- the Messiah, the Son of the living God. Peter went on to write most of the New Testament and be a father of the Church, just as Jesus said.
Jesus knows who I am, I just need to know who He is, trust in who He is, and walk with Him daily. I will make lots of mistakes along the way, and ask a million stupid questions, but as long as I am willing, He can take my life and turn it into whatever He needs. David, the shepherd boy who killed a giant and later became king, the one who God said was a man after His own heart- started out as a nobody. After he killed Goliath, King Saul offered him his daughters hand in marriage as a reward. How did David respond? "David, embarrassed, answered, “Do you really mean that? I’m from a family of nobodies! I can’t be son-in-law to the king.” (1 Samuel 18:18) Do you know what God thinks of nobodies? He says: I’ll call nobodies and make them somebodies; I’ll call the unloved and make them beloved. In the place where they yelled out, “You’re nobody!” they’re calling you “God’s living children.” Romans 9:25 (MSG) So, I'm not sure who I am, or what breaks my heart. I honestly don't have all that compassionate of a heart- it's something I'm working on. Here is what I do know. I know that I am a child of God, I know that as a young mom I long for close relationships with other ladies, I know that I love reaching out to girls and women and hearing their stories and finding out what makes them unique and special. I know that I love singing praises to the Lord and leading others in a time of worship. I know that I love reading and learning about the Word of God, and discussing it with others. I know that I love creating art. I think all of these are things that God has placed in my heart. It's all part of who I am. I am at a ministry convention this week in Georgia, and I am having such a great time. Today was the first day of classes and our first big group session. The focus of the convention is kid's ministry with the theme "It's Just a phase....so don't miss it" Tonight we talked about the different phases that kids go though from Pre-school, Elementary, Middle School, to High School. Our culture is pushing kids to grow up so fast that it is so easy to miss these phases and miss the unique opportunities they present. I know that I am guilty of missing moments in my kids life. Not because I am not physically there, I'm almost always physically present. More often then not I'm mentally and emotionally absent. I'm to "busy" doing stuff that I feel needs to get done, and then I'm so tired that I just want a break so I can do my own thing and have some grown up time. Neither of those things are bad or wrong. There are things that I have to do during the day and it is essential that I take time for me and time for my husband and I to be alone. I just need to make sure that the moments I do spend with them are quality moments where I am investing in them, growing them, and loving them. Whether you have kids or work with kids, or not, I think this lesson can apply to all of us. We all go thorough phases in our lives after we leave home. The college and on your own phase, the newly married phase, the yikes, now we are parents and we need to grow up phase, the phase where your kids are growing up, the phase when you are focused on your career, or your parents are at the point where you need to care for them. Whatever phase you or the people around you are going through- don't miss it! Take stock of it. At the convention they talked about the signs that kids show at the different phases and what our role should be in response.
Preschoolers are asking "Am I able?" and we could respond by embracing them- teaching them new things and letting them figure out what they can do on their own. Elementary kids are asking "Do I have what it takes?" They are comparing themselves to others in school, in sports, or even to their siblings. Our response needs to be to engage them. Show them that we care about what they care about. Middle Schoolers are asking "Who do I like, who likes me?" They are looking for acceptance. Our role is to affirm them, help them see their value and own their faith. High Schoolers are asking "Why should I believe you?" They are starting to see themselves as adults who can make their own decisions. Our role is to mobilize them to become the best they can be. Give them a goal and a mission. I think you could go on and on. At this phase in my life I think I'm asking "Am I doing this right, do I still matter?" I am looking for friends to support me, people to love me and encourage me and tell me to hang in there. Where are you? What do you need right now? Greetings from Minnesota! I am sitting at the airport in Minneapolis waiting for my connecting flight. It is 3:00am according to my body, but 6:00am local time. I am heading to a ministry convention in Georgia for the week with a few ladies from church. I am so excited to get away for a few days and focus on God and growing in different areas of ministry. My posts may be a little more sporadic this week, but I will try to post here and there. As I sit here I just wanted to share these pages from my journal that I worked on during the flight. These verses bring so much comfort to me. I hope they do for you as well.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.… Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God! Right now, my family is in the midst of a tricky situation with our housing. We are renting, but for various reasons we need to be out of the house we are in in the next month. We want to buy, but haven't gotten approved for a loan. We don't really want to rent, and haven't found anything yet that will work for our family. Right now we have a choice, we can lean on our own understanding and panic, or we can Trust in the Lord- Be Still and know that He is God. I choose the second, I know He has everything under control. I know that He will take care of my family and provide for our needs in His timing. No matter matter what is going on in your life right now, Trust in the Lord, rest in the fact that He is God and He has it all under control. Acknowledge Him, lean on Him, and let Him straighten it all out. Our natural reaction is normally to take action, try to fix and control things. Instead, just let go and lay it at God's feet. He can handle it! Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. (Philippians 2:3-4 NLT)
I spend WAY to much time worrying about what others think of me, trying to please everyone, or impressing people. As a society today we are all about comparing ourselves and seeing how we measure up. As women, wives, and mothers, We compare ourselves to the celebrity who has gone through who knows how many rounds of cosmetic surgery, and wonder why we feel less then beautiful. We compare ourselves to that Pinterest super mom who is artsy, crafty, ultra organized, and cooks gourmet meals. We see other peoples marriages and wonder why ours isn't like that- why doesn't my husband treat me the way her's does? We compare our parenting styles, our children's development. Why do we do this to ourselves?! It all leads to a general sense of dissatisfaction and self centeredness. There are different kinds of self-centered people. There are those who want to get all the attention and their very presence screams look at me, talk about me, I need, I need!- It's obvious that these people are self-centered. Then there are the secretly self-centered. The ones who are constantly thinking about what other people think, they worry about the way they walk, talk, dress, you name it. Outwardly, they can appear to be very humble, but the ultimate focus is still on self. God created us all to be unique. He gave us each talents and abilities and personalities for different purposes. Our focus should not be on worrying about how we look or measure up to others. We are not here to please people- just God. Galatians 1:10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant. People look at the outside, but the Lord looks at the heart ( 1 Samuel 16:7) The Lord wants us to care about others and be genuinely humble. Not false modesty that just makes people pat you on the back - but genuine humility. Putting others before ourselves. Putting God first and foremost in our lives and devoting everything we do to Him for HIS glory- not our own image. Stop playing the comparison game, stop being a people pleaser, stop pretending to be someone or something you are not. We are fearfully and wonderfully made in God's image. So who is it that you are trying to impress with your life? God loves you more then you can imagine, and in the end- that is all that really matters. Do what is pleasing to HIM, not what is pleasing to people. The people pleasing trap is so easy to fall into. We were not called to be people pleasers and you will never be able to please everyone anyway. |
Author- Ashley ElverAshley is a stay at home/ homeschool mom of three, wife, worship leader, and artist. She lives in Wasilla, Alaska. Recent Devotions |