Fill the Gap - Hopelessly Devoted

I just love seeing my youth group girls dance in their shows twice a year. You can see the dedication, the passion, the work they have put in all year to nail their twirls and forms. Without taking the time to practice or to really focus on what needs to be done, refining one's skill or passion is impossible. As with any sport, hobby, craft, you have to devote time to honing in on God so that you can become more and more in tune with Him, living life in His ways, and knowing the differences between His voice and that of the world.

To become devoted to something, it takes time and honesty. You have to address the habits that hold you back. You have to strive to discipline yourself to practice daily. In Deuteronomy 6:5, we are told to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." In Matthew 22:37 we are told similarly to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." It is easy to be so devoted to something that is in front of you, or that you will find rewards of this world in, but not so easy when you can't always feel God in front of you and know that that reward is far greater than any other you can get on earth.

Why is it important to become devoted to God? In a world that carries many different views from many different people, with many different opinions, we hear all sorts of "commentaries" on Who God is. Keeping in mind that God is the only One Who can tell us Who He truly is, it takes a relationship with Him - one that is more than attending church on Sunday mornings, or only on Easter and Christmas. To truly build relationship with someone, you spend time with them. To truly know the ins and outs of something, you get all up in it. Being devoted to God makes Him personal to you, no matter what someone else's portrayal is of Him.

Ruth's view of God was probably interesting, as she was from Moab, which didn't worship God. Her mother in law was bitter towards God. And her sister in law had gone back to worship her god. The only way Ruth could have learned Who God is, was to do what was right and getting to know Him up close and personal. Obviously Ruth had seen God in a real way and wanted to embrace Him as she did what she needed to in order to provide for her mother in law. Don't ever let humans crush your relationship with God - He is bigger than that. Don't ever let a circumstance crush your relationship with God - He is bigger than that. Don't ever walk through this life without Him - because you will fall, and you will need Him, whether you believe it or not.

So how do we devote ourselves to God? How do we fill the gap within us that we try to fill with merits of this world that only leave us wanting more? We strive to love Him, just as those above verses tell us to.

With all your heart. The heart is a symbol all throughout the Bible that represents the "center". The hub in which your life runs and desires are tick. Is He the center of everything you do? If you're married, dating, in love, make sure He is right there in the middle of it.

With all your soul. The Greek word for soul is "breath". The breath of life. We breathe in God's goodness and breathe out praises. I love the song "Great Are You Lord", as it says "It's Your breath in our lungs, so we pour out our praise, we pour out our praise..." That says it all. We wouldn't even be breathing and walking around this world without His hand.

With all your strength. With a force or great degree. Not that we force our beliefs on people, but we pursue God with everything and every ounce of energy we can muster.

With all your mind or might. Your understanding. Your way of thinking. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding." When you truly know God and have seen Him work, you will know that His ways are nothing like the plans in your head or the way you see this world. They will blow your mind.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "for I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper and not harm you, plans for a future and hope." Sounds good, doesn't it? The problem is we usually stop here, thinking we'll be handed this promise, and we fail to read the very next verses that tell us that we need to give a little too. Jeremiah 11:12-14 continues with, "then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,' declares the Lord..." 

Do your part in seeking Him. Don't wait for Him to just hand it to you. Show you are devoted and you want to be devoted. Work for what is going to matter the most at the end of this life. Don't dare take another step without Him.

Scripture to Read:
Ruth 2:12, Deuteronomy 6:5

Questions to Ponder:
How does Boaz's words speak highly of Ruth's devotion to God?
How can you personally find habits to get more devoted to God?
What happens in your life when you become devoted more and more to God than on the the opinions of the world?

Agape Love - He'll Never Stop Loving

There are days I feel like people will or want to give up on me. The swings of depression that I get are not only frustrating for the people around me, but they are a giant elephant in the room that no one knows what to do with it or approach it. The scary thing is I don't really know either. I just have to wait it out and let it slide by until I come out of it and wonder when the next dip will come. I continually think about how people could possibly continue to deal with me when I'm in those moments, but they keep loving me for who I am, despite the low times. And I know that God is always there, loving me through too. His love is perfect, and that is why agape also perseveres.

There is a song that goes "Your love never fails, it never gives up, it never runs out on me...and on, and on, and on, and on it goes..." It is ironic because this song seems to repeat over and over, much like that songs that never ends. But that is exactly how God's love is for us. It goes on and on and on and on. It never gives up. Love endures all things, and God's love endures forever. (Psalm 136)

James 1:2-4 says "Consider it pure joy, brothers and sisters, when you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." 

What this tells us is that persevering through any trial, even those in love, will not be in vain. Persevering is to remain, to not run. It isn't easy to make it through hard patches. Consider some things to remember when those times come:

- Lean on God. Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us to not trust our own understanding, but to lean into Him and everything will become clear. When we try to make sense of things, nothing makes sense. When we use our own earthly perspective to unravel the knots of the mess we are in, we lose perspective. When we consider bailing from our hardships, whether in life or in relationships, we are bailing on what God is calling us to do. If we can just remember that God's got it and simply follow His leading, we can handle the hardships with a little more hope.

-Let go of your plans. We all know that life never goes as planned, so why do we try to live like it will? We need to remember to allow our time, resources, etc. to be flexible. We can never see a crisis coming, but we can try to roll with what we can in not grasping too tightly to things, including the things we treasure most. The only thing this world can't take is your faith if you truly have Christ in your life. Cling to that like your life depends on it. 

- Those hardships won't last forever. They will feel like they are going to last forever or that they are, but we can hold onto the hope that this world isn't the end all. (Remember our conversation about hope yesterday?) We can look forward to a reward for our suffering. (1 Peter 2:18-20)

On the flip side of persevering in love, we need to remember to give all we have to Christ. There may be days we just don't want to serve anymore or carry on with our faith anymore because it feels like a lot, but we need to remember His love is light. It doesn't mean life is light, but He will carry you. A poem by Jill Briscoe inspires me as we consider carrying on in our faith without ever stopping. Half of "All the Way Home" below:

"Saw a cross alone, discarded
Lain at rest against a wall,
Who'd lain down such a holy symbol?
Who'd abandoned life's 'faith call'?

Then a voice so dear - familiar,
Asked a question - pierced me through,
Who is it that you're expecting
Carrying it home for you?

How could I lay down that crossbeam?
How to think that no one saw?
Who did I expect to lift it 
Carry it to heaven's door?

'Jesus, Jesus, please forgive me,
Carried Thou your cross for me,
All the way to hell to save us,
Help me carry mine for Thee!'

I'm no hero - special woman
Just a lady, old and gray,
But my cross, Lord, I will carry,
Home, Lord, home, Lord - All the way!"

Love endures through all things. No matter how hard something gets, persevere on. Nothing shows love to a hurting person more than sticking around through the hard times, shameful times, and less than wonderful times.

Scripture to Read:
James 1:2-4, Proverbs 3:5-6

Questions to Ponder:
Have you ever wanted to quit at loving someone, or carrying on with a hardship?
How can you rely on God in times that are hard?
How does knowing God's got it and has a grander plan beyond what we can ever see help you in getting through the struggles?

Agape Love - On Rock Climbing, Gas, & Trust

Rock Climbing was something I just loved to do. There is something about it that causes a rush as you have to rely on equipment, your body, and the person at the bottom holding the other end of the rope. In fact, I loved it so much, I worked ropes courses at the camp I worked at for 3 summers in a row, and was part of a "climbing club" that would go as far as 40 miles just to climb each week. I learned a lot about trust in those times, and taught a lot about trust in those times. I have learned that trust comes in all shapes and sizes and any possible area of life. Today, we'll consider trust in love and how it applies to that of agape.

We read in Exodus 18 that Moses had an issue with being over burdened by the people he led once they reached the wilderness. We read how his father in law, Jethro advises Moses to delegate others to take the burdens of disputes and duties that Moses is handling himself, as Jethro sees how unhealthy this is. Moses fortunately takes his father in law's advice and appoints "capable men, who fear God and are trustworthy." Without trust, Moses wouldn't have been able to raise up a team to help him. We do need to consider some things, however, as we hand out our trust to people. Moses didn't just hand out the duties to anyone. He trained them with the values of the decrees and instructions on how to live and behave per God's instruction, so that they could discern disputes and handle conflicts that arose. We need to have similar judgement when allowing people our trust.

I have a hard time letting go of things that are on my task list. I like to do things myself because I know it will be done the "right" way. If I do it myself I know it gets done. If I handle it myself, I know the outcome. If I handle it myself, I feel valued. But this isn't showing that I trust anyone. I don't allow anyone else to take the reins now and then and show they are capable and gifted. For this reason, I don't practice and strive for the characteristic of trust in agape love.

There is something to be said of a relationship that can find love from trust though. If you are in a relationship, friendship, small group that can say anything because they have earned your trust and you have earned theirs, it is powerful indeed. You can say things and hear things and know it is out of love, not for hurting, and that is gold. This takes time, and this is a weird balance at first. Marriage takes time and work, and trust is highly required. You can't stumble around a marriage too long without sharing truths about your spouse with them, or the whole thing is frustrating.

I chuckle a little because I think of when my husband and I first started dating. There is that awkward first few weeks, months, maybe days for some people where you just can't fart in front of them. It's painful, but something is holding you back from just letting it out. (Just me?) When you finally get comfortable enough to just do it, it breaks so much tension. But there is some sort of trust that comes with it. You know that you can be "gross" in front of them and they won't think you're gross or run because they think you are. Someone will "fart" in front of the other at some point in a marriage. Is there enough trust there to just be honest? Nothing spells great love than someone who can see you at your best and your worst. Talk about trust!

The translation of the word "trust" in this trait of agape means to "think to be true, to believe all things, to be persuaded of, to credit, to place confidence in". I love this definition because it insinuates that trust isn't just handed over. It takes credibility and proof. God doesn't want us to be dumb with our trust, but He wants us to give people the benefit of the doubt, especially when they have proven to us before they are worth our trust. People need to give a little to gain from someone. If the relationship is one-sided, it probably isn't a good relationship to be in. I also love the translation that uses "believes all things" rather than trusts. It's the same thing, but in so many words. Can you believe the best in people?

This concept can be taken a little more lightly for every face you come across though. When we interact with people day in and day out, no matter how well we know them, we can strive to see the best in them, and not peg them as a negative description right away. At the 2019 Women's IF:Gathering, Angie Smith shared to try and think toward every person you see, "I love you." Before anything else, say those words in your head about them. You don't have to hand over full trust to someone right off the bat - again, dumb. But try not to see them with a shadow of the doubt, but rather with the benefit of the doubt. They can choose to prove you wrong or right, but believe in them before dismissing them.

"When we look for what's best in the person we happen to be with at the moment, we're doing what God does, so in appreciating our neighbor, we're participating in something truly sacred." -Mr. Fred Rogers

How can you believe the best in people today? I know many will crush your spirits, and disappoint you, but how can you strive to see the good in someone? Can you hand a task over to someone who has shown you that you can trust them? Consider this topic today.

Scripture to Read:
Exodus 18, Proverbs 3:5-6

Questions to Ponder:
How does someone prove themselves to you in terms of earning your trust?
Who can we put our trust in at all times, even when people may fail us?
Why does it take trust to delegate a team or relationships around you?

Teachings of Jesus - Talents

I just love seeing a collaboration of gifts play out for a bigger picture. Church is an example of this, as people step up to share their various talents, from a smiling face at a door greeting, to rocking babies in the nursery, to singing in worship. It is truly something heavenly when people can use their piece to provide a means of testimony, no matter how big or small they feel their talent is. Working at camp was another example that I enjoyed seeing played out. I just loved seeing and getting to know everyone and what made them tick. I would never touch a skateboard, but we had guys (and gals) that could rock those things. And everyone of them carries a story with their talents and gifts. How they came to love this thing. How they came to use it for Jesus. How they grew from it. It's just awesome.

As Jesus shares in Matthew 25:14-30, a parable about how to give back through the resources He gives us, we can't help but cringe a little reading that story. The truth of the matter is, all of what we have has been given to us from God. He gives to us based on how well we use what we have to further His purpose, and that is Kingdom expansion. There are some things we need to take note of here, however:

Using our gifts and talents takes work on our part. If you notice in this reading, the servants who had a return on their talents were the ones who went out and did something to earn more. They doubled their starting amount and the master was pleased with how they had worked with it. The one servant, however did nothing. Yes, he kept it safe, as he justified in the passage, but he also brought nothing out of it to help his master.

The master also gave his servants a different amount of gold each. He knew what each one was capable of. Perhaps the first servant had proved before many times that he was reliable and would do what he was supposed to with his gold, thus the master trusted him with more. On the flip side, the last servant didn't get as much because he really didn't do anything with what was given to him, defeating the whole purpose of being handed a bag of gold in the first place. As we place this principal with what we have been given, would you say you are the first servant, doing what you can to use your gifts wisely to fulfill your master's purpose and mission? Or are you considered the 3rd servant, trusted with little and returning with little? This is a hard pill to swallow, but a necessary one if you truly want to grow in the mission.

Finally, we see that we work for Christ. Nothing else in this world matters, but furthering His Kingdom. That is our mission. We do that through our gifts, our talents, our resources, our love for people. He has given us what we need to accomplish this in the unique ways He created us. We can use our gifts for our own, selfish purposes, or we can do it for an eternity of good on behalf of something greater than ourselves. You will be held accountable and God will give you what you can be trusted with. How you use it is up to you.

Scripture to Read:
Matthew 25:14-30; Ephesians 2:10

Questions to Ponder:
What are some gifts, talents, resources that God has given to you?
How are you using these things for His good?
How does Ephesians 2:10 tie into this concept?

Day 126: Loyal vs. Disloyal

Day 126
Judges 9-10; 1 Corinthians 10-11:1

There is quite a difference between being a leader who is loyal and one that is disloyal. I'm sure you've had bosses that were both great and not so great. Today, we read about a leader who was disloyal to God, his family and to the people he led. We also read the words of a famous leader, Paul, who looks to his example in Christ.

Abimelech was a terrible leader. He weasled his way into leadership and then proceeded to kill 70 of his half-brothers with his trouble-making soldiers. Abimelech's younger brother, Jotham, managed to escape the attacks and shares some words about leaders. It is about more than the power and reputation - it is about being loyal to your people and to God. A leader who is in it for themselves, such as Abimelech will be a crummy one. Because of Abimelech's insecurities and lack of faith, he killed off his brothers and was disloyal to the people he was supposed to be leading. As a result, he was killed by them in a violent way. Check your priorities as a leader. Are you in it for your own glory, or for God's and the good of the people you are in essence, serving?

The people of Israel themselves seemed to struggle staying loyal to God. Again, they had fallen away. Again, God had allowed oppression over them so they might learn their lesson. Again, the people ended up crying out to God when they realized they needed Him. As we read here, however, God was fed up with them, stating these facts of repeated offense to Him. I think many times we stop and ask God "why me?" In reality at times, however, we need to be open to what He is trying to tell us. Perhaps you are hitting your head on a wall over and over in disloyalty to God like the people of Israel. Look at your life and ask God, "what do you need to teach me, Lord?"

Paul's words as a leader to the church of Corinth are pretty well laid out in terms of loyalties to God and resisting temptations. He even uses the Israelites from long ago to prove his point. (Talk about a crummy reputation as grumblers, complainers, and falling into idolatry.) Paul tells the people to be careful when they think they are standing strong. Temptations and ways to fall away from Christ are lurking everywhere. Paul wants us to be a unified people in Christ, working toward building the Kingdom and resisting the things that take away from that mission. He tells us that in everything we do, do it all for the glory of God - even in what you eat and drink. This may seem daunting, but looking to leaders who look to the Lord to walk with you through this life can help.

Loyal leaders look to Christ. Paul tells the people to imitate him, just as he is imitated Christ. Leaders who value Christ in their lives will first and foremost lead you in the way of Christ. They want you to look to Him before looking at them. Paul is saying here, I am looking to Christ, and so should you. As a leader (because you all are one in some sense), are you directing those who look up to you to Christ, or are you beckoning them to look at you? Loyalties that lie in Christ are ones that can't be shaken.

A disloyal leader will have disloyal "followers". A loyal leader will have followers that want to support them. First and foremost, however, our loyalties are to lie in Christ, as we strive to be good leaders to those who look up to us. Check your life out today, and ask if you are like the Israelites, constantly hitting the wall, and wondering when God will show up. Ask yourself, "what are you trying to tell me, Lord?" Then pay attention to the answer He gives you - not the one you make up in your head that sounds ideal to you. Be loyal to His following and fall into His leadership over your life, so that you in turn can be a leader for Him.