Jeweled Chicken Sandals

Diane Virginia, Author, 1.cbn.com

“Mom, I fed the chickens. Here’s your sandals back,” my daughter said.

“Back?” I tried to hide my dismay, “You wore the jeweled ones?” The odor rising from the pleather revealed the answer.

“I just borrowed them quick.”

I glanced at my jeweled sandals. As pretty as they were, they now had a designated purpose. I would use them when I fetched eggs or cared for my hens. My jeweled sandals were now the purtiest’ chicken sandals I’d ever owned. They stank. Bad stank. Invading the kitchen stank. I dropped the sandals outside, closed the door, and blew my nose.

As unusual as it may seem, I knew my daughter’s quick grab happened for a purpose. It reminded me I am called to holiness. The Apostle Paul writes,

“But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:9 KJV)”

This verse reminds me that in the spiritual realm I am called to keep out of the chicken coop. But there’s more…

Because I’ve been trapped in the coop before, this reminds me to help my friends. We need each other. When I think of how often I’ve gotten trapped inside the coop, and proceeded to walk wherever I willed until someone extended a hand of mercy to me, this makes it easy to extend a helping hand. 1 Peter 2:10 reads,

“Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. (KJV)”

God puts us in a spiritual family, and I choose to be available when my friends are needing prayer, a hand up, or just a listening ear so they can work through a chicken coop situation.

The Bible is infallible. Every answer is in the Book. But I am called to have more than head-knowledge — I am called to have a vital relationship with my Lord Jesus Christ. As I cultivate a relationship with Jesus, I become like Him. As I spend this time with Him, He tucks the gift of love inside my person.

I’ll never arrive, this side of heaven, even though I want to be completely holy. But I know every moment I spend with my Jesus is cleansing. He is the One I can count on to create in me the holiness I desire as I rest in His presence, read and meditate on His Word, and receive His love. I cherish these times with my Lord.

Every time I wear my jeweled chicken sandals, I’ll be reminded of three spiritual truths:

1. I am called to stay out of the coop,
2. I need to be available to rescue friends who are in the coop, and
3. I am my best self when I maintain a vital relationship with Jesus.

Father God, help me to live a life that is pleasing to You by following Christ.

Let God Speak

Diane Markins, Author, 1.cbn.com.

Does your prayer time seem a little lack-luster on occasion? I know mine does. God wants to hear from us. He expects us to show up and delights in the minutes we give solely to him. But once in a while it starts to feel a bit contrived and obligatory… going through the motions.

When this happens to me, I change things up. I let God speak to me, through me. Yeah, I know… you’re thinking, “What did she just say?”

When I’ve done the usual: praising, examining my life, sharing it all with the Lord and still feel like I’m in the room alone – I try letting Him talk to me. Based on many years of reading the Bible and getting to know God’s ways, I speak out loud to me as though Jesus were uttering the words. If we follow what it says in Philippians 2:5, this becomes second nature:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”

It may sound a little wacky, but there have been times God has revealed a deep truth, brought renewed joy, increased my faith, and healed my wounded spirit through my own voice using His mind. 1 Corinthians 2:16 says,

“For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.”

I simply give voice to what I believe God is telling me through His word.

But what if you don’t have the time or place to be alone and share a verbal dialog with God? Write a letter from the Lord to you. It seems that just the right measure of encouragement, wisdom, conviction, and peace will begin to appear on the paper as you allow your Father to speak intimately to you.

This is an example:

My precious child,
I am here. You are not alone. I have held you in my hands for all of the days of your life. I will move mightily and you will be amazed. Do not fear, do not doubt, trust in me and know that I am God. Be patient, I am working things you will never understand, and I am.

Dear one, turn your heart to me, and remember that I am not against you. I find you in my favor and because of where you are I will be able to move mountains. Do not question me, but allow me to work in my way in my timing. (Reprinted with permission from Ally Johnson.)

Your words may not be as beautiful or poetic as Ally’s but they will reflect yourpersonality and God’s heart; the message a very private one, for your eyes only.

If you’re new to this journey of Christian faith and maybe don’t know too much about God’s character or what He might say to you, dig in and begin finding out. Maybe a book of Bible promises will help jump-start the process.

While the Lord cherishes hearing our praises and requests, He also longs to speak to us, saying exactly what we need to hear.

Brothers and Sisters

Tracie Miles Author: proverbs 31.org

“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each deeply with all your heart.” 1 Peter 1:22 (NLT)

6:15 a.m.: I was abruptly awoken by the phone ringing, providing an automated message that school had been cancelled due to inclement weather. I breathed a sigh of happiness. I could sleep in and the kids and I would enjoy a peaceful day at home, sipping hot chocolate and snuggling by the warm, crackling fireplace.
8:15 a.m.: My son and daughter both come downstairs and crawl in bed with me.
8:20 a.m.: My son and daughter begin quarrelling over who gets to hug me the most and squirming around to see who could get their arms around me first. For fear of injury, I had to end that quarrel rather quickly. We then get out of the bed and scurry to the kitchen to make pancakes and bacon. As my daughter pulls the griddle from the cabinet, the coffee pot tumbles out as well, shattering into a hundred pieces all over the kitchen floor.
After getting that cleaned up and telling the kids to put their slippers on so they don’t step on any glass, I ask my son to get the eggs out of the refrigerator. Excited to be helping, he rushes to retrieve them, and accidentally drops the eggs out of the carton all over the floor. As I quietly cleaned up this slimy mess, I hear spoons going wild, as another quarrel begins over who gets to stir the pancake mix.
9:00 a.m.: I am seriously contemplating renting a bulldozer to scrape the ice off the roads so school could reopen, but instead I just continued cooking breakfast, without enjoying my morning coffee I might add. I found myself asking, what happened to the peaceful day I had dreamed about as I lay in my warm bed on this cold, icy morning?
Children are gifts from God and I know we are all thankful for them, but sometimes they can push us to the limits of our patience! There is nothing that breaks my heart more, than to deal with sibling rivalry. I would rather clean up ten milk spills (or broken eggs and coffee pots) than hear my children quarrelling with each other, and the black and white striped referee shirt that I seem to be forced to wear all the time is not a flattering fashion statement!
So what is a mom to do?! I want my household to be filled with peace and happiness, not constant fussing and doling out punishments. I yearn for my children to understand how important it is that they love each other and treat each other with kindness, consideration and love. Most importantly, I desire for my children to understand that being a faithful servant of Christ does not end when you accept Christ into your heart. Faith is an action, not a feeling. True devotion to Christ is showing our ability to put aside our own desires and frustrations, and respond to others in a loving way. Faith is loving your brothers and sisters!
I finally sat down with my children on this frustrating morning, and explained to them that by loving each other, they are also showing their love to God; and when they are mean to each other, that God feels that as well, because the Bible tells us that whatever we do to the least of these, we are also doing unto Him. As they learn to treat their brothers and sisters with love and respect, they will be equipping themselves to better love and respect all of their Christian brothers and sisters – those in the spiritual family of believers. Lastly, I helped them understand that when they treat each other lovingly they are treating Christ lovingly through their actions. Their faces beamed when they heard that they could make Jesus smile, just by being kind to one another. Even if I have to give them this speech daily for a month for the truths to sink into their hearts, it will be well worth the time and effort. We still have a long way to go in achieving perfect household harmony, but with God, all things are possible.
Dear Lord, we ask that you instill in our families the desire to love you and serve you. Help us, as parents, be loving examples for our children so that they can witness the traits of kindness, love, character, willingness to serve, and putting others needs before our own. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Taming that Tongue

By:Jonathan Santiago

If you’ve ever said anything you regret keep reading.

Here’s what James (via the Holy Spirit) says about the tongue:

Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! (James 3:3-5 NKJV)

Having control over something as mighty as a ship or horse is a good thing. And having control over something as potent as our tongue allows us to be highly effective Disciples of Christ. It allows us to speak life into others, edify, comfort, exhort, all while binding those things that are not of God. That’s the good news. The bad news is that James goes on to say that no one can tame the tongue!

If no human can tame his or her tongue, what hope is there? The hope, as you probably guessed, is in Jesus Christ. When we are spiritually reborn, we are born with the ability to call on the power of the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom and temperance.

OK, so if you’re like me you’ve never said anything you’ve regretted once you were a born again believer, correct? Ha, of course not. As I was reading this passage I was seeking how I can more effectually bridle my tongue and use if for edification. Lo and behold, James offers the solution a few verses down in the chapter.

James first lets us know what is clearly not of God:

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. (James 3:14-16 NKJV)

Envy and self-seeking are mentioned twice. Whether praying for someone or sharing a scripture, if there is any envy or self-seeking in what we are saying, it is not of God. We must not lie against this truth. I basically imagine God saying, “Who are you kidding? You know I wouldn’t have you say something that is envious or self-seeking in my name.”

We cannot judge what we speak merely by the words themselves, but by the spiritual wisdom from which the words are spoken. James uses some pretty powerful terms to describe the wisdom that is self-seeking – demonic and evil are just two of them.

When we are about to speak we would do well to stop and ask:

1. Is what I’m about to say based on envy?
2. Am I self-seeking right now?

If we answer yes to any of these we should wait to speak. James gave us the qualities to judge bad wisdom by, but he also gave us the qualities to know good wisdom by! Let’s continue on in the chapter.

But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. (James 3:17-18 NKJV)

Before we speak, we should also ask ourselves the following – Is what I’m about to say:

1. Pure (or is there confusion or uncertainty)?
2. Peaceable?
3. Gentle?
4. Willing to yield (be compliant or obeying)?
5. Merciful?
6. Free from partiality and hypocrisy?

These are two checklists God gives us. The wisdom behind list one can cause a destructive fire that wreaks havoc. The wisdom behind list two will edify and yield righteous fruit.

The Key to a Fruitful Life

By: Jeff Schreve, from his heart ministries.org

THE KEY TO A FRUITFUL LIFE

“Now before the year of famine came, two sons were born to Joseph …  And Joseph named the first-born Mannaseh, ‘For,’ he said, ‘God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.’  And he named the second Ephraim, ‘For,’ he said, ‘God has made me fruitful in the land of my affliction.'”
Genesis 41:50-52

Everyone loves success, abundance, and prosperity.  We all love to be fruitful, to use a good, biblical term.  Although we all want fruitfulness, very few understand the secret or the sequence to enjoy such a life.  Joseph gives us the key.

Joseph was a man who had lots of deep hurts early in life.  He was hated by his ten older brothers.  They sold him into Egyptian slavery when he was only seventeen.  He was lied about by his slave master’s wife—she said he tried to rape her—and ended up in prison for a crime he did not commit.  It appeared his life was over, but God had other plans.  Because Joseph kept trusting the Lord, regardless of his rotten circumstances, God elevated him from the prison to the palace.  Joseph interpreted Pharaoh’s dream, and Pharaoh promoted him to the lofty position of Prime Minister of Egypt.  He was given rights, riches, royalty, and a wife.

When he and his wife had their two sons, Joseph carefully selected their names—first Manasseh (forgetful) and then Ephraim (twice fruitful).  Those two names were extremely significant and give insight into a fruitful life.

IF YOU WANT TO BE FRUITFUL, YOU MUST FORGIVE

Joseph had a boatload of hurt in his heart.  His own flesh and blood ripped him from his home and sold him into slavery.  It would have been very easy to have harbored a heart of bitterness toward his brothers … but he refused to do so.  Joseph chose to forgive them, and God was faithful in enabling him to forget the pain.  He never forgot his brothers.  He loved them and longed to be reconciled with them.  He simply let go of the offense.  He turned it over to God, and let the Lord apply His healing balm to Joe’s wounded heart.

Once Joseph was willing to forgive from the heart, it opened the door for Ephraim, a name meaning twice fruitful.  God was able to bless Joseph beyond measure and turn Egypt (a place of tremendous suffering) into Eden (a place of tremendous blessing).  To be sure, Joseph suffered for thirteen long years in Egypt—from seventeen until thirty.  But, God gave him eighty wonderful years as the Prime Minister, the number two man in all of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself.

HOW ABOUT YOU?

Have you been hurt?  Have you been hated, or lied about, or sold into slavery so to speak?  Have terribly painful things come into your life as they came into Joseph’s life?  Do you find yourself struggling with a heart of resentment, bitterness, and ill-will toward another person?  You will never move forward in life until you choose to forgive.  You will never give birth to Ephraim until you first have Manasseh.