Honest Reflections

2 minute read.

Daily Reading:  Numbers 21 GW; Psalms 135 GW; John 3 GW

Jesus doesn’t condemn.

Our Savior does not hold our past against us.  Jesus accepts us as we are.  When I was a child, I thought of God as the great punisher.  I didn’t want to spend time with Him because I thought Jesus would criticize me for what a horrible sinner I am.  But that isn’t who Jesus is.  He is a God of grace, love, and mercy.  We are the ones putting conditions on the relationship, not Jesus.

Any one of us who follows Christ still sins.  Our first confession of sin isn’t our last.  Just this morning, before writing this devotional, I had a terrible thought run through my mind out of nowhere.  I don’t know why I would even think such a thing, yet I did.  My immediate remorse came with a confession to God for my thoughts.

Part of our ongoing relationship with Jesus is a daily renewal and cleansing.  Each day I turn to Him, I have something to confess.  No matter how hard I try, I will always have sin lurking in the corners.  We all do.  Sin is part of the human condition.

Christ’s perfection cleanses our imperfection.

With Jesus, we are made new.  Embrace your imperfection’s so you can fully accept God’s perfection.  Just like a hot shower refreshes and renews the body, confession cleanses the soul.  Becoming self-aware of our sinful nature and our struggles help us have an honest relationship with God.  Understanding, Jesus didn’t come to condemn; He came to love makes Him more approachable.  Don’t fear exposing your heart to God.  Instead, relish in the realization, He loves you so much, He made a way to have an intimate relationship with You.  

Jesus is the way.  He doesn’t condemn; He renews.  Bear your soul to Him today.  Allow Jesus to transform you, one day at a time.

Lord, how grateful we are that You don’t condemn.  Forgive us for the condemnation we place on ourselves and others.  Help us practice a lifestyle of “No Judgement.”  Whatever fears we have of growing closer to You, remove them from us.  Help us to see ourselves as You see us.  As we embrace our sinful nature, let us give it to You.  In You, we find freedom.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What have you condemned yourself for lately?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 19-20 GW; Psalms 90 GW; John 2 GW

God’s timing doesn’t make sense.

In God’s economy, a thousand years is like a day.  We can’t fathom that because we don’t live that long on earth.  Patience is a virtue God possesses.  Think how impatient we are in our waiting.  We are a drive-thru world, more than ever, thanks to COVID.  Fast food, curbside delivery, or at-home delivery enable us to have hot-cooked meals within minutes.  If we do want to cook at home, microwaves offer even faster meals.  To say we’re a culture that doesn’t know how to wait is an understatement.

Preparing for a road-trip, I decided I needed a new pair of jeans.  Within minutes, I found what I was looking for online.  Since I was leaving in a few days and didn’t want to risk delivery delays, I chose curbside pick-up.  In less than an hour, I had new jeans in my car.  Just 50 years ago, people made their clothes.  Now we order them and have them delivered within minutes.

God knows waiting is key to growth.

God isn’t a drive-thru.  We can’t put in our order, then within minutes have what we want.  God’s role isn’t to satisfy our every need.  He wants to transform us into a person who reflects His love to the world.  Transformation doesn’t happen overnight.  No matter how hard you try, you can’t speed up God’s timetable.  God will do what He wants to do when He wants to do it.  Nothing you do can change that fact.  God waits longer than we ever will; a thousand years is like a day to Him.

In our need, in our joy, God wants to share it all with us.  We’re the ones who get caught up in our fast-paced lives.  God is the One longing for us to include Him in our days, trusting whatever the request, His timing is perfect.

Lord, how grateful we are for Your timing.  Forgive us for doubting Your wisdom.  Remind us today, You have a plan, and it will come to fruition in its time.  Until then, help us to relax into You.  When we falter, pick us up and keep us going.  Help us today, to live in the moment.  Let us experience the blessings of this day as we stay present in it.  We give our cares and worries to You, knowing, You’ve got our backs.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How has God’s timing blessed you in the past?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 17-18 GW; John 1 GW

God created everything.

Look around you.  Wherever you are at this moment, God is the creator of all you see.  He is the One who gave breath to the people who invented whatever contraptions in view. 

Ancient Egyptians get the credit for designing chairs, but God gave them the breath they needed to breathe.

 Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web, but God gave him the gifts he needed to accomplish his task. 

Legend says Kaldi, a goat herder, discovered the power of the coffee bean.  He noticed his goat’s energy level increased when they ate the beans.  When Kaldi told a local monk about his discovery, the monk added the beans to water, allowing him to stay alert in prayer for long hours.  God created the coffee bean, the goats, Kaldi, and monks, all needed to give us our morning brew.

God creates.

We have put men on the moon, but God gave us the technology.  Everything we have has God at its origin.  Nothing exists that God did not create.  When we begin to grasp this concept, we realize we have a lot to thank God for each day.

“This is Us” is a favorite show of mine.  In a recent episode, the writer’s highlighted Nasir Ahmed, who developed Discrete Cosine Transform with his team in the 1970s.  Their work is used today in image and video sharing technology.  Ahmed’s team is what has kept us connected during the pandemic 50 years later.  God created Ahmed, giving him gifts that would keep on producing for decades to come.

God creates out of love.  Our God-given gifts cause us to invent.  All things start with God.

Lord, thank You for Your creation.  Everything in existence came from You.  Forgive us for taking credit for Your work.  Without Your breath in our bodies, we couldn’t do anything.  Today, let us take time to appreciate the air You created.  As we inhale deeply, remind us of Your goodness as we fill our lungs.  As we hold our breath for a moment, do Your work within us.  Then, let us exhale all of the negativity from within us, knowing, You are working.  As we embrace Your sovereignty, let us become creators like You.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Which one of God’s creations are you most thankful for today?

4 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 15-16 GW; 2 Timothy 4 GW

Social Media limits your perspective.

In the recent study, “How Social Media Makes it Difficult to Identify Real News,” researchers discovered:

“People viewing a blend of news and entertainment on a social media site tended to pay less attention to the source of content they consumed — meaning they could easily mistake satire or fiction for real news.”

Social media allows us to believe lies easily. We follow people who have similar interests as ourselves. Skimming through our timelines produces a blend of friend updates, funny memes, and news. The problem is, identifying what is real and what isn’t. A couple of years ago, I fell for a fake story about a popular pastor signing a multi-million dollar contract to work at a different church.  The post was fictional but written in such a way, I believed it as truth.  Only when I shared the “news” with my husband did I find the truth.

Timothy is warning us about social media a thousand years before it existed.  People during his time didn’t have online profiles.  But just like us, they followed who they wanted to follow.  If a woman was trying to get pregnant, she worshipped the fertility gods.  Warriors followed warrior gods. Gladiators followed gladiator gods. Because they followed so many different gods, they covered their bases with an altar for the “Unknown God.”   We’re human; our nature is to connect with those who like what we like.  God isn’t about like; He’s about love rooted in truth. 

Jesus is truth.

Love demands truth.  My real friends are not the ones who tell me what I want to hear.  My real friends are the ones who tell me what I don’t want to hear WITH love.  They are not necessarily the ones I want to surround myself with all of the time.  Sometimes truth requires space to accept. But my real friends are the ones I know love me the most.

No one loves you more than Jesus.  Following Him means learning how to love, Him and others.  Jesus doesn’t do what you want.  He doesn’t hate people because they have hurt you.  Jesus loves both sides of the story because He knows both sides.  God is a known God.  He’s intimately involved in our lives whether we follow Him or not.  If you believe in Jesus but aren’t following Him, He’s still following you.  Jesus doesn’t unfriend people when they make Him mad or disagree with His opinion.  Jesus loved at all times.  He expects the same from us.

Follow Jesus first.  Surround yourself with people who agree AND disagree with you.  Verify the sources of the information you receive.  Don’t believe everything you read.  Search for truth, find truth.

Lord Jesus, thank You for bringing truth to the world.  Open our eyes and ears to see more than just our opinion.  Forgive us, Lord, for not loving those who view the world differently than us.  Help us to embrace everyone we meet with love.  Whoever we encounter today, I pray after they are with us, their day is better.  Help us seek truth by following You.  Reveal to us what we cannot see.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How has social media limited your perspective?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 13-14 GW; 2 Timothy 3 GW

People prefer comfort to discomfort. Get used to uncomfortable.

The Israelites were in bondage, slaves treated horribly, yet they understood that life.  When Moses led them into the wilderness, they didn’t know what to expect.  Hardships occurred that they didn’t anticipate. As a result, they romanticized their previous life, thinking it better than the road ahead.  They doubted God when the going got rough. 

Why do women stay in abusive relationships?  Because abuse is comfortable.  Moving out of an abusive relationship means stepping into the unknown.  Even though people want healthy relationships, they don’t want to do the work required to have them.  Facing hard truths is difficult and requires perseverance.  Just like the Israelites had to keep moving forward, we must do the same, despite our fears, anxieties, and doubts.  We must leave the comfortable behind.

Life happens outside the comfort zone.

Currently, I’m preparing for a road trip by myself.  Fear and anxiety are trying to stop me.  Niggling thoughts pop into my head.  “What if you have a flat tire?”  “What if you end up in a snowdrift?”  “Maybe I should stay home.”  The inner battle rages, trying to steal my joy.  Remaining in my comfort zone is more appealing than venturing out into the unknown. But I can’t live life to the fullest from my recliner.  We must keep moving forward if we want to experience life. 

Just because the road ahead is challenging, doesn’t mean it’s not worth traveling.  Accept you will have doubts along the way.  Embrace the anxiety that is natural when making life changes.  When you start to crave the known, ask God to remind you why you left.  Today’s uncertainties are opportunities to trust God.  Tell Him the truth.  God can handle your doubts as He leads you into the promised land.

Lord, how thankful we are You keep us moving forward in life.  Thank You for not letting us stay as we are, but instead, help us become a new person in Christ.  Forgive us for doubting when our circumstances overwhelm us.  Help us to remember what You’ve done for us in the past, knowing You’ll provide for us in our new journey.  Let us live outside our comfort zones, completely trusting in You, no matter what our circumstances look like.  In You, we find life to the fullest.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What comfort zone are you afraid to leave behind?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 11-12 GW; 2 Timothy 2 GW

Jesus is kind.  

Reading through the ministry of Jesus is a testimony to kindness.  The warmth of His smile as He looks upon the hurting of this world has no malice.  When people came to Jesus, He stopped and listened.  Jesus was interruptable and approachable because He was kind.  Think about who you turn to for help, is it the mean, grumpy person or the loving, welcoming person?  

My Aunt Margie was the most welcoming person I ever knew.  Anytime life threw me a curveball, I couldn’t wait to find her loving embrace.  She modeled Jesus well.  Kindness was her calling card.  Everyone who met her loved her.  Yet her life was not easy; she suffered much pain during her time here on earth.  My aunt found victory over pain, beauty from ashes, in Jesus.  Her success evident in her loving-kindness of all she met.

Jesus came to earth on a mission of love.  One expression of His deep passion for us is His kindness.  Jesus knew the meaning of the adage, “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar.”

Love is kind.

When Paul begins his definition of love in his letter to the Corinthians, “kind” comes second after patient (1 Cor. 13:4 ESV).  People avoid mean, nasty people; they flock to kind ones.  Take time today to have an honest chat with yourself.  Think about the people you’ve interacted with over the past couple of days.  Objectively ask yourself, was I more honey or more vinegar?  

Father James Martin, in this video, outlines three ways we can put kindness into practice:

• Don’t be a jerk (Don’t pass along your misery to someone else.)
• Honor the absent (Don’t talk about people behind their backs.  Share something honorable about them instead.)
• “Always give others the benefit of the doubt.” Ignacius

Follow Jesus’s example.  Be kind.

Dear heavenly Father, thank You for Your supreme kindness.  Sending Jesus is the utmost of gifts.  Forgive us, Lord, for not recognizing what You do for us.  Help us to become more sensitive to Your Spirit as we make kindness a way of life.  Today, let us not be a jerk.  Help us to honor the absent, and let us always give others the benefit of the doubt.  Only with You can we make kindness a reality in our lives.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Who have you been more vinegar than honey to lately?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 8-10 GW; 2 Timothy 1 GW

God’s Spirit fills you.

Embracing God’s Spirit strengthens our lives.  We’re no longer alone in the battle of good and evil.  God’s Spirit is our constant companion, providing us with what we need. When we submit to Him, He gives us power, love, and good judgment.  However, tuning into the promptings given by the Spirit is mandatory.  We can ignore them entirely if we’re not careful.

Part of making time for God in your daily life is to tune into His promptings.  When we spend time reading His word, it helps reframe our thinking.  Instead of focusing on the worldly events around us, our minds tune into God’s work.  One prayer I’ve recently started praying came from my pastor.  Each morning, I make this request:

“God, show me what You are doing today and how I can be a part of it.” 

What this simple prayer does is tune me into God.  As I walk through my days, God’s Spirit helps me see what He is doing, then join in with Him.

Work with God.

Instead of working against God, work with Him. Allow His Spirit to lead you.  When you see the young mom struggling to get her stroller through the door, open it for her.  When a friend is grieving, grieve with them.  When people rejoice, rejoice as well.  Show up for the people God places in your life, whether family, friend, or stranger.   God is working in their lives, and You are His messenger.  Through You, with His Spirit, God’s power, love, and sound judgment become a reality as you join Him in His work.

Allow God’s Spirit to fill your life.  Receive His power, love, and good judgment.  Then share what He gives you with others.

Lord, You are our strength.  Your Spirit guides and directs us when we tune into You.  Forgive us for all the times we ignore the promptings instead of following our desires.  Help us today see what You are doing and how we can participate.  Give us action steps we can take, knowing You’ve already given us the power, love, and sound judgment we need to complete whatever the task.  In You, we find life to the fullest.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

Where can you join God in His work today?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 7 GW; Psalms 99 GW

Staying on course requires discipline.

God’s forgiveness doesn’t mean He won’t discipline.  Correction is necessary if we want to experience life change.  “Teachable moments:” are an event or experience that presents a good opportunity to learn something about a particular aspect of life. God knows how to use discipline in our life to help us learn something He’s trying to teach us.

As a tennis coach, the lessons taught are applicable on the court or off.  For instance, when we’re playing a point-based drill and a student makes an incorrect line call, it’s a teachable moment.  I have an opportunity to coach the students on how to handle conflict.  Whether the wrong call was deliberate or not, it needs addressing.  God understands the same about us.  Whether the sin was intentional or not, He handles it with discipline.  We’re better for the correction.  God has taught us a new aspect of life.

God disciplines with love.

The beauty of God’s discipline is the grace He uses.  Accepting His love when I know I’ve wronged Him is difficult for me.  Yet God still pours His affection into my life, despite my flaws.  When He disciplines, I know it’s because He loves me and is trying to teach me.  Tough love means accepting correction in our lives.  Becoming more like Christ requires God’s authority; without His course modifications, we’ll lose our way.

God does forgive, and He does discipline.  But His correction is always done with love.  God’s purpose is to help you on your journey of becoming more like Christ.

Lord, how I love You.  Thank You for loving us first.  In Your mercy, forgive our sins. Correct us when we are heading in the wrong direction.  Discipline us so we can become more like Christ.  Shower us with Your grace as we accept Your authority in our lives.  Understanding our actions have consequences is difficult sometimes.  Thank You for disciplining us with Your grace.  Give us a heart of acceptance as we receive Your correction.  Without You, we can’t become.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How has God disciplined you?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 5-6 GW; Psalms 61 GW

Life’s trials need God’s help.

When we’re in the midst of a struggle, crying out to God is effortless.  When we’ve lost control, He’s still in control.  One harsh reality about life, we have little power over what happens to us.  None of us know what the hours ahead will hold; only God knows.

“The dice are thrown, but the LORD determines every outcome.” (Proverbs 16:33 GW)

God hears our cries.  He has a plan for our lives, even if we don’t understand it.  In the worst of life’s heartaches, He is with us.  February 23rd marked the third anniversary of our friend Bryan’s murder.  He left behind his wife and daughter.  The worship leader at his church, he was serving the Lord when two young men confronted him, taking his life.  We will never know why this happened this side of heaven.  The pain of his loss is carried by all who knew him.  Amid this senseless tragedy, God carries us through, one day at a time.

God sustains us through prayer.

“Prayer Component” is a weekly zoom meeting that developed because of COVID.  Each Wednesday, led by Bryan’s father, we gather and study prayer.  When Mike begins our time of prayer, he uses these words, “Father, in your mercy, hear our prayer…”  Mike was also a victim that day, shot five times; his survival is a miracle.  When he tells his story, he talks about sitting on the bathroom floor, wounded, crying out to God in prayer.  God answered.  Mike began to move, calling 911 for help to come.

God hears our cries.  He answers our prayers.  Some answers we can’t understand; only God knows the reason.  We throw the dice; God determines the outcome.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayers.  As we come before You today, we lay our burdens at Your feet.  We ask forgiveness for our sins as we turn to You.  Help us today feel Your presence in our circumstances.  Open our eyes and ears to receive Your response.  When we look at the world today, let us do it through Your eyes.  Give us the strength we need to do what You have for us to do.  In all things, the glory is Yours.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

How has God answered your cries for help?

2 minute read.

Daily Reading: Numbers 34 GW; Psalms 134 GW

God sets boundaries.

When I read today’s daily reading, the word “borders” jumped out at me.  God is telling Israel what their boundaries are in the new land they are about to possess. Wherever you live, you know what your limits are.  My husband and I live in a house.  I know exactly where our lot ends, and our neighbors begin. Everyone knows to respect other people’s space.  God is telling the Israelites what their area is before He does anything else for them.  God knows we all need to know our place.

God knows we need borders in our relationships as well.  People need to understand their roles and the expectations people have for them.  For instance, on the way home from our honeymoon, my husband and I developed a budget.  Each of us has a certain amount of money we can spend without consulting the other person.  Anything above that number, we decide together.  We have borders in place with our money, which allows us to have peace in our relationship because we know our limitations.

Respect the borders.

Whether property lines or relational lines, a key to peace in your life is respecting the boundaries.   Whoever God gave you as parents; He did it intentionally.  A natural border in our life, God expects us to honor our parents.  When it comes to spouses, God is clear about how we are to treat them.  We are to submit to the authority God places in our lives.  Your boss has a different boundary than your friends.  In all relationships, God expects us to lead with love.  

Know the borders in your life.  Boundaries create healthy relationships.  Respecting people’s roles in your life promotes peace.

Lord, thank You for creating borders in our lives.  Forgive us for not respecting them.  Help us to have eyes to see and ears to hear the boundaries in our relationships.  Instead of trying to encroach on other people’s territory, help us accept them just as they are.  Let us lead with love in all we do.  When we interact with people today, let them feel refreshed from the encounter.  Help us uplift and encourage everyone we meet today.  In you, we can find our place in the world.  IJNIP. Amen

Question for reflection

What border has God placed in your life that you’re not accepting?