Great and noble

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.  - Helen Keller

I came across this quote a few weeks ago and fell in love with it instantly.  When I initially read it, it seemed to be a simple thought.  However, I have allowed it to simmer on my mind for awhile and I can now see the broad vastness and depth that it embodies.

It is me.

Ever since I got saved and gave my life to Jesus Christ, I have wanted to do something great for Him.  Something BIG for Him.  I believe that is (or should be) a natural desire of any Christian.

My problem is that I look at what I do, my service for Him, through my eyes; from a human perspective and I see how small it is.  I am not drawing in the masses.  I'm not traveling the globe, spreading out the Gospel seed from continent to continent.

I'm here.  In Bismarck, North Dakota.  I work in customer service.  I don't do anything great and noble.  I don't run a big ministry that touches the lives of thousands of people.  I'm not on a foreign field.  I'm here.  I get up and go to work 5 days a week.

But I've had that quote on my mind and the other day I was reading my Bible and came across the story of the woman who gave 2 mites that is found in Mark 12.

"And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury; and many that were rich cast in much.  And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living."  - Mark 12:41-44

To everyone there at that treasury, I'm sure it seemed like she was not giving much, at least not in comparison to what others were giving.

But Jesus noticed her.  He noticed that although she didn't have much to give, she gave what she could.

That's when He turned to me and started talking to me about what I do and brought that quote to mind.  I may not have much to offer Him but I need to offer everything I have.  It all comes from Him anyways.  Its not like He doesn't know what I do or don't have to offer - He knows.  He made me.

He also knows if am holding something back from Him.  Oooh.  That was a sobering thought.  He didn't hold anything back from me.  He gave His all for me; His blood, His breath, His very life...for me.  How could I possibly even think of holding something back from Him?

So although it is my desire and I do long to do something great and noble for the Lord because of what He has done for me, I need to do every humble task He gives me as though it is great and noble.  Whether that be passing out tracts on a chilly Saturday night or scrubbing the toilet at church  or cleaning a cobweb off the ceiling fan, if God gave me the ability to do it and shows me He wants it done, then I will do it.

Honestly, if you think about it, could there be anything more noble than to do what the King of Kings has asked you to do?

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble.  - Helen Keller

Pour out your heart

"In God is my salvation and my glory; the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.  Trust in him at all times; ye people pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us, Selah." 

Psalm 62:7-8 

Sometimes I have a bad day.  Even though I'm saved and a Christian, I still have bad days from time to time.

I had a bad day this week.  It seemed as though I couldn't do anything right.  It was one of those days where I think I would have been more productive if I would have just stayed in bed but I didn't.  I went to work and struggled.  I came home and was still battling.  Then I went to church.  I didn't feel like going.  I felt like my emotions were just under the surface and the slightest little thing would puncture that surface and everything would come pouring out.

I've learned that many times when I may not "feel" like going to church, is often when I need to go the most.  That was true this week.  I went and tried to hide the emotions and the weariness as best I could.  I may have even been successful.  But I couldn't hide it from God.  He knew.  He knew all the weakness I have.  He knew all the times I had failed that day.

He was pleading for me to pour my heart out before Him.

I know He was because whenever I get like that:  go to church with a heavy heart, God works it out to speak to me either through the preaching or even through the song service.  This week, it was the song service.  One of the songs we sang that night was, "I Must Tell Jesus".

I must tell Jesus all of my trials; I cannot bear these burdens alone; In my distress, He kindly will help me, He ever loves and cares for His own.
I must tell Jesus!  I must tell Jesus! I cannot bear my burdens alone; I must tell Jesus!  I must tell Jesus!  Jesus can help me.  Jesus alone.
I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;  He is a kind, compassionate Friend;If I but ask Him, He will deliver, make of my troubles quickly an end.
Tempted and tried I need a great Savior, One who can help my burdens to bear;I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus, He all my cares and sorrows will share.
O how the world to evil allures me!  O how my heart is tempted to sin!  I must tell Jesus and He will help me over the world the victory to win!

I could barely make it through that song.  I knew that what I needed was just some quiet time, on my knees, pouring my heart out before God.  I couldn't put into words my day and my emotions or my thoughts to convey they to another person but with God, I don't have to worry about that because He knows!

"But I am poor and needy: yet the Lord thinketh upon me: thou art my help and my deliverer; make no tarrying, O my God."  Psalm 40:17

"Casting all your cares upon Him, for He careth for you."  1 Peter 5:7

I don't quite understand why God would care about me.  Why He would think upon me.  I am nothing.  I am poor and needy.  I am but mere flesh and I fail Him constantly.  Yet He is always there.  Always waiting to hear from me.  Always waiting for me to just pour my heart about before Him.  

Love is in the air

I am not a big fan of today.  As a perpetually single person, I've come to develop a bad attitude about Valentine's Day.  Seeing all the people around me get cards, candies, flowers and just love and attention showered upon them, can easily turn me into the valley of discontentment.

But not today.

Today, as I can feel and sense the love in the air around me, my mind has been consumed with God and His love.

It is absolutely amazing!

Without Him, I wouldn't even know love.  He is the very definition:

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."  1 John 4:8

"Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4:10

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

 Saying "I love you" can sometimes be an intimidating or a hard thing to say.  It can especially be hard when you say it to someone for the first time, especially if you are the first one to say it.  It can make you feel vulnerable and it raises the relationship to a different level.

But that's what God did.  He said "I love you" first. 

While we were yet sinners.

God put Himself out there.  He showed His love unashamedly, openly and He did it without expecting love in return.  In fact, He did it knowing that He wouldn't get the same love and devotion in return.

That kind of love is hard for me to understand because we are human, we all have a desire and a yearning to be loved.  But we are loved.  We are loved by the One who created love, defined love. 

One of my favorite verses of any hymn is the last verse of the Love of God:

Could we with ink, the ocean fill and were the sky of parchment made;

Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above would drain the oceans dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

Oh love of God, how rich and pure, how measureless and strong.  

It shall forever more endure, the saints and angels song.

The skies could not contain the description of God's love.  It is measureless, boundless, pure, strong, enduring and has no end.  It is perfect and I am undeserving of it. 

So today, no matter if you are single or married or whatever, my greatest hope is that you know God and that you know His love.  Because He loves you.  He loves you so much that He gave His son for you.

Christian, be sure to show God some love today.  Hasn't He given you so much and is He not worthy of your love?

"We love him, because he first loved us."  1 John 4:19

Be still

I admit it.

I'm a tech junkie.

My iPhone is one of the last things I see at night and one of the first things I see in the morning.  (If you are honest, many of you would admit to being the same way.)

Anyways, one of the first things I look at on my phone is my Bible app.

I use YouVersion.  I think it's a great app.  I can use my King James version and it offers a variety of Bible reading plans, devotionals or study guides.  I use it to help keep me accountable on my Bible reading but one of my favorite features is that when I open the app each day, it has a verse of the day.  Today, that verse was Psalm 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth."

Great verse!

As I went about my normal morning routine, that verse just rolled around my mind and God was using it to show me some things.

Now, if you're anything like me, you probably have some sort of schedule for your day.  Get up, read your Bible, eat breakfast, shower, go to work, etc.  Schedules are great to have and personally, I need them.  I am far too lazy to not have a schedule.  I need to have stuff to do to keep me busy and I like to be prompt.  But God was telling me to lighten up the reigns on some of my scheduled time with Him.  He doesn't like to be put into a box.  He does deserve to be in a box.  He needs to be our schedule maker, not penciled in if there is time available.

We live in a day and time when we like things instant.  We glorify "busy-ness".  Psalm 46:10 this morning, reminded me that sometimes, God just wants us to be still.

I need to just be still and to let God have full control of me.  It's so easy to allow your mind and your thoughts to wonder but if I can be still enough, God can take control of my mind, my thoughts, my tongue and my time and He can use it for whatever He so wishes.

But if I am busy and limit God to just 15 minutes of prayer in the morning, I cut Him off.  I limit Him on allowing Him access and control of me - and I am His creation!  That's ridiculous to limit God!

God's been working on me about my prayer life lately and this morning when I was thinking about that verse, I also thought about the hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer."  When I first got saved, I remember thinking, "Geez, spending a whole hour on your knees praying?!"  But it's amazing how fast time can go by when you give God uninterrupted, unlimited, devoted prayer time.  Please understand, I am not trying to come off as super-spiritual and imply that I pray for at least an hour every day, because I don't.  Shamefully, it's usually nowhere near that.  But I'm simply sharing the things God's been pointing out to me.  He wants me to give Him that kind of time and attention in prayer.  He was basically telling me, "Don't put me or our conversations on a timer, Amy."

He doesn't deserve to be on a timer.  He doesn't work that way.  I need to be on His schedule, not the other way around. 

I have experienced prayer time that has last over the 60 minute mark and William Walford was correct in describing it as "sweet".  I want to experience that more and the most amazing thought, is that God wants to experience that with me.  Who am I that he is mindful of me or that He would take the time or even desire to hear me, listen to me or speak to me?

But that's God.  He's great like that!

Those times that I have not limited or timed my prayers with God, when I just let the conversation between us flow free and unhindered, it truly is sweet and it amazes me; all the things and people God brings to my mind and my heart when I don't try to rush through it. I've realized that many of those times, God turns my prayers off of me (my problems, me desires) and fills that time with praying for others.

"Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2

Every single person needs prayer. Some will voice their requests frequently while others will keep them more private. Yet, God knows the needs of each and every person & He can bring them to your lips during your prayer time...if you're quiet enough and still enough for Him to do so.

So that's my charge to you, reader, because it's His charge to me as well.

Be still. Be still in your mind, be still in your mouth. Take time out of the day, out of the schedule and turn the timer off.

Be still and find out what God has to say.

I need it!

I need to read my Bible every day.

I need to pray every day.

I've come to realize recently that it is not so much simply an option if I should read my Bible and pray daily as it is a sheer necessity for me.  Yes, I know that it is good for me but I have come to notice that it is more than that.  I simply need it.

Just like many of you, when that calendar switched over to January, I was filled with optism and high expectations for myself. 

"I'm gonna do it this year and I'm going to make it a daily commitment."

I was off to a great start actually.  I couldn't sleep on New Year's so I got a jump start on my new Bible reading plan for the year and managed to get a good lead into it, even read a few days ahead!  But then ofcourse, reality and responsibilities settle in quickly and before you know it, I had ended a day and realized, oops, no Bible reading done today.

Shoot.

Well, I got back on the horse the very next day and have kept trying to plug away at it.  But I noticed something on those days when I didn't get my Bible reading in or when I didn't start my day off with the right amount of prayer time.  On those days, life was harder.  Anger and disappointment met me quite a bit quicker than normal.  My patience seemed even thinner than before and spiritual activity/thoughts struggled to even show up on the radar. 

The same thing happens with my prayer life.  A few months ago, a friend and I started calling each other in the mornings before we go to work.  We take just a few minutes and pray for the day.  Once in awhile, it doesn't work out for us to make that prayer call and I can tell a difference in my day.  Days when we make the call, I walk into work feeling focused, prepared and ready for whatever the Lord sees fit to bring me.  I'm usually calmer and more compassionate on these days and often, I notice more witnessing opportunities on these days.  But days when that phone call doesn't take place, well, it's just not the same.  I still pray on my way to work, when I think about it.  See, its easier to forget to pray or to let it slip because the accountability factor is gone.

I need to make time - every morning - and spend it with God in prayer and in His Word. I need it.

I can get discouraged easily. My natural reaction is to reach out to someone for encouragement but what I really need to do is go to God for that encouragement.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." Philippians 4:8

Spending time in prayer and in God's Word will help keep those kinds of things at the forefront of my mind. When my mind is filled with those good things, there won't be any room for discouragement, bitterness, discontentment, envy or any more of those vile and wicked thoughts that seem to always be ready and waiting to get my attention.

God reminds me

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."

1 Corinthians 15:58

Last week, my Pastor asked if anyone wanted to quote their life verse or a verse that the Lord has given them this year that has helped them.  Immediately, the verse above came to my mind.

The Lord has brought this verse to my mind several times throughout this year in different ways.

He has used it to remind me to be thankful for the faithful, unmovable, steadfast Christians that I know.  I know Christians who have gone through some things, hard things, and they have stuck it out.  They could have easily thrown in the towel, questioned God or just given up.  But they didn't.  They remained faithful.  They called on God.  They leaned upon Him.  They sought Him.  They followed after Him through the valleys and through the trials.  I'm thankful to be surrounded by these kind of Christians.  I can learn from them.

He has also used this verse to repeatedly encourage me this year.

I can question myself, question my life and what I am doing.  I wonder if I am living my life in such a way that I can make an impact of somebody, anybody for Him.  I question and doubt that from time to time and when I do, the Lord brings this verse to my mind.  I am not just saying that figuratively either.  I mean it. 

One day a few weeks ago I was having a rough day at work.  I needed some fresh air so I went out to my car on my lunch break.  I sat out there and just prayed for a few minutes.  Just before getting out, for some reason, I decided to flip on my radio for a minute.  As soon as I flipped it on, that verse came on as the "verse of the week."

Not a coincidence.

I appreciate that about God.

He knows my needs better than I do.  He knew I needed that verse.  He knew when I needed it. 

I'm thankful that God has reminded me this year that although I can feel like I am letting others down or not taking a leap of faith or just doing the same old thing, God knows I am doing my best to do what He wants me to be doing and that my labor is not in vain as long as I am doing it to please Him.

 

The Perfect Gift

Those stockings that were hung by the chimney with such care, are down now, folded and tucked away.  The presents are all unwrapped and now mingled in with our other possessions.  The lights are getting unplugged, wrapped up and ready to be stored away.  The tree is being undressed and will be taken out to the curb. 

We can spend hours looking online or roaming up and down the aisles of the stores and malls, searching for that perfect gift.  But we have already been given the perfect gift.

 

"Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."  2 Corinthians 9:15

God the Father gave us his Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ gave himself. 

How can I put into words what Jesus Christ and this gift mean to me? 

I'm a writer so ofcourse, I'm going to try but Paul summed it up pretty well by calling it unspeakable.

He's amazing.  He's given me everything. 

He's given me...

LIFE - "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  John 10:10

HOPE - "For thou art my hope, O Lord God; thou art my trust from my youth."  Psalm 71:5

SALVATION - "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among me, whereby we must be saved."  Acts 4:12

REDEMPTION - "In whom we have redemption, through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."  Ephesians 1:7

FORGIVENESS - "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  1 John 1:9

FRIENDSHIP - "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."  Proverb 18:24

LOVE - "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  1 John 4:10

Those are just a few of the things God has given me as part of his unspeakable gift.  Honestly, I believe this subject is like the words of the hymn The Love of God:

Could we with ink, the ocean fill and were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade,

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scrolll contain the whole though stretched from sky to sky!

 

Even though Christmas is the time we celebrate this unspeakable gift coming to Earth, I'm so thankful this gift is unlike any other gift.  It is never out of style or out of stock.  It is always right for me and it is the gift I can share. 

 

Thank you, Jesus for laying your glory by and coming to earth so I wouldn't have to die.