Stand

"Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that we may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand, Stand therefore." - Ephesians 6:13-14a

In a time when wrong is often called right, goodness and truth are hidden from sight,
Where sin is abounding in the name of "acceptance", completely void of shame or repentance.

We live in a time where the hearts of men are troubled. Where sin and temptation are anything but subtle,
They will laugh, mock and are sure to scorn, trying to break us down, make us weary and worn.

But to my fellow Christian I say, "We must stand together. We must stand today."

Now is our time to stand and proclaim Jesus Christ and His holy name.
Unashamed we must be as we stand and say, "Trust in Christ! He is the only way!"
Let us stand for the truth we know will win. Let us stand against the pursuance of sin.
For if we stand, tall pillars we can be and shine forth His light, that others may see.
For by faith we stand in Christ's liberty, where He hath made us, He hath made us free.

So to my fellow Christian I say, "We must stand together. We must stand today!"

Complete Obedience

"Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship that they should come and help them. And they came and filled both the ships so they began to sink. " Luke 5:4-7

That's a lot of fish. Jesus had filled 2 boats so full of fish that they began to sink - and these were fishing boats! They were made to hold a lot of fish!

Yet, I wonder what God could have done, had Peter been completely obedient.

Did you catch that in verse 4 Jesus tells Peter to launch out into the deep and let down his nets (that's plural). Yet in verse 5, when Peter answers he says, reluctantly that he will let down the net (singular). Also in verse 6 it says "their net brake."

In spite of Peter only somewhat obeying God, He still used the opportunity to show Peter and these fishermen His power. He still filled 2 fishing boats full of fish. Can you even imagine how many fish there would have been had Peter fully obeyed and let down more nets?

It causes me to wonder though, how much effect we have on possibly hindering the work of God when we are not completely obedient. We know that God's will will be done in spite of us and our short-comings but being a hinderance to God is not something to be desired. Did Peter's half-hearted obedience hinder what God had planned to do out on the water that day? When I obey God, am I obeying him fully and anticipating seeing Him work? Or am I serving Him out of duty, maybe because it might have become habit?

"Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing". Peter knew midday was not the best time to be fishing. He was tired from being out to sea all night. I'm sure he just wanted to get the nets cleaned, get something to eat and get some rest as they would probably head out again the next night. It didn't make sense to him to go out in broad daylight and go fishing. "Nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net". Even though his didn't understand and probably disagreed, he humored the Lord and let down a net and as a result, Jesus Christ shewed Himself mighty.

Peter understood his lack of complete obedience because in verse 8 the Bible tells us, "When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." Peter would not have reacted this way had he not committed the sin of incomplete obedience.

If He was able to do this with half-hearted obedience, imagine what He can do when we offer him our complete obedience.

Everything that hath breath

"Praise ye the Lord, Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise him for his mighty act: praise him according to his excellent greatness." - Psalm 150:1-2

The other day I was driving home from work and my mind began to wander into the vast thought of God. Who he is, what He does, what He's done, what He will do. My mind quickly became flooded and overflowed with all these thoughts: He parted the Red Sea, He walked on water, He healed the lepers, He breathed life into a pile of dirt and He spoke creation into existence. He left his throne in Heaven, came to earth to live and die...for me.

My mind cannot comprehend all of the unexplainable things God has done but I can praise him for those things. I can praise him for the sunrise, for the sunset, for the stars and the trees, for the warm summer breezes and the cool refreshing rains.

He can be praised for not only creating me, but for loving me, providing for me, protecting me, teaching me, saving me and comforting me. He has given me a car, a job, a family, friends, a great pastor and church and ample opportunity to serve Him.

I do not desire to praise God just for what He has done but purely for who He is. The Bible says in Psalm 145:3 "Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised: and his greatness is unsearchable." He is worthy of praise soley for who he is and his greatness. I love that the Bible adds that His greatness, by the way, is unsearchable. You can search and search and search and never, ever reach the end of His greatness!

If He were to decide tomorrow to take away all He has given me and yet let me live - He is still worthy and deserving of my praise.

"Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord." - Psalm 150:6

Thy Word

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." - Colossians 3:16

Each week I have a memory verse that I give my Sunday school kids to memorize. They are pretty young so it is not always an entire verse they are given to memorize but each week we have a verse and if they come back the next Sunday and can recite their verse to me, they get to put a sticker on their chart. Once they fill up their chart, they get a reward. Most Sunday night services, we are given an opportunity to recite memory verses and I am very happy when one of the kids from my class stands up and recites a verse word for word! Not always an easy thing to do for a 4 year old but the kids enjoy memorizing verses and mostly enjoy being rewarded for their effort.

A few weeks ago after listening to a few kids from my class recite their verses the thought hit me: 'I encourage these kids to memorize verses each week and tell them how important it is and yet, what verses have I been memorizing lately?'

Ouch.

I do try to memorize verses and so far this year I have gotten a few down but God has given me a challenge. Since I challenge my Sunday school class to memorize a verse each week, God has challenged me to memorize a verse each week. Not only that, but to recite it when given the chance. How can I expect the kids to do it if I do not lead by example?

I don't expect anyone to give me a sticker or a high-five for memorizing verses but God's word does promise rewards for it...

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." - Psalm 119:11

It will help me sin less. Or at least empower me more to fight against temptation to sin.

"So then faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17

Writing, reading, repeating and memorizing a verse hides it in my heart. When a verse is hidden in my heart, it allows God to use that verse in my life when I need it. He can bring it to mind if I am struggling with a sinful temptation or if my faith is being tested He can bring to mind verses of assurance to remind me that he is a "friend that sticketh closer than a brother."

I have yet to find a "con" for memorizing scripture, just a whole bunch of "pros". I only mentioned just a couple here but trust me, there are plenty more.

So there it is, blog readers. Before you, I admit the challenge laid before me. This is my invitation for you to keep me accountable to it. If you see me in person, feel free to ask me what my verse of the week is, (to be honest, I could use the reminder!)

But before I finish up this post, let me turn that question to you. Do you desire to do better? Know God more? Have a deeper faith in Him? If so, may I suggest making an attempt to memorize some scripture. It won't hinder you in any of these areas. If anything, I believe it would only strengthen you.

I want to "Let the word of Christ dwell in me richly." Don't you?

Who are you following?

"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross and follow me." - Mark 10:21

"Christians" are to be followers of Christ, right?

Following Christ, however, can sometimes be easier said than done. The verse above was Jesus' response to a man who knew who Christ was and asked him what he must do to inherit eternal life. Now, I know the verse is from the King James version of the Bible but it's plain and simple to see what Christ required of this man: sell all his possessions, give the money to the poor, take up his cross and follow. Sounds simple right?

"And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved: for he had great possessions." Mark 10:22

It was too much for this man to do. He went away...grieved.

So how about us? When God asks us to give something up (time, money, luxuries) do we stop and grievously say "Sorry Lord, I can't give that."

It leaves one to think then, that if we can't part with possessions or time or money for the sake of Christ, aren't we then placing these things in higher regard? above Christ and His cause?

If we can't part with our possessions, as this man in Mark couldn't (or wouldn't) then we can't follow Christ. If we aren't following Christ, then who are following?

Well, we have a few different options when it comes to this. If we aren't following Christ then there are 3 other possibilities:
1. Our own self
2. Other people
3. The Devil

Now we may directly be following after Satan himself but if we aren't following Christ, wouldn't you think Satan would be satisfied with that?

If we follow our own self and our own desires, that may please us but what is that worth? This man in Mark 10 was grieved because he put his possessions and desires first. Doesn't sound like a very fulfilling decision.

Following others is not the greatest choice either. The Bible tells us that "wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go there in". It is good and important to have good examples in your life and influence but there will be a time when man will let you down. They will disappoint you. That is why we must ultimately fix our minds, hearts and desires to follow solely after Christ.

I think of the hymn, "I have decided to follow Jesus". The words are simple to sing, easy to remember and encouraging to strive for.

I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back.
Though none go with me, still I will follow, no turning back.
The world behind me the cross before me, no turning back, no turing back.

Take up your cross. Leave this world and it's possessions behind. Though you may go alone, follow Him.

You Alone

You have known me all along, even while I was walking in the wrong
On the door of my heart, you were knocking, Oh, but the depth of my sin it was blocking.

But with your Power and with your Might, You softened my heart and cleared my sight
Through Your Word you revealed unto me, your glorious gift from Calvary.

At the cross, I met with you. There you gave me a life brand new.
Upon that mount, my sins were washed away O Praise God, what a glorious day!

Since that day, your child I became. Since that day I've never been the same.
You've been guiding, protecting and teaching me. More like you, I strive to be.

Whether I falter or whether I fall, knowing that upon You I always can call.
Your mighty hand will carry me through. I'm never alone anymore, because I have you.

And as I stand and gaze upon your glorious sky, I catch my breath and let my imagination fly.
For I know this is only a glimpse, dear Lord, of the sweet things you have promised in your Word.

And I long, I long to meet you and your throne, to praise you, Lord and you alone.
I will fall on my knees and then on my face. Unworthy, so unworthy to be redeemed by your Grace.

And I long, I long to meet you at your throne. I have you to thank, Lord...and you alone.

Remembering

"And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments or no." ~ Deuteronomy 8:2

Do you ever have those moments in a day where you have time to be still and just ponder? I had one of those moments today.

I was organizing some papers in my office and heard someone on the television mention an accordion. Now, that may be a mundane word for you but for me not so much. It took me back to a few months ago, sitting in the living room of a friend's house, eating some pizza and talking with a missionary to Africa. My pastor had asked the missionary if there were any specific needs he had and that is when he mentioned that he had been asked to get an accordion. Well, it happened to be that the family whose living room we were all in actually had an accordion. It was brought up from downstairs and it left that night, beginning it's journey to Mozambique.

God had worked the whole situation out. First, it wasn't even planned to be at this particular house. It was a last minute change. Secondly, God had to put it on my Pastor's heart to ask the question of what needs this missionary had. Thirdly, the missionary had to be willing to mention it. Fourthly, the family who had the accordion had to be willing to give it. All these worked out - just as God knew they would. Man can not do that!

That was the first thing that came to my remembrance today and it led me to continue to think upon some of the amazing things God had orchestrated in the recent past. The second thing that came to my mind was how God had been so faithful at answering prayer. He always is but there was one particular prayer (or plea, rather) that not only did He answer it, but He allowed me and others to be aware of when and how our prayer was answered.

It was the summer of 2009 and some great friends of mine had a newborn baby boy who had some major heart troubles since birth. He was in the Mayo Clinic recovering from a recent heart surgery and this day he was not doing well. They were taking him off of his pain medications and he was going threw some really bad withdrawals. All day his family and friends of the family were reaching out and pleading for people to pray for God to give him comfort from these withdrawals. He was only a few months old and it was incredibly hard for his parents to see their son go through such pain.

That evening a small group of us gathered for a special prayer meeting for this little fighter. We met together and took turns praying. We left it up to God to handle the situation and boy, did He ever come through!

The next morning as I was getting ready to leave for work I realized I had a voicemail from the baby's mom. She had heard about our little prayer meeting the night before and had called to say thank you. She also mentioned that after struggling all day, her son had finally calmed down that night - right around 7 or 8 o'clock...that was the exact time that we were praying!

God didn't have to have her call and mention that, but she did call and it was a memorable answer to prayer for not only me but many others who had prayed as well.

I still get goosebumps and tears well up in my eyes just as I type this and think about that moment! I dropped to my knees and praised God for answering our prayer, taking care of little Charlie and for allowing me to see Him work.

Remembering moments like this are needful for me. They are an encouragement to know that God does always answer prayer and I can pray to Him for anything and about everything. Take a moment today or this week and reflect and remember some of the moments in your life where God has shown Himself strong. It will be an encouragement to you. God will always take care of you. He is to be praised for the good and for the bad because it is all part of His will for you and He wants nothing but the best for you.

Battles

We all have battles. Internal battles and external battles. Victories over these battles sometimes come quickly and easily while others are hard fought, enduring battles.

For the past few days I have been in a battle. The first few days of this blog were exciting and ideas were rolling in from every direction. I have a pile of scratch paper with words and thoughts scribbled on them, waiting to be developed. The battle however, arises when I turn my computer on and sign in to post a new entry on here. The battle wages.

"This thought/idea isn't good enough to actually post, Amy. It'd be a waste of time to write and a waste of time for anyone who would read it."

So I change direction and go with a different topic that God has been working on me about. I sign in, begin to type and then the battle arises again.

The topic may be good and for all I know someone might really need it or need to hear a verse about it and God will press me to post it and give me the right verses, yet when I read through it before clicking on "Publish Post" it just doesn't flow right to me so I delete it and decide to come back later.

It's been three days since I've posted last. This battle has been raging for three days.

I know God wanted me to do this blog. All of the reasons may not be known to me but I know it's something He wants me to do. I don't want to give up on it.

So this is my post on battles. When the battle rages, go to His Word. The Bible will give you comfort, encouragement, strength and direction. Through His Word, God will give you the right reinforcement to continue on in doing the things He has given you to do.

This post is my response to the battle. The battle that waged against me to give up.

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." ~ 1 Corinthians 15:58

Trust

A few months ago I heard the results of a poll that asked the question: "What is the most important thing to have in a relationship?" I don't recall what all of the choices were but I do remember the answer that got the most votes was trust.

Now, I understand the poll was mostly regarding a marriage relationship but I believe trust is an essential element to any relationship...to every relationship. A child, while learning how to ride a bike, trusts that Daddy will not let go of the back of the seat. A passenger who gets into a vehicle, trusts that the driver will get them to their destination safely. A father trusts a groom when he hands his daughter over in marriage. Every relationship requires a certain amount of trust. Some relationships require more, deeper trust than others but trust is needed nonetheless. Trust is something that grows over time. Trust is also something that can be lost...quite quickly sometimes, too.

Since trust is essential in every relationship, it's obviously essential for the most important relationship. Our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Bible says, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man." (Psalms 118:8) Putting trust in God to save my soul was one of the easiest decisions I've ever made. (not to mention also the best decision!) But how am I doing at trusting Him will some of the smaller things in life? Am I trusting Him to provide for me financially or do I allow myself to stress about it?

Last night, part of the message was about how we are given the choice of 2 roads. One road is straight and narrow and few are on it. The other road is broad and crowded. Well, as I thought about this subject of trust, I realized we have 2 choices here as well. We can trust God to provide all (and I mean ALL) or put trust in man (others or ourselves). Some verses from Jeremiah 17 illustrate a nice picture of those who trust God and those who don't...

"Thus saith the Lord; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord" Jeremiah 17:5

Wow. I don't want my heart to depart from God. Instead, I want what God promises in verse 7 & 8:

"Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is. For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters and that spreadeth out her roots by the river and shall not see when heat cometh but her leaf shall be green and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit."

So I can trust God with everything because He takes care of everything. When there is a drought, He makes sure the tree's leaves are still green. I don't want my heart to depart from God, I want to be like the tree and trust God to not only get me through the "droughts" of life but still allow me to bear fruit in the end.

Living a blessed life?

While driving to church yesterday morning, I caught a snippet of the radio preacher telling a story. He was describing the setting of a men's prayer meeting he had attended years ago. One by one the men would stand up and ask for the Lord's blessing...asking him to bless the church family, the missionaries, the evangelizing efforts, the church meetings, etc. Then, one man stood up and prayed a prayer unlike any other man had prayed thus far. He asked that God would only bless the list of things already mentioned only if He found them worthy to be blessed.

That made me think, "Am I living a life that God would find worthy to bless?" Hmm. What kind of people does God bless? I found my answer to that question in Matthew chapter 5. Here are examples from the Bible of people God will bless:
- blessed are they that mourn (verse 4)
- blessed are the meek (verse 5)
- blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness (verse 6)
- blessed are the merciful (verse 7)
- blessed are the pure in heart (verse 8)
- blessed are the peacemakers (verse 9)
Am I an example of these characteristics? Sometimes. Could I stand to work on building these characteristics in myself? Absolutely! I desire to have God's blessings upon me and upon my life so the above list will be printed out and hung on my fridge. I need the daily reminder to continually work on these things. I also need a daily reminder to not just always ask for God to bless something (bless my day, my work, my food, my family and friends). Before I ask Him to bless me or my requests, I want to make sure I am doing my best to be worthy of his blessings.

Frost is given

We've all experienced it. The moment of waking up on a crisp and cold winter morning only to find that something fantastic happened during our slumber. Frost. Thick, beautiful, white frost on everything! The tree branches that have been bare since October are now being clung to while light poles and stop signs adorn the white accessory with a sense of dignification.

When I awake on frost covered winter mornings, I am reminded of how the frost got there. The Bible says in Job 37:10, "By the breath of God, frost is given."

While we slumber and while we sleep, God comes down and breathes a fresh blanket of frost to cover His creation. For me, it is just another breath-taking way that God shows Himself to me. I'm thankful for the subtle, daily reminders that He is there...always surrounding and always in control.

Goals

Word of the month = goals.

Work goals, physical goals, spiritual goals, financial goals. Everyone is talking about goals this year.

As I was asking God what goals He would have me to accomplish (or more realistically at least attempt) this year, I was actually quite surprised to see the list fill up so quickly. There are the standard goals: lose weight, gain more in the bank account, meet my metrics at work and so on but then the Lord began to dig a little deeper. He brought up some ideas from the past that have gone...unaccomplished.

One of these past ideas was to write my own devotional. Now, I don't know how everyone else does their daily devotions but I have 2 daily devotionals I read along with my daily Bible reading, My Utmost for His Highest and Our Daily Bread. These are two very good devotionals. My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers is a convicting and deep devotional, while Our Daily Bread is more everyday life and practical thoughts to ponder and put to practice. These 2 together are a good balance for me. But God was still pressing upon me to work on my own. He gave me a capability to write and enjoy it and I haven't really been utilizing that capability since high school. Besides, who knows, someone who reads this blog may get an encouragement here or there so if there is a chance that God could get glory through it, I'm in.

So there it is. My main purpose of this blog is to share my attempt to create a devotional. That's part of the reason why I titled this blog "Carpe diem Domino" which is Latin for "Seize the day for the Lord". I don't want to waste 2011 and not have anything to show as an accomplishment for God. He has given me the opportunity to live in 2011 and I want to seize that opportunity, seize the day and seize it for Him.

So save this page to your favorites if you want to stop by again sometime. My "goal" with this blog is to glorify the Lord and to maybe be an encouragement to anyone who might stop by and take the time to give it a read.

Step one of completing my devotional goal is complete. All I have to do now is click the "Publish Post" button. And away we go!