Embracing Each Day
“So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you; take your everyday ordinary life – your sleeping, eating, going to work, and walking around life – and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for Him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God – you’ll be changed from the inside out.” Romans 12:1-2, Message Translation
There are days when all I feel like I do is get up, pour myself a cup of coffee, spend a few precious moments in God’s Word, pick up the house, run errands, return emails, make dinner, (pick up the house again!!) and finally fall into bed only to do it all over again the next day! Maybe your days are filled with driving to work, making business calls or taking care of your elderly parents. But, no matter what stage of life we are in – we can become bored with our daily routines and forget to embrace each day as a gift from God.
What stood out to me in the scripture above is the challenge Paul gives us to embrace our everyday, ordinary life as worship to God. I have found that if we choose to worship God everyday (no matter how mundane our tasks may seem) an overflowing joy will fill our hearts. God will help us see that what we do each day is not ordinary – but extraordinary! While, the world may perceive what we do as meaningless, God knows our hearts and He sees our acts of everyday life as worship to Him.
Did you know that as you go about your everyday, ordinary life, that you are changing eternal souls? You are influencing someone’s life today, whether you realize it or not. Your encouragement and heartfelt concern for a co-worker, fellow mom or a grocery store clerk can literally alter their destiny!
Maybe you are a businessperson, minister or teacher. You need to know that every client you encourage, sermon that you preach or child that you impact is shaping an eternal destiny. The truth is, there are thousands of people who need what you do mindlessly each day. It may be your smile, uplifting word or a mastery skill that you perform at your job. But someone, somewhere, is in need of what you do in your everyday, ordinary life. Choosing to worship God through your everyday life will not only change you, but everyone around you as well!
Prayer:
“Lord, I give you my everyday, ordinary life: my sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life as worship to You. I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus and what He thinks about me as I go about my daily tasks. Father, open my eyes to see how my life can be a blessing to those around me. Help me to see those who are hurting and need the gift that is within me. Someone, somewhere is in need of what I do in my everyday, ordinary life. May You use my life to glorify You. Take my ordinary and turn it into extraordinary this day.” Amen.
God Sees You
“God has had it with the proud, but takes delight in just plain people. So be content with who you are and don’t put on airs. God’s strong hand is on you; He’ll promote you at the right time. Live a carefree life before God, He is most careful with you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7, Message Translation
I was always the kid in gym class that was overlooked by my peers when selecting a team for softball. I will admit that if they were looking to win, it was in their best interest to not choose me. Thankfully whenever a friend was team captain she would save me the embarrassment of being last and select me simply because she liked me.
Have you ever noticed in the Bible that God also chose the least likely to do great things for Him because He loved them? Peter the stinky fisherman, Paul the Jew who persecuted and killed Christians, Zacchaeus the tax collector and Mary the simple virgin girl. While man may be quick to overlook you, God sees you! He sees your potential when no one else can. He looks down from heaven and declares, “That’s my girl and I am going to use her to bring people to Me.” Once God makes His mind up – it’s settled. God loves using the foolish to confound the wise. He hates the proud, but takes delight in the simple (that’s me alright).
The scripture above tells us to just be ourselves and to live carefree before God. You mean I can be free to just be me? That’s right! We don’t have to put on the airs of this world, but be who God calls us to be! You don’t have to look a certain way, have a particular degree, or come from a prestigious background. While God may use these things, you can trust that God will promote you and provide all the gifting you need to fulfill your destiny in Him. He has chosen you, knowing your past, present and future. You don’t have to do a thing, except live a carefree life before God. He will do all the rest.
Prayer:
“Lord, thank you for seeing my potential when no one else does. I now realize that You have chosen me because You love me! Help me to be content with who I am. You created me and You only create good things. I choose to accept and love myself even with all my faults. I trust you to promote me at the right time and protect me from potential harm. Thank you for loving me just as I am. Take me to the next level in You. I want to fulfill my destiny.” Amen.
Want, Wait and Witness
“Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you.” Psalm 25:5, The New Living Translation
Several months ago, I began diligently seeking God on a matter close to my heart. I began meditating on The Word of God and Psalm 25 was the passage that seemed to continually give me peace as I sought God’s perfect will. It was the scripture above that gave me confidence God would show me the right path for my family. After a few weeks of building my faith, I was expectant to receive God’s leading. Did you know he word “truth” above is defined in the Hebrew language as “to put a stake to in the ground, determined and absolute ? The word “truth” is also the beginning, middle and end of the Greek Alphabet.” With this definition before me, I began to hold onto God’s Truth at the beginning of my situation, in the middle and at the end! It is God’s Word alone that we can build our life upon! It was through this revelation that God spoke to me very clearly about three steps I needed to follow in order to receive wisdom from Heaven. Today I would like to share with you what God revealed to me:
1.First, we have to WANT God’s direction for our life. When we rely on human intellect or feelings to determine our choices we are in for a rollercoaster ride! I know this from personal experience:) It is only when we seek God’s plan that we can have peace as we work through various issues in our lives. Wanting God’s wisdom is the first step to receiving it.
2. Second, we have to WAIT on God. After we begin asking and seeking, it is then time to wait for God to speak. God is an on time God. I know that it may “feel” as if He is late in answering our prayers, but God is faithful and always on time. I have learned that whenever it appears that God is with-holding something good from me, He is only setting me up to be blessed! He loves us so much that he lets the “good” pass us by in order to give us His best. During the waiting period we need to know that God is faithful and therefore we can wait in expectation. It’s kind of like when we visit a doctor. Due to the fact that we made an appointment and WANTED to seek medical counsel – it is just a matter of time before our name is called and we get the doctor’s wisdom. When you WANT God’s wisdom, it is just a matter of time before it is revealed!
3. Third, we need to be ready to WITNESS a miracle. This is the best part! After we WANT God’s wisdom and we WAIT for Him to speak concerning the matter, we will then WITNESS God’s miracle working power in our life! I am currently walking out this final step and I can tell you from the bottom of my heart that God has done a miracle on my behalf. If you are currently in the waiting step – hold on and look each day for God to move on your behalf! Your miracle is on the way! No matter what you need from God this day – know that He is faithful! Do not give up. Do not get impatient and move ahead of God. All you need to do is: Want, Wait and Witness – God does all the rest!
Prayer:
Lord, I need direction in my life. Teach me Your ways and show me the right path. I WANT your wisdom. I choose to WAIT for You to make my path clear and I expect to WITNESS a miracle concerning this issue! Forgive me for getting in Your way. I completely surrender my life once again to you this day. Open my eyes that I may see You working on my behalf. Open my ears that I may hear Your voice. I let go of disappointment and frustration and I grab hold of the Word of God. I choose to believe The Word concerning all things in my life. Thank you for always giving me Your best Jesus! I love you! Amen.
Friend Check – Choosing Your Friends Wisely
“Whoever wants to embrace life and see the day fill up with good, here’s what you do –
Say nothing evil or hurtful; snub evil and cultivate good; run after peace for all you’re worth. God looks on all this with approval, listening and responding well to do what he’s asked; but he turns his back on those who do evil things.” 1 Peter 3:10, Message Translation
Whenever I am around people who gossip, I always leave their presence feeling dirty and in need of a spiritual shower. Yet, as much as I hate gossip, occasionally I find myself listening with interest and even participating. Whenever gossip first begins in conversation, my spirit feels uncomfortable and I always try to change the subject. Nevertheless, at times I get pulled in and fall prey to this evil sin. This is why we must be careful with whom we spend time and allow in our inner circle. Our inner circle consists of individuals we socialize with on a regular basis. *The truth is: If these “friends” are talking about others with you, then they are talking about you with others! Are you hanging out with people who gossip and say evil things about others? Are you that person? Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal if this is true about you or the friends you associate with.
Once a year I do what I call a “friend check.” This ritual allows the Holy Spirit to show me if someone, for various reasons, needs to move from my inner circle. Although this is hard for me, I have learned to trust the hand of God. God will often remove someone who is a wrong influence in my life and bring new friendships, which will encourage me to fulfill my destiny in Christ. Don’t be afraid to ask God to do a “friend check” in your life – I’ve had the same best friends for ten plus years. But they are people who run after peace and speak well of others. God simply longs to fill our days up with good and look upon us with his approval as the scripture states. He is a forgiving God and is always looking out for our very best.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to be a woman who runs after peace and cultivates good wherever I go. I give you permission to show me if I have fallen prey to gossip and speaking evil of others. Please forgive me Jesus and cleanse me of this sin. Help me to speak only good of others and hold things in confidence. Give me wisdom about who is in my inner circle. I give you permission to remove anyone out of my inner circle and to bring in new friends for your purposes in my life. Thank you for looking upon me today with approval from heaven. Thank you for loving me. Amen.
*Today’s Devotional was taken from “Tuesdays with Tracy: Real-life Devotions that Touch the Heart of a Woman,” Xulon Press, 2008.
GRACE WORKS
The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the LORD turn his face toward you and give you peace.”’ Numbers 6:24-26, NIV
Everyone has their “top reads” of their life other than the Word of God and I can say that hands down that GRACE WORKS by Tony Sutherland (www.tonysutherland.com) is one of my top three reads! As a Professional Counselor, I recommend this book for my clients who struggle with performance based self-esteem, guilt, condemnation, fear, shame or any psychological problems for that matter as this book will go to the root and bring freedom in its place. As a mom, GRACE WORKS has helped me in my parenting and given me a new perspective on how to love my child in greater ways. And as a child of God, this book has been revolutionary to me. Please read some the clip below and the back cover and I encourage everyone to pick up a copy or download it to your laptop today! Blessings and remember…..GRACE WORKS!
“…Now-a-days people are confused, troubled, and desperately hard-pressed for help. A doctrine or expose’ won’t fix broken lives. Desperate people don’t need a word. They need a ROPE! God’s grace is that rope! Carrying guilt is destructive. In fact, CONDEMNATION KILLS! Most people have enough trouble in their life without having to bear the heavy guilt from not doing enough for God or failing Him altogether… Our Heavenly Father does not want His children to live under guilt and condemnation (Romans 8:1). I truly believe we can live guilt and worry free lives through the power of God’s grace!” (From Tony’s New Book – GRACEWORKS)
“Have you every wondered how to get from here to happy? That’s what Tony Sutherland’s new book is all about! In fact, God’s plan for you is nothing short of spectacular! The way to freedom is just at hand. Through personal experiences, Tony Shares profound secrets to the overcoming life through his own marvelous grace awakening. Once you get a revelation of the truth that is in Christ, you will never want to go back to your old life of dead religion again! Only one thing works to break the bondage of sin… Grace… GRACE WORKS! You no longer have to suffer from self-defeating perfectionism, anxiety and condemnation from your failures. So get ready to encounter a whole new dimension of God’s power as He views you through His amazing love. As you read through the pages of this book one thing is certain… you will be surprised by grace!”
About
Tracy became a Christian at the age of 16 and her life was changed forever. She went from being a depressed, suicidal, rebellious teenager to a dynamic leader for Christ. Immediately after accepting Jesus as her Savior, Tracy fought the school board in order to begin a Bible study on school grounds at her high school in Illinois. The dramatic transformation in Tracy's life has inspired many, including her own mother, to give their lives to Christ.
