TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK . . . AND GIVE IT BACK TO GOD

“Time is so precious that it is dealt out to us only in the smallest possible fractions - a tiny moment at a time." Irish Proverb

How have you used the time God has given you this past year? Have you used it to honor and please God or to honor and please yourself? Or maybe half and half.

In order to take our lives back - to give them back to God who created us, perhaps we need to look at some potential problem areas and learn how we can do better now and into the future:

Have you squandered your time away by:

- Being so worried about a loved one's health, lifestyle or well-being that you have neglected your own health and well-being?

- Being so busy doing good works that you are serving man instead of God?

- Speaking unkind words about others, chipping away at the foundation of your marriage, your family, your church, your very own life?

- Forgetting the principles of good self-care such as nutritious meals, regular exercise and a good dose of fresh air daily?

- Being so concerned about your financial situation that you can no longer hear God’s voice telling you what to do about it?

- Falling into patterns that resemble a rut so there is nothing new, fresh and different about your life?

Enough, you say! Yes, we can all identify with at least one time waster - and we can probably write out some of our own.

Each day we have clean slate of precious minutes. Let’s TAKE BACK OUR LIVES AND GIVE THEM ANEW TO THE GOD WHO CREATED US AND LOVES US BEYOND MEASURE. He has the blueprint for each of our lives. If we follow His blueprint, we will be all He wants us to be - pleasing and honoring Him minute by precious minute.

I appeal to you therefore…by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

Heavenly Father, please forgive me for squandering precious minutes, hours and days. Please teach me how to better please You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

CAST ALL YOUR CARES

At the age of 76, it is difficult to imagine being downsized. Yet, that is exactly what happened to my aunt. Suddenly she found herself stripped of her deceased husband’s benefits. Gone is the monthly pension, gone are the health care benefits and prescription coverage. She may even need to consider moving to a smaller apartment. Gone are the benefits she had counted on to last the rest of her life.

Having lived through the Depression Era as a young child, my aunt never knew hunger but did know a loving family with plenty of song and laughter. Although widowed twice, my aunt never knew want - God continued to watch over her, guiding her steps as she worked and raised two children.

How will she deal with these drastic and shocking changes in her life? Hopefully, she will remember all the ways the Lord has led her thus far and she will realize His kind care will continue every day of her life - even now. Yes, her anxieties are many, even overwhelming at times, however God knows . . . .

Cast all your anxieties on him (God), for He cares about you. I Peter 5:7

Heavenly Father, please help me see this scripture as a command, not a request. Please help me obey - for my own good. In Jesus' name. Amen.

PS - A few years later this same aunt at age 82 is helping her grown children who, due to downsizing of jobs and health issues are having financial problems. Amazing, God's grace!

SALT OR SALTY PILLAR

Let's talk about salt. No, not the kind that you throw on the sidewalk to melt the ice or the kind we throw in a pot of stew or sprinkle on a homemade pretzel.

Let's talk about the kind of salt Jesus said we are to be in this world:

"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men." Matthew 5:13

Yes, He wants us to give this world the flavor of God - of His love, of His holiness. He wants us to act as preservatives in a rotting world. Let's think about it. What does that mean to you?

Now let's talk about what we are NOT to be - a hardened, stay-put pillar of salt. Lot's wife, instead of becoming the salt of the earth, became something salty but not what God intended for her.

"But Lot's wife . . . looked back, and she became a pillar of salt." Genesis 4:21

How did that happen? How did she become forever frozen in time and place? She looked back. Did she look back because she was sad to leave the place of sin where she and Lot lived? Was she already missing her old place that was scheduled for destruction? For whatever the reason, she did not move ahead in her life but was stuck right there - being a salty pillar, of no use to God except as a bad example.

God tells us that if we do look back, this is what we should see: "And you shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you . . . ." Deuteronomy 8:2

Yes, we are to remember all that God has done in our lives and to learn from the lessons He has taught us and the mercies He has given us. Yet we are also admonished to:

Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13-14

Let us set our eyes, hearts, minds and souls on God. He has our days planned out. We just need to walk in what He gives us to be and do so that we remain salt, a healthy form of salt.

Heavenly Father, thank Your for stretching out my life ahead of me. Please help me not to look back or too far ahead but to live in the NOW place as Your child. In Jesus' name. Amen.

GETTING TO KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS IN YOUR LIFE

As you face a daily decision, a life changing decision or a career decision, have you ever wondered what is the BEST plan for your life, the BEST decision to make in a given situation?

Did you know that God has the BEST plan already laid out for our lives?

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future and a hope." Jeremiah 29:11

It is our responsibility to go to Him, to find out what that plan is . . . and then to walk in it. How do we do that?

1. Go to His Word - search the Scriptures for His Word to you in black and white. It’s His living Word, able to meet every need and question you may have.

“All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work.” II Timothy 3:16-17

“Indeed, the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit . . . it is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
Hebrews 4:2

2. Listen to His still, small voice in your spirit. He longs to talk with you!
“If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly . . . .” James 1:5

3. Look at your circumstances. God has taken tremendous effort to align everything in the universe for you - for just this decision.

God is interested in every detail of your life!

4. Seek Godly counsel from others. As you listen to counsel and do the above, make sure the counsel agrees with the Scriptures, that it glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ (I John 4:1-3), that the fruit produced is good fruit (Matthew 7:15-20 and Galatians 5:22-23). Then ascertain if the decision you make will bring you freedom or bondage (II Corinthians 3:17).

5. Determine if this bring peace.
“. . . the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Phil 4:7.

When all five of these indicators line up, you will have a good indication of God's BEST for you. Then move ahead in confidence, with hearts open to His directing you differently while you walk ahead.

May our prayer be:
"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 25:4-5

QUICKSAND

Weak areas in our lives are like a patch of quicksand. They may look OK from afar, but the closer we get to them, they look a bit suspicious. If we actually become caught in them, we are sunk.

Maybe your weak area is a bad temper or fear and anxiety, chocolate chip ice cream, a super-critical attitude, procrastination, a lack of love for others, extreme busyness, lack of truthfulness, laziness or . . . . Do any of these attributes sound like your weak areas?

For example, dipping our toes into the edges of anger or procrastination should be enough to see the danger of proceeding further into it. By God’s mercy, we will walk away from the danger to our souls. If, however, we ignore God’s Spirit speaking to us of the danger and if we wade in, we are lost as we slowly sink into the mire.

What are we to do with the weak areas of our lives? Just live with them? Or are we to do something about them?

God has the answer: We can avoid the quicksand entirely. Run, don’t walk, the other way. As scripture says:

“Run from all these evil things - follow what is right and good.” I Timothy 6:11.

If, however we find ourselves in quicksand because we didn’t run or made poor choices - then what?

1 Call to God for help. Don’t just call out once. Keep calling out to Him.
“Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble; He delivered them out of their distresses. He led them also by a straight way.” Psalm 107: 6 & 7

2. While waiting, surrender your life to God. Let Him lift you out by His hand.
“Submit yourselves therefore to God….. Draw close to God and He will draw close to You.” James 4:7 & 8

3. Watch for God’s help to arrive.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay;
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.” Psalm 40:1-2

4. Reach out to God when help arrives.
Being in a humiliating place calls for humility of attitude. Let Him reach down to you and draw you to Himself.
“So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God.” I Peter 5:6

5. Let God be your strength as you walk away from the sinking sand.
“He gives strength to the weary And to him who lacks might He increases power.” Isaiah 40:29

6. Don’t go back there - ever!
Again, obey the very first directive - “Run from all these evil things - follow what is right and good.” I Timothy 6:11.
.

Heavenly Father, cause us to listen to Your voice as we walk in this world. There are pitfalls all around and we know that it is only You who keeps us safe from them or saves us in the midst of them. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

YOUR DEFAULT SETTINGS OR GOD'S

In our computers, default settings are provided so that each time we turn on our computers, we don't have to re-set everything just to be up and running. The question is: Have the default settings in your life been set by you or by God?

Let's look at a couple of examples of how this works:

Your child or grandchild has a high fever. Yes, a small amount of fear may be good to help you take action to lower the fever. However, if your default setting is utter panic, your actions may be hindered, making you ineffective in the situation. Since we are commanded to have the mind of Christ, we are told in scripture:

Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6

What is your default setting? Panic or prayer?

Another example: When someone cuts you off in traffic, what is your default setting? Is it anger and rage or the desire for peace? God's default setting for us is clear:

Those who desire life and desire to see good days...let them turn away from evil and do good; let them seek peace and pursue it. I Peter 3:8-11

What is your default setting? Anger or the desire for peace?

One last example: Where do you go when a difficulty enters your life? Do you immediately look on the dark side, expecting the worst? Or:

Whenever you face trials of any kind, consider it nothing but joy, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance; and let endurance have its full effect, so that you may be mature and complete, lacking in nothing.
James 1:2-5

Yes, God's default settings are usually opposite from our human default settings. But if your life belongs to God and you truly love Him, the only default settings should be His, learned and progressively practiced day by day.

Heavenly Father, Help! I am human and will revert to my own ways of thinking and doing things. I need YOU to influence my life in such a way that I have the mind of Christ each day, each moment of each day. In Jesus' Name. Amen.

DANGLING DREAMS

Long ago, in a previous day, what did you dream about becoming . . . about doing?

Yes, we probably each , as children, wanted to be cowboys, cowgirls, pilots and other superheroes or . . .

But as you grew and matured a bit, then what did you dream of becoming . . . of doing . . .

Inventing a . . .
Parenting children that . . .
Owning your own . . .
Taking a mission trip to . . .
Photographing a . . .
Writing a book about . . .
Painting a . . .
Creating a . . .
Mentoring two . . .

As the years marched by, perhaps you had to put some of your dreams on hold, some seeming to be impossible, never to be resurrected. There was an education to attain. A career to establish. A marriage to enjoy. Children to nurture.

But what about today? Day by day, you have become who you are now. Does who you are include any of your dreams or are they still dangling? Hopefully, under God’s direction SOME have become reality. But what about the ones left unfulfilled?

Think about it. Not just for a minute . . . but ponder the idea of the dreams God gave you long ago. Or maybe He has given you a new dream . . . .

Maybe it is time to go to Him, surrender the dangling dreams, unfulfilled dreams, old dreams and new dreams to Him. As we seek Him, He will breathe His life into the dreams He still wants to be fulfilled.

Whether we have two days remaining on earth, two years or two decades, we KNOW that the basis for our lives is to bring glory and honor to God:

“You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For You created everything and it is for Your pleasure that they exist and were created.” Revelation 4:11

So, as we think about giving glory to God with our every breath . . . and the dreams left dangling . . . let’s ask Him to gently lead us in the direction He wants us to go.

After all, the way we attain any dream (and give glory to God) is step by step. No one jumps into a dream in a minute. It takes a realization of what the dream is, of how God is leading and then following His directions step by step to get there. We can trust Him to show us the way. He’s the one who gave the dream. He will empower the steps to get there . . . and to reach Home, the dream accomplished.

Heavenly Father, please renew in me the dream or dreams which You placed within me. Please show me the practical steps of how to attain them. Then please empower me to faithfully walk the journey. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

REACTIONS

How will we react when the limitations of our growing older creep up on us? Will we rebel and complain about the slower pace, the creaky joints, of the unwelcome aches and pains? Or will we use our trouble as a refining influence in our lives?

If we look at ourselves and how we handle adversity now, we will have a clue as to how we will probably handle adversity later in our lives. If we grumble and complain at every difficulty which crosses our path, we will probably grumble and complain in future years.

If we, however, meet difficulties relying and trusting in the goodness of God, thanking Him for all that comes about, we will be strengthening our characters, ready for whatever comes our way.

. . . give thanks in all circumstances, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
I Thessalonians 5:18

Heavenly Father, please teach me now to have a thankful heart as I experience the effects of growing older in this world. In Jesus’ name. Amen.