Wanted: Children who Don't Complain or Argue

The way God calls His children to live is drastically opposite from the way the world expects you to live.  No suprise there, right?

 

Wrong! It saddens me how many Christians are surprised by the fact they are called to be different...not of this world.  Holy - set apart for God, and God alone.

As you go into your weekend...take this PW Devotional with you and apply it.

 

And, let's remember to pray for each other: Oh Lord, grow my faith! Help me be afraid of all the right things and fearless of everything else!

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Like Jesus: Shiny Much? Posted: 30 Jul 2010 01:00 AM PDT "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." (Philippians 2:14-15) I heard somebody say recently, "What other people think of me is none of my business." That's a sticky idea that is both true and false, I think. The true part of it is that I cannot hope to make people judge me fairly. I can't expect that everyone will like me for who I am. I shouldn't make it my job in relationships to be universally accepted. Some people will like me; others won't. That's okay. But in the verses we'll notice today and tomorrow, Paul says that statement is also false. What others think of us as Christians is exactly our business. Why? Because people will base their opinion of Jesus on how much of Him they see in us. Our reputation can attract seekers to life in Christ -- or make them want to gag at the thought of being "one of us." How to be attractive? Paul says, "Don't complain." "Don't argue." That will lead toward our being "blameless" (no obvious big failings in our lives) and "pure" (belonging only to God). We will become known as God's children -- good kids who stick out in a generation that loves to do wrong. Think: Be honest with yourself. What does the reputation of you and your Christian friends together say about Jesus? Pray: Ask God for the self control to obey Him so you can shine for Him in your generation. Do: Listen to yourself today. Write down on a list every time you complain or argue. If it's a lot, track it every day this week and see if you do it less by thinking about it more.

--
Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/

Obey God..Not Man..Not Your Own Plans...

Have you ever been in a place, a crossroads if you will, where you are hesitant, or not at peace about doing something...and, at the same time...hesitant, or not at peace about NOT doing that same something?  That's where I am right now.

 

I am excited...nervous...serious...playful...heavyhearted...lighthearted...struggling...resting...and in a constant state of talking to my heavenly Father about this situation.

 

Bottom line for me, I'm struggling with MY plans versus God's plans.  That's pretty clear to me at this moment as I write this.  Do I REALLY trust God's plan is better than my own?  Nope.  I still, in my audacious peabrain think I actully have some control, thought or input into my future.  Wow. What a foolish little child I am!

 

This PW Devo was written just for me today!  Okay, maybe for you too!  It really helps me remember it is "God who works in you [and me] to will and to act according to His good purpose."  And, me, what is God's purpose for me (okay and YOU too)?  To conform me more to the image of Christ...where I've died and my life is now hidden.

 

What's my job? To obey God.  And, what does God instruct me to do in all situations?

 

⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 

⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. 

⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. 

⁸ This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

 

Check out these way awesome, cool, exciting (and convicting) verses...

 

Phil 1:21 "...For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

 

Colossians 3:1-17

 ¹Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. ²Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

 ⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

 ¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

[Bolded emphasis done by me]

 

Oh Lord, grow my faith! Help me be afraid of all the right things and fearless of everything else

 

Would you pray that for me today, and every day!?  And, I'll pray that for you!.

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Like Jesus: Fear and Tremblin' Posted: 29 Jul 2010 01:00 AM PDT "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Philippians 2:12-13) What this passage is NOT saying: In order to keep your salvation -- your place in heaven with God forever -- you'd better do everything right. You'd better earn it with lots of good works. Be very afraid, because if you don't keep working out your salvation God won't let you in. Why it is NOT saying that: Paul had written this to these same people one chapter ago: "...being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Philippians 1:6) Paul was confident every person in Christ would be made perfect. No need to worry that you won't make it. What I think this passage IS saying: You are saved people! Saved people obey God! Don't stop obeying Him. Be afraid. Be awestruck. Why? Because the all-powerful God of universe is going to use your obedient life to accomplish His plan for the universe. It might be hard, but what an amazing and meaningful (and thrilling and sometimes terrifying) way to live! Think: Does the idea of the God of all using your little life to accomplish His forever plan scare you a little? Does the idea of disobeying Him scare you? Why or why not? Pray: Ask God to help you to be afraid of all the right things and fearless of everything else. Do: Read Philippians 2:5-11 again and notice how the Father used Jesus' obedient life to accomplish His plan.

Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/

Pride

Humility is the exact opposite of pride.  And, when you read today's PW devotional, how awesome it is God used servants, the perfect picture of humility, to reach prideful Naaman!

 

All of us have the problem of pride.  Here's what God says about pride...

James 4:5-7 (English Standard Version)

⁵Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us? ⁶But he gives more grace. Therefore it says,"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

1 Peter 5:4-6 (English Standard Version)

⁴And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. ⁵Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."  ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you,

Proverbs 8:12-14 (English Standard Version)

 ¹²"I, wisdom, dwell with prudence,
   and I find knowledge and discretion.
¹³The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil
   and perverted speech I hate.
¹⁴I have counsel and sound wisdom;
   I have insight; I have strength.

Proverbs 6:16-19 (New International Version)

¹⁶ There are six things the LORD hates,
       seven that are detestable to him:

 ¹⁷ haughty eyes,
       a lying tongue,
       hands that shed innocent blood,

 ¹⁸ a heart that devises wicked schemes,
       feet that are quick to rush into evil,

 ¹⁹ a false witness who pours out lies
       and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.

Proverbs 21:3-5 (English Standard Version)

³ To do righteousness and justice
   is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
⁴ Haughty eyes and a proud heart,
    the lamp of the wicked, are sin.
⁵The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance,
   but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Desperate: No Quest Required Posted: 16 Jul 2010 01:00 AM PDT "Naaman's servants went to him and said, 'My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, 'Wash and be cleansed'!' So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy." (2 Kings 5:13-14) Naaman's servants were smart. Not only did they see their master's pride problem from a different perspective, they were able to help him see that perspective, as well. I hope those guys got a raise after this. With sincere respect ("My father," they said), they showed Naaman that he would have gladly climbed the highest mountain or crossed the widest ocean or gone in hunt of the meanest dragon to escape the death sentence that came with that spot of leprosy. So why not try an easy thing? It takes real wisdom to approach someone in authority over you to help him see that pride is getting in the way of what's best for him. And it takes real humility to listen to the wisdom of those who are NOT in authority over you. When Naaman finally humbled himself and quit demanding to be healed his own way, God healed him for free. Think: Are you available to those in authority over you as a source of wisdom? Are you humble enough to receive wisdom from your peers and others? Pray: Ask God to help you to grow both humble and wise. Do: Pack your stubborn pride in a box and mail it to Baton Rouge (unless you live there, then pick somewhere else).

Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/

Still...Not About Me!

More on Naaman today.

 

About 20 minutes after I sent you all Wednesday's Devotional, I received a phone call from the Tustin Police Department: my dad was in an automobile accident and was being taken by ambulence to the Emergency Room at Western Medical Center.  Was I immediately thankful to God for this? No, I did panic a little bit.  Did I immediately cry out to God for help?  No.  I left my office.  While walking to my car...I began to calm down a bit and remembered to thank God for this situation.  I also asked for His help, strength and attitude so I could glorify Him in whatever situation I walked in to with my dad.

 

And, you know what?  I believe the Lord helped me be calm, thoughtful and ready to rely on Him whatever the situation was with my dad.  In the ER room, I found my dad.  He kept saying, "we don't need this."  My reply, "let's trust God to decide what we do and don't need."  My answer surprised my dad, the ER nurse and the ER attending (who all claimed to be Believers, by the way).

 

All this to say, none of this was about me.  God is in control.  He orders our very next breath.  He is worthy of our worship, adoration, praise and trust.

 

Like Naaman, when we look at our situation from our perspective, pride dictates the wrong thinking that we deserve immediate attention, solutions and ultimate control over how things turn out.  Like a little toddler kicking and screaming, we demand, "my way! My way! My Way!"

 

Whatever you are going through...are you saying, "I don't need this right now!"  OR...are you humbly saying, "God, I trust You.  I know You are in control.  Even here, in this situation, I will glorfy Your name and be thankful!"

 

Like we learned at Hume Lake, most people throw around Romans 8:28 as an answer to all of life's problems.

 

Romans 8:28-31

(28)

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

(29)

For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

(30)

and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

(31)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

If you keep reading, verse 29 explains the reason for all those "things to work together for the good to those who love God...": "to become conformed to the image of His Son,".

 

God uses everything to make us more like Jesus.  For His glory, His purpose, His plan.

 

Still, it is all about God and not about you or me!

 

Read on about Naaman.

 

I hope to see all of you for worship on Sunday!

 

By the way, dad is a lilttle sore but doing okay.  This situation helped him to see he shouldn't be driving any more.  Praise God no one was seriously injured!

 

Love in Christ Jesus,

Mary

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Desperate: Boring Miracles? Posted: 15 Jul 2010 01:00 AM PDT "Elisha sent a messenger to say to him, 'Go, wash yourself seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will be restored and you will be cleansed.' But Naaman went away angry and said, 'I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy. . . .' So he turned and went off in a rage." (2 Kings 5:10-12) Naaman was desperate to be cured of his leprosy, but he still had expectations for how this miracle cure should come about. Yesterday, we saw that he expected it to come from the royal palace of Israel. It didn't. Next, he expected the cure to come with the prophet waving his hand over the death spot in a kind of religious ceremony. Nope. Instead, Elisha sends a simple servant with a simple message to do a simple task: wash in that filthy river seven times. Confession: I've also gotten angry when God answered my desperate prayers in the "wrong way." I wrote the script for the miraculous answer I really wanted instead of the good gift He gave me. That's big and stupid pride, pride that wants to control God instead of trusting Him with my whole heart. Think: Can you understand Naaman's rage at being told by a servant to go and wash himself in a muddy river with no pomp or circumstance or magic words? Pray: Ask God to make you grateful for His gifts, including that ones that come wrapped in plain, brown paper. Do: Imagine what it would feel like to go and bathe yourself in a dirty river seven times in a row.

--
Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/

Hard Times...

Howdy!  These past 3-4 weeks have been a whirlwind of activity at home, in Youth Group and at work! Phew!  Except for a quick trip to Northern California this weekend (for Frank's Aunt's funeral)...we don't have too much planned for the rest of the summer..again...PHEW!

 

Today's PW Devotional touches upon a basic Truth Pastor Steve Salomon taught us at Hume Lake last week:  God is worthy of our attention, devotion, adoration, worship, focus, time, energy...okay, basically....ALL OF US....regardless of our circumstances.  Did you catch that, regardless of our circumstances.

 

As a reminder, read what Paul had to say in 2 Timothy 1:8-12

⁸So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, ⁹who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, ¹⁰but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. ¹¹And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. ¹²That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

 

If you check out your study Bible, you'll see this was written to Timothy while Paul was in prison.  When was the last time someone invited you to suffer with them because of the gospel?  Is that crazy or what?

 

Well, it IS pretty crazy if we don't have the right perspective, focus, or image of who God really is and what we are suppose to be about, in this brief moment in time we call life.

 

Like Paul, we need to remember none of this is about me.  God chose me, I didn't chose Him.

 

If we believe God is the Creator and worthy of our adoration, praise and worship...and we were created for His purpose, His glory and His worship...then we can join Paul in inviting others to suffer for the sake of the Gospel!  We can be thankful in all circumstances.

 

If you think about it, Paul's attitude didn't reflect his circumstances.  And, as a child of God, neither should ours.

 

As Philippians 4: 4-7 commands us: 

 ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Our attitude should be that of rejoicing, gentleness, and thankfulness...in ALL circumstances: good and bad.

 

As Pastor Salomon said, "Do circumstances drive your attitude or does your attitude drive your circumstances?"

 

Read on to learn about Naaman.  And, do a google search on the disease of leprosy.

 

Hope to see you all tonight!  And ladies, we'll meet for prayer at 6:00 p.m.

 

Love in Christ,

Mary

PlanetWisdom.com Devotionals

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Desperate: Hard Times Posted: 14 Jul 2010 01:00 AM PDT "The letter that he took to the king of Israel read: 'With this letter I am sending my servant Naaman to you so that you may cure him of his leprosy.' As soon as the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his robes and said, 'Am I God? Can I kill and bring back to life? Why does this fellow send someone to me to be cured of his leprosy?' " (2 Kings 5:6-7) Naaman, the hero dying from leprosy, is sent by the king of Aram to Israel in search of a cure. Naaman was desperate. Why else would he embark on this journey on the word of one young slave girl? It's the only hope he has left of beating this ugly disease. Notice two things: First, many people will not come to God until they are out of other options. How loving and generous of the Father to use our desperate circumstances to drive us into His care -- and then to care for us as only He can. Second: Naaman assumes that if there is someone in Israel with the power over leprosy, he'd be living at the palace. He'd be a rich and powerful person. But the rich and powerful king of Israel doesn't have what Namaan needs. The dying hero was looking for the right answer in the wrong place. Think: Have you ever turned to God with a big problem only after trying all of your other options first? Do you believe God ever uses our desperate moments to get our attention and give us great gifts? Pray: Thank God that He uses our hard time to help us learn to trust Him more. Do: Think about asking a wise older Christian how God has used hard times in her life to help her trust Him more.

Friends

John 15:12-14 "This is my command: Love each other as I have loved you. The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you."

Today I am praying that God will give you the strength and wisdom to choose the right friends. I'm praying that He will put people in your lives that will help you develop a closer walk with God.

My prayer is that God will help Frank & me teach you to become a friend with the Lord as a first priority.

Love in Christ,
--
Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/