DEVOTION

I have to be honest, last week my old patters started kicking back in. Before I knew it a few hours had gone by cleaning the house, then a few on the computer, a few doing errands, then unwinding and watching TV with my hubby. Suddenly it was 11:00pm and I still hadn't opened my Bible. By that point we were both so tired while reading, we were not able to fully invest our hearts and time into the scripture. Feeling bad, I decided to start fresh the next day. Again the busyness set in and it was lunch time before I had even uttered a word to God. The days just kept slipping away and I was noticing with each passing day, my joy in the Lord was slipping away as well. In my acts of selfishness and choosing my own time over time with God, I was chipping away at my spiritual zeal. God commands us to be "never lacking in zeal and always keeping your spiritual fervor serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11) I have found that's kind of hard to do when I'm consuming my days with ME. Those few days I was quick to anger, impatient, frustrated with people, selfish, sad...not joyful in the Lord! Do you guys ever start to feel guilty or bad about something and instead of fixing it you just turn away from it even more? Sometimes I do that, I say well its too late now, I've been choosing worldly things over God all day so it won't be sincere to start now, I'll try again tomorrow... Almost like how we are with diets...well I messed up and ate chips already so I might as well have this cupcake too! Haha silly I know but its so easy for me to slip into that mind frame. That is a selfish mind frame, that is not of God! He wants our time, our DEVOTION, our love, all the time!

God was totally convicting me about not only the physical time I give him, but my devotion and dedication to him. I remembered Christina talking about a verse in 2Timothy how even when we are faithless God remains faithful. While searching for that verse, I kept reading in 2 Timothy and was so sad when I got to 2 Timothy 3. It says "Godlessness in the Last days: but mark this, there will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God- having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them...(Vs9) men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected."

Wow, I got teary eyed reading this, I feel like this chapter describes much of me and how I act. I devote so much time to these sinful acts and worldly things and so little time fearing God. I was extremely convicted by "having a form of godliness but denying its power". How sad. I felt immediate sorrow that this is how I am treating my GOD! My King! I am so sorry God! Thank you for your faithfulness to me and taking me back time &time again, thank you for constantly revealing yourself to me and for putting your convictions on my heart.

Soooo, I'm back to the basics. God I choose to turn the TV, computer, and all other distractions off &be devoted to you through my day. I choose to choose your way and not these godless ways listed above. Every hour of the day I will have a choice to make of acting of the world or of you, and I choose you God. So when I sit down to do what many Christians call my "devotions" (or my quiet time with God), I am trying to make a conscious effort to do just that, be devoted! Is it really devoting myself to God when I do my "devotions" at end of the night when I'm exhausted and have nothing left to give? No! I need to be living a life of constant devotion. I’m praying and reflecting on what that means, I’m praying for God to expose areas in my life I can give up to him in order to be more devoted and I encourage each of you to do the same!

I'll end with this verse,
2 Timothy 1: 11
"Here is a trustworthy saying:
If we died with him,We will also live with him;
If we endure, We will also reign with him.
If we disown him, He also will disown us;
If we are faithless,
He will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.

Wow how powerful is that verse? If we are faithless, he will remain faithful for he cannot disown himself. These were just the words I needed to hear to kick my butt back into gear. How selfish of me to think I can only praise God XYZ are met. I can and should praise God in the morning, in the middle of the night, when I'm sick, when I'm tired, when I'm frustrated, when I‘m joyful. I should come to God when I have been faithless and when I have been faithful. He is always there and all he wants from us is to choose him over everything else, and for me that starts with devoting my undivided time to God.

God has been so faithful to place Godly women and people around me to encourage and inspire me in my walk with God! I have it so easy, I have about 7 Bibles in my house, a handful of God fearing women in my life, an awesome church, a wonderful Christian hubby, all surrounding me with the word of God yet I somehow still manage to squeeze in MY way, MY will, MY desires, MY time. Help me give these areas up to you God! Thank you for your constant faithfulness, even when I am unfaithful.

Love to all my Ladies, Megs

I Just May Be a Canaanite...

I'm sitting here reading my bible yesterday morning, beginning the book of Judges. I can already tell what this is going to be about, but I figured it would continue along with the progression of Israel following and falling away from God. What I didn't expect was to be put in a bad mood after reading only two chapters. Why? Well I guess I figured it would be nothing new since the Israelites had the repeated behavior of disobeying God over and over again, regardless of the fact that they saw miracles God was performing right in front of them. But for some reason, this hit me differently. I guess I read it in a new light and discovered something about myself.

I learned the biggest threat to Israel from the Canaanites wasn't their army or their ability to fight, but their religion. They idolized other gods and had practices that couldn't have been farther from God asks of us to do. The Israelites were tempted by their lifestyle, which eventually was what drew them away from God. It all seemed so repetitive, but I couldn't help but realize that throughout many areas of my life, I am a Canaanite. So I don't bow down to statues and sacrifice kids but I find myself easily falling into the commonality of worshipping other "idols." It's a much-talked about thing in churches but how often do we actually try and fix that? It's easy to point it out and admit that we let many worldly things take our time away from God, but what are the steps we are taking to eliminate those? God doesn't ask us to hide it, and if we do, it's not like He won't see it. He asks us to completely rid the sin in our life that is taking our devotion and time away from the Lord. Failing to do this results in a gradual deterioration of our relationship with God. I think the key word here is gradual… it doesn't happen overnight and knowing me, I would never notice it in myself. But that's how the enemy works! Before we know it, we're spending 3 hours in front of the TV, 2 hours shopping, 2 hours getting ready, etc, etc, etc. Not that these are sins in themselves but these may be areas in our life where we can put so much energy and devotion towards, thus taking our time from God.

God wants us to be holy and repent. He WILL take us back and forgive us; He is that merciful! I need to turn from my selfish ways and truly do my part for God before I claim the promises He has given me. The essence of sin is selfishness, but the essence of God is selflessness. Truly God just wants us and us alone, so turn from the things that keep us apart from Him and be able to really know what living in His presence all day is like. Eek… what a challenge!

Try and pray every hour during an entire day. Even if it's a short 3 minute prayer, take time at the hour to praise God, thank Him for what He has done or ask Him for help to get through your day. I tried one day last week starting at 7am... but forgot at 3pm and then the rest of the day after that. :( It was a lot harder than I thought! Also, during this week of Passover, remember how faithful the God we serve is. Eat some matzo and drink some wine if it helps you to reflect on it!

What a Little Time Can Do

When we returned from our retreat I decided to use meals as a time to pray, read the bible, sing worship songs and teach my son about his Creator. My child already is a prayer warrior (no joke, he puts Benny Hinn to shame) so I knew this would not be a difficult task. It seemed like the perfect time to start implementing Proverbs 22:6," Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it," and instilling the truths of God's word in my son.

This is how our mealtime/study time sessions have gone: (Day 1) Read child 2-3 stories, pray, sing song. (Day 2) Read child 2-3 stories. Child demands more. So.... mommy and child finish the entire New Testament. Don't be impressed. It is a toddler bible. (Day 3) Read 2 stories. Child fusses. Mommy tries to make a game out of story time. Mommy: "Where's Jesus, little man? Can you show me Jesus?" (Mommy has no expectation of child finding Jesus). Child: (points to Jesus). Mommy thinks it was a lucky shot; turns page. Mommy: "Show me Jesus, honey." Child: (points to Jesus sitting on a donkey with his back turned). Mommy is convinced. (Day 4- present) Read the bible until Mommy can't take it anymore. Child fusses for more.

As the mealtime/ study time sessions progress, my child demands for more and more stories from the New Testament (not Old), I think, because he wants to show me he sees Jesus. He SEES Jesus. I thought, I was teaching him but what I realized is that he already got it. Of course, he does not know the stories of the bible and their significance but what he does understand is that "Jesus guy" is the main character. He understands that the story is all about Him. I completely underestimated my son based on his age, how wrong was I! It is unfortunate because I could have spent the last two years investing in his spiritual wellness during mealtime. Instead, I used it to (quite ashamed to say) check emails, facebook, text, read mind-numbing gossip and headline news. I COULD have used that time to study the word of God with my son growing in faith and understanding together but instead I wasted it time on mindless nonsense. Even if I just spend 15 minutes a meal doing something related to Christ with him, that is 45 minutes more in the word a day . What a difference 45 minutes can make. My prayer warrior turned bible-thumping toddler proved that to be true- undoubtedly.

"Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 18:3

My challenge to you: Identify and eliminate the small distractions in your life. A few distractions can add up to a lot of wasted time. (Trust me, I know). Determine the distractions and re-direct your wasted time towards something purposeful.

The Triumphal Entry

"Hosanna In the Highest."

"Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord."

John 12: 13

Palm Sunday is a something that comes and goes without much thought for me most years. I know it to be the day when Jesus rode through on a donkey and the people praised Him, shouting “Hosanna” and waived palms.

This year it all seems a little different though. I have been trying to really think about this small story in the bible, the one called the Truimphal Entry. What does that mean for us? What does that mean for my life today?

When Jesus came through that town, He was praised by the people. They shouted, “Hosanna in the Highest! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. Blessed is the King of Israel!”

At that moment, prophesy was being fulfilled…That is a HUGE deal! Jesus came in riding on a donkey, humbled, lowly, but as our KING. As it is written in Zechariah 9:9 “Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, O Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey.”

He is the one that saves. Hosanna is a Hebrew word meaning “save” which became and exclamation of praise. Those people, who came to worship had eyes to see the Savior. They had eyes to see that this man was different that He was Mighty, Strong, a Healer, a Provider, a Peace Giver. They could see this.

I wanna be like this crowd. To recognize “the One who comes in the name of the Lord.” I think so many times we miss God because we are too busy dealing with our own lives and worshipping other things, that we don’t even see that we have a Savior in front of us. Someone who says, I am your KING. I am your SAVIOR. I am your CREATOR. I AM.

As we remember Passover tomorrow, and are reminded of Gods faithfulness to the Israelites as He took them out of bondage, and we approach Good Friday and Easter, may we be reminded not to miss our Savior. Not to be too busy worshipping other things to see that He came to meet us right where we needed him to, and He still does that today.

Lord, we desire to serve you. To shout from the rooftops, “Hosanna in the Highest!” Praise be to the God who sent His son, who saves His children, who came lowly so we could receive you. You knew that’s what we needed and you love us that much. I pray that you would open our eyes today to be prepared for this week, as we remember the cross and all your bore because of our sin. We remember that while we were still sinners you came to save us. We are SO undeserving of your love and your mercy, but Lord we praise you that we can rest in it at all, and accept the gift of salvation. I ask that you would continue to walk with us Lord, help us to worship you 100%. To take the time to see you in all things, because we know you are there. We love you Jesus, Our Precious Savior. In your mighty name, Amen.

- Natalie

Hi girlies.

happy sunday! i thought i'd change the blog just a tad, so I hope you are all okay with it. i have been thinking about each and every one of you everyday since the retreat and find myself getting a little sad since i miss you all so much. i hope and pray that God has still been ever present throughout your day and that you've been able to feel His presence. i was just reading today at the end of Joshua and again was reiterated just how faithful and loving our Lord is. yay!!

can't wait to hear from you all. i will be updating on x-tina tuesday!

love christina

p.s. kath- i made the lemon loaf the other day..... and nearly ate the entire thing. it was soooo good! i brought a mini loaf to work and everyone there loved it too. i think i'll make it for my family for easter :) thanks again.