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He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers. Exodus 35:35
When we were young our play centered on success. Little girls played house and had tea parties in which the kids were good, the husbands loving and food was plentiful. They shopped for the nicest clothes and paid for them with play money, money they could play with again tomorrow.
Little boys were cops that always got their man, ball players that always made the winning hit or shot to bring the trophy home. They were the strongest and the best. They never got heart and if they did, they were better tomorrow. They worked at offices and drove the nicest cars and had the best homes and always seemed to have time for golf or fishing or time at home doing what they wanted.
If only real life were like that! Later in life reality sets in. Money isn’t as easy to get, clothes don’t fit they way they want, we miss the winning shot or strike out with two out and the bases loaded. The sense of failure, frustration and anger sets in, and soon we fight the feelings of uselessness.
Here’s a newsflash for you. This country wasn’t made great by the champions of the ball field. We didn’t become the people we were because of politicians or lawyers or professors holding court in the best universities.
The real movers and shakers that made this country great were the farmers who spent long hours tilling ground that may or may not produce a crop this year to reward them for their labors. Advances in technology and medical research came got their start because of kindergarten and elementary teachers that believed in the students they had. Leaders in all facets of life can trace their heritage to parents or parent figures who taught them that they could indeed be all they wanted to be and gave them the opportunities to grow.
God is a God of excellence. He doesn’t look to the strong and mighty to get the job done. He looks to the craftsmen, those skilled in gifts that he, himself gave them. He didn’t announce the birth of his son to priests, but to lowly shepherds. He didn’t choose a prominent metropolitan area for the King of Kings to be born in, but a small, unimportant hamlet. He didn’t choose a princess or a queen to carry the infant Messiah, but a poor, obscure peasant girl.
When it was time to build a place for almighty God to dwell, he chose simple willing, gifted people to prepare it. People like you and I who were created and empowered by the gifts that he molded us to have.
We are created by almighty God to do his work. We are gifted by God to glorify God, not to impress men. If God has gifted you to serve and placed you at a fast-food joint, serve to his glory. If he’s gifted you to clean and placed you in a hotel, make every room clean for his glory, not for the management’s sake.
1 Peter 4:10 tells us that, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” Where ever you are, whatever you are doing, you are gifted by God. Don’t let the world tell you otherwise!
PRAYER: Lord God, I thank you for who I am. I praise you for the way you have gifted me. Empower me by your Spirit to use the gifts you have given me to glorify you, not to impress men. Amen.
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Romans 8:16
Three third grade girls were overheard on the playground. Two of the girls were new to the school and playing with their new found friend. In the midst of play, one of the ‘new’ girls said, “We’re sisters, but one of us is adopted.” Her friend said, “Really? Which one of you is adopted?” At that, the sisters looked at each other and got a puzzled look on their face. They giggled their reply, “Um…we don’t remember!”
That’s what it’s like to be adopted as a child of God. When you are a guest in a home you are limited in what you can do and where you can go. Even if the host gives you ‘all liberty’, in your heart you realize that some things are just inappropriate unless you are part of that family.
But when you are a child, there are no limitations. You can go where you please. You can answer the telephone and change the television channels. You can get the mail and raid the refrigerator. Oh, and when you are a child, it’s your stuff hanging on the refrigerator too. And your stocking hanging on the fireplace.
You didn’t choose which physical family you were born into. But you can choose your spiritual family. You did nothing to prepare for your first birth. You can do nothing to prepare for your second birth either. It’s all been done for you on the cross.
When you were growing up you thought nothing of going to your father and asking for things. He was daddy. He was your protection, your provision and your number one cheerleader. You knew that if you were ever really in trouble you could go to dad. You can do the same today.
It doesn’t matter what you have done or where you have been. It’s not important if you got into the mess you are in because of your own stupid choices or because of the evil and abuse of someone else. What matters is that the God of Heaven wants desperately to be your daddy. Your Heavenly Daddy wants to take you in his arms and love you and show you that everything…yes everything, will be okay because he is there.
I like what Max Lucado says in his book ‘The Great House of God’. “It would be enough if God just cleansed your name, but he does more. He gives you his name!”
PRAYER: Father God…Daddy. There are so many times I’ve tried to go my own way like some self-confident, rebellious and selfish two-year-old. So many times when I’ve chosen my way when I knew your way was best. Thank you for the forgiveness you have given me through Jesus Christ. Thank you that I’m not a guest in your house, I’m a child. I don’t visit you. I live with you. I pray that from this day forward I’ll live with the confidence of a child of a king because that is what I am! In Jesus name, Amen.
“In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Ephesians 4:26-27
All of us get angry from time to time. For some of us anger is a fleeting event in the process of life. Our anger is like a firecracker. Long or short fused, once we reach the ‘boiling point’ we explode. We say what we feel needs to be said or do what needs to be done and then we are finished.
For other people anger is like an iceberg. We may show some emotion on the surface but the true feelings are beneath the surface. People learn to stay away because they know that lurking beneath the surface of our emotions is a dangerous monster ready to rip us apart.
Anger in and of itself is not a sin. Jesus got angry with the religious zealots and the hypocrital Pharisees for the way they twisted God’s law for their own religious benefit. He was angry the day He drove the money changers from the Temple because they had defiled God’s rules on sacrifice.
Others in the Bible grew angry as well. Sometimes their anger was directed at wicked kings and family members. Sometimes their anger and frustration was directed at God. Even God is described as growing angry in relation to sin and to those who taught a ‘religion’ that contradicted His love and concern for mankind.
In most situations, anger is a secondary emotion. It is sub-consciously used as a cover up for guilt, unresolved sin, or fear. When we grow angry it is often because we feel threatened. We get angry at other people because they do or say things that make us feel inferior, unloved or unimportant. We resolve to never let that person hurt us again and never seek resolution.
Paul warns us that while being angry is not a sin, we should not let anger lead us into sin. In any situation we should respond, not react to the person who is attacking us. There are times when our first action must be to remove ourselves from the situation. God never wants us to be abused physically, spiritually or emotionally. Time apart allows both parties to evaluate the situation and work towards resolution, even if resolution includes ending a relationship.
When we are angry we need to resolve that situation as soon as possible. That doesn’t always mean we can go to the person who has made us angry and resolve things. Anger is my choice to react to a situation that I feel threatened by. It is also my choice to release the person that has hurt me by choosing not be in bondage to that person or to anger.
In cases of extreme abuse it may take years to get over the anger and hurt, but Jesus came to heal and free us from the bondage of anger. When we feel attacked, anger can be avoided by simply reassuring ourselves that because of Jesus we are okay. You are a child of the King. No one can change that or take it away from you.
Be angry. But don’t allow the anger to consume you and change who you are. Ask for God’s help in releasing you from anger as soon as it rears its ugly head. Waiting ‘until morning’ may allow Satan to take you captive.
PRAYER: Dear Father. I confess to you that I am filled with anger today. I thank You that You understand far more than anyone else how hurt I am. I want to be released from the anger I feel. Empower me through Your Holy Spirit to live with the confidence that nothing and no one will ever change the fact that I am Your child. Amen.
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
The Bible has always linked the mind with our intellect and the heart with our emotions. In Psalm 19 David proclaims the magnificent Glory of God. He recounts the many blessings each of us have received as a result of His love. He’s in awe of the majestic beauty of God’s wonderful creation.
As he nears the end of his ‘praise session’ it’s as if in the midst of his words he is reminded of his own inability to live worthy of the love God has for him. Even in things that seem so small in man’s eyes, the words we speak and the way we feel.
It’s really no surprise that David links our words with how we feel. Jesus likens harsh language towards a brother as equal to murder. James comments that if any man is perfect in the words he speaks he is a perfect man. The implication is that even if we could be perfect in every other action in our lives, and hold every thought captive, it’s our mouths that get us in the most trouble!
If we are honest with ourselves, most of the time our language gets us in trouble when we feel like we are being attacked physically, mentally or emotionally. Sometimes those feelings of attack are valid. There are people around us who use the subtle weapons of sarcasm, tone of voice and body language to tell us, in essence, that we don’t measure up.
As David pondered the greatness of his God he came to a point where his desire was that even in his words God would be glorified. People can’t see our minds and our thoughts. They can, however hear our words and see how emotions control us. Our words and emotions should reflect who we are in Jesus Christ. When we live according to the facts of who we are in Him then the attacks of other people won’t affect us because we know the truth about ourselves.
As we grow closer in relationship to Jesus through prayer, Bible study/reading and body life our words and feelings about ourselves and others will reflect the Glory of God and be pleasing in His sight. We will be a sweet aroma and soothing oil to God and others.
PRAYER: Holy God. I am in awe of your majestic creation. I see the lofty mountains and the fertile plains. I see the animal world in perfect harmony with your will. Your beauty and splendor is unmatched and I give you all the praise and all the glory. I ask that you would help me to better see who I am in you. When the attacks come against me I ask that I would respond according to who I am and not react the way my attacker has. Forgive me for the sarcastic words, the belittling comments and the other tools I use to defend who I am. As your child I realize I have no need to defend myself. I am yours and that is enough. Amen.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 