May 29, 2012 ~ Serving the Lord

"If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Joshua 24:15

Thoughts~

There is always someone or something that we will be serving. I found myself serving pride and ego once upon a time, until the Lord knocked that off my shoulder and humbled me, face down and surrendering to Him. I also served the past, looking at it way too much and allowing it to affect my present and future. God stepped in and knocked that off my shoulder too. He wants me to serve Him and Him alone and as long as I allowed other things to take up my time and focus, I could not live my life fully for Him.

Over my early years as a believer, I have at times served many things that took my focus off the Lord. About 10 years ago it was my ministry . . . which sounds kind of crazy but it’s true. Putting my ministry ahead of my intimate walk with the Lord made me ineffective and tired.

Joshua kept the Lord in front, in first place; His faithfulness was shown in such a strong and dramatic way in this verse. If we were listening in, the tone might even be a bit sarcastic. After all God had done for the Israelites, it was a challenge of sorts: Serve the Lord or serve someone else, but, at least serve! I can hear him now, perhaps exasperated.

Joshua’s leadership is to be admired, but, more than anything, it is his complete devotion to serving the Lord and no one, or, nothing else. This is a time I want to be a copy cat and mimic Joshua's utter devotion to God.

Action~

Who are you serving? Is it God? Are you putting anything except Him in the first place position in your life?

Take a deep breath and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you anything that is coming between you and God. Is it a spouse or family? Memories? Your job? Vacations? Shopping? Hobbies? Worries?

Serving God completely is an experience like none other. It is one of those “ah ha” moments, full of the brightest bliss and deepest contentment. Change your priorities for a life full of meaning and purpose: you can’t go wrong when you serve the King.

 Pray~

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to see Joshua’s faithfulness to You. May I choose everyday to serve You and only You.

Trusting in Him,

Becky

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May 28, 2012 ~ Daily T.A.P. ~ Encouragement

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up,

just as in fact you are doing.
1 Thessalonians 5:11

Thoughts~

I love to encourage others and have them encourage me right back. People that are secure in their own skin love to encourage others. To praise someone for a job well done, no matter what the occasion, is a tremendous gift of appreciation and your words can make or break someone’s day.

When I first enrolled in college as an adult, I had a career counselor that was half my age. I could hardly relate to her, she talked at the speed of light and I thought she seemed annoyed at times with my many questions before I jumped in with both feet. Just as I felt a little bit of discouragement coming on, she leaned over her desk and said “I admire older people who go back to school to start a new career. You can do this. You’ll be a great Social Worker.”

All of the negatives I had been feeling from her were instantly erased as I floated out of her office and into my new life as a college student again. She encouraged me in such a way that she built me up and I wanted to show here that I could do it.

I try to encourage everyone I come across every day in a genuine way.  No one wants to hear false flattery so I look for something that will help them feel appreciated. Sometimes I have to look harder for some people, but I look until I find that needle in the haystack. Once found, my words offer encouragement that is usually not expected. God has used my words often to open doors to new friendships and opportunities to share Jesus. He is the One who encourages us to encourage others.

Action~

Make it a habit of encouraging others every day. Start purposefully thanking people who build you up spiritually, emotionally, mentally, etc. Recognizing someone in a special way may be just what they really needed that day.

We all have different “love languages” so while one person may only need a pat on the back to feel encouraged, another may need a special card sent in the mail or even a small token of appreciation. Regardless of how you do it, work on encouraging others, even if it feels a little bit foreign to you. It's a very special habit to have.

Be genuine about your encouragement and tell the people how they specifically encourage you. You will be building so many people up that you’ll soon have a stream of people wanting to hang out around you.

Pray~

Father, thank You for teaching us how to encourage others. You are the example of real encouragement, always there to let me know You are pleased with me. Help me to remember to encourage all of those around me.

Trusting in Him,

Becky

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May 27, 2012 ~ The Power of our Words

A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh
word stirs up anger.

Proverbs 15:1

Thoughts~

I was having a very good day when out of the blue the woman in front of me sideswiped the checker at the grocery store with her reckless mouth. It’s truly like being run over by a freight train when someone lets loose all of their thoughts and they don’t put a filter on their words. Having no care for others people’s feelings, the customer in front of me really let the checker have it with both barrels. I was first shocked and then went straight to angry and then to prayer. Asking God how I could help the poor underpaid checker, who does not make the rules, I wanted to offer her gentleness.

When it was my turn, I smiled at the teary eyed checker and gave her a sympathetic look and then told her how well she handled the mean spirited woman. I knew it was God using me and I watched her begin to smile and then we both began laughing over the silliness of the previous customer. Laughter is the best medicine sometimes!

Because we all have the power over our words, the Bible talks about how we use them hundreds of times throughout both Old and New Testaments. And God encourages us through the writers to use them wisely, with gentleness and kindness.

I used to have a relationship with a woman who seemed to delight in putting me down, showing me my shortcomings.  We all know people like that. They have a low self esteem so tear others down in order to build themselves up. I ended the relationship, but before I did, I wore a rubber band as a bracelet when I was with her.  When her words became unkind, I snapped the band to remind myself to not respond so I could avoid an angry argument. I got tired of the sting and realized that she needed a victim to beat up and it wasn’t going to be me. Walking away is like a gentle answer sometimes.

Action~

How can we practice gentle answers and speech? One way it to purposely set out to do it.

*Take a walk through any grocery store and look for lonely people.  As you walk by, smile and say hello. People don’t do that much anymore.

*When you hear a checker being mistreated by a grouchy customer, make sure your words to him or her are kind ones.

*When someone attacks you, snap that rubber band and find the kindest response that you can honestly give.

*Ignore the argumentative and negative people that pop into your life. Many of them love to argue. When you walk away from such conversations, there is no one left for them to argue with.

*The same goes for people with critical spirits. Walk away from having words that will just bring more harm than help.

*Regularly practice using kind words such as thank you, you did great, I admire you, I like being around you, I understand, and how can I help you?

It’s not that God won’t use us in the lives of people with problematic attitudes: He will and often does. However, some people seem to thrive on harsh and harmful words and they can’t get very far with you when you aren’t there to listen. You can diffuse their talking time bomb of a mouth by your absence.

Pray~

Lord, help me to be the kind of friend that builds people up. May I keep a gentle answer on my tongue rather than a harsh one. May I treat everyone the way I want to be treated.

Trusting in Him,

Becky

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