Psalm 139

Psalm 139 is a beautiful Psalm of adoration of God.  It reminds us that God is everywhere.  He is inescapable.  He sees every move we make.  He watches over us and knows us deeply and intimately.  This Psalm tells us that God is more than we can understand.  He sees things differently than we see them.

There are many parts of Psalm 139 that are important and inspirational.  One passage from this chapter that I think is especially relevant for women, is Psalm 139:13-18.  I think women can be really hard on themselves, because culture has given us this false sense that we need to be perfect.  We are told that we need to be perfect friends, wives, mothers, daughters.  We think we need to be perfect in personality, in figure, in appearance, in spirituality.  A lot of times we can put on a great act, while inside we are ashamed because we know the truth, and we are afraid that others will see that we are liars.

The truth is, we do not need to act!  We are "fearfully and wonderfully made"!  Our loving God made us and saw us before we were even born.  He has known us deeply and intimately, and made us for a specific purpose.  He doesn't want us to act.  He wants us to know the person that He made, and praise Him.  As verse 14 says, God's works are wonderful!  And if we truly believe that we are His work, then we will know that we have been made wonderful!  The only parts of us that are not wonderful are the parts that we have added (or subtracted) by believing the lies around us about who we are supposed to be.  It is our differences that make the body of Christ what it is supposed to be.  It is our differences that make a beautiful work of art out of God's people, and glorify God's name.

Today I pray that as women of God, we can throw aside our unGodly notions of who we are supposed to be, what others want us to be, what we want us to be, and just be the people God has made us to be.  I pray that we embrace every detail about ourselves and let God show us the wonderful works of His hand.

Father God,
Thank you for your Word!  It is alive and well, and it speaks to our souls, it feeds us and nourishes us.  May you speak to all of our hearts when we read your word, and may the Holy Spirit help us to understand your wonderful ways.  In Psalm 139:23-24 your wonderful Word says, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  I pray this over all of us women of God, that we would hand over to you these anxious thoughts we have of trying to be someone we are not.  Help us to stop acting, and allow your goodness to invade every part of ourselves until we have complete peace and confidence in the people you have made us.  We trust you and we love you.  In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.

Family Discipleship

"Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age".  Matthew 28:19-20

If you've been around the church very long, you have probably heard of this as "the great commission".  It was when Jesus told His disciples to go out and use what He had taught them to teach the rest of the world.  As followers of Christ, we are also His disciples.  Therefore, this commissioning from our Holy King applies to us as well.

Maybe we don't always think of ourselves as teachers.  Maybe we don't always feel confident to disciple others as Jesus did.  The truth is, no matter who we are, we have some influence over the people we are near.  We teach and lead without even thinking about it.  If our first priority is to love God, and our second is to love people, then we need to be mindful of what we are teaching those around us.

In this season of my life, my greatest responsibility is discipling the hearts of my three little girls.  It is an incredibly fulfilling and challenging task, but I struggle with it daily also, as I work through my own sin and selfishness.  There are days that I just don't feel equipped, and most days I fail at being all I want to be for them.  I have to constantly remind myself that this calling is from God, and that the Holy Spirit is with me, helping me.

The Village Church in Texas recently did a sermon series on Family Discipleship that my husband and I found extremely inspiring and helpful in this season.  It was a fabulous resource for the battleground we are on of being much less than perfect, but wanting to guide our children in the direction of Christ.

So... what if you don't have kids?  What if your kids are grown?  My answer is this: The series is called "Family Discipleship".  We are all in the family of God.  Even if you are no longer responsible or never have been responsible for shepherding your young children's hearts, there is someone in your life, in this family of God that you can be discipling.  All the principles mentioned in the sermon series can apply to anyone you encounter.  It's basically about finding opportunities to share God with each other.

It's a fabulous series.  I hope it uplifts and encourages you as much as it did us.  God bless you!

http://www.thevillagechurch.net/resources/sermons/series/family-discipleship/

Dear Father,
Please help us to live knowing that we have you as our help always.  Make us brave and strong in you.  Teach us to look for opportunities to disciple others in our lives.  Whether it is at home, at work, or anywhere we go, please show us the opportunities we can take to disciple others, and help you fulfill the great commission.  Make us determined to share your love with others wherever we go.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

The Price of the Vision

Good morning and God bless you!  I can't believe summer is almost halfway over!  I hope and pray that you are growing closer to the Lord and maintaining closeness with Him through these busy summer months.  It is definitely more difficult for me to stay on my regular schedule with school being out and staying up later than usual, and special events going on.  However, I find unique ways and places to spend time with God, which is really fun and adds a new dimension to my relationship with Him.

One of the devotionals I have been using this summer is an oldie but a goodie: "My Utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers.  Thanks to a friend who told me that the same devotional is available online, I have been able to read it each day, even if I'm away and forget my book at home.  I wanted to share today's devotion from the book, because I thought it was really relevant to us as military women.  We have to deal with a lot of loss in the military.  Whether it is a loss of a friend when they move, a home we have loved, or a job or school that was great, when the Air Force says, "Go", we go.  However, our loving Father in Heaven knows what we need to be more like Him, and sometimes loss is what He allows so we can grow.  Every time we lose something we love in our lives, it leaves a hole in our hearts.  The question is, what do we fill it with?  Today's devotion is a great encouragement and reminder of how sometimes loss is the exact thing we need to truly see God.  I hope you enjoy!!

http://utmost.org/the-price-of-the-vision/

Heavenly Father,
Please help us to trust you more.  Help us to know that when you tear down and allow loss in our lives, that it is an opportunity to know you more.  Bless these ladies with eyes to see and ears to hear, and the peace that comes from you that surpasses all understanding.
In Jesus' Name, Amen.

If We're Honest

Good morning ladies!  I've been thinking and praying about this week's devotional, and I wanted to write about the fruit of the spirit to go along with the "planting" theme that has been on my heart lately.  But, nothing was coming to me.  So today I sat down to write, and realizing that I could find a devotion online to share, or I could wait on the Lord, I held out for God and He challenged me and put this on my heart instead.

This week has been tough for me, because I have been dealing with some family stuff that is a very long story and has affected me for my whole life.  It seems as though things are coming to a head and I'm doing my best to listen to God in this time and speak when He wants me to speak, and be still all the other times.  I'm feeling frustrated and disappointed watching people that I have looked up to, some who are Christians, fall due to sin and stubbornness and pride.  As I sat down to write this devotional, this song came to my head.  It is called "If We're Honest" by Francesca Battistelli.  The lyrics really hit home for me, because when we are hard-hearted and stubborn and prideful, we cannot allow our sin to be dealt with and our hearts to be changed.  We continue to be held in bondage by our unGodly beliefs and the things we hide from the Lord.  We can lie to ourselves and think we are ok, but eventually the lies eat us alive.  Every time we choose sin, it separates us from God, and it becomes easier to choose sin again and again until we become blind to it.  

Adam and Eve were a perfect example of this, because as soon as they sinned that very first time, they were ashamed and grew fearful because they were exposed.  What did they do?  They tried to hide themselves from God.  We are human.  We are not perfect, and God doesn't expect us to be perfect.  He does however, want to us to flee from sin.  He wants us to recognize the sin in our hearts and when we do fall, to confess it and bring it to Him so He can forgive us and cleanse us.  He doesn't want us to hide.  He doesn't want our hearts to grow hard and separate us from Him.  He wants us to be honest with ourselves, with Him, and with each other (See 1 John 1:9 and James 5:16).  He wants our whole hearts.  I have personally experienced blindness to sin and the wall I had built between God and myself, but I have also experienced the miracle of when God opened my eyes and allowed me to see the depth of my sin, and the freedom He gives through true repentance.  Whatever we build, God can bring down, praise Jesus!  

I hope you enjoy this song, and I pray that if there is anything that you have been keeping from God, that you ask the Holy Spirit to give you the strength to expose it so the enemy cannot use it against you anymore, and that you can have true freedom through Christ Jesus. 

"If We're Honest" Lyrics:

Truth is harder than a lie

The dark seems safer than the light

And everyone has heart that loves to hide

I'm a mess and so are you

We've built walls nobody can get through

Yeah, it may be hard, but the best thing we could ever do, ever do

Bring your brokenness and I'll bring mine

'Cause love can heal what hurt divides

And mercy's waiting on the other side

If we're honest

If we're honest

Don't pretend to be something that you're not

Living life afraid of getting caught

There is freedom found when we lay our secrets down at the cross, at the cross

Bring your brokenness and I'll bring mine

'Cause love can heal what hurt divides

And mercy's waiting on the other side

If we're honest

If we're honest

It would change our lives

It would set us free

It's what we need to be

Bring your brokenness and I'll bring mine

'Cause love can heal what hurt divides

And mercy's waiting on the other side

If we're honest

If we're honest

Heavenly Father,

Your word says that we are free because of what Christ did for us on the cross.  Your word also says to not allow our sin to keep us in bondage any longer.  I pray Lord that your Holy Spirit will work in our lives to give us the strength and courage to expose the sin we have been hiding from you, and that we will give it over to you once and for all.  I pray for freedom for all the believers who love and believe you but have been hiding from you.  I pray that as Christian women we can love and support one another and be transparent and non-judgemental with one another.  I pray that you help us forgive those who have wronged us, and help us to walk in the abundant life that you sacrificed so much for.  I pray that when you speak to us, we are listening.

In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.