I have heard it said history tends to repeat itself. Amazingly, our nation and our lives are very similar to the people Isaiah wrote these words to. They are written to the house of Judah in a time when the nation was very wealthy and had a form of godliness, but lacked a true relationship with the Lord. In short, they were self-reliant.

Even in the midst of a recession, our nation is prosperous. But, what does prosperity lead to? Does it lead to thankfulness toward God and sacrificial giving to others? Sometimes it does, but many times it leads to self-reliance and an abandonment of faith in God. The cycle can look like this: Prosperity – self-reliance – moral decay – judgment.

If I have learned anything during this time of economic downfall, it is that prosperity is fleeting, but God is eternal. When I put my trust in anything other than the Lord my God, it will fail. When I trust in my wallet, the 401K, or even the value of my home, it can and many times will fail. But God will never fail.

The person who has a steadfast mind is one that has a single focus on God Himself. Their focus is moved from themselves to God alone. Only then will they be able to focus on what is truly important in this life because they understand it has been taken care of.

Let us have “perfect peace” in the area of finance and every other area of our lives by fixing our minds on God. When we ask God to make His Word true for us, He always says yes. Ask Him to keep your mind fixed on Him today as you trust in Him completely.

Elaine Price is a minister’s wife, a freelance writer, and a student of God’s Word. Visit her blog at www.devotionsforthejourney.blogspot.com. She is also very active in the music and preschool activities at her home church. She and her husband and three young sons make their home in Odenville, Alabama.

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Oh boy, I thought to myself. I messed up big time.

It was bad enough I had to deal with the consequence of my action, but worse to have to look at my mistake and see that the hot water I was in, was because of me.

Sometimes, no matter how I try, my fleshly self finds a way to sin. My choice (and its result) hits me square in the face and I have no option but to repent – not only to the one I offended, but to God. These times I feel my worst; as if I couldn’t get any lower.

This is when God taps me on the shoulder and reminds me of his compassion. In order to move forward and not drown in the murky mess, I must lift my eyes to focus on Him; focus on His love for me even if and when I mess up and don’t think I deserve that love. He reminds me His love is unconditional. He cares so much for us that He even sent his own son to forgive our sin.

This comforts me through my trials, remembering God’s love and unending mercy, I can begin each day anew, thankful for a fresh start; ready to act like Jesus, and resting in the promise of his love in everything I do. It also reminds me to forget about my past. Once God forgives me, the sin is forgotten.

Look to God and find all the comfort you will ever need to refocus your gaze, renew your mind, and regain a Godly perspective in all things.

Lord, thank you for your unending mercies. Thank you for understanding my trials and tribulations, my mess-ups and flubs, so that I can learn from it all and be more like you. Amen

Heather Spiva is a freelance writer who lives in Sacramento, CA with her children and firefighter husband. When she isn’t writing, she is reading and when she’s not reading, she’s enjoying (or trying to, anyway) the crazy and joyous atmosphere with her two rambunctious boys.

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Fifty years have passed, but I can still see my grandma bending over in her vegetable garden gathering the fruit of her labor. As immigrants making a new life and raising five children, she and my grandfather lived wisely. They ate very little red meat, and pastas served with vegetables were often a main dish. One unique dish my grandma served came from zucchini flowers. Knowing that these flowers wouldn’t produce a vegetable, she picked them rather than let them wither and die. She chopped them, made a batter for dipping and fried them. It was a predictable dish to serve during zucchini season. Immigrants wasted nothing.

Ephesians gives us words of caution; to be wise, live carefully, and make the most of every opportunity that comes our way. Another translation says, “Walk circumspectly” (i.e. look around and check things out; what opportunity do you see that you can act on wisely?).

Today’s economy brings challenges. Many are living scripts characterized by unemployment, reduction to a single income, falling home values, or adjusting budgets.

The minute we wake up we are given the gift of twenty-four hours filled with opportunities. We might have an opportunity to be creative, learn something new, deepen our relationship with God, move toward a goal, encourage someone, meet a need or adopt a new way of managing our money.

Perhaps you are one who has a need. Look at my grandma’s model and waste nothing—even zucchini flowers. Take hold of the opportunity to be wise and distinguish needs from wants. Perhaps wisdom includes seeking financial advice. Or maybe you are the one who can meet a need in another’s life. Take an inventory today of your opportunities. How can you walk wisely and make the most of your twenty-four hours?

Marilyn Nutter is the author of three devotional books: Dressed up Moms’ Devotions to Go, Tea Lovers’ Devotions to Go, and Diva Delights Devotions to Go. She and her husband are new residents of the Charlotte, NC area. Marilyn enjoys speaking to women’s groups about discovering extraordinary treasures in ordinary days. Her blog, http://grandmothersviews.blogspot.com/ is designed to encourage boomer women to put puzzle pieces together in their new life season. Visit her website at www.marilynnutter.com.

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When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who knows my way.

Part of me wanted desperately to be at the writers conference, but another part of me wanted to flee. Adrenaline set every nerve ending on fire. Fear of getting lost on campus or literally trembling in front of someone plagued me. How could I manage a week of meeting with editors and a full schedule of classes while struggling with panic attacks? I felt exhausted before the conference began. I begged God to equip me for the task ahead and I stepped forward in faith that He would help me.

God knows when our spirit grows faint. He sees where we are and is always faithful to minister to our need. He may do it through scriptures, a story of victory, or someone’s prayer of encouragement for us. At the times when God seems absent, things can look very dark and frightening. That’s when the truth of His Word saves us from despair. He is the lifter of our heads. He is our constant companion and comforter.

All of us battle something. It could be illness, job loss, or strife in our family. Whatever it may be, realize you don’t have to remain faint and discouraged. Cry out to God; tell Him about your heartaches and questions. Read the Word and plug into its power. Ask others to pray for you.

God provided for me at the conference. Each day I was given the strength and grace necessary to do what lay before me. Over and over through keynote speeches or personal conversations, I would discover others were dealing with hard, often similar problems. They understood my struggle and could empathize with my pain. They shared with me how God was helping them overcome their trials day by day.

Are you weary today? Will you reach out to God and let Him renew you? If so, you may discover the Lord is already at work using His power and the comfort of others to strengthen you. Please don’t give up. Give thanks, instead.

Joy Miller lives in Central Virginia. She is passionate about volunteering at her local crisis pregnancy center. One of her greatest pleasures comes from encouraging others, both at the center and through writing devotionals and sending notes to loved ones. Having worked at one time at a home improvement store, Joy now has her own interior decorating consulting business. Fun times are spent with friends, her precious niece and nephew, and her beloved golden retriever.
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In Defense of Satan

In Defense of Satan – He Said

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you! - Jude 1:9

Listen to In Defense of Satan – He Said

“I have no special regard for Satan,” Mark Twain said. “But I can at least claim that I have no prejudice against him. It may even be that I lean a little his way, on account of his not having a fair show. All religions issue bibles against him, and say the most injurious things about him, but we never hear his side. Of course Satan has some kind of case, it goes without saying. It may be a poor one, but that is nothing. That can be said of any of us.”

***

Satan is deceitful; I’ll give you that. But is he the source of all our setbacks and sorrows? Does he spread cancer, crash computers, or cause strife within families and congregations? Or could it be we give him more credit than he is due?

This week I heard Satan blamed for a toothache, faulty software, rudeness, high gas prices, the poor housing market, snow, rain, heat, and rap music. Too often when problems arise in the midst of what we “know” to be God’s will, we blame Satan.

For example, the other day a friend counseled me: “Stand firm. Satan is trying to tick you off and make you say something you don’t mean.” Perhaps. Or maybe God is teaching me patience and training me to hold my tongue?

Here’s another: “Satan is trying to drive a wedge between us.” Maybe. Or else God is growing me in the area of forgiveness.

Another friend wrote to say: “Satan has attacked us in our physical lives.” He certainly did with Job. But we also know that God allows affliction to draw us to Him. Would it be wrong of God to allow us to scrape our knee so that we might crawl into His lap for comfort?

When the archangel Michael got into a tussle with Satan he kept his thoughts to himself. Perhaps Michael knew what we tend to forget; that Satan is God’s creation too. If those who stand in the presence of God dare not speak against the devil, who are we to blindly judge?

Maybe if we didn’t mention Satan’s name so often, others would view us as victors in Christ, not wimpy warriors struggling to lace up our boots.

Just a thought.

Words

Step to the Side – She Said

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Jude 1:9

Listen to Step to the Side – She Said

Joseph didn’t have a chance. There was no pleasing his associates in the firm. Their habit was to browbeat one another; throw insults and lies. What Joseph saw was a firm falling apart from partners who blamed everyone else for their mishaps.

“It’s all your fault. The company isn’t moving ahead because of you. You’re a detriment to the firm.”

Joseph felt sick. He knew he’d worked hard in the firm, studying, bringing cases before hard judges and winning them but when his associates accused him of being a detriment, he shook his head and walked away.

I’m a peacemaker (and not the one that wears black leather jackets). I’ve never handled conflict well and it’s me who falls in the rubble of those whose opinion weighs heavier. Oh, I state my opinion, make suggestions, but if I’m attacked from the opposition, I tend to walk away. There have been times I’ve felt anger boil beneath the surface as others have hurled insults and hurtful insinuations. My thoughts are, this isn’t my battle, it’s God’s. He knows if I’m right or wrong and in Him I find the protection I need to withstand the attacks.

Even Michael the archangel understood the battle was God’s. He could have let loose with lightening fast accusations against Satan and probably have been in the right, but he didn’t. He stepped to the side and said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

It’s hard for us to walk away from a fight. Our nature leads us to defend our honor regardless of whether we’re right or wrong. I walked away from the hardest battle in my life and chose to say nothing while others made their own decisions about the situation. Folks waited for me to retaliate, but I didn’t. It wasn’t my battle.

There’s something to be said about the archangel’s example in his war of words with Satan. He showed us that even though he may have had just cause, it was God’s place to rebuke.

Walking away from the battle I faced was the best decision I’ve ever made. Think about your battles and your words then step to the side and let God take control.

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In the early 1950s, Vacation Bible School (VBS) ladies welcomed my two brothers and me for three summers even though we were dirty, smelly, and uncivilized.

 Vacation Bible School teachers are impackful people. They touch lives long after a week of cookies, Kool-Aid, and felt-board gospel stories. Their kindness was something to behold. The snacks were real foods that we didn’t have to steal to fill our empty bellies for the day. But the Bible stories they told filled our souls for eternity.

These ladies never knew the life-long effect they had on me. Their willingness to teach in VBS introduced me to our Beloved, Jesus Christ. Their example of acceptance has been at the core of my being ever since. I continue to try and pass loving acceptance on to this day; some days with success and other days not.

Even though I didn’t know how to hold a fork or speak properly when I was seven years old, these women of faith showed me hospitality with a welcome hug and kind words. They were Christ’s servants setting me on a journey from a beggar to a teacher. Today, I teach fine dining etiquette and communication skills. Only God’s plan and fulfillment can make such extreme changes in a life.

This year when the role call for VBS volunteers is called, my hope and prayer is that many will be willing to serve. The ones answering the call will be today’s impackful people. They will be touching our future generations with food, acceptance, and the gospel story.

I may not have said “thank you” to the ladies at VBS who lifted my brothers and me up, but the Lord will not forget to say “well done good and faithful servant” to each one of them.

Carolyn K. Knefely is an inspirational speaker, a certified etiquette consultant, and professional development trainer. As a people polisher and co-director of Christian Communicators, she educates, validates, and launches women in their speaking ministries through conferences, retreats, and workshops. Her passions and experiences include equipping students in how to successfully transition from high school to college with ease; taking college students from backpack to briefcase with polish, poise and professional leadership skills; and showing women and teens how to use a teacup as an outreach tool through simple hospitality. Her speaking engagements are entertaining, interactive, and loaded with fun. Carolyn and her husband live in South Carolina to be near their daughter and her family.
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I was out of work.

I’d been employed at the hospital for about four months and enjoyed my duties. One day I went to work only to learn the hospital had closed the hospice and contracted its services with another agency.

Now what God? I thought. How am I going to live without an income? I looked for work, but to no avail. I prayed for months, asking God to direct me to other work, but found nothing. Still, I never went without food, electricity, or heat.

God’s provision came in some of the most unpredictable ways. I received a windfall owed to me that I’d long since forgotten about. One day I picked up my mail and found an envelope with $40 cash. Whoever sent it clearly didn’t want to be recognized or thanked, as there was no return address and they’d sent it to “eLen anDerson,” and printed it as a four-year-old would.

To this day, I don’t know who it was, but I’m grateful God used them to provide for me. God proved quickly that I was to trust in Him, not in the world.

After several months, I landed a job with a temporary agency. Though it only provided intermittent work, it was enough to sustain me until I found permanent work a year later.

Through this, God showed me He knows what we need, when we need it, and He will provide, even when we can’t see how. Despite the circumstances, God is in control and has a plan to accomplish what He wants to do in our lives.

If you’re wondering how to get through a seemingly impossible situation, turn to God and ask Him to show you. He will meet your needs in His time, and according to His plan. You can trust everything to God.

Ellen Andersen is a member of the Upstate Fellowship of Christian Writers in Greenville, SC. She serves as a Stephen Minister at her church and is involved in a women’s Bible study. She is working on a memoir detailing how God used unforeseen circumstances in her life to change her focus and make her more dependent on Him.
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“IRAs are not a Biblical concept. They didn’t have to save for retirement in the Bible,” my husband said, pressing his glasses on his nose. “Biblical seniors did something else instead of moving to assisted-living facilities. I’ve heard the cost to live in assisted living is $3,000 to $5,000 a month or even higher. With the costs of health care and health insurance going up, the cost of living always on the rise, and the question of social security being there when we reach retirement age, saving is essential.”

“They did reach retirement age in the Bible,” I replied, thinking of how long some of the old-timers lived. “After all, Noah was 500-years-old when he became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth. When he was 600, flood waters came on the earth. Abram was eighty-six when Hagar bore Ishmael. Sarah, Abram’s wife lived to be 127.”

Things in biblical times didn’t cost as much as they do now. It seemed like they lived within their means. They didn’t have what we do—our big houses, cars, utility bills, cell phones, and entertainment expenses. Instead of buying groceries, they grew food and hunted for meat. The cost of sending children to college, paying medical bills, and buying insurance didn’t exist.

We sure have complicated our lives. Then there’s tithing ten percent and donating to organizations. It’s expensive to be a Christian.

We can save, simplify, spend less, and spend wisely. Our garages and basements hold many things to sell. Cut back on entertainment and eating out. Start a budget by writing down everything you spend, then look for what you can do without. Pay off your credit cards, and use cash. Your bills will be less, and who doesn’t want that.

Saving, giving, tithing . . . we really are challenged these days. Are your decisions wise or are bills devouring you? Trust God to guide your financial decision making. Money isn’t a curse when you spend and save it wisely.

Deedre Martz, lives in Louisville, CO and writes freelance articles and devotionals. She is also an office manager, technical writer, and editor, and enjoys walking dogs for the humane society. She has a bachelor’s degree in Business Finance and is a recent graduate of Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.
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A couple of years ago, my husband and I traveled from the Pacific Northwest to the Deep South to speak at separate ministry events. That weekend, we were graciously invited to stay with an older couple who lived on Mobile Bay’s eastern shore.

On Saturday night, after our events, we drove to their home, rang the bell, and were greeted by our new friends and several guests they’d invited for a dinner party in our honor. The lady of the house grasped my hands. “Welcome, dear. We’re so glad you’re here. Would you like to go upstairs and freshen up before dinner?”

I stared. Freshen up? What exactly did that mean? Was I supposed to take a shower? Did she want me to change my clothes? Maybe she just meant, “Honey, you need to put on some lipstick.” But I don’t wear lipstick.

“I-I-I’m okay,” I stammered. “Thank you anyway.” Now it was her turn to stare.

I was mortified. I wanted to go upstairs, not to freshen up, but to hide where I couldn’t make any more social blunders. How was I going to make it through an entire dinner party?

That experience reminds me of how new believers must feel when they first go to church or attend a Bible study. The Pastor says, “We all know the story of Jonah.” The new Christian wracks her brain. “Did I miss it on CNN last week?” Or the Sunday school teacher asks the class to turn to Amos. She looks around. “Who’s Amos?” Can you imagine how confusing it is for her to hear, “Would you like to share your testimony with us?” She wonders, “Am I on trial?”

If we’ve been in the church for many years, we are comfortable with our Christianese. The terms, phrases, and Bible stories are woven into our vocabulary. But to a new believer, those same words sound like a foreign language, just like freshen up—which might seem obvious to some. But where I come from, we shower in the morning, get dressed, and call it good for the day.

Rebecca Stuhlmiller is a speaker, writer, and church worker whose mission is to help people live each day in a passionate relationship with God and then go out and impact their family, church, community, and world for Him. She lives with her husband Jeff on an Eastern Washington wheat farm where they raised their blended family of seven kids.
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When Rob and I married, we chose the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” to be played while we lit our unity candle. I had always loved the lyrics, but I had no idea how perfect they would prove to be, not just for a single moment during a wedding ceremony, but for the day-to-day military lifestyle I was entering into.

So much of how we think, feel and live depends upon our vision—what we choose to see in any given situation. In fact, I believe that the difference between being simply concerned or being consumed by worry rides on where we tend to focus our sight.

In her book, Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World, Joanna Weaver says, “Pastor and teacher Gary E. Gilley sums up the difference like this: ‘Worry is allowing problems and distress to come between us and the heart of God. A legitimate concern presses us closer to the heart of God and causes us to lean and trust on Him all the more.’ Concern draws us to God. Worry pulls us from Him” (page 38).

We will always have something to be concerned about. But if we have done everything we can to help solve the problem and still find ourselves obsessing over it, we’ve crossed that line from concern to worry and find ourselves in dangerous territory.

The best way to get rid of the negative thoughts is to crowd them out with something else bigger and more beautiful — worship of the One who holds everything in His powerful and capable hands. In other words, stop focusing on the root of your worries and shift your gaze to the Lord. It won’t make the troubles disappear, but it sure will help you to stop staring at them all day long!

King David was a master at this. In the beginning of Psalm 10, he cries out in anguish to God, but by the end of the chapter, he has turned his worry into worship and praises his Creator once again.

The next time your heart is troubled, check your vision. Focus on God and on His unchanging character. Trust in who He is and the promises He provides in scripture, rather than what is going on around you.

*Adapted by permission from Faith Deployed…Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2011).

Jocelyn Green, the wife of a former Coast Guard officer, is an award-winning author, freelance writer, and editor. Along with contributing writers, she is the author of Faith Deployed: Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2008), and Faith Deployed . . . Again: More Daily Encouragement for Military Wives (Moody 2011). She is also co-author of Battlefields & Blessings: Stories of Faith and Courage from the War in Iraq/Afghanistan (AMG Publishers 2009). She is the chief editor for www.WivesinBloom.com, the online magazine of Christian Military Wives (a branch of Christian Military Fellowship) and a contributor to the website www.StartMarriageRight.com. Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University in Upland, Indiana, with a B.A. in English, concentration in writing. She is a frequent speaker at military wife events, women’s church groups, and writers conferences, and is an active member of the Evangelical Press Association, Christian Authors Network, the Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and the Military Writers Society of America.

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