John 10:10b

John 10:10b “‘I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.’”

I know that’s why He came, but lately I don’t feel very abundant. Work feels endless and less enjoyable than before. It feels as though my work and personal life are spinning out of control again. Not that I ever really had any control to begin with. It’s really just an illusion when we think we have a good handle on things.

The reality is that I have my job because the Lord is merciful in keeping me employed right now when my car needs some expensive work. It’s by His grace–and perhaps even miracles I don’t know about–that I get to work and back safely every day. He has given me two children, a comfortable home, and a little dog to take care of.

I have salvation. I have a wonderful church family. I have both of my parents still in good health and who I love dearly. I have my own health and a decent income.

As I look over this list, I see that I have all that I need and so much more. This is abundance. And Jesus came not only so I would have it, but also so I would be able to recognize it and to praise Him for His goodness.

How about you? In the midst of your trials and challenges, seek out the ways the Lord has blessed you in abundance. And let your heart be filled with thankfulness.

Brenda

Ephesians 4:26a

Ephesians 4:26a “And ‘don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.’”

I’ve been angry lately. I didn’t realize it until today, but now I can see that I’ve been so frustrated by the way my life has been going, that it’s been leaking out all over the place.

What opened my eyes was an incident involving my daughter. She was in the mall a couple weeks ago and was pressured to upgrade her wireless service by a guy who kept her cell phone apart until he finally realized that her “no” meant no. Or so we thought. Then she got a letter from the wireless company thanking her for her application for service. By the time I finished with an unproductive call to their customer service, I was livid.

And that’s not like me. I roll with the punches and don’t let things get to me. My anger tells me that something is wrong.

It would be easy to blame this on work, with its pressure, or on my long commute, but that would be taking the easy route. Ultimately, the trouble is inside of me. Because the truth is, I’m dissatisfied with God’s plan for my life right now. And rather than rail at God, I’ve been lashing out about customer service people, my job, and my commute.

And so I need to get back on my knees–again–and wrestle with God until I come around and agree with Him that His will is best.

Where are you fighting God’s will? Let your struggle continue until you finally realize you can only win when He wins.

Brenda

James 5:16b

James 5:16b “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and wonderful results.”

Mark 9:24 “Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!’”

It’s hard to know what I feel. Words come to mind: weary, discouraged, losing hope. But these words don’t fit. I’m sick at heart and I’m not quite sure why. It hasn’t been that rough a day. I had a few setbacks–nothing that I wouldn’t normally bounce back from.

I have a blog (http//skyepuppy.blogspot.com) and I usually post something during my lunch hour. The focus of it isn’t Christian. It’s just whatever is on my mind at lunchtime, like politics, quirky news, or what’s going on in my life. I haven’t had time to post anything for a while, so I finally typed something at lunch, but when I hit the “Publish Post” button, the system crashed and lost what I wrote.

On the way home, I stopped to pay for the carpet I ordered, but the person I needed wasn’t there and there were problems with the paperwork, and the person who was there said I would have to move all the furniture, not just most of it, out of the house on installation day. And I just couldn’t bear that thought today.

Meanwhile, I promised a friend I’d pray for her and her husband (who just left her) as they go to a marriage counselor. With my sickness of heart, I finally broke down during my prayer for my friends and pleaded with the Lord not to let my heart get in the way of my prayers. I asked Him to let my prayers “avail much” in spite of me, and I kept on praying for my friends.

I’d like to say I felt peace through my prayer time, but I didn’t. And that’s what faith sometimes is–trusting that God answers prayers for His name’s sake and not for ours.

Are you weary to your soul? Come to the Lord in prayer. Stay in prayer, no matter how you feel. The Lord is not about feelings. He is about faith.

May you trust only in Him.

Brenda

Luke 18:22

Luke 18:22 “‘There is still one thing you lack,’ Jesus said. ‘Sell all you have and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’”

I’m getting the carpet in my house replaced. The current carpet is disgustingly stained and I’ve decided not to put up with it anymore.

Part of the carpet replacement process is having to clear the furniture and paraphernalia out of the house so the installers will be able to do their work. But I’ve got so much stuff–some of it still in boxes from when I moved in almost two years ago.

As I’ve gone through the Purpose-Driven Life with my church for the last 40 days, I’ve looked again at God’s purposes for my life. He made me to worship Him, to fellowship with the family of believers, to become more like Christ, to serv Him by serving other believers, and to spread the gospel. The things that I do and the things that I own need to further one or more of these purposes in my life, or they’re just wasted effort.

So now I look at my stuff with new eyes and new questions. How do my books (that’s what I have the most of) further my walk with Christ or help the body of believers? Those books and other items that do nothing or that are a drain on my life must go.

Jesus himself had no place of His own, and presumably didn’t have much stuff. Yet His was the richest life, and He passed on His brand of riches to His disciples.

It is what we do for Him with what we have that counts. May all that we have and do further His purpose in our lives.

Brenda

Acts 16: 6 - 10

Acts 16: 6 - 10 “Next Paul and Silas traveled through the area of Phrygia and Galatia, because the Holy Spirit had told them not to go into the province of Asia at that time. Then coming to the borders of Mysia, they headed for the province of Bythynia, but again the Spirit of Jesus did not let them go. So instead, they went on through Mysia to the city of Troas. That night Paul had a vision. He saw a man from Macedonia in northern Greece, pleading with him, ‘Come over here and help us.’ So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, for we could only conclude that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.”

My church is finishing up the 40 Days of Purpose program, based on Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose-Driven Life. I planned to write this week’s Breads about it, because the five main purposes (worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and evangelism) fit well into a Bread-week. But, even though I’ve been getting a lot out of the program, every time I sat down to start writing a Bread about it, I had nothing to write.

Meanwhile, I’ve got other Breads I’ve written this past week as outpourings of emotion. Looking at them as I tried to organize this week’s Breads, I saw a pattern of unattractive feelings: anger and discouragement. I prayed, “Lord, you can’t intend for me to send THESE out this week, can you?” But He gave me nothing else to write.

Paul and Silas tried multiple times on the second missionary journey to take the gospel into Asia Minor, but the Lord had other plans for them, plans that worked for His glory and for the salvation of many on the continent of Europe. So I’m trusting that He has better plans than I had for this week’s Breads and that He will use them for His purpose in somebody’s life.

So how are you doing? Do you keep hitting a wall when you try to do God’s will? Could it be the Holy Spirit is preventing you from going in that direction, because He has another direction for you to take? Look for His leading and let all glory be His.

Brenda