No More Crumbs

To say that the beach is my favorite place in the world would be a profound understatement.

I love all the sights, smells and sounds of the surf, but most importantly, I treasure the sweet feeling of closeness to God that warms my heart as I fully immerse myself in the beauty of His creation.

During a recent vacation,  I arose early and set out for the beach to watch the sun rise. As I sat on the sand, soaking in the peacefulness of the morning and listening to the gentle sound of the waves lapping the shore, I watched a few seagulls aimlessly wandering around the beach. I began to wonder why there were so few - especially considering that they are normally swarming overhead in loud, annoying flocks.

Then it dawned on me that they had no reason to be on the beach - because there were no people around to generate any crumbs.

I'm pretty sure that seagulls can smell a potato chip crumb a mile away. I could be sitting peacefully on the beach without a seagull in sight, and if one kid throws a piece of crust from their sandwich into the sand, suddenly dozens of seagulls come swooping down from out of nowhere like a scene in that awful old movie called The Birds.

I thought about how seagulls always stay at a distance, until they think that someone has something they want, then they come running - or should I say - dive bombing.  I chuckled as I thought about some past times when seagulls have interrupted our picnics at the beach, but my reminiscing was interrupted when I felt God whisper to my spirit that sometimes, I am just like those seagulls. 

Somewhat confused at the thought, I began to ponder what God may have meant, and during my prayer time, I slowly began to understand.

There are times when I may go several days, maybe weeks, aimlessly wandering like seagulls on a deserted beach. Flying through my daily routines, never really sitting down and talking with God in focused prayer, much less digging into scripture.

But, have mercy, as soon as something happens that makes me mad, sad, worried, frustrated, discouraged or upset - I go flying straight over to God; swooping in out of nowhere, dive bombing into His presence. I expectantly wait for Him to give me a profound thought or answer to prayer, in essence, to toss me some crumbs of spiritual nourishment.

How it must disappoint God for me to settle for 'spiritual crumbs' on an as-needed basis, rather than enjoy the buffet of delicious spiritual morsels, divine guidance and supernatural intervention that is always within my reach.

Matthew 6:11 says "Give us today our daily bread" in the NIV Bible and in the NLT it reads this way, "Give us today the food we need,".  God knows that we need spiritual food that only He can give - and that we need His nourishment daily. When we choose to do without, our souls will hunger.

Unlike a seagull who only seeks temporary satisfaction from random crumbs, I long to be consumed with a spiritual hunger that is never satisfied with crumbs from God.  A hunger that pains me if I fail to get my daily portion of His wisdom, blessings, comfort, love and guidance. A hunger that when filled by God, replaces my feelings of emptiness, unworthiness, discouragement or discontentment.

Have you been putting God on the back burner, and then dive bombing for spiritual crumbs when life gets rough?  If so, this would be a great day to turn from your seagull mentality, to one that is focused on getting a daily portion of God, and being filled with as much as your spiritual tummy can hold. 

I simply do not want to be satisfied with mere crumbs! I want the whole basket of spiritual goodies, because I know that when my heart and mind are filled with God, my life will be filled with joy.

What about you?

** The winner of the $10 Starbucks card from the Marketing Ebook signups is an email that begins with dhthompson@xxx.net. If this is you, please email me your full name and address.**

How To Get Your Daily Portion Of God

A few years ago, I was tired of making excuses for not knowing, or understanding, God's Word. Although I had completed many bible studies on specific books of the Bible or biblical characters, I had always wanted to read the Bible in it's entirety. However, I never thought it was possible for someone like me.

Someone who had tried in the past, but had easily gotten bored, discouraged or too busy.  Someone who didn't consider herself a Bible scholar. Someone who wondered how anyone could possibly read that huge intimating book, including all the chapters about genealogy, lineage, temple building and sacrifices. Someone who could hardly make it halfway through the first few chapters of the Bible, much less 66 books.

But the time came when I was fed up with my own excuses, frustrated at my lack of overall knowledge of God's truths, and sometimes embarrassed when someone asked me the answer to a spiritual question that I felt I should know. So I began to pray for God to help me get to know Him in a new and deeper way, and learn how to apply His promises and instruction to my every day life.

Then my church began a new small group class whose purpose was to read the Bible in one year, by using the NLT Chronological Bible. With hesitation and anticipation, I jumped right in. Then I prayed again - for the willingness to persevere, the ability to understand and for a passionate desire to dig into God's Word every day.

365 days later, I had completed my goal - and I was ready to do it all over again. You see, for the first time, I had a glimpse of the bigger picture of God's story. Not just popular bible verses, childhood stories, or important biblical characters - but the story of God.  I now want to open God's Word each day with excitement, instead of obligation because I have realized the importance of getting a daily portion of God, just as I talked about in today's Proverbs 31 devotion. 

I am the first to admit that reading the Bible daily readings as they are arranged in the Chronological Bible, or in any yearly Bible reading schedule, can easily become a job instead of a joy - or a chore instead of a spiritual challenge - even with the best of intentions.  But when we truly embrace the fact that reading the Bible is a face to face encounter with our heavenly Father, that is something to get excited about!

My pastor once stated from the pulpit, that when we go to open God's Word, we should say "OH MY! I AM ABOUT TO MEET WITH GOD!" I loved that!  :)

He also gave the example that if we saw an email in our inbox that was delivered from God, we would eagerly open it with great excitement. We would not wait, put it on the back burner, allow it to sit there idly, or procrastinate about it. We would open it immediately!

In essence, the Bible is really an email from God, quietly sitting there, waiting for us to open it every day. An email chocked full of vital, life giving information that we desperately need.

The key to getting a daily portion of God, resulting in spiritual growth and deeper Bible study, is choosing to open up that 'email' - and discover the truths and promises within.

My sweet friend Wendy Pope is who inspired me a few years ago to read the entire Bible, and she was the leader of the year long bible study that I participated in. She encouraged our class to keep a daily journal and pull out something old and something new from each passage that we read, along with jotting down all of our notes, thoughts and prayers. She also challenged us to always find one nugget of truth that we could apply to our lives from each day's readings.

The journal that I kept during those 365 days is now a priceless treasure to me. It not only holds deep truths of God that I would have never known, but also precious memories of my daily encounters with God, and each whisper that He spoke to my spirit.

Another great idea for reading the Bible which my pastor offered, helped me dig even deeper into God's Word the following year. He suggested we ask ourselves these five questions each day as we went through the daily chronological readings:

1. Is there a promise to believe in the passage you are reading?
2. Is there a sin to avoid?
3. Is there something about God to learn?
4. Is there a timeless principle to apply?
5. How should I pray in regards to this scripture?

Don't you just love those questions?! They really make you think!

It is so easy to read a passage of scripture, or a daily reading in our bible schedule, and check it off our to-do list without really trying to apply it to our lives or asking God to make the Words come alive. Yet,  when we delve into the meaning of the readings by answering these thought provoking questions, the windows of our heart are opened so that God's voice can be heard loud and clear.

Psalm 119:97-104 says:

Oh, how I love your instructions! I think about them all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide. Yes, I have more insight than my teachers, for I am always thinking of your laws. I am even wiser than my elders, for I have kept your commandments. I have refused to walk on any evil path, so that I may remain obedient to your word.  I haven’t turned away from your regulations, for you have taught me well.  How sweet your words taste to me; they are sweeter than honey. Your commandments give me understanding; no wonder I hate every false way of life.


We are to treasure God's Word, and deem it sweeter than honey to our lip, and through a daily portion, He will use His Words to shape our faith, heart, mind and life. Only then can we truly experience the reality of God in our life, and maybe for the very first time.

-- Click here for information about how to order your copy of the NLT Chronological Bible--


Special Idea:
Think it will be too hard to remember these 5 questions each day? Make your own Bible reading journal!
*Choose landscape format in a Word document.
*Create two large text boxes on the left and right hand side of the document
*At the top of each textbox, insert a line for the date, and a line to record the main scripture or chapters for the day.
*Type up these five questions above in a textbox, evenly spaced out, on the left side of the paper, then copy and paste them into the right side text box.
*Print off 183 copies, cut them in half, and bind them together in a binder or spiral bound notebook.
*Now you have your own personalized journal, ready to go! 

(Or search 'bible reading journal' online for a variety of websites which offer free schedules)

Encouragement For Investing In Yourself

Do you have a ministry that God has called you to, 

but you're not sure how to let people know about it?

Do you ever worry about marketing yourself or your ministry, 

for fear of overstepping God's will?

Has God called you to share His Word, or be His hands and feet, 

in a special and unique way but you need a little guidance about how to get the ball rolling? 

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then I have a special treat for you!

I am a featured guest today over at WomensMinistry.net  and if you hop over to their site and check, you can watch my "5 Minute How-To" video called How To Develop A Ministry Marketing Strategy.

You will also have the opportunity to download my Listening Guide for the video, in addition to a free giveaway I have provided called 30 Ways To Market Your Ministry. 

Lastly, if you sign up to receive updates on my marketing Ebook (in the second white box found on the right hand sidebar of my blog under Marketing Your Ministry updates), you will be entered into a random drawing for a $10 Starbucks gift card! Drawing will be held on May 30th, to allow everyone a chance to participate.

Please note that if you subscribe for Ebook updates, you will only receive a few select emails regarding Ebook updates and purchase availability in the coming months.

But if you would also like to subscribe to my blog and receive my weekly posts, then enter your email address in the blue box on the right hand side bar. You will receive a request for confirmation email, so please make sure it doesn't get caught in your spam folder!

I am so excited to have the opportunity through my partnership with WomensMinistry.net to help you gain confidence and insight into how to take an amazing leap of faith and begin investing in your divine calling!

I pray that this marketing information will encourage you to begin thinking about what God might be calling you to do and give you that extra dose of motivation that your heart has been needing.

 

Does The "Golden Rule" Trump God's Word?

I heard his statement on the news shortly after voting for Amendment One in North Carolina which clarified that marriage is meant to be between one man and one woman. Thankfully this law passed in NC but protests and rebuttals are sure to follow, especially in light of the President's national statement claiming that he now supports same sex marriage.

However, what bothered me more than his actual statement was that he justified his decision by referring to not only his faith in Christ, but because that faith compelled him to follow the "golden rule".

As his words spun in my mind, I tried to comprehend the confusing logic that he was using to justify his new stance on this subject. My thoughts wrestled with one another as I tried to make sense of his comment and decipher if the golden rule, although extremely important, really trumps God's Word.   Should God's definition of marriage get tossed around the window, under the guise of the "golden rule"?

So my fingers got to typing as I did a little research about the golden rule, and my findings confirmed my suspicions.

Although the golden rule is usually associated with Christianity, many other religions have their own versions of it including Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, and more. In fact, one website listed the "golden rules" for 21 world religions, all of which were founded on a verse or statement in their bible or religious resource implying that people should treat others as they wish to be treated.

There are also people who live by this philosophy of the "golden rule", without ever associating themselves with any specific faith at all.  Everyone, whether they are atheists, agnostics, or members of an organized religion, live by some sort of "golden rule", or moral code.

For Christians, we base our "golden rule" on Matthew 7:12, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets".   But the stark difference between other religious versions, and the Christian version, is that it states that a Christian's actions should be a sum of The Law.  Not an exception to the Law if the circumstances seem to warrant it, but the sum of it.

A Christian's actions, decisions and behaviors are meant to be guided by God's biblical truths alone, not by feelings or popular consensus.  To be guided by the rules set forth by the One who created us, not merely by a conscience molded by the world's ever-changing view of right and wrong.

You see, the purpose of one's conscience is to help us establish between good and evil, but it doesn't determine what is good and evil, or right from wrong. Only God can do that.

We hear the golden rule reiterated again in the Bible in Mark 12:31a, which says "The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.' " I totally one hundred percent agree! We are all called to love our 'neighbors' as ourselves, fueled by the love of Christ. We are also commanded in Matthew 7 to not judge others, lest we be judged ourselves; to not look at the plank in another person's eye when we have a log in our own; and to remember that anyone who seeks the Kingdom of God will receive it, despite their sin, or the type of relationships they choose. 

We are all sinners, in need of forgiveness and redemption. And although our sins may vary greatly, we should always offer grace and acceptance to all people, while hoping to receive it in return. 

However, the commandment in Mark 12:30 has to be obeyed first, before we can obey Mark 12:31. Mark 12:30 says "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength."   

Our first commandment is to love God above all else.... above our feelings, above our conscience, above what is politically correct, above what other people think or want, and above the influences of a society based on self, not God. To love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, so that our every thought and action will be captive to His opinion of right and wrong, and good and evil - instead of our own.

We are first called to love God, and then called to love our neighbors. The first commandment equips us spiritually to carry out the second commandment. God put them in that order on purpose, and for a purpose.

The golden rule is usually considered a matter of conscience, regardless of faith. But as devoted Christians, who believe that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16), we are to be guided not merely by our conscience of a golden rule, but by The Law.   God's Law.

All people should be treated equally and fairly, with love, kindness, respect, dignity, acceptance and understanding. But our conscience is not the trump card that can override God's truth. Instead, His truth is the standard to which all of our consciences should be aligned - regardless of the matter at hand.

It is not enough to claim to believe the gospel - we also must actually apply it in our lives - even in the hardest of decisions when the "golden rule" is pushing us to support the world's ways, instead of God's.

Truth is, God's Word, The Law, is sovereign, and nothing has ever, or will ever, trump it.