Where Does My Strength Come From?

 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13

WOW! Look at those muscles. I wonder how long it took him to gain the strength to do a push-up with one hand, holding a weight, balancing on a weight, and on his toes. I wonder who coached him and how he was coached. I just don't have the mindset to chase that goal. But I do have another goal that includes a coach who will encourage, correct, and strengthen me. 

Looking back at our verse, I notice the word "which". In many translations and in our own mental gymnastics, that word is translated as "who". "I can do all things". I don't think that means one-handed pushups with weights, but maybe there are things to be done that will strengthen me even more than pushups. 

Paul lists things he had learned to do. 

• Be content
• To be abased - lowly, humble
• abound - live well with plenty
• suffer need - hungry, lonely

Paul knew how to weather through the hard times and enjoy the good times. He knew that Christ was the one who strengthened him. Christ was his coach to get him through. Had he done nothing, had he refused to be based, to live without plenty, to suffer need, Paul would not have been able to reach the goal Christ had set for him. Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. Most likely, if you are reading this, you are a Gentile brought to the knowledge of Christ through first the preaching, the obedience of Paul. Christ was like a coach whose encouragement pushed him to continue in the work.  Once Paul overcame one obstacle, he could feel strengthened to push forward to another goal. If you follow the travels of Paul, you can see he went into dangerous places that were far from home. He couldn't take the next plane home when the ship wrecked. He didn't throw up his hands and quit when he was beaten near to death or thrown in jail. Paul knew Christ would meet his needs, strengthening him whether he was alone or had friends at his side. 

Reading all that Paul went through makes me wonder how I would handle an uncomfortable situation. I've been on mission trips to a third-world country. It's not how I'd want to spend the rest of my life, but I know those who do, and I know it is Christ who gives them the strength to keep going. 

Christ has a plan for each of us. Each of us faces challenges that will strengthen our walk for Him. We must keep pressing toward the goal and never give up.

Father God, strengthen me when I am weak. Encourage me when I feel down or disheartened. Help me look to you and to others whom you have helped. Help me be like Paul, weathering the storms and enjoying the blessings in the calm. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Adam and Eve (You and Me) in a Garden

 

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. Phillipians 2:12

As I pondered on this verse, I noticed Paul was saying you work without me or anyone having to watch over you. That's a good worker who can do the job without someone looking over their shoulder. So I wondered where were people first given a job with instructions and allowed to complete that job without a watchful eye?

Adam and Eve were first placed in a garden.  They were instructed to keep it, to take care of it, care for the animals and to fill the earth with children. Big job, but then God left them to work coming by to talk in the cool of the evening. Things were going well until Satan deceived Eve into believing God was hiding something from her. After the fall, she and Adam were still expected to work the land but there would be added troubles, briars and weeds. 

Now in our verse Paul tells us to work out our  own salvation with fear and trembling. Do we need to work for salvation?  No, Jesus already paid for our salvation.  Should we be afraid and tremble all the day and night? Let's consider the old language. Fear can also be awe, and trembling can be a reverance. Because we serve an awesome God we can reverantly serve Him without someone looking over our shoulder. Whether it's Monday or Sunday our work should be the same. Not a work for salvation but of pleasing the One who saved us.

Let's look at the verse again. Work. The first work was in a garden and so was the second work outside the garden. So what does gardening involve?

• Cultivate - we need to cultivate our lives, plow up our hearts so God can do a work.
• Plant - plant the word of God in our hearts so we can grow and share with others
• Weed - pull out those things that don't belong in the life of a Christian.
• Water - let the Holy Spirit pour into our lives and show us the blessings of a Christ filled life
• Harvest - God gives the harvest but we reap the blessings. A harvest produces seed to plant again. Those seeds may reach our family, our friends, our community, our nation, and the world. 

Father God, help us work to live the joyous life you have in store for us. Help us study to show ourselves approved, pull out those things in our lives that hinder our walk with you, and allow you Holy Spirit to encourage and bless us that we might enjoy the harvest you desire to give. In Jesus' name. Amen.

#garden, #AdamandEve, #cultivate, #devotion, #GailCartee

God Knows My Name

 

And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air, and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.~ Genesis 2:19

 

Walking through our wooded neighborhood, I noticed an Eastern towhee flitting through the pine brush. He was joined by others, chickadees, wrens, and a cardinal. Bluebirds lit on the fence posts. I could hear crows calling in the distance and the fuss of a bluejay. Then it struck me how many birds I can name. Is that important? 

Did you name your dog or pet? Do you know the names of your neighbors' pets? Why? Is it because they have names? You are familiar with them. You care for them. They are important to you. God wanted the animals and birds to be important to Adam. He gave the responsibility to Adam to care for His creation.  Farmers often do not name the animals they plan to sell to the market. Why not? They don't want to be attached. 

Do you know your neighbor's name? I can see a house through the trees, whose occupants I have never met. How cold is that word, Occupant?  They live, work, and probably go to school. They have days of health, sickness, and accidents I never know about. Maybe one day I will see a lot of cars or a white wreath on the door. I don't know their names, but God does. He sees. He cares. He knows their names. He cares if they know Him. 

How did I learn the names of the birds? I set out bird feeders. I listened to their calls. I became familiar with them. I have seen pictures of people feeding wild birds from their hands. I have fed and tamed feral cats. Getting to know the birds and animals is such a joy, but it takes time. They won't eat out of our hands at first. They need to know we care about them before they trust us. 

It's the same with people. We have to be friendly with others, get to know them, and show we care before they trust us, before they are willing to hear what we have to say. What do we have to say? It's simple. 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.~John 3:16

Just as God knows the name and number of the stars, He knows each person by name. 

He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names. Psalms 137:4

He wants to help others trust Him. We are the ones he uses to help others learn of Him. We are the ones He uses to draw others to Him. 

Father God, please help me introduce myself to others. Help me show others I care about them. Help me show the simple love of Jesus to all I come in contact with. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Hey Kids:

 

Do you have a favorite animal or pet? What are their names? 

What are the names of your friends? 

Are there others whose names you do not know?

Try introducing yourself this week. Make a new friend. 

Friendships are opportunities to help them know about the best Friend, Jesus. 

The Best for our Babies

 

Photo by Aditya Romansa

Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. ~I Kings 3:27

In the story of King Solomon, two new moms who were prostitutes brought their babies to the king. One mom had lain on her baby in the night and smothered it. She had taken her dead baby and swapped it for the other mom's living baby. Now they argued before the king.

King Solomon sounded cruel when he asked for a sword to divide the living child in two, but in reality, he was revealing the heart of the true mother. She was willing to give up control of her child's life to save her baby. King Solomon returned the child to her because he knew only a real mother would be willing to give up her child for its life. 

As moms, we give up a lot for our children, even our own bodies. We to protect our babies, give them everything life has to offer, and hold them close, but are we willing to give them up for the sake of their lives? For the sake of their souls? We must give them up to the king, the King of kings, if we want life for our babies. 

What would that look like? 

• Are we reading a Bible story to our children each night or do we find ourselves too tired? 
• Are we praying with them and for them or just telling them to say their prayers?
• Are they involved in activities that would take them away from church, activities we feel would give them a better chance in life to be professional athletes, musicians, or performers? 
• Are we willing to have less so we can raise our children to love Jesus instead of giving them up to others to raise?  Prov 22:6
• Are we giving them our undivided attention when they want/need to talk to us? Deut. 11:19

The back-to-school ads have begun. Are you already rushing around trying to find the best buys for the upcoming school year? More importantly, have you checked out the schools and curriculum your child(ren) will be taught this year? You may think this is where my children have always attended. This is where I attended, and all my family. Schools of all sorts have changed tremendously in the last few years. It's not what we always expect. It may be time to be like the mother in Solomon's court. It may be time to sacrifice some wants to supply what our children really need. 

We may not be the best mom just as the mom in our story wasn't the perfect mom. She wasn't married. Other moms probably wrote her off as unworthy of their company.  She lived as a prostitute, but she was willing to give up her baby if it meant giving her baby life. 

Can we do better? How can we give our children to Jesus even when it means sacrificing the things we think are important to us? 

Maybe your toes feel stepped on. I know mine do. Maybe we feel like it's too late. It's never too late to give our children to the King of Kings. 

Heavenly Father, may I be willing to turn loose of control, my desires, and my dreams. Help me to be willing to let you have control of my children, knowing you want the best for them. In Jesus' name. Amen.