See No Evil, "HEAR" No Evil, Speak No Evil

Most likely you have seen the pictures of the three wise monkeys that originated from a 17th century carving at the famous shrine in Nikko, Japan. We three “Wyse” sisters mimic the picture by covering our eyes, ears, and mouth to represent stopping them from sinning. 1 Thessalonians 5:22 says, “reject every kind of evil”. This week’s devotional is “HEAR” no evil...

 

 

It was not that long ago that I was a young lady cruising around in my sports car with my shiny new rims, windows down, and music turned up as loud as it could go. That girl still is inside of me, but God gave me a new heart. I now care what words go with the beats that play through my speakers. Those are not the only filtered words I care about.

Ephesians 5:4-11,

“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a person is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them. For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of the light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness, and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with fruitless deeds of darkness...”

Think about these verses and some of the key phrases. Some that stood out to me were; “foolish talk”, “coarse joking”, “immoral”, “empty words”, “not partner with them”, “darkness”, “children of the light”, “goodness”, “righteousness”, “truth”, and “pleases the Lord”. From studying these verses it is easy to tell the negative from the positive, but do you do this in your everyday life? Many of us turn the radio on and zone out to whatever the lyrics might be saying. It is also a lot easier to listen to someone talk about another person without stopping them. What will it take for you to turn the dial or ask someone to stop talking in a negative way? Study the scriptures so you know what is acceptable to God. Then ask God for the power of the Holy Spirit to help you stand up against the darkness.

"SEE" No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil

Most likely you have seen the pictures of the three wise monkeys that originated from a 17th century carving at the famous shrine in Nikko, Japan. We three “Wyse” sisters mimic the picture by covering our eyes, ears, and mouth to represent stopping them from sinning. This week’s devotional is “SEE” no evil...

When you were a little child did you mother ever say to you “don’t let your eyes get you in trouble?” Now that probably meant something like stop looking at the cookies cooling on the rack before you do something naughty like snatch one. As we grow older and our mothers are not watching us anymore, are you looking at things that she wouldn’t like? More importantly you should be thinking, are you looking at things that God wouldn’t like?

Matthew 5:29 says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell”. Wow, we better examine what we are looking at! Think about what types of books and magazines you are reading. Think about what kind of t.v. shows and movies you enjoy. Psalms 101:3 says, “I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me”. Ladies, how often do we spend time looking in the mirror obsessing or looking at magazines wishing/trying to look as gorgeous as the skinny model? Sure, we should definitely take care of ourselves by eating healthy food and exercising. Remember God created us in His image. Proverbs 31:30 says, “Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised”. Don’t give the devil a foothold (Eph. 4:27) and stop spending so much time in the mirror. For you fellas (and the ladies too that struggle with this one) God warns us about lust in Matthew 5:28, “But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. Now you guys know what this means, not admiring her beauty, but thinking of her beyond that. Remember what it says in the verse 29, better to pluck out your eye. There are many avenues that our eyes can lead us to sin. If you know that you have been taking part in one of those, cover your eyes, and “flee” like it says in 1 Corinthians 6:18. Acts 3:19 says, “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord”.

Lessons from Haiti: Beautiful Feet

[This will be the last devotional in our “Lessons from Haiti” series. It was just a taste of what I learned on my trip. I encourage you to look into doing a missions trip yourself so God can personally teach you many things.]

Hiking in the mountains is one of my favorite things to do. Whenever I go on vacations, preferably to someplace mountainous, I ask around to find one of the best trails in the area to hike or run. Even in my personal training sessions I use many fair-weather days to get my clients to climb up one of our ski mountains. When I heard that throughout our trip to Haiti we’d be climbing the mountains, I was nothing less than thrilled!

Romans 10:14-15 says, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” As followers of Christ it is our command to share the hope we have in Him like it says in Matthew 28:19, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations...”. God does not promise us that road will be easy. In fact, in Matthew 7:14 it says, “But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” Your feet will get dirty, maybe even covered in mud, on this road. Often times you will get painful blisters. (We got quite a few of these in Haiti and when it rains hard even waterproof bandaids don’t stick). Find encouragement from those in the Bible who kept going through the hardest of rocky roads like Esther, Job, David, and many more who God used greatly.

What gifts, talents, or ideas has God given you that you can use to spread the Word? I’m currently in Chicago investigating fair trade. I’ve already been brainstorming on this idea for a few years for inner city work and now I’m looking at this with an international perspective, obviously because of my recent Haiti trip. Using this as a tool not only to help feed those living in poverty (Matthew 25:35, Isaiah 58:10, Proverbs 28:27) but also to help share the gospel. I was hanging out with my friend the other day who is the Director of Football at a major university. Through his connections in the athletic field, he is bringing in inner city kids for free sports camps. These are run by his players with whom many are actively involved with Athletes in Action. Since 1966, AIA had committed to sharing a Victory beyond Competition that is found only in a relationship with Jesus Christ. In a practical way, my friend and his football players are using their love for sports and Jesus to minister to inner city kids. I think also of my grandma, my biggest role model, who can not help but talk about God in almost every conversation she has. She uses food ministries, quilting, and much more as a platform to share the hope and love that she has through our Savior. I could go on about many more but my main point is what things can YOU use in your life as a ministry? God has equipped you with special and unique gifts. If you don’t know what these are, think of normal things you like to do because those could be a tool He can use. Also, surround yourself with people who can help encourage you, pray for you, and help you develop these tools (Proverbs 12:26, Proverbs 17:17, Proverbs 27:17). Watch out for the devil who would like nothing more than to get your foot in a snare (2 Timothy 2:26) so that these tools are not used for God’s glory. Finally, let God guide your steps. Psalms 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, and light on my path”.

Lessons from Haiti: Sweetest Mango

[If you have been following our series “Lessons from Haiti” we are nearing completion. After this week will be one more devotional from the Haiti theme. I was going to be taking another trip to Haiti next week and sadly that did not work out. Please be in prayer for future opportunities for God to use my life serving the people of Haiti.]

 

When I was a little girl my grandparents lived on a farm and had many fruit trees. Whenever a fruit tree was nearing harvest you could most definitely find me at the bottom eating. Every summer I still go picking strawberries, blueberries, cherries, etc. There is nothing like a piece of fresh fruit from the tree/vine/plant! When I was in Haiti I was asked if I would like a fresh mango? I have had mangos many times in the United States, of which you can only get imported, so I jumped at the chance to eat a fresh one. Wow, was that the sweetest, most delicious thing I have ever tasted!!!

This contrast in a store bought vs. a tree ripened mango got me thinking about the way we are getting our intake of the word of God. Many times we listen to songs, read books, listen to sermons and think we are being filled. Sure, mangos from the store are tasty and we can get vitamin C from them but they don’t even compare in delicious, juicy, sweetness of one right from the source. God most definitely wants to teach you from others but He wants you to personally listen to what He has to say to you by His Word, the sweetest source. Here are just a few of the many verses in the Bible that talk about knowing and studying His word:

John 8:31-32

Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Joshua 1:8

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Romans 15:4

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scripture and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

By spending time in God’s word you will grow a more intimate relationship with Him. You will get to know Him better and He will teach you many things. In His word He prepares you for the plans he has for your life. So if you are new to the word of God, how do you get started reading it? Well, there really is no wrong way. You can choose a book of the Bible and read a chapter a day. If you have trouble knowing what it means, before giving up, try rereading it and praying about what it means. There are also Bible concordances. Sometimes there are Bibles you can get with notes on the side for help. You can also ask someone you respect to help you get started. Try it tonight. Spend time with God by opening your Bible and getting in the habit of setting aside time daily.

Lessons from Haiti: "Home"

 

Who’s ever been camping? Now, I’m not talking about the big, sweet R.V. type of camping. Let me run you through a scenario of events. So you and your family are dropped off with your tent in some remote area that has no bathroom facilities and left without your car. So you are adventuresome (well, some reading this probably are not, but bare with me) and you are going to make the best of this. So a few days pass and supplies are running low. No one's cell phones work, so you can not get ahold of the person to tell them to come back early. This whole "no bathroom" thing is getting to you and you would really like a hot shower. You and your family start to realize that living all together in one room makes you a little testy towards each other. You get ready for bed with a hungry tummy, only to hear thunderstorms in the distance. You try to get comfortable on the rough ground (oh yeah, your air mattresses popped) but start to feel something crawling in your sleeping bag. Scared, you go to turn on your flashlight, but nothing happens. The batteries must be dead. You feel around to check the tent's zip door to realize it has a rip in it. The creepy crawly things must know there is rain coming but you have no way of keeping them out. You notice not only your tummy rumbling, but you are starting to get pretty chilled by the cold night air. All of a sudden, the craziest downpour of rain comes and you start to feel a stream of water trickling down from the top of the tent. There are leaks! This goes on for days. I’m guessing you would be miserable and you would probably want nothing more than to go home?

Do you long for “home”? I’m not talking about your home here right now, I’m talking about your home in Heaven if you have accepted Christ as your Savior. Many of us are so comfortable where we are at, that we don’t give much thought to our home with God. Jesus says in John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you”. As we just celebrated Easter, we know that Christ died for our sins on the cross and rose from the grave, making a way for us to spend eternity with Him. He paid the ultimate price so that we could have the best gift ever given. Are you excited about that? So many American’s are so materialistic, that we can not imagine life without the comforts we have in our home like were missing in camping story above. In Haiti those "missing" things in the story, are a part of many of their everyday lives. The Christians in Haiti long to be with their father in Heaven to live in their “mansion prepared for them”. So what would your life look like if you were daily looking forward to eternity with Christ? First of all, you would be seeking Him daily. Psalm 63:1, A Psalm of David says, “Oh God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water”. Proverbs 8:17 says, “I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me”. We should pray to Him like it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:17, “without ceasing”. We also need to be reading His word. Psalm 1:2 says, “But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night”. We also need to be thanking Him for the things He has given us and for who He is. Psalms 95:1-6 says, “O come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; Let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms. For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods, in whose hand are the depths of the earth; The peaks of the mountains are His also. The sea is His, for it was He who made it; And His hands formed the dry land. Come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker”. And finally, we should share this good news with others. In Matthew 28:19 it says, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..”. This could be telling your friend about what Jesus has done in your life and what He can do in theirs. It could be telling a relative you love, about the salvation that God wants to offer them. It could even mean you going to Haiti or another continent to tell someone through a translator and with a cup of water, that Jesus loves them and died for them on the cross. Share the good news!

As I drove through the rubble of the 7.0 magnitude earth quake that hit Haiti just over 3 years ago, leaving over a million plus homeless, I was brought to tears. It is absolutely devastating. BUT there is hope! Jesus came to save us, and if we accept this gift, we will have a better home than we can even fathom, waiting for us in Heaven! Just like the Haitians long for this promise, we too also should remember that the things of this world our temporary, including our homes. Do not trust in the comforts of this world (that could be taken from you in a blink of an eye) but stay focused on what God has in store for you and what He wants to do with your life here on earth. C.S. Lewis said, “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did the most in the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next.”