Compassion and Power

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“I feel sorry for these people. They have been here with me for three days, and they have nothing left to eat. Jesus asked, “How much bread do you have?” “Seven loaves,” they replied. (Mark 8:2, 5 NLT)

Jesus was moved with compassion and used what he had to help, trusting God for the rest.

What little thing do we have that we can offer toward filling the driving compassion of God's heart that calls to us?

If You Only Knew What Was Inside of You

If you Only KNEW what was inside of you.

John 4:10Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.”

I LOVE this verse! Here, this woman is wondering why Jesus would even take time to talk to her, much like many people can't fathom why God would want to speak with them.

And Jesus full of the love of God, says, "If you only knew...."

I would like to know and understand the love of God more. What kind of love would suffer and die just so I could know His love? Why would he place such a great value on my life and love? 

If we only knew the gift of God and who it is who is speaking to us- We would ask- and He would give us life now and forever. 

What's more, if we only knew the gift of God and who it is doing His works in and THROUGH us, WE would GIVE LIFE everywhere we go to all who we come in contact with. 

Lord, please cause me to KNOW You, and the gift of Your presence in me. Please cause me to understand Your great love and to give life everywhere I go.

In Jesus name, Amen.

Recognizing God

Recognizing God

Recognizing GodJohn 1:33

"I didn’t know he was the one, but when God sent me to baptize with water, he told me, ‘The one on whom you see the Spirit descend and rest is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

John the Baptist KNEW Jesus. He was his friend and cousin, his mother and Mary were close friends and relatives who shared the experience of their miraculous pregnancies. 

John KNEW Jesus by name- but he didn't KNOW or RECOGNIZE that He was the Christ UNTIL he saw the Holy Spirit descend upon Him as a dove, like God had told him he would.

All of John's life and ministry was spent preparing the people of Israel for His coming- All of John's life, he already knew Jesus- as a friend and relative- but he did not recognize Him until this very moment.

Two things about this stand out to me;

1. John was a great prophet, not because of what he knew- but because he was a friend of God, listening to God's voice and believing it. God showed him things to come, as He does with all who will cultivate a friendship with Him.
2. Being the greatest prophet of all, until Jesus did not mean He automatically knew all he wanted to know from the Lord. The Lord showed him what he needed to know, WHEN He wanted him to know it.

This is a comfort to be because it shows me that even the most obvious answer God reveals to me, is not a reflection of my ineptness at hearing his voice- but His power to guid and direct all I see and hear as I trust fully in His love to lead me.

I don't have to know it all, I have only to listen to His voice and watch for what He tells me to watch for. 

Father, please give me a good believing heart and ears that listen to You, and eyes that watch for the things You have spoken. In Jesus name, Amen.

Faith Like a Child

Jesus didn't want to do it.

"Dear woman, that's not our problem," Jesus replied. "My time has not yet come."

In this amazing verse, we see one of two times Jesus apparently didn't want to do what He was called to do. The second time being when he faced the cross. 

Upon THIS occasion, Jesus didn't feel the work was his responsibility, He didn't feel it related to his own family, He didn't feel the timing was right for Him to be serving God publicly with the same miraculous power He served him privately among his family members- YET, it was time.

Apparently, the only way he knew, was because it was what the authority in his life was telling him to do, and He knew he had to honor his mother.

I am comforted to see Jesus resisting the will of God, and yet being willing and obedient. 

I am comforted because this is my life today. Going back to work as a substitute teacher.

Today was the first time in a L O N G time I left my baby to go to work.

She will be three in a couple weeks, and we are virtually inseparable. 

My life is in the throughs of a big transition, since my husband began a new job that enables him to work %50 of the time at home. 

I have enjoyed these blissful 3 years being a stay at home mother of four, and pouring my attention into content creation with books, videos, pictures, housekeeping, and mothering. 

Leaving my home, content creation and baby for three and a half hours of subbing today felt like giving up the ship.

Upon coming home the baby smothered me with devotion and disappointment that I had left, my household chores filled almost the rest of my day, and I have yet to check e-mails. 

I battled the feeling of being swamped by praising God for his grace and provision and leading, thanking Him that His yolk is easy and His burden light.

Being sent to work, was not the way I preferred to serve the Lord, I like being home. I keep myself breathlessly busy between snuggle times with my baby and I love it. My work at home FEELS engaging and significant.

Working as a substitute teacher, I'm not creating any plans, content, or schedules, I'm not relating with people I will be able to form a lasting relationship with. I'm like an actor simply reading the script given me so the show can go on.

God had been telling me this day was coming- the day I'd leave my baby and go back to work- but I was hoping against hope, that wasn't His voice. 

The fact of the matter remains- He is my God. He is the one directing my steps and choosing where I go and when. He is in authority over my life and my life is not my own, but it has been bought with the precious blood of his son so that I wouldn't have to live a sinful selfish life.

I BELIEVE that regardless of my occupation and setting- He is guiding my every move for His glory and honor and my good. I REALLY believe He loves me with a love deeper and more intense than I understand. 

So today, I felt He showed me a little example of how my attitude looked in His sight through my baby's demonstration.

Juliana's great passion is to help me in the kitchen. She has been asking for weeks to bake a pie with me.

So TODAY, before going in to substitute teach a Kindergarten class. I invited her to help me bake a pie.

She was FULL of enthusiasm, but as soon as I began offering ways she could help me she lost interest.- All she wanted to do was pour and stir things, taking out pots and pans and items for measure was NOT her idea of helping.

I felt that her example must be just how I was treating God- I liked serving him one way, the way I felt was most intriguing, and as He lead me in the path of His calling on my life, I resisted, feeling this part of the path was not my idea of fun.

Lord, please grant me the grace to adjust to this part of my calling in You. May I embrace it with all my heart and find joy in every moment, knowing You are loving me through it. In Jesus name, Amen.

Attitude Adjustment

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