Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalms 37:7 (NIV) What does it really mean to be still? How many times in a day are we ever just still in the quiet, are we ever still? The opening of spring has always made me be still. I cannot help but stop and be still, feeling the warmth of the sun after months of harsh cold, hearing the long lost birds, and watching the buds appear on all the plants.
God wants us to be still, not only to be in awe of creation but also to sit and wait on him. It often takes a very difficult situation or decision in my life for me to be still. Not because I know I am supposed to do this, but because I have nowhere else to turn, because I have relied on myself and am powerless to help the problem on my own. It is when I know He is going to have to take control. When I allow myself to be still, I am always amazed at what He shows me. Our lives are just too busy to be still or are we are just too preoccupied with our lives to take the time? I wonder how many things God was trying to show me in my lifetime that I just did not notice.
If we are still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him everyday, imagine how different our lives would be. This is what it means to make Him our first love. Our first priority, sit with Him...you will be amazed at what he shows you, you may never be able to go back to doing things on your own.
Thank you Father for wanting us to wait on you, for giving us the opportunity to sit and be quiet in your presence. Show us great things.
Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it. Psalm 127:1 (NKJV)
Jacques, a native of Ivory Coast, Africa, and pastor/evangelist to more than twenty village churches, had been praying and seeking God's direction on having a church building built right in his own village. That prayer of over two years is now a reality. The church site is only 1000 feet from his own home! The Chief of this village, an unbeliever, gave Jacques this piece of property some time ago for a church but kept telling him that he would never live to see a church built because no white man would ever come and do such a thing for his people. The only white men they had ever known had only come to murder, rape and steal from them. In fact, until this team actually arrived there had been NO white man even permitted in their village for almost fifty years because of what had happened to their people. Only God can make the way for something like this.
In February 2010, after a very long and bumpy ride in a stripped down van, the team, comprised of nine people from three states, arrived and were greeted by a host of National believers cheering, singing, clapping, smiling, jumping up and down, raising their hands high in the air rejoicing that their prayers were answered. All the unbelief of those who doubted was put to death as they saw with their eyes a team of white Americans walking in their village, greeting their Chief and coming to build them a Church of their own!
After all the ceremonial greetings were completed, the team walked through the building site and all they saw was a cleared piece of ground, a few rows of cement blocks started (and a very large pile of ones to lay, with an African making each block by hand), some very large piles of steel rod, steel angle iron, sheets of metal and thousands of nuts and bolts. One of the member's comments was this would be overwhelming if I didn't know that God was in charge! After days and days of bending rod, and hours upon hours of welding, the first steel post were ready. Then came the steel trusses, and finally the day to begin erecting this building. There were no cranes to hoist trusses, no boom truck to help lift, only one extension ladder and the safe and secure hands of God to safely hold the guys as they welded each beam in place and drove each bolt to hold the next piece of steel. It was an amazing sight to behold and to realize the truth of Psalm 127:1. Each evening team members would sit around the table at night and reflect on the miracles of the day and praise the Lord for His provision and protection. Keep in mind that the heat was excruciating and they were at the mercy of the country power being provided each day that would allow two welders to operate. Like clockwork, the power would come on as they took their first few bites of breakfast and would go off each night as they prayed for their evening meal. The generator they had for back up only had to be used to provide lights at night, fans to move air, and for refrigeration to keep the food from spoiling. The Lord is awesome!
During the planning phase of this building, it had been estimated one thousand nuts and bolts would be adequate to secure the roof. When the final stages of the building came, it was discovered the nuts and bolts to secure the roof to the trusses had different threads. Jacques gathered the bolts and spent a day and a half round trip to return to the village with the new bolts. During the time Jacques was gone, they also discovered the estimate of nuts and bolts would not be sufficient. Because there was no way to contact Jacques, the team decided to place a bolt in every other hole of the lower section of the roof and allow the villagers to complete it when the remainder could be obtained. Jacques returned with the bolts and the work continued. The holes were drilled into the steel roof for each bolt. One by one, the bolts were inserted and secured. As the end was near and the last bolts were retrieved, every hole was filled. There was not one hole empty and not one extra bolt remaining!
None of this could have happened without God leading and directing each step. The team God assembled and the prayers and gifts of faithful people - God takes it all and accomplishes His plan! How Incredible - How Marvelous - How Awesome is He! When the team prepared to leave after almost four weeks of manual labor, the Chief of the Village told them he welcomed their return, and said he is not a believer.yet.
We have so many comforts and conveniences in America. It is so good to hear a story like this to be reminded of the love of God for His children everywhere, and His provision, right down to the nuts and bolts.
Lord, thank you for the provision and protection you generously offer us every day. Help us to count our blessings. Thank you for this miracle of nuts and bolts, and for Jacques and his ministry in Ivory Coast. We give You praise!
For physical training is of some value; but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. I Timothy 4:8
What the heck? The elliptical is kicking my behind. I can't keep up, I'm huffing, I'm puffing, I'm crying for my mama, and I've only been on it for five minutes. I feel the sweat drip down my face, my legs start to shake and I look around to see who might catch me when I start to tumble.
I've been coming to the YMCA for three months now- three times a week. I've climbed aboard the elliptical, opened my book, pushed the quick start button, and gone up and down for 30 minutes each and every time.
Today however, I decided to program the machine and let It tell Me what to do.
Midway through the 30 minutes, as I was hanging on for dear life, I had what might be called a light bulb moment. This is a bit like the way I live my Christian life. I signed up, so to speak, when I asked Jesus into my heart. After that, I meandered my way along- staying with the program but never seeing great results.
Giving God control of my life would likely be the same as programming this machine. I might find myself hanging on for dear life, I might be told abruptly to reverse or to squat, to push or to pull, to use some muscles that I didn't know I had- but I'm betting that the results would be significantly better than what I see as I wander along my own path.
Five minutes after climbing off the machine, weary and sore, I realized I would never go back to the way I had exercised before. I might be sore, I might be tired, but I knew that I had actually worked out. I'm thinking of asking God to take over, to do for my spirit what that machine can do for my body. I have a feeling it will be quite a ride.
Father God, I thank you for the bodies you have made in which our spirits dwell. I pray that we might remember to give You control of all things.
But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:14-15
Give me coffee in the morning and I am a happy camper. The smell of the coffee brewing in the morning fills the house and makes me immediately want to get up and have a cup in my hand. Once I have stirred in the cream and sugar there is nothing like the first sip of coffee to help me wake up each morning.
Give me a Christian friend that exudes Christ in the same way and I am really a happy camper. We have all met these wonderful people through out our lives. You know the ones that enter a room and you can immediately smell the fragrance of the Lord. Whether it is through their laughter, their speech, the warmth in their eyes, or the way they express themselves, you know without a shadow of a doubt, that the aroma of Christ has entered the room.
God sees each of us, who know Him as our personal Savior, as the aroma of Christ. When we take the time to come into His presence giving Him praise, glory and honor, the heavens are filled with a sweet aroma. Just like coffee brewing in the morning, God identifies the sweet fragrance of praise and worship from each of His children. Send such a sweet smell of praise up to heaven that the aroma of Christ will linger everywhere you go.
Heavenly Father, may the fragrance of Christ be so evident in me that everywhere I go your aroma lingers in the hearts of those I come in contact with today.
The Lord owns the world and everything in it the - heavens, even the highest heavens, are His. Deuteronomy 10:14 (NCV)
Recently, God used a Sunday morning class to help me re-focus and realize I needed to stop spinning my wheels. I have had some neat opportunities and experiences in the last few months, but they have required extra time, energy and emotion. It is almost embarrassing to admit to being so busy but not being able to say exactly what I have been doing.
When I read this verse, I kept reading it over and over again. I simply cannot fathom the words - everything in it. Everywhere I look, everything I see, anything I cannot see belongs to Him. Haggai 2:8 says the silver is His and the gold is His. Psalm 50:10-12 tells us every beast of the forest is His and the cattle on a thousand hills. He knows all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are His. These truths make me wonder why I become so consumed with the day to day events, with the cares of my family, the problems I cannot solve, and the feeling of never accomplishing the entire objective. At times, I feel insincere and think my activities are insignificant and pointless. When God is not Lord of all in my life, in our lives, it is because we have accumulated other things to blind our view of Him. Sin creeps into our lives so easily, and little by little we become distracted, dull in our walk and we find ourselves out of focus and spinning our wheels, never really accomplishing what we set out to do. Joy is gone, and monotony and misery take its place. God has us here for a reason. Everything we encounter daily is valid, and we have the opportunity to recognize the value of it. Do we see God in everything?
My new focus is this: As I meet the challenges and realities of each day, I will bring with me the realization and wonder of the truths in these verses. When I speak to my family, when I prepare a meal and do laundry, as I undertake the events of the day, I want to remember everything belongs to my Lord. I desire to keep Him in the forefront of my daily routine. When things go wrong I must remember God is not surprised by the circumstance.
Life has meaning when we see and do things through the eyes of God. Joy oozes out when our tasks are completed with Him as our ambition. It brings new excitement when we remember everything we say, touch, hear, feel, and smell belongs to Him. The marvel that He is Lord of all gives new energy and yearning for more of Him.
Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Psalm 51:10-12 ... Be Lord of all in my life!
