Get Your Mind Right (Day 7 - Freedom Week)

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 

1 Corinthians 15:10

There are days in this faith walk where confidence begins to wane--confidence in ourselves, confidence in God's plan, confidence in God himself... It's easy to allow discouragement to set in and determine the trajectory of your hopes. So that makes the words of Paul that much more poignant. He writes in I Corinthians 15 that "by the grace of God I am what I am". Here is a man who spent the greater part of his ministry imprisoned and unrecognized by other religious folks. And yet his resolve was that of a confident and fearless man. The Bible says that you are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and that God's work in you was/is "marvelous" (Psalm 139:14). Simplified, that can  mean that our physical being was made marvelous. However, that does not begin to truly scratch the surface of the wonder that God breathed into you. He made you for a purpose. When you decide to rest in that knowledge and settle your mind on the fact that you are what you are--that God's plan for you did not change because money didn't appear the way you wanted or grades did not measure up to the level you studied or relationships couldn't stay on track despite your best efforts--then you give God the freedom to rule in you; and you can move knowing that all He has imparted into you is not in vain.

The world stresses self-confidence, but the confidence Paul speaks of stretches our understanding of self and explodes across supernatural lines of reality. This confidence is in who the Lord made you to be. It's a confidence in the omniscience and omnipotence of God. People about to play in a game, fight a battle or simply conquer a difficult task will say the phrase "Get your mind right" and that is all that is coming to mind to pass along your way. Remember Who God is. Remember the power of His grace. Stop settling for your pity party, shift out of depression and GET YOUR MIND RIGHT! It's time to move and the grace of God has made it possible for you to accomplish great and mighty things in His name TODAY. So be encouraged today to pick up your bottom lip and be about the business of the Lord.

Blessings,
MinD

Just a Test (Day 6 - Freedom Week)

"Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the Lord tested him." Psalm 105:19 Today's message is pretty simple and to the point. As we are on the eve of Easter, I am reminded that everything God says will come to pass. He told us redemption would come, and it did. God told us he loved us and he does (as evidenced by his giving of Christ) . What he said is true but will sometimes bring tests. As you approach this new day, praise God as the trials come and as God tests his word in you. People will die, situations shift, money moved and so much more. But God's word is True. It will come to pass. Hang in there. Be encouraged, MinD

Hail to the Victors (Day 5 - Freedom Week)

For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”...Thus says the Lord to you: ‘Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God’s.

2 Chronicles 20:12b, 15b

 

I sat on the edge of my seat waiting for the overtime game of the NCAA game to end. My team had been the underdog. They'd been down for the count and simply not as much on their game as their competitor. With virtually no time left on the clock, they tied the game and the competitor missed a shot--sending the game into overtime. My team came out fighting and never gave up. It seemed as if the call for OT was almost a refreshing for them and a defeating call for the competition. They stepped up their game. The five minutes of overtime where equally as tense as with 23 seconds left on the clock and no time outs left, the officials stopped the game for a time clock adjustment. But alas, my team pulled it out in the end.

The team couldn't hear me and I was alone in the room, but I along with so many others celebrated with bursts of school/alumni pride, singing along with the marching band as it played "Hail to the victors valiant. Hail to the conquering heros...Hail! Hail to Michigan..." And as the excitement subsided about the game, my excitement about that song began to bubble over. You see, these days, I've been feeling a lot like the underdog in the game. There have been some points where I feel as though the enemy has simply out-played me--moments where I could practically hear the commentators of my life shaking their heads and asserting what move they felt that I should have made.

But, at the end of the day, Good Friday...my relationship with Christ...my walk of faith all remind me that the victory is already mine. The victory is already yours! I am reminded that there was a "trick play" made thousands of years ago on my (and your) behalf on the cross at Calvary. A play that takes our game into overtime where we are renewed and look like whole new competitors. When Jesus died on the cross, he brought a refreshing to the game that is destined for VICTORY. So even when you feel like everything is against you, when you feel like you've been down on your game, when you feel like the commentators of your life have doomed you with their tongues, the Bible reminds us that "No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment (God) shall condemn." (Isaiah 54:17) You simply cannot give up and need to step up your game. The enemy would have you believe that the game is his, but inevitably, he always misses a shot and underestimates the renewing power of Christ in our lives.

Plain and simple: The competition has already been won. He has delivered the competitor into our hands. And for as many people who are "commenting" against you, there are others silently watching on, ready and waiting to burst out and celebrate with you when the True Victor is revealed--when God's Greatness shines through. Because of this, we can shout now. Because of this, you can strike up the band and play your own victor song. "Hail to the victors valiant. Hail! Hail to <<Insert Your Name>>..." You may be in overtime, but not to worry: It's already done. It's already won.

Be encouraged,
MinD

Simply Breathe (Day 4 - Freedom Week)

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 

Hebrews 4:9-11

 
It seems that over the course of this day, there has been one recurring theme:  BREATHE. As I prepared to have my class give a presentation that we had been working on for some time, I had to keep remind my kids to simply have fun and enjoy the process. A friend stopped me today to tell me about a new app that they had on their iPad that takes you through breathing exercises. And, along the way home, I spoke with an elderly gentleman on the train with our conversation centering around taking those moments to stop and enjoy each moment. It seems that everywhere that I turned today there was a reminder to simply take a moment, stop, and breathe. So often, we bulldoze through our days--with appointment after appointment (even the kids have planners and full schedules). Some even move so fast that silence becomes foreign.

When was the last time YOU took a deep breath (that wasn't laced with anger or impatience)? Do truly took a moment to "smell the roses"? Did you actually see the route on the way home or did you simply look up and realize you had arrived? When was the last time when you allowed the silence to overtake you and simply enjoy being alive? Today's reminder is simply that tomorrow isn't promised. With every day comes passing moments that are to be cherished, and that sometimes takes intention. For the next week, set five minutes aside to simply look out at your lawn or watch the sun rise. Take a minute to simply breathe and remember the blessing of the little things in life.
you remember the expressions on your children's faces today or is it all a blur? When was the last time you

Be encouraged to BREATHE.

Blessings,
MinD

Plow In Hope (Day 2 - Freedom Week)

...For our sakes, no doubt,  this  is written, that he who plows should plow in hope...

1 Corinthians 9:10b NKJV

Photo credit: National Geographic

There are times when a scripture simply jumps out of the page at you and today was one of those days. I was reading in I Corinthians 9 and the tenth verse simply lept off of the page saying that we should 'plow in hope'. It didn't say we should plow through hope, but specifically in hope. And the image of being in something immediately made its way to my mind. If you were in a pile of snow, you would begin to feel the cold. Depending on how long you were in it, you would begin to even get wet. It could cause you to shiver to your core. Similarly, if you were plowing in a field of wheat in the midst of the hottest sun, being in the sun would soak into your skin. Plowing in a muddy field with minimal tools, would mean potentially getting covered by that mud but still needing to press through it. The effect of being in something is that it soaks itself into your body and becomes a part of who you are in the moment and even begins to show on the outside.

As we "plow" through the daily trials of life, remember to plow in HOPE. For it is hope that needs to permeate into your core. It is hope that needs to soak itself into your soul. It is hope that needs to become a part of you in this moment. Though you may feel like your resources are minimal and the sun may be hot in this field of life or the field muddied with problems, allow HOPE to be the thing that coats your spirit and helps you to press on through it all. Friends, be encouraged today to plow in the midst of hope. Let it overtake your soul and help you to keep looking up. This troubled time will not last always.

Blessings,
MinD

Seeing Through The Fog (Day 1 - Freedom Week)

I arrived in Washington, DC and was given a great room with a view. The clear night air gave an awesome view of the Mall with the grandeur of the Washington monument and US Capital in sight. And I was excited as I anticipated awaking in the morning before the meat of my mission there began, knowing that I would have a breathtaking view to start the day off.

However, as I opened my eyes to a heavy fog over the city, I quickly realized that spectacular sight would not be available to me on this one and only morning I was in town. And as I sat doing my devotional, I felt the Holy Spirit whisper something poignant into my spirit: Sometimes on a mission you will not be able to see clearly. And my favorite scripture came to mind, Isaiah 42:16, which says that the Lord will 'bring the blind by ways they cannot see and make crooked places straight' and in closing the verse reminds us that God will not leave or forsake us.

What an awesome thought! How comforting it can be to us that, on this journey where sometimes the fog settles in our lives and blocks the view of what we want to see, we can be assured of the fact that God is constantly leading us. He will continue to make the way straight. We may feel "blind" but God always sees. We mustn't get anxious that what we want (our dreams, the thing we are looking forward to, the pathway we thought we were supposed to be on...) has disappeared. The view never changes--behind the fog is still a famed view of monuments to greatness. Sometimes we simply can't see what is right there and have to trust that it didn't go away. Fog is temporary and cannot stop us from moving forward on our path.

Be encouraged, God WILL lift the fog when the time is right.

Blessings,
MinD

Freedom Week!

Good morning,

In commemoration of liberation, the Jews celebrate Passover. This week (March 25-April 2), we will honor the passover with daily notes of encouragement and reminders of how God sets us free...remembering that it is written that 'who the son sets free is free indeed'! (John 8.36) Be encouraged and stay tuned...

MinD