The Gray Hair(s) (#jammed daily devo, day 309)

Posted on November 5, 2018

November #jammed: Gracious.

Day 309: Thankful for wisdom …

Jesus 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.” John 4:10 (NLT)

Leaned over the bathroom sink and as close the mirror as I could get, I yanked out a few silvery strands. Age is something that creeps up and into our hair color before we’re ready. I’m probably causing more gray hairs to grow for every one I pull out, but my denial trumps my clarity.

Wisdom, however, is the part of aging that I welcome. Looking down at my war-torn Bible, passages highlighted over in several different colors, I see those gray hairs trying to come in …in a new whole new light.

The woman Jesus spoke to in today’s verse would say the same. Not of gray hair, although maybe she had those to, but of the different drink of water she took that day and how it changed the way she saw life as she knew it.

Jesus sat by the well, after traveling through an area that was not highly trafficked, accept for by trouble. And he watched this woman as she walked up to the well. He asked her for a drink.

Jesus: Would you draw water, and give Me a drink?

Woman: I cannot believe that You, a Jew, would associate with me, a Samaritan woman; much less ask me to give You a drink. John 4: 8-9

The transformation in her, once wise to Who He was, is remarkaable.

Jesus: The Anointed is speaking to you. I am the One you have been looking for

…The woman went back to the town, leaving her water pot behind. She stopped men and women on the streets and told them about what had happened. John 2:26,28

We think we need to pull the gray hairs out, but all we really need is to realize who He is. Never thirsty again, He told the woman …and she left her water jug behind. Beyond the physical needs of our bodies is the One who quenches the thirst of our souls. Once we know how to put the desire to make our lives meaningful into His hands, we are freed of the burden, and embrace the wisdom that comes with the passing of time …with Him. The transformation in us, once wise to Who He is, is remarkable.

Father, Praise You for the Living Water, Jesus Christ. Our King and Savior, He came to save us from ourselves …forgive us for explaining Him away. Help us to embrace His truth and live our lives in His steps. Never thirsty gain. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!

#greatgrace17

Happy Grays,

Megs

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Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, gray hairs, wisdom

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The Gray Hair(s) (#jammed daily devo, day 309)

Posted on November 5, 2017

November #jammed: Gracious.

Day 309: Thankful for wisdom …

Jesus 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.” John 4:10 (NLT)

Jesus sat by the well, after traveling through an area that was not highly trafficked, accept for by trouble. And he watched this woman as she walked up to the well. He asked her for a drink.

Jesus: Would you draw water, and give Me a drink?

Woman: I cannot believe that You, a Jew, would associate with me, a Samaritan woman; much less ask me to give You a drink. John 4: 8-9

The transformation in her, once wise to Who He was, is remarkaable.

Jesus: The Anointed is speaking to you. I am the One you have been looking for

…The woman went back to the town, leaving her water pot behind. She stopped men and women on the streets and told them about what had happened. John 2:26,28

Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!

#greatgrace17

Happy Grays,

Megs

Get the #jammed Daily Devo sent straight to your inbox each morning, by subscribing to Sunny&80.

Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, gray hairs, jammed daily devo, wisdom

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The Long Leash (#jammed daily devo, day 290)

Posted on October 17, 2017

October #jammed: Free Grace.

Day 290: Room to run.

“Let us consider how to inspire each other to greater love and to righteous deeds, not forgetting to gather as a community, as some have forgotten, but encouraging each other, especially as the day of His return approaches.” Hebrews 10:24-25

“WHOA!!!! CHERRY!!!!”

For some reason, though we pass triple the amount of geese every morning when we walk the pier, that afternoon my dog had decided it was the perfect time to teach them all a lesson with her vicious doodle-self barreling after them …my arm yanked along in tow.

“Crazy doodle!!!” I hollered as I shortened her leash. She looked up at me with her really sad and “I’m sorry” eyes.

“Sorry, girl,” I told her, “back to the short leash …you can’t be trusted!”

Today’s verse keeps us on a short leash, because we can’t be trusted. We’re all human, and though we all have good intentions, they fail us. Intentionality is fleeting unless it has been marinated in God’s wisdom.

Not giving up meeting together: The Greek word translated “giving up” speaks of desertion and abandonment. -NIV Study Bible Notes.

The community in this verse was under siege. Christians were not always allowed to meet, and small groups were suspicious to the government that wanted to eradicate them. The world hasn’t changed as much as we’d like to hope it has. Radical hate and genocide still run rampant in this world. It’s not fair. But what will we do in the face of persecution and threats?

When we stop meeting together …when we stop meeting with God in His Word …when we forgo daily prayer to rush into the day’s routine …we begin to forget. That’s why these meetings are so important. Because not long after we forget, we run the other way. We run the other way, and then we abandon what we once knew. It’s not that far-fetched. Peter denied Jesus, and we do, too.

But when we meet together, we are promised that God is with us. When we stand in worship to praise Him, He is there. When we gather together to seek Him in His Word, He is there. The Spirit moves us, and we remember. We are reminded. Of God’s love for us. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross to save us. And the Spirit’s constant presence in translation.

When we meet together, we keep ourselves on a short leash, so we don’t sprint off to chase things that don’t even hit our plane of sight when we’re close to Him.

Father, Praise You for church communities and those that gather in Your name. Thank You for the magic that happens when the Spirit moves through those rooms and our hearts. Forgive us for neglecting to take the time to spend with the One who created time. Help us to trust Your hand on the minutes of our days. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!

#greatgrace17

Happy Gathering,

Megs

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Category: Christian Living, jammed daily devo Tagged: #greatgrace17, growth, leash, space, wisdom

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The Wellies (#jammed daily devo, day 286)

Posted on October 13, 2017

October #jammed: Free Grace.

Day 286: Keeping our feet dry.

Complete your work outside, and get your fields ready for next season;
after that’s done, build your house. Proverbs 24:27

Sheets of chilly Autumn rain streamed down unto the saturated course, and my wellies squished with every stride. Rain rolling off their noses and mud sucking the shoes off of their feet, they slid and trekked through the mud. It was my favorite kind of race-day. The kind of day when talent is shelved for guts, and mud makes champions.

We can all run atop a dry and even course, but it’s in the depths of the hills and the chill of uncooperating weather, that our true grit is revealed.

None of my cross country runners knew that they were preparing for this race all season long, but I did. I knew something they didn’t. I’d been up and down these muddy slopes before, and I remember the triumphant feeling of shelving the mile-splits and running after the competition through that mud. Sometimes, we don’t realize what we’re preparing for until we’re knee-deep in a mud …trying to keep our shoes from being sucked off.

Today’s verse is about trusting what God says about preparation. He knows what’s coming. He’s numbered our days. His plan for us is good, and His will for our lives is perfect …even though it sometimes looks like a big shoe-sucking mud puddle.

Get your fields ready: Plan carefully and acquire the means as you build your house.- NIV Study Bible Notes

Distance runners plan carefully. We know we have to run far, but we can’t get there all at once. Miles must be accumulated a little bit at a time, week after week, as we prepare our legs and strengthen our bodies and our lungs to handle the heavy load. We must plan carefully in life, too. Making drastic increases in any area of our lives cause red flags to fly.

Wisdom is required to build a house; understanding is necessary to make it secure. Proverbs 24:3

Wisdom doesn’t come easy for a distance runner. At first, we’re not sure we’ll survive that first three mile run. Our lungs burn and our legs have no idea what’s happening. That first race, we’re not sure we’ll make it to the finish. It seems impossible, and we feel a little defeated. But in time, as we run a little farther, and survive to see another finish line …what we know starts to trump how we feel.

We have to let what we know trump how we feel.

house. Symbolic of the life of an individual or a family.- NIV Study Bible Notes

We become what we prepare to build. And the truth we stand on must be rock solid, because everything that flows from the heart that we guard will provide the foundation on which we build our house.

Jesus died so that we can have an impenetrable foundation and an immovable confidence to build our house on. Him. The Cross. The grace He gave us when He gave up His last breath is the very foundation our lives are built on. Anything else is just shoe-sucking mud.

Father, Praise You for runners! For distance runners! Thank You for giving me the opportunity to run and to coach, so that the lessons I learned would affirm the wisdom You planted. Forgive me …and forgive us all …for thinking that the athletic and academic feats we accomplish come from our own strength. Bless us to build our homes on rock sold truth …on Your Truth. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.