Sunny&80The Bother (#jammed daily devo, day 225)
Posted on August 13, 2018
August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 225: Keep asking.
“Do not ever swear an oath.” Matthew 5:34
If I had a dollar for every time my kids assured me beyond a shadow of a doubt they did something I asked them to do, my husband and I would be able to retire.
Why is your homework still in your folder?
I thought you said you cleaned your room?
Weren’t you supposed to pick up all of the yard bombs?
I told you to shut the door.
What are you doing?
Matthew knew what he was talking about when he wrote “don’t make an oath.”
oath-a solemn, usually formal calling, upon God -or a god -to witness to the truth of what one says, or to witness that one sincerely intends to do what one says.
An oath isn’t just a promise. As ornery as my kids are, they aren’t swearing to God that they’ve completed their chores …at least, not yet. But, many of us let that verbiage fly out of our mouths everyday without a thought of what we’re actually saying.
What begins with a simple attempt to honor something becomes a tangled up mess of misrepresentation and consequence. Dishonesty doesn’t stand up well to the Truth. And the Truth, God’s Word, tells us not to “swear to God.” Beyond just curse words, we are called to honor our word by honoring His Word. It’s the premise of honestly committing to something we genuinely thing we can uphold.
“Let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes’ and your ‘no’ be ‘no.'” Matthew 5:37
That’s a seemingly simple solution that is hard to live by amidst the pressure that we put on ourselves concerning our reputation with others, and our pride within. But when we walk with Christ and spend time in God’s Word, the Spirit will strengthen us to straighten out our words.
Father, Praise You for the promises You keep. Thank You for meeting us in Your Word and preparing our hearts to receive it. We confess that we do not always stop to recall Your guidance before we speak, and ask that You send Your Spirit to help alert us. 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 Speaking,
Megs
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The Bare Feet (#jammed daily devo, day 222)
Posted on August 10, 2018
August #jammed: Reflecting on Grace.
Day 222: No shoes … no problem.
you need.” Matthew 6:33 (NLT)There are so many pairs of shoes in my house …yet every morning it’s the same routine.
“Where are your shoes?!”
My daughters never have their shoes on when it’s time to leave the house. They look at me like I am some sort of alien creature from another planet to have expected them to put something on their feet before they walk out the door.
How can they forget to put their shoes on? It boggles my mind. Whether it’s cold, wet, or summer out …to go anywhere requires shoes.
Today’s verse is telling us to put our shoes on before we go out the door and into the world. But not literal shoes …well, those are good too, but our faith. When we walk out into the world it helps to have our faith on.
Though Christ never leaves us, we tend to forget about Him when we starting walking out into the world. Soon we look down and wonder why our feet are all cut up. When we neglect to remember Him all day long, we walk without Him … hurting our ‘feet.’
“…live righteously, and He will give You everything You need.”
Spending time with God in the Word each day is like putting on a brand new pair of cushy running shoes before leaving the house. He’s protecting the ground that we walk on, and less likely to let whatever we run into that day cut us to bits …emotionally, mentally, maybe even physically.
Light your path with the Word before going out into the day.
Father, Praise You for protecting us in this life. There are things that we come up against each day that we don’t even realize, and we thank You for watching out for us. Forgive us for running out into the world with bare feet, and bless us to remember to carve out time to spend with You each day. 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 Trodding!
Megs
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The Practice Poms (#jammed daily devo, day 211)
Posted on July 31, 2018
July #jammed: Grace serves.
212: Pass it down.
“But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say,
‘People do not live by bread alone,
but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4 (NLT)
“Mom!!!! I got her old pom-poms!!!”
One of my daughter’s favorite babysitters scooped her up and carried her into mini-cheer practice. It’s a sweet bond between two sweet girls …and now mine has her old pom-poms. They sit in her room in a treasured place. Old practice poms that now inspire my little girl’s dreams.
Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace!
#greatgrace17
Happy Friend-ing
Megs
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The Seeds (#jammed daily devo, day 167)
Posted on June 16, 2018
June #jammed: Under the Blanket of Grace.
Day 167 Watch it Grow.
“Bloom where you’re planted …”
The words spoke loudly from the wall above the chalkboard. Their melody is still stuck sweetly in my ears, accompanied by the smell of skittles wafted to my seat from the candy jar on her desk. The gravity of those words aren’t necessary to explain to a sixth grader, but there presence planted a seed.
Today’s verse beckons us to sit still and listen. When we are ready to go for God, it’s important to wait for our navigation system to pick up a signal through prayer and the Word before packing up our lives and hopping in the car to drive out of town.
“The call to faith is not a call to abandon your life, family, neighborhood, and culture. We must play with the hand God deals us, not look for a new deck. He works through faith to redeem broken lives and wasted years, not to provide a change of scenery. Even in the worst circumstances, faith can change the believer from the inside.”
When we wrestle with direction, it helps to look around at the faces God has placed around us. Sometimes, the urgency to “Go!” is accurate. But I believe, moreover, that God is purposeful in where He puts us.
When we lead little lives to the feet of God to the best of our ability, we can be assured that seeds have been planted. Passing His Truth to our kids is urgent, but our execution is not going to be perfect. Little bits of God’s truth will come alive in conversation when we, ourselves, are watering Truthful seeds every day. God honors time spent seeking His presence.
When we walk with Jesus, even our failures can plant seeds. Seeds are spilled out into our children’s hearts when we speak God’s Truth into their lives.
We must remember that it’s religion that seeks to press people into a particular mold, not Jesus. He wants us to bloom where we are planted. In His love. With Him as our Savior. That’s where we are authentically loved and truly belong.
Father, Praise You for loving us where we are at! Thank You for placing us purposefully and surrounding us with people in which You plan for us to plant seeds. Please forgive us for wishing for a place and for people that You do not will for our lives. Help us to live out our witness as You have perfectly planned us to. 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 Planting,
Megs
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The Second-Chance Mom
Posted on June 1, 2018
June #jammed: Under the Blanket of Grace.
Day 152: Grace gives second chances.
“The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.” Ephesians 6:17 (VOICE)
Oh, crap, she’s out there without a helmet on, again.
“Lo! Put your helmet on!” I yelled out the window.
Tucked back on a cul-de-sac, I never wore a bike helmet as a kid, but we live on the corner of a busy road. Every car that zooms around the corner as they ride along precariously on two wheels and wobbly roller skates triggers me to double-check the front window for their whereabouts.
“Lo! Seriously …go get your unicorn helmet!” But even the fun and flashy helmet wasn’t swaying her independence on this particular day, so I began to countdown. Girl hates to be timed.
“THREE …TWO …ONE.” Still unaffected.
“OK, in the house!” I boomed, as I pulled her off her bike and walked her back into the house.
“MOM!!!!” she stomped all the whole way, and then started jump-pounding on the floor as I stood and watched.
“Does this ever get you what you want …ever one time …has this worked for you?”
Even the dog was watching her in wonder at this point. She took a deep breath, and as she looked at my eyes, hers filled up with fresh tears. My girl had returned to planet earth.
“Can I just have one more chance?” she asked, her fury of rage having been replaced by an expression of tender-hearted apology.
And that’s where my daughters get me, every time. I’m a second chance mom. And they know it.
“OK, if you put your helmet on, yes.” I granted, and out the door she flew to the tune of “I love you mommy you’re the best mommy ever.”
I want to be a second chance mom, because I live under the grace of God’s willingness to give second chances. Within disciplinary reason, my daughters always get a second chance, especially if they ask for it. If I can teach them anything about forgiving themselves, God has done something good with my life.
In the heat of disciplinary moments, pull out today’s verse: “The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God.” When little people and life frustrate us, it’s important to get out of our heads and into His Word. To understand why it’s so important to clutch today’s verse over our own plausibilities, let’s look at the second half of the it:
Like putting on a bike helmet to protect our heads, putting on God’s Word and relying on it to cut through (the sword) the madness and highlight the Truth allows us to protect our souls …helmet-like.
“The helmet protected the soldier and, under certain circumstances, helmets provided a striking symbol of military victory.” NIV Notes
Our victory relies on the Helmet. Maybe it’s uncomfortable. Maybe it’s not a habit we grew up with. Maybe it makes us feel uncomfortable and sometimes seems to cramp our style …but it’s worth wearing lest we fracture our skulls and leave the very stuff of our souls exposed to the darkness attempting to crack it open.
The Greek Word for ‘helmet’ is, perikephalaia, the protection of the soul which consists in (the hope of) salvation. The hope of salvation is Jesus. Through Him, we can absorb the Word. Through the gift of the Spirit that Jesus died to give us, we can remember and apply what we’ve read to our real lives.
Jesus is our Second Chance. He granted Grace to us on the cross. To be a second chance person, like Him, we need to put on the Helmet, and cut through to the Truth with the Sword.
Father, Praise You for the power of Your Word. Thank You for the way parenthood allows us a unique way to absorb and apply it to our lives. We confess getting caught up in our own masquerade of ‘authority,’ and pray forgiveness from You, who truly and justly holds it all. Bless our lives to be full of Your Truth, and fortify us with the strength to stand on It firmly in defense. 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 Chance-ing,
Megs
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