Hey! I’m on the Team!

  Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20 KJV).   

  Today’s Thought: Our position in Jesus is more important than anything we accomplish in His name.                                                                      

           Our daughter made the girls’ softball team her freshman year of high school. Much to my dismay, Rachel warmed the bench while others with less talent for the sport played every inning. I grumbled after each game about the unfairness of the coach. It seemed to me that he could at least give Rachel a chance to prove herself.

           “It’s okay, Mom,” she informed me after one of my on-the-way-home tangents. “I’m on the team. I don’t mind sitting on the bench.”

  Whether she warmed the bench, pitched a no hitter, or hit a grand slam made little difference to Rachel. She already accomplished the important thing. She was part of the team. She accepted the position of team enthusiast as part of her job as bench warmer.

           We allow the seemingly important tasks to overshadow the true object of importance. The amazing thing is not what God enables us to do, but that He chose us to do it. Joy enters our lives through our accomplishments. When we accept our position with gratitude, we bring honor to the One who placed us there.

Prayer: Dear Lord: Thank you for choosing me to hold a position in the body of believers. Help me to honor your decision by performing my task  without desiring someone else’s position. In Jesus’ name amen.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for the blessed assurance of your love. Help me to accept it and to share it with others. In Jesus’ Name. Amen

He Loves Me -- He Loves Me Not

And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.      Ephesians 3:19 (KJV)                

Today's Thought: Jesus loves me this I know.

      “He loves me. He loves me not,” I chanted as I plucked the soft white petals off a daisy. One by one they fell at my feet. How I hoped the daisy would tell me he loved me.

       “Ah, what does a daisy know anyway,” I grumbled as I tossed the bald yellow head to the ground. Of course, I was only about seven at the time. I don’t even remember whose love I desired.

      Silly little girl games we used to play. We need not rely on the wit of a daisy to know if we are loved. When true love comes our way, it is written on our hearts not on the petals of a flower.

      Sometimes we play child-like games concerning God’s love. Never quite sure of the matter, we perform the “do’s and don’ts” hoping to be assured of His love. Like the daisy, these things cannot assure us of  God’s love. Only God can do that. And He has through the death and resurrection of Jesus. All we have to do is accept it. 

Chocolate Covered What?

 Beloved do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are of God; for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 

1 John 4:1 (RSV)

Though for today: Beware of the apostasy of the church.

      Chocolate cravings torment many of us night and day. At times, some of us allow our chocolate enhanced taste buds to control our lives. There’s good news! Now doctors report that some sort of chemical change caused by hormones induce these dastardly sweet-tooth impulses. That explains why chocolate tantalizes women more than men.

      This knowledge gives us a legitimate excuse to indulge. Let us rejoice and be glad with caution. People do coat insects with chocolate. That piece of information did not thrill this little chocolate-lover. I began to wonder if a chocolate-covered ant ever crept passed my lips. Now, any suspicious-looking chocolate-covered morsel is examined inside and out before I attempt to satisfy my sweet-tooth impulses.         

     Careful examination of Biblical teaching is just as important. Hungry for the truth, we accept anything that sounds sweet to our ears. As we become more aware of the possibilities of false doctrines entering into our churches, we realize that not everything sweetly coated is what we crave. As some use chocolate to cover up things we wouldn’t normally want to digest, some use sweet sounding words to mask concepts that are far from God’s truth.

 

 

 

 

Prayer: Dear Lord, protect us from false doctrines that are so inviting because they resemble the sweetness of your word. Teach us by your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name. Amen.