Monday Morning Memo: Heart-Breaking

I was reading my devotions last week and came across some verses that made me chuckle.  I’m sure they weren’t meant to be funny…but for some reason I immediately pictured in my mind what it would look like if these words were describing me.  This is what I read:

“Then the Spirit came into me and set me on my feet. He spoke to me and said, ‘Go to your house and shut yourself in. There, son of man, you will be tied with ropes so you cannot go out among the people. And I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth so that you will be speechless and unable to rebuke them, for they are rebels. But when I give you a message, I will loosen your tongue and let you speak. Then you will say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says! Those who choose to listen will listen, but those who refuse will refuse, for they are rebels.’” (Ezekiel 3:24-27)

I’m thinking this might be a very good idea for me…except I’m guessing I probably wouldn’t be talking very much.  If I’m honest, if God would make my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth so that I couldn’t say the wrong thing…it would definitely be a lot quieter at my house 

You see, my mouth is often my downfall.  It is so easy for me to speak before I think…and as a result…the wrong things can be said.  I think this happens sometimes because I’m already thinking about what I should say next, while the other person is talking.   So, the second they take a breath…I quickly blurt out what I’ve been thinking about and it can be the wrong words…because I truly wasn’t listening to what the other person was telling me.

Oh, how much easier it would be if God would just make it so that I couldn’t talk unless my words were His words!  And can you imagine what a difference it would make in our world if all of us could only speak when God wanted us to speak or post on social media when He directed us to do so?  

As I’m sure you have noticed…right now in our world there are so many words being thrown around that I am confident are not pleasing to God.  To be honest…my heart is breaking over the hateful, spiteful words that some Christians are spewing out to degrade others just because someone is either choosing to wear a mask…or refusing to do so.  As children of the King, every action and every reaction we have should be based on Biblical principles…not on our emotions.  When we choose to run our life based on how we feel…instead of on what God teaches…Satan claps…because He knows it won’t take much to cause division.  What a tragedy.

James 1:19 says, “Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters:  You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.”  Unfortunately, I have not perfected this verse in my life and I know it is something I need to work on.  How about you?  Maybe it would be a good idea if all of us would make a point today to be quick to listen (even to those who may have a different opinion than us)…slow to speak (even when we are confident our way is the right way) …and slow to get angry (even when we really want to give others a piece of our mind).  

Would you pray with me?  “Father, I know that my words can either lift up…or tear apart.  Guard my mouth Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips…so that I will only speak…or write…those things that are pleasing to you. Help me to act and react according to your Word…instead of my emotions.  I know the world is watching and listening Lord…may I be the light that is needed in this very dark world.  Amen.” 

Monday Morning Memo: No Set Pattern

This is my favorite plant on our property.  It’s called a “Porcupine Maiden Grass” and I love it.  Every time I walk by, it catches my attention and I have so enjoyed watching it grow this summer. 

As I looked at it this past week, something came to my mind.  This plant’s leaves have no set pattern.  If you look up close at them, you see that they just go every which way and you could say it looks like an explosion of leaves.  As I considered this, it made me think of times in my life when everything was in a whirl.  Nothing made sense…I felt like my thoughts were just an explosion of pieces that never came together…I failed more than I succeeded…and there was definitely no set pattern.

But if you step back and look at this plant…you realize that it’s the lack of set pattern that makes it so beautiful.  It’s that explosion of leaves that creates something that makes me in awe of God’s creation…because yes…this is something He designed.

Hmmmm.  I then began to think about those times in my life when everything was in disarray…and when I stepped back and looked at what all I was going through…I realized that those times helped make me who I am today.  How?  Because God uses every situation…every detour…every failure…to make me look more like Him.  Because just like this beautiful plant…I was created by Him and I am His child who was made in His image.  

I am a child of God even with all of my faults and failures.  WOW.  That just blows my mind.  And do you know what?  You are too!  If you have accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, you are His precious daughter or son, and He so desires to work in and through you to make you look just like Him.  You were created in His image and you are a beauty to behold…even if you feel like you have failed Him over and over again…He still loves you and wants you to see your worth.  

I love the words in Isaiah 4 in the version The Message, “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you.  I’ve called your name.  You’re mine.  When you’re in over your head, I’ll be there with you.  When you’re in rough waters, you will not go down.  When you’re between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end – Because I am God, your personal God.  The Holy of Israel, your Savior.  I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!  That’s how much you mean to me!  That’s how much I love you!  I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.”

If you feel like God doesn’t love you or that He’s given up on you…I want you to read and reread those verses in Isaiah.  No matter where you are or what situation you find yourself in…God is right there and He will do anything to make sure you are taken care of.  Why?  Because He loves you that much!

Why not take a step back today and look at your situation through God’s eyes?   Even when life feels like a whirl and there is no set pattern…remember that God can use your situation to mold you and make you look more like Him.  I’m praying you will see the beauty that He sees when He looks at you, because you, dear child, were made in His image and oh, how He loves you so!

Monday Morning Memo: Later

“Grandma, you need to come downstairs!  I’ve been cooking for you.”  These were the words I kept hearing from my precious, four-year-old granddaughter, Emma, last Thursday.  At the time, we were canning green beans, so every time she urgently begged me to go with her, I had to tell her that we would do that later.  Each time, I saw the disappointment on her face, and I felt so guilty.  I finally promised her that as soon as dinner was over, we would go downstairs.  As you can imagine, as we finished our last morsel of food, Emma was pulling my arm to guide me to the basement.

After we descended the stairs, I saw what her excitement was all about.  Emma had worked hard to prepare quite a feast for us to share, and her eyes just danced as I raved and raved about her culinary selections.  She was so proud, and I have to admit…I was really proud of her too…and so touched that she had persistently invited me to join her for our precious “meal” together.

As I thought about this over the weekend, I realized that this scenario is similar to what our Heavenly Father is doing for us.  He is preparing a feast in heaven, and He so desperately wants all of us to someday sit at His table.  He just keeps asking us if we will accept Him as our Lord and Savior…so that someday we will “dine” with Him forever.  

Unfortunately, many are just too busy.  They have too much to do to accept Christ’s invitation.  “Later”…some are saying…and they keep putting off the decision.  I think many are hearing Him plead with them and might even have a tinge of guilt when they keep putting Him off.  But yet, the all-important, life-changing decision isn’t made…because they think there will always be “later” to accept His invitation.  I can’t imagine the disappointment that Jesus must feel every time He is rejected.  He came to earth, to suffer unimaginable pain and anguish on a cross, for my sins and for yours.  Yet, some continue to turn their back on Him and refuse to accept His free gift of salvation.  

Friend, the truth is that there may not be a “later” time.  None of us know when our life on this earth will be over and if we haven’t made the decision to accept Christ when we die…there won’t be a second chance.  We won’t have the opportunity to sit at the feast that has been prepared for us and our eternity won’t be spent in heaven…but in hell.

If you are reading this and haven’t asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, I want to urge you to do so today.  Jesus is the reason I get up every morning, pen every blog post and urgently pray for those such as you who need to know that there is hope!  Accepting Him is not difficult; you can come to Him just as you are right now…today.  All you have to do is say a prayer such as this:

“Dear Jesus, I believe that you died on the cross for my sins, were resurrected and that you are alive and well today.  I believe that you are the Son of God and that you deeply love me.  I confess that I am a sinner and I need you to forgive me and cleanse me from my sins.  I accept you as my Savior and want you to create a new and clean heart in me.  I now want to live every day for you and I know that I will have eternal life with you because of what you did on Calvary’s cross for me.  Thank you, Jesus.  Amen.”

If you have prayed this prayer, I would love to know so that I can be praying for you as you begin your walk with our Jesus.  Feel free to e-mail me (luannfulton@gmail.com) so that I can celebrate your decision with you!

Please, please don’t wait until “later” to accept Christ.  You and I aren’t guaranteed a “later”…today may be our only opportunity to trust Him.  I’m guessing His eyes will dance, just like my granddaughter’s did, as you accept His invitation to feast with Him forever! 

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me.  My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.  You know the way to the place where I am going.”

John 14:1-4

Monday Morning Memo: The "Who" of Life

The last few weeks have included some painful moments, as I have waited for the discomfort of a pinched nerve to ease.  I’ve had to slow down and change some of my behavior which doesn’t come easy for me.

I was thinking this past weekend about the different kinds of pain we can experience.  Some pain leads to a blessing, which makes the pain seem worthwhile.  I was blessed to carry three children in my womb, and there were moments during those pregnancies where pain reared its ugly head.  But I can remember that whenever I would complain during my pregnancies, my mom would always say that this was only for a season and when the precious bundle would be placed in my arms, all the pain and discomfort would be worth it.  As was the case many times…my mom was right.  

The problem is that not everything in life is that way.  Not every discomfort, not every pain, and not every time of suffering ends with a joyous moment.  The trials we face aren’t always contained in a nine-month period where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel from the beginning.  In fact, I have witnessed people who have had to face times of testing that have lasted for years.  How unfair is that?  Why do some people seem to skate through life without pain and suffering, while others seem to face misery at every turn? 

If I had the answers to these questions…I would be a very wealthy woman.  God never promised that we would always know the “whys” of life; He only promised that we could know the “Who” of life.  Without exception, those whom I have met that have faced adversities with grace, have demonstrated that their “Who”…Jesus Christ…has remained their constant focus and has overshadowed their need to always know “why”.  

Let’s face it.  It would be much easier to keep our focus on Christ if we didn’t have someone else who is working overtime to keep us distracted.  Satan’s full-time job is to make sure we don’t keep our eyes on Christ, so that we will easily become discouraged, frustrated and want to give up.  He wants nothing more than for us to dwell on our adversities so that others won’t see Christ’s image in us. 

I may have shared this phrase with you before, but I think it is a good reminder of what our thoughts should be as we begin each day.  It says, “Be the kind of person who, when your feet hit the floor in the morning, the devil says, 'Oh no, they're up!'"  To be successful in combating Satan’s forces, we must be intentional in putting our complete faith and trust, even during the adversities, in our Lord Jesus Christ.  We must stand firm in making sure that Satan knows we have no intention of giving him any of our allegiance today, tomorrow or in any day to come.  He is a liar…and we need to turn a deaf ear to him and ground ourselves in the truth of God’s Word.

I have no idea what you are going through today.  You may be experiencing physical, mental or emotional pain that has lasted far longer than you ever dreamed it would.  I want to encourage you to not give in to Satan’s taunts that this life is futile.  Today is the Lord’s day… not Satan’s… and in Him you can find the strength, wisdom and courage it will take to handle this time with grace.  Remember, no matter how long this “season” of life is for you, there will be a great reward someday when we see Jesus face to face.  Oh, what a day that will be!

“Put on the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to stand 

against the schemes of the devil”. 

Ephesians 6:11

“Submit yourselves therefore to God.  

Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  

James 4:7

Monday Morning Memo: Surrender

Once again, I’ve had a word rambling around in my head.  It’s a word that isn’t always easy to fulfill or live out and I’m guessing that’s why it’s been on my mind.  The word? Surrender.  The dictionary has several definitions, but the one that jumped off the page at me was, “to give oneself up into the power of another : to yield.”

We are living in a time when very few really want to surrender.  We think that to surrender is a sign of weakness…of giving up…of letting someone else win.  “Why should I be the one to give in?  Why should I surrender my rights?  I’ve worked hard to get where I am…I’m not giving in to anyone.  There is no way I’m letting you tell me what to do!”  Sound familiar to anyone?  

This may come as a shock to some of you  …but I can be pretty bull-headed…so I might have had one or more of those statements going through my mind at various times over the years.  To surrender might mean that I will have to give up some of my rights and that isn’t always easy to swallow.  It might mean that what I want to do…won’t be what I’m supposed to do…and that can easily rub me the wrong way.

Of course, there is really only one person I have to totally surrender to…and that is my Jesus.  The reason is that if I am completely, unequivocally sold out to Him and He asks me to surrender my ways or my rights for someone or something else, I will do it willingly because I will want to serve Him in every way.

I think I sometimes struggle with this because I feel like I’m missing out on something if I have to give up my desires or plans.  But this dictionary definition of surrender has me wondering if it can be applied to my surrendering to Jesus.   If I apply it spiritually, could it be that if I allow Him to have complete control of my life, I’m not going to lose anything, I’m going to gain more!  It said, “to give oneself up into (emphasis mine) the power of another : to yield.”  Hmmmm…when I give everything over to my Lord, I’m not living under His power…I’m living into His power!  My power is exchanged for His power as I yield to Him and I don’t know about you…but I’m just guessing His power is a whole lot better than anything I can ever muster! 

Last week I read some verses in Romans 8 in The Message which said, “ It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!”  Wow that gives me goosebumps!  When we surrender to Christ, His power is in us and as I shared a couple weeks ago, the power that He used to part the Red Sea is the same power that we have available to us.  Oh, if we could only grasp that truth.

If you are struggling with surrendering completely to Christ today, let me ask you a few questions.  How’s that going for you?  Are you at peace?  Are you feeling led and empowered by Him…or are you feeling lost and weak?  We serve a Savior that is able to do far more with what you have than you can…so why not let Him take the wheel of your life completely today.  You just might discover that surrendering completely to Him isn’t so bad after all…and is the best decision you will ever make!