Devotions – Page 2 – Manna For Moms

Why God’s Healing Is More Amazing Than You May Have Realized

Megan Breedlove March 20, 2017 0 Comments

If someone gave you a million dollars, what would you do with it?

I posed this question to several friends and family members, and their answers included things like “pay off all my bills” (actually, this one was the one most often mentioned), donate to worthy organizations, buy a new car, take a vacation, and set aside money for kids’ college expenses.

Some of those options sound pretty great to me. I bet you’d be thrilled to be able to choose some of them, too.

Now keep all this in mind as you imagine yourself in another scenario: You’re in deep financial debt. You struggle to make the monthly payments on your debt at the same time as you worry about whether the electric company’s going to cut you off. You’ve become a master at knowing which bills must be covered and which can go unpaid, at least for this month. There’s certainly no money for extras like eating out; in fact, sometimes there isn’t enough money to buy groceries. Seeing a doctor when you’re sick is now a luxury because you can’t afford the co-payment. Your husband tells you that his company is considering layoffs in his division, and your day-care provider (the only affordable one you could find) decides to get out of the day-care business and go back to school. And then your car breaks down and the mechanic tells you it’ll cost $1,200 to fix it.

How much stress would you be under?

How desperate would you be for relief?

Pretty desperate, I imagine. Anyone in that situation would probably spend a lot of time crying out to God. God, do something! God, I’m drowning!

God, help!

Now let me ask you a question: What kind of relief would we be crying out to God for? Or maybe a better question would be, how much relief would we ask for?

Most of us probably wouldn’t raise our eyes much beyond the present circumstances. We’d beg God for financial assistance, but even then, we probably wouldn’t be expecting much. A couple thousand dollars would make us tearfully grateful. If God were to completely lift our financial burden by giving us the money to pay off all our debts and restore ourselves to $0, we’d be ecstatic beyond words. And if He gave us a million dollars to enjoy on top of that? Riches beyond our comprehension.

Realistically speaking, however, God is probably not going to give you or me a million dollars, free and clear (wouldn’t that be nice?).

But that’s okay. Because what He does intend to do is far better.

We moms suffer in many different ways. We suffer as a result of guilt, difficult relationships, or heartbreaking losses. And when we suffer, we cry out to God. We plead for Him to take away our pain, or at least lessen it so that we’re not drowning emotionally.

Now let me share with you one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever realized: God intends not only to heal our pain (as if that weren’t amazing enough), but to bring us to a place where we can experience His riches in ways we’ve only dreamed about.

In other words, He has more in mind for us than pain relief.

Much more.

God’s healing grace not only lessens our pain, but also grants us the ability to enjoy the warmth of a gentle sun on our face or delight in the sights, sounds, and smells of a major-league baseball game. He heals us not merely so that we can be free from distress, but so that we can be free to exult in the pleasures of His creation.

His healing not only relieves our suffering, but also grants us the ability to let offenses go when we know they don’t really matter, or to be at peace even when someone mistreats us. We become not only free from pain, but free to be who we were made to be.

His healing does far more than mitigate tragedy; it enables us to receive blessings we’ve never experienced, or that we never thought we’d experience again.

God’s healing is way more amazing than most of us have ever realized.

So yes, when your soul is in agony, cry out to God to heal your pain. Yes, keep on beseeching Him until relief comes, and then, when it does, rejoice in His deliverance. But don’t forget to look for the blessings He has prepared for you.

They’re worth far more to your soul than a million bucks.

Psalm 103:2-5—Praise the LORD, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives you all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. (NIV)

In Memoriam

Megan Breedlove March 12, 2017 0 Comments

On Thursday, March 9, 2017, heaven became one precious saint richer.

That was the morning my long-time, dear friend Victoria Kruse left behind the pain and suffering bound up in her body and went to meet Jesus face-to-face.

Vicki had been diagnosed with ALS a few years before she died. At first, her symptoms seemed to be increasing slowly. Gradually, as time went on, she lost the ability to speak, walk, and move purposefully. Yes, there were medicines that would take away much of her pain, but they would have made her less than alert. And Vicki wanted to stay as alert as she could, as long as she could, for the benefit of her husband, Ron, and their daughter, Molly.

As Vicki’s body deteriorated, she longed to be healed, and she believed until the very end that God could heal her miraculously, if He chose to do so. But even as it became more and more clear that she would probably not be healed on this earth, Vicki never stopped loving God.

Questioned why He would allow this? Of course. Who wouldn’t, in that situation?

But she never stopped loving Him and believing that her life, and even her death, were in His hands.

And she never stopped desiring to glorify Him, whether that were through a miraculous healing, or through the way in which she endured her suffering, or even in some way she didn’t understand.

It turned out that it was not God’s will to heal Vicki on this earth. But He abundantly satisfied her desire to glorify Him and bless others, despite the fact that she was physically unable to bless people in many of the ways we usually think of being blessed.

Vicki wasn’t able to attend my birthday party last year, but she asked her driver to drive her to Sonic to purchase a gift card for me (Sonic was our “thing” together) and then drive her to my house to give it to me.

She was no longer able to take my children out for ice cream at Braum’s, one-on-one, on each of their birthdays, but when the kids and I took a long plane trip, she asked me for ideas of what each child would enjoy reading or playing with on the trip. Then, she asked people to help her buy the gifts, and she asked to be driven to our house so she could present the gifts to my children and witness their delight.

She wasn’t able to form meaningful speech, much less sing, but when I took her on the long drives that helped relieve her pain (I had the privilege of being her weekend caregiver for six months), I would sing a variety of songs, and when I sang our favorite hymn (“It Is Well with My Soul”), she somehow sang with me. Maybe not in articulate words, but in the best body language of which she was capable, and in faint sounds.

sonic cup Instead of her bringing me a vanilla shake from Sonic each time I was in the hospital after having a baby, we went to Sonic together—only now, I fed her a mini, double peanut butter, extra-thick shake, with the whipped cream she thought was really yummy, using a spoon. After she gave me the cherry on top to take home to Jessica, that is, because she knew Jessica loves maraschino cherries.

Vicki prayed for others. She listened to others, including me, and encouraged them. She laughed at my jokes and my quirky sense of humor.

Vicki continued to bless everyone who knew her, by being the same kind of smart, funny, caring, wonderful friend, mother, wife, and family member she had always been, right up until the end.

She poured out her love upon all of us from a frail, ineffective body, but a fully functioning heart, even when it caused her weariness or pain to do so.

And in so doing, she brought glory to the God she worshipped.

He granted her one of her deepest desires—the desire to bring Him glory—for years. And on March 9, He granted her second deepest desire—the desire to be physically healed.

As of 10:15 that morning, Vicki is no longer in pain. She’s not confined to a wheelchair anymore. She can run and walk and jump, and fix her hair just right. She can breathe.

As she breathes the clean, pure air of heaven and looks full and easily into Jesus’ wonderful face, the rest of us grieve. We rejoice for her and what she is experiencing now, but we mourn her absence. We weep her loss, even though we know we will see her again.

In the meantime, we strive to be like her in pouring out our love on those around us, because we who are able-bodied have far less excuse not to do so. We who still live, go on with our lives.

But sometimes, when the pain is particularly fresh, and the desire to be with Vicki again is particularly acute, we get in the car. We drive to Sonic. We order a vanilla shake.

And we drink it in her memory as the tears fall.

Victoria Kruse
b. September 30, 1961
d. March 9, 2017
Beloved.

John 13:1—Having loved [her] own who were in the world, [she] loved them to the end. (NIV)

Romans 14:8—If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. (NIV)

When God Seems Too Slow

Megan Breedlove February 13, 2017 0 Comments

Last Sunday, along with much of the rest of America, my husband and I watched Super Bowl LI. Timmy watched occasionally, not because he cares about football, but because he wanted to be where Daddy and I were. So while Phil and I enjoyed the game, Timmy’s favorite part was the Skittles commercial, where he learned that you could make a rainbow out of the candies (“Taste the Rainbow”).

Timmy asked me to buy him a rainbow, so the next time I made a grocery list, I put “1 pkg. of Skittles—Timmy” on the list. As soon as my husband got home with the groceries and handed the package to Timmy, Timmy asked me to open it for him.

Usually, I just tear a corner off the bag. But since Timmy tends to spill candy, I thought it might work better if I pulled the two halves of the bag apart at the top. I carefully began pulling on each side of the wrapper slowly, so that it wouldn’t come apart suddenly and fling a rainbow all over my living room.

Timmy, seeing only that it was taking me far too long to open his rainbow, said sweetly, “Hmm. It looks like you forgot to bring your muscles.”

I’m sure it did look to him like I wasn’t strong enough to do the job. In his mind, that was the only explanation that made sense. After all, if I were capable of doing so, I’d rip that bag wide open and give him what he wanted right now. Wouldn’t I?

Well, no. Because my ways were higher than his ways.

Sound familiar?

Scripture tells us that God’s ways are higher than our ways (see Isaiah 55:9). You and I affirm that. Of course God knows much more than we do, we say. In the calm, peaceful times, it’s easy for us to affirm that God’s ways are different from ours, and that there are some things He does that we will never understand. But when life happens and we suffer pain because God isn’t doing what we want Him to do right now, we forget who we are and who He is, and we question His ways. We question His abilities. We question His love.

Desperate for relief from out pain, we conclude that He must be doing something wrong. Because He wouldn’t really want us to suffer like this, would He?

Would He?

Yes and no. It’s not that God delights in suffering; far from it! God never delights in any of the horrible, damaging effects that sin has brought into the world. But God does know that sometimes, our suffering is somehow necessary to His plan.

Well yay, we’re tempted to think. God’s plan is accomplished, and that’s great. But what about me? Do I matter so little to Him that He will willingly sacrifice me to achieve His greater plan?

Again, yes and no.

Yes, God sometimes allows us to experience pain because somehow, the results of all of that are going to further His great and glorious plan.

But no, He doesn’t let us suffer because He cares so little about us. It’s not that at all. You see, the furtherance of His plan for the world is what’s best for us.

This statement sounds harsh and cruel if we believe that what’s best for us involves eliminating as much of our pain as possible. But if we believe that the fulfillment of God’s purposes is what is best, we must acknowledge that sometimes, experiencing pain will somehow be necessary.

I don’t pretend to know why everyone has to experience each moment of pain and suffering that crosses her life. I only know that somehow, it’s necessary. Because a God who loves us so much that He was willing to sacrifice Himself for us won’t allow us to suffer one second longer than He has to.

He may be acting more slowly than we’d like. But He’s never too slow.

He always acts at just the right time. And He’s as eager for that moment—the moment when He can relieve your suffering—as you are.

He longs for that day, too.

2 Peter 3:9b—The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. (NIV)

Why Aren’t We Going Yet?

Megan Breedlove February 6, 2017 0 Comments

This past weekend, Timmy and I went to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to see Paw Patrol Live!. We drove up on Friday and stayed overnight at a hotel, then got up the next morning to get ready to see the show.

The only problem was, Timmy woke up early due to excitement, and we were therefore ready long before it was time to leave. Timmy was mostly patient up through breakfast, but once we were back in our room with nothing to do but wait until departure time, he just couldn’t stand it. “When are we going to leave for Paw Patrol?” he asked over and over.

I told him repeatedly that we would leave at 9:15, which would give us time to get gas, drive to the venue, find parking, and get to our seats. Unsatisfied, Timmy kept repeating his question until I told him to stop asking—at which point, he changed his question to, “Why aren’t we going yet?”

“Because it’s not time to leave yet,” I said. “I will tell you when it’s time to leave, I promise.”

Even then, poor Timmy had a hard time waiting.

I don’t blame him, however, because I’m just like him. I have a hard time waiting, too, especially when it’s something that’s hugely important to me, like Paw Patrol Live! was to Timmy. So when I knew that God wanted to teach me a lesson through this experience, I assumed He wanted to teach me to wait patiently, because He knows when the right time is for everything. And He does—oh, how He wants me to learn that!—but that’s not all. He also wants me, and you, to realize how He feels when He has to make us wait for something we deeply desire.

How does He feel when He knows that on the one hand, He could grant His child’s wish, but on the other hand, He must not? When He holds back His hand because the desired thing will be good one day, but not yet, and He sees His child suffering?

I don’t know how to define it. I don’t know if I entirely know the answer. But I do know this, because Scripture teaches it over and over: God is not unmoved by our suffering. Ever. His confidence in the goodness and perfection of His plan means that He knows it is right to make us wait, not that He is unaware of the suffering this will cause us or that He is indifferent to our pain.

So, while I may not be able to define it, I think I can begin to get a glimpse of the answer, and so can you. Imagine how you would feel in that situation—you know you must make your child wait, but the longer you do, the more his suffering increases. How would you feel then?

Be reassured, my friends. Be comforted. God will never ask you, His beloved child, to wait if it’s not truly necessary. He will never withhold a good thing from you one second longer than He has to.

When giving that gift is both for His glory and in your best interest (fortunately, those two are always the same), He will present it to you.

He longs to give you good things, and He will, as soon as He can.

He’s looking forward to that moment, too.

James 1:17—Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV)

When You Don’t Really Want to Obey

Megan Breedlove January 16, 2017 0 Comments

The other day, I said to Timmy, “I want you to get all your Play-Doh off the table.” He reluctantly but obediently walked toward the mess, so I left the room. I came back later to find his Play-Doh off the table, all right. It lay scattered on the floor next to where he had been sitting.

Not too long before that, I set out to deep clean my sons’ room. In the process, I discovered many things that didn’t belong to my older son Kenny stuffed into Kenny’s shelves, drawers, and bins. It turned out that, when told to clean his room, Kenny had taken the things his sisters had left there and, instead of returning them to his sisters, simply shoved them out of sight.

Did my sons obey me? No. Sure, they complied with the letter of the law, but they completely disregarded its spirit. They chose obedience in name only over true obedience.

Good thing we moms never do that, right?

Okay, so we do. All the doggone time.

We fix lunch for our children, but then we slap it down in front of them, fed up with doing menial jobs. We get up in the middle of the night to tend a sick child and resent him or her for interrupting our sleep. We agree to take our kids to the library, grumbling inwardly that nobody seems to care how we wanted to spend the afternoon.

In any of these three cases, did we do what God wanted us to? No. At least, not fully. Because God doesn’t just ask us to drive the car, fix the meals, or tend the sick. He asks us to do it with a willing, grateful spirit.

Ouch.

There have been several times this past week where I indeed served my children and did the things God wanted me to do, yet still failed to fully obey, because I didn’t have the attitude He wanted me to have.

But that’s normal, you might protest. After all, we moms are human beings, too. Surely, we can’t be expected to have a good attitude all the time.

Actually, that’s exactly what God expects. Because while we may not be able to control how tired our body or emotions are, or even whether our body is physically healthy or able, we can always control how we choose to respond and the kind of thoughts we choose to dwell on.

Always? Yes, always. Because Scripture plainly states that God has given us everything we need for life and godliness. Which means that if we have a bad attitude, we can’t blame it on the circumstances that God is permitting in our lives. We can’t blame it on others or on how they treat us.

We have only ourselves to blame.

But it’s so hard!

Yes, my friend, indeed, it is! It’s very hard sometimes. But let’s get back to 2 Peter 1:3, where Peter writes that God has given us everything we need for godliness—in other words, for having the right attitude despite our circumstances. Everything we need, not just some things.

True, there may be times when we try to have the right attitude, but we come dangerously close to failing. What then? Then, we cry out to God and ask Him to change our attitude. He can do anything, you know, and if we truly need help, He’s always there to give it. Every thing. Every time.

So the next time you’re tempted to roll your eyes in disgust, or to let out one of those “I can’t believe I have to deal with this” sighs, stop. Just stop. And remember, in that moment, just one word.

Everything.

2 Peter 1:3—His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence. (ESV)

Taking Things a Step Further

Megan Breedlove December 5, 2016 0 Comments

Guess what? I’m a great-grandmother!

Yes, that’s right, at the age of only 45, I have become a great-grandmother. How, you ask, especially since you may know that my oldest child is only 13?

It happened like this: Lindsey’s and Jessica’s hamsters (a boy and a girl) did, well, what hamsters do, and yesterday, Lindsey’s hamster, Wafflez, gave birth to two itty-bitty baby hamsters. Whereupon the proud father, Jessica’s hamster, Pancake, was summarily removed to another cage to live by himself so that he wouldn’t do what new-father hamsters do.

Both Lindsey and Jessica are super-excited. They each named a baby hamster—one is Cheese Puff; one is Berry—and they’ve been checking on those babies frequently. Especially Lindsey. At 10 years old, and being the kind of diligent kid that she is, she has researched everything there is to know about hamsters and their mating habits; hamster pregnancy and birth; the care and feeding of baby and new-mama hamsters; and pretty much anything else you can think of.

She’s learning a ton about science, far more than I think she would learn in a year of written curriculum. I’m glad. But if science is the only thing she learns from this experience, I will have missed an opportunity.

That’s because learning about how our world works tells us a lot about God and His ways. Even the intricacies of mathematics tell us that our God is a God of order, rules, and planning. The study of English or any other language tells us that God desires to communicate His truths to us, that He desires that we be able to communicate them to each other, and that He’s set up ways for us to do so. History allows us to see that when people follow God’s designs for how mankind relates to each other, things go well; when we don’t, they go badly.

Science, then—in this case, life science—tells us that God is an incredibly intelligent, powerful, creative God to have designed so complex a world. It illustrates to us how God planned things even down to the smallest detail, such as placing instincts within a hamster to take care of her babies in the way that will ensure their survival. It shows Lindsey that she has an opportunity to work together with God in caring for His creation, just like Adam and Eve did in the Garden.

So while I’m really proud of her for taking the initiative and learning all of these things, I don’t want her just to learn science; I also want her to learn about God. To that end, I will do my best to prompt her to think about these things. When we take our daily picture of the hamsters so that we’ll have a record of their growth, I’ll remind her that each living creature grows according to God’s plan for it. When she feeds her hamsters, I’ll point out that God has a plan for the health of every living thing. When she expresses delight over how perfect and tiny Cheese Puff and Berry are, I’ll tell her about the Bible verse that says that not even a tiny, seemingly insignificant creature is unnoticed by God (see Matt. 10:29).

You can do this too. You don’t have to be some kind of science, English, or math expert. If you know your God and know what your Bible says, you’re in a great position to illustrate God and His truth to your children every day, even in the most ordinary of circumstances. How? In any given circumstance, simply stop and ask yourself, What is God revealing about Himself through this? What does cooking, or taking out the trash, or admiring a leaf teach me about Him? Which of His glories has He chosen to show forth in a kind word, or the fact that I have a car to drive, or this cold, wintry day? How has He chosen to illustrate Scripture in the smell of coming rain or the stickiness of glue?

I bet you could think of something right now to talk about with your children, through which you could help them to know God better. No? How about the fact that you’re reading these words on some kind of device? What does that say about God and His world?

Try it this week. Pick something ordinary and talk about it with your children. You might need to give them examples of how to learn about God when they have difficulty tying their shoelaces. But if you can train them now to begin seeing God in every situation, you will have given them one of the most valuable gifts a parent can give a child.

That’s because learning how God’s world works is great, but learning about God Himself is even better.

Psalm 19:1-2—The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. (NIV)

What It Takes to Be a Good Mom

Megan Breedlove November 28, 2016 0 Comments

In high school and college, I auditioned for and was accepted into various choirs. I have a good voice, though there are plenty of people whose voices are better than mine. But one area in which I excel is my ability to hear when a singer is on pitch.

Which, of course, means that I also know when someone isn’t on pitch. 10-year-old Lindsey is the one of my children who seems to have inherited my ability to detect tiny variations from what the pitch should be. So when she and I were watching a televised singer recently, we spent the first couple minutes cringing at almost every note.

“I guess you don’t have to be a good singer to be famous,” Lindsey said, after we had hit the ‘mute’ button. “You just have to be hot.”

She was right, in a way. The most famous singers are not always the best singers. In other words, you don’t always have to be good at your job to be successful.

Which got me to thinking: What does it take to be a successful mom? Does it require perfection? Can you be a “good mom” while still having faults that others might notice?

Let’s be real for a moment. You (if you’re like most moms) and I are experts at identifying our real or perceived faults and feeling guilty for them. We hesitate to call ourselves “good moms” because we’re all too aware of the things we do wrong daily, and sometimes minute-by-minute. If someone were to ask us if we’re good moms, we would probably reply something like, “Well…I hope so.”

My fellow sister in Christ and my companion on this amazing, crazy journey called motherhood, let me tell you something: God does not want us to live with the discouragement and uncertainty of wondering whether or not we’re good moms. He’s told us exactly what it takes to be “good.”

Hear His words: “He has told you, O [mom], what [constitutes] good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (See Micah 6:8.)

Go back and read those words again, maybe even more than once. Let them soak into your soul. Hear what He’s saying, and what He’s not saying.

“Do what is right. Love kindness. Walk humbly with Me.”

Let’s look at those one by one.

“Do what is right.” In other words, like we tell our children, “Behave yourself.” Simple. (Not always easy, but always simple.)

“Love kindness.” Apparently, the word there is the Hebrew word hesed. This word has to do with loving people unconditionally, no matter what they do. Sound like something we need to practice every day with our children?

“Walk humbly with your God.” We all know what this means. We know when a child is humble towards us and when he or she isn’t. Thus (humble) we are to be toward God.

Now that we’ve looked at those, let me paraphrase Micah 6:8—“He has told you, O mom, what it takes to be a good mom. All you have to do is behave yourself, love your kids no matter what, and make sure your heart is submissive toward God.”

That’s it. Just those three things. No mention of hand-sewn anything, good looks, creativity, a spotless house, or any of the myriad other things we make ourselves feel guilty for not accomplishing. It’s fine to excel at these things, but none of them is what makes you a good mom.

True, God may direct us to do these things as part of His plan for us and our family, but they are not what makes us good moms. Submission to His will is part of what makes us good moms.

So the next time you’re wondering if you’re any good at this mom thing, don’t look at any of your abilities. Look instead at your heart.

Are you behaving yourself? Do you love your children unconditionally and forever? Is your heart humble toward God?

If so, you’re good. You’re a good mom. Rest in that.

Micah 6:8—He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justice, to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God? (NASB)

How to Get Out of Obeying the Rules

Megan Breedlove November 21, 2016 0 Comments

I’m normally a pretty law-abiding citizen. I believe, as I’m sure you do, that honoring the authorities God has placed over us in turn honors Him. But I admit that there are some laws I really wish I didn’t have to obey.

Take, for example, the speed limit. I’d get out of being subject to that one, if I could. I’d much rather choose the speed I want to go than abide by a limit that is usually (in my opinion, at least) much too slow.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the authorities really care what I want, at least as far as this matter is concerned. The speed limit law remains in place whether I like it or not, and it’s not likely to be repealed anytime soon.

So I guess I’m stuck with obeying it. Because I also can’t figure out a way to make Timmy’s “getting out of undesirable requirements” strategy work in my case. Let me tell you what he did recently, beginning with a little background.

On the wall of our kitchen, we have a white board (dry erase board). When there’s something we need to remember, such as which child received which medication at which time, we write it down on the board. It’s a cheap, convenient way to keep track of things that are temporarily important.

Occasionally, my husband will write a list of chores on the board that he wants the kids to be sure to accomplish that day. Timmy knows Phil does this. One day, Phil entered the kitchen to find the white board blank. The grocery list he’d written was no longer there. “Who erased the grocery list from the white board?” he asked.

Timmy glanced at him and sheepishly said, “I did.”

“Why did you do that?” Phil asked.

“Because I thought they were chores and you were going to make me do one of them,” Timmy said.

That’s actually some pretty good thinking, for a four-year-old who will turn five in a couple months. If you see something you believe is a list of things that you don’t want to do, and you are afraid you might get assigned to do one or more of them, then you just erase the list! Bingo—no more chores! Right?

You and I, as moms, realize that it doesn’t work like this. If it had been a list of chores that Timmy erased, they wouldn’t have ceased to be necessary just because they were no longer written where he could see them. We’re amused by Timmy’s strategy because we know better.

Which doesn’t explain why we try something very similar when we don’t want to obey one of God’s laws.

How many of us who, like me, dislike speed limits, simply ignore them and drive whatever speed we think we can drive without getting caught? How many of us ignore the fact that God says we should speak kindly to one another, justifying our harsh or critical words by saying we’ve had a bad day? How many of us eat whatever we want, whenever we want, because we don’t want to face the Bible’s teachings on gluttony?

Yeah. We’re starting to sound more and more like Timmy, aren’t we?

You know what? Ignoring God’s laws doesn’t make them go away. Keeping them from our conscious awareness doesn’t mean we’re not guilty when we transgress them. The Holy Spirit wants us to feel guilty at the right times so that we can correct whatever is going wrong. Silencing His voice is just as bad for us spiritually as ignoring intense pain would be for us physically.

Is there something in your life that you continue to do, knowing that you really shouldn’t? Have you traded the spiritual joy of doing God’s will for the fleeting pleasure of having your own way?

God has already made His list and written it where you can see it, if you’re willing to look.

Don’t erase the white board.

James 1:25—But the one looking intently into the perfect law, the law of freedom, and continuing in it, not being a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in his work. (MGT)

God’s Response to the Presidential Election

Megan Breedlove November 14, 2016 0 Comments

Less than a week ago, Americans went to the polls and chose Donald J. Trump to be the 45th President of the United States. The aftermath of that election has been an aftermath unlike any other.

Many Americans are rejoicing that Trump was elected. Most of them believe that the other major candidate, Hillary Clinton, lacked personal integrity and would have disregarded citizens’ needs when they conflicted with her personal advantage; they also feared that her belief in every woman’s right to an abortion would lead to an untold number of babies being sacrificed for a mother’s convenience.

However, many other Americans are grieving. They see Trump as a man who will lead our country to trample on citizens’ rights and basic human dignity; they fear the results of the hate and racism which they believe Mr. Trump has espoused and which they believe others will also feel free to express in the wake of his election (as, indeed, has seemed to be happening).

Some of us have spent the past several days vilifying the “other” side. Others have questioned the Christianity of people who voted for (insert either candidate’s name here). Some have staged protests, mocked protestors, shouted things that should be unspeakable at authorities, and committed acts of violence or hate against people that aren’t like us. A growing number of us is begging everyone to just calm down and live peacefully with others even as we work to see the change we wish to see.

In the midst of all the emotions and ideas swirling around as we try to figure out how to go forward, I thought it would be wise to stop and consider what God thinks about the election.

I don’t presume to know the entire mind of God, but I do know this: God is not surprised that Donald Trump won. He knew from before the foundations of the world that Trump would win. Many Americans were surprised by the results, but God wasn’t. I know this, too: God’s plan was neither assured nor derailed by majority vote. God is not now scrambling to figure out what He will do in the wake of America’s decision. He knows exactly how He will work in and through Trump’s strengths and despite Trump’s weaknesses to bring about His plan. He is neither rejoicing that now, with Trump in the White House, He is finally able to bring His will to pass; nor is He grieving that His plan has been thwarted by Secretary Clinton’s defeat.

God will use Donald Trump, just like He would have used Hillary Clinton if she had won, to bring about His eternal, immutable purposes. It doesn’t matter whether or not Trump cooperates, at least in terms of the success of God’s plan; God’s purposes will not be thwarted. The President of the United States is a powerful individual, but his or her power is nothing compared to the power of our Almighty, Omnipotent God.

That being the case, how does He want us to respond?

Again, I cannot claim to know all the specifics of God’s will for each of us. But I do know that He will never lead anyone to do or believe something that contradicts His will as revealed in Scripture. Therefore, I know this: God ultimately wants us to place our trust in Him, not in any human being. If we’re happy that Trump was elected, fine. But we must remember that God is no more or less able to accomplish His purposes now that Trump has been elected than He would have been if Secretary Clinton had been elected. If we have for a single moment believed that only in a Trump administration can God perform His will, we have put our trust in a human being rather than God Himself. We have elevated another human being to the place that only God deserves.

I also know this: God wants us to love each other. This means we can’t shame someone for voting for Trump or mock people who are deeply upset that he won. It’s not okay to be disrespectful just because someone holds views that are different from our own or displays a different reaction. In fact, during the Last Supper, Jesus instituted one last, new command: Love one another. Spraying hate messages on people’s property, or destroying that property in protest, is not what He had in mind.

Neither is acting in hate toward another person for any reason, much less because that person is a (insert a minority group designation here). How God’s heart must break when we wound someone else by our hateful words and actions! He never once showed hate to anyone; He always showed love, even to those who kept trying to kill Him. Hear me: if we act hatefully toward anyone, for any reason, God calls that sin.

Finally, God wants us to realize that there is no authority except that which He has established, and to respect that authority. Does that mean we have to respect every policy the authority might institute? Of course not. Does it mean we have to like the authority? No. But just as it’s not okay to disparage individuals made in the image of God, it is likewise wrong to disrespect authorities instituted by God. It’s more than fine to stand against any policy that dishonors God; in fact, we must. It is not okay to show disrespect or contempt for what God has done.

Maybe we’re still trying to figure out what we think or plan to do now that we know who the next President will be. But far more important than deciding what we think is aligning ourselves with what God thinks. And far more imperative than doing what we want to do, is doing what God wants done.

As we move forward post-Election 2016, may God’s glory and satisfaction be our only goal. May we pursue that goal only in ways that honor Him. May we focus not on satisfying our own desires but on bringing Him glory.

And may God bless America.

Amen.

Isaiah 14:27—For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back? (NIV)

Romans 13:1—Let every person submit himself to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except what God has established, and every authority that exists has been appointed by God. (MGT)

John 13:34—“A new commandment I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also must love one another.” (MGT)

Leaving It All on the Field

Megan Breedlove November 7, 2016 0 Comments

By now, if you live in North America, you’ve probably heard that the Chicago Cubs won the 2016 World Series. If you read last week’s devotion, you know how happy this makes me. What you may not know is how I reacted to their win (after screaming with joy in a way that went beyond words).

Why would you care how I reacted to their win? Well, maybe you don’t, at least as far as baseball is concerned. But hang in there with me, because the surprising way I found myself reacting applies to my whole life, not just this one event. Maybe it applies to yours, too.

I spent the evening with a longtime friend from college. She invited us over and prepared “baseball food” for us (hot dogs, chips, etc.); we all watched the game on her large-screen TV.

I say “all,” but by the eighth inning, when things really started to get interesting, only my two youngest daughters and I were still there. Throughout the eighth and ninth innings, our hopes rose and fell with every swing of the bat. My heart seemed to stop and start far too many times; I alternately cheered and closed my eyes (and reminded myself to breathe).

Then, the game went into extra innings. Then, there was a seventeen-minute rain delay. We waited there in my friend’s living room, not knowing whether we were awaiting victory or defeat.

Of course, you know the rest. When the tenth inning started, the Cubs started to score. The Cleveland Indians couldn’t match them, and with the final ball to first baseman Anthony Rizzo, the game was over. The Cubs had won!

We screamed (repeatedly). We raised both fists high into the air (again, repeatedly). We rejoiced.

Finally, at some point, I stopped screaming. I stopped cheering. I fell quiet. Instead of crying, as I openly did when the Cubs won the League Championship Series (and, thus, advanced to the World Series), or continuing to cheer along with the rejoicing I saw onscreen, I simply sat and watched as the win soaked in.

“I have nothing left,” I said to my friend.

I’ve been a lifelong Cubs fan, and my desire to see them win has gone largely unsatisfied. I’d followed them through the Division Series and the League Championship Series. I’d watched every single game of the World Series, and I’d loved them and supported them with all my heart and all my emotion.

That’s why I had nothing left. I had given everything I had. Just like my beloved Cubbies, I’d left it all on the field.

Jesus knows all about loving people until the very end—and no, I’m not talking about what He did for us on the cross. I’m talking about what He did for the disciples prior to that.

I’m sure you know about the part of the Last Supper where Jesus washed the disciples’ feet. But do you know what John says right before that?

John reminded his readers that it was just before the Passover Festival. He then pointed out that Jesus knew what was about to happen. Then—and don’t miss this part—he talks about how Jesus had loved the disciples and continued to love them until the end. And he gives the example of Jesus’ washing their feet as an example of how He continued to love them.

Despite the fact that Judas was about to betray Him, and He knew it, Jesus washed their feet. He illustrated for them in visual fashion what He was trying to teach them with His words, despite the tremendous mental and emotional strain He must have been under, knowing what would happen to Him in just a few short hours.

He washed their feet, and later He died for them, and when He did, He had given everything He had—not just His life (as if that weren’t enough), but all the love He had for them as their God, Creator, and Friend.

He had nothing left.

To slightly paraphrase Erma Bombeck, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of [loving] left, and could say, ‘I used everything you gave me.’ ”

Because even more than I love the Cubs, I love my family. When someday Jesus calls me home and I leave my loved ones behind, I want them to be able to say, “She loved us as fully as it was possible for a human being to love. She gave us everything she had.”

May I so live now that they can say those words then.

May you do the same for your loved ones.

Leave it all on the field.

John 13:1—It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. (NIV)

Why God’s Healing Is More Amazing Than You May Have Realized

In Memoriam

When God Seems Too Slow

Why Aren’t We Going Yet?

When You Don’t Really Want to Obey

Taking Things a Step Further

What It Takes to Be a Good Mom

How to Get Out of Obeying the Rules

God’s Response to the Presidential Election

Leaving It All on the Field

You Missed

Priorities

I Wouldn’t Do That

Little Things

8 Seconds