My Journey - 4/23/2010

God's Insight for me:

In Max Lucado's devotional today I like his opening sentence, "We owe God a perfect life". Yes we do. I have made a commitment to try to the best of my ability, with His help to do just that. Oh, I may slip here and there but as I keep my focus on Christ I slip less and less.

It is amazing how Adrian Rogers devotional goes along with Max Lucado's. As you commit your life to Christ you then reap the rewards "abundantly!" I definitely have more positives now in my life than any other time. Thank You, Jesus!

What Charles Stanley wrote about is what the God's Love Outreach Ministry is all about. Giving of ones self to benefit someone else. See when you are doing something for someone Else you are not thinking of your own problems. Its a win, win situation. Good for you and good for the other person.

In Aleesa Naish's devotional she writes about the elderly. In the past 7 1/2 years presenting programs to senior citizens, I understand what her devotional was about. I have seen so many of "God's wounded" in various stages of their lives. So many with mental, physical and just plain aging problems. One thing that they all have in common is that they are still human beings trying to cope with their own situation.

In this last devotional Vonette Bright writes about our usefulness to God. As I tell many of the residents that I am called to minister to, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called!" I am living proof of that.

From God's heart, to mine, to yours,
Ed Shagott

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His Public Offer By Max Lucado

“All of us became part of Christ when we were baptized.” Romans 6:3

We owe God a perfect life. Perfect obedience to every command. Not just the command of baptism, but the commands of humility, honesty, integrity. We can’t deliver. Might as well charge us for the property of Manhattan. But Christ can and he did. His plunge into the Jordan is a picture of his plunge into our sin. His baptism announces, “Let me pay.”

Your baptism responds, “You bet I will.” He publicly offers. We publicly accept.

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Experience the Abundant Life by Adrian Rogers

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10

Do you know what is wrong with many of us? We are trying to get out of trouble rather than get into righteousness.

We are so focused on the defensive side of Christianity that we forget about offensive, positive approach.

•Wouldn't you like to get up and stay up?
•Wouldn't you like to experience the abundant life our Lord talks about?

Jesus came to give us eternal life. He came to give us the abundant life. We need to do like the old song says and "Accentuate the positive. Eliminate the negative."

Why don't you determine today that you are going to get right with God and stay right with God? Determine that you're going to take steps that lead to a life of obedience.

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God Has Time for You by Charles Stanley
Mark 10:46-52

Because time is such a precious commodity in our fast-paced culture, it is also a tremendously valuable gift we can give someone else. Jesus was the ultimate model of balanced time management. He demonstrated His love for mankind by being available.

Did you ever notice that there are no biblical accounts of our Lord hurrying? You will never come across a verse saying that He "ran to Bethany" or "rushed back to Galilee." Wherever the Savior went, He was sensitive to the needs of the people around Him and reached out in love to help. He wasn't so busy that He could not be interrupted.

Right before He went to the cross to accomplish the most important work of His life, Jesus stopped to help a poor blind beggar, who was a nobody in the eyes of society. Although the redemption of mankind was vitally important, the Lord cared enough about the suffering of one lowly individual to stop and do what He could to relieve the man's suffering.

If the Lord allowed Himself to be interrupted on the way to the cross, will He not also stop and listen when you call out to Him in your distress? He is never too busy governing the universe to hear His beloved child's cry for help.

In order to follow in Christ's footsteps, we have to ask ourselves, Am I willing to be interrupted? We are stewards of all God gives us, including our time. Consider this precious commodity a resource to be used when reaching out in love as Christ did. Give someone your time today.

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A devotional from 365.org

Can you imagine your parents as teenagers? What about your grandparents? That could really make me laugh. My grandparents as teenagers? What about your pastor or your favorite teacher? Do you think they got in trouble, or were they the person that sat in the front of the class doing exactly what was expected of them?
Now, picture yourself as an elderly person. Are you able to walk by yourself? Are you able to feed yourself? Are you given choices, or do you have to go where the bus at the nursing home takes you? It is very difficult to picture what we will be like when we are older. Hopefully that day will come.

The next time you have a chance to visit with someone who is elderly, take it. Through them, you will have the opportunity to see Jesus in a whole new way. They will be able to share with you the rejoicing that comes at the birth of a child or the mourning that comes from the loss of a spouse; the strength they gathered from their faith when they thought their faith was all but gone, and the acceptance that comes from the failure of their own body. Look into their eyes and you will see the face of Jesus. If you listen closely, you may even hear him speak to you.

Merciful Lord, give me the opportunity to see you in the faces of those who have lived through times that I can’t even imagine. Help me to see you wherever you appear. Amen.

Aleesa Naish

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All You Can Do by Vonette Bright

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9

Charlie lost both legs, his left arm,
and all but a finger and thumb on his right hand from a terrible crash.
At first Charlie thought he could no longer do anything for God.
Painfully, he could still write.
Could God use his limited ability? Absolutely, yes!
Charlie wrote letters to prisoners.
Because he couldn’t include his return address, the inmates had no way to respond.

Charlie was tempted to give up.
Then he was told a prisoner had requested that Charlie use the best paper possible.
The inmate said, “Charlie's letters are passed from cell to cell until they literally fall to pieces.”

Friend, when you think you have nothing left to give God, you’re wrong.
Use your God-given gifts and talents, experience, and encouragement to minister to others.