The last part of this “Me first” series is receiving.  I kept seeing the demonstration that flight attendants give when the plane is about to take off.  They show you the oxygen mask and how it works and then they tell you, if oxygen is needed, first place the mask properly on your own face before helping others.  This is a very important point, because we need to be in the right frame of mind and breathing normally if we are to give appropriate and helpful aid to others.

Likewise, in our Christian walk, how can we give of Holy Spirit if we have not first received.  There’s a famous saying, “You can’t give what you don’t have.”  This is true in the Kingdom.

It’s so key that we must first sit before the Father and cultivate a true and genuine relationship if we want to share it with others.  For many years, as I’ve stated before, I worshiped alone with Him.  I would sing, pray, read the Bible and rest in His Presence every day.  I spent countless hours meeting Him.  Discovering Him.  And I still do.  I still need to soak in Him and remind my heart what He’s said.  I still must read the Word and worship and pray.

I first receive, so I can then pour out.

When is the last time you sat in His presence to simply receive for yourself?  Laying aside your prayer requests for others and just come before God to be filled?  For some of you, I imagine it’s been far too long.  But this is a new day!! A new opportunity to learn how to be filled.

When thinking this devotional through, I thought about how much I love to run.  I considered my “why” for running.  You know, my reason.  Well, one of the main reasons I do it is so I can stay youthful enough to enjoy my kids and to give them confidence in my health.  I want them to know that I am healthy enough to see my grandchildren.  I never want my kids to be concerned for my health.  Instead, I want to be an inspiration for them and one who leads them to consider physical and emotional health as important.  Not more important than my walk with God, but yet another facet of it.  I want to be a good example for them.

The same applies to all I previously stated.  I want to give and receive in such healthy ways that my kids can feel confident in their own giving and receiving.  I don’t want them to see me as a martyr, but as a generous conduit of God’s grace and giving.  I want them to see generosity in me every day.

How can you receive today?  Take a moment and ask the Father to pour into you and then to direct you as you distribute that which you’ve received from Him.  Then ask Him to do it all over again.  It’s a beautiful exchange.

Now I commit you to God and to the word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.  I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing.  You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.  In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”          Acts 20:32-35

When I thought about yesterday’s devotional, I then had other ideas about the “Me First” concept.

So often, we look to our churches and friends and even family and ask, “What can you give me?” or “What can you do for me?”  While this is common, I believe it is not at all how God would like us to approach life on this earth.

I believe our best question is, “What can I give in this place where I am planted?”

When searching for churches, many people ask what a particular church has to offer them.  On the contrary when we are out searching for a new church home, one question I ask is, “How can I serve here?”  Don’t you think that’s how God would want us to approach it?

We shouldn’t always be takers.  We, especially as believers, should always be looking for opportunities to exercise generosity and kindness.  We shouldn’t be over-used or abused, but consistently willing to serve as He leads us.

On the flip side of this, we shouldn’t be so consumed by being used that we then stop learning and growing and being taught.  I’m learning it’s all a very delicate balance.  But it’s very worthwhile to hash it out.

So, my challenge to you today is, take a minute and inspect your heart and think about all the places you go in a day.  Are you discovering that you have a taker mentality in your daily approach?  If so, it’s never too late to change.  Are you discovering that you are over-used?  That’s ok too.  It’s never too late to pull back and reassess.  Whatever you do, don’t stop giving or being used because you fear over-use.  It’s truly your own responsibility to learn how to have healthy boundaries and to learn the art of saying, “No” when you should.  Likewise, some of us need to rediscover the art of the “Yes”.  Just because you’ve been wounded or over-used in the past, is not an excuse to stop giving or participating in life.

When you get knocked down, the most important thing is how you get up.  Learn from your mistakes and move on.  Don’t wallow in self-loathing or self-pity.  Get up and get moving on.  Today is your day!

Let’s do this!!

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord you are serving.  Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.  Colossians 3:23-25

A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.  Proverbs 11:25

Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely, who conducts his affairs with justice.  Surely he will never be shaken; a righteous man will be remembered forever.  Psalm 112:5-6

This morning while running, I was reflecting on some of the greatest lessons I’ve learned during marriage.  In a flash I saw one memory after another.  God reminded me how in the early years of marriage, I would go to Him complaining about Chris and the things I felt he needed to change.  Places where I had decided he needed more Jesus. Ha ha.  I was quite oblivious.

It wasn’t too long before God gently corrected me.  I was not intended to be Chris’ Holy Spirit.  God can cover that.  Furthermore, He showed me that instead of coming to Him with the list of things wrong with Chris, I needed to first ask myself a question.  “I see this problem in my husband, but where do I need to change first?”

Instead of insisting that all those around me change to accommodate my demands or expectations, first I need to search my own heart and see where I may be falling short, or if my own behavior is encouraging bad behavior in those around me.

To put this into a simple analogy, I can’t sit around and gossip with someone and then complain that they are a huge gossip, because clearly, I am also part of the problem.  So instead, if I don’t like gossip, then I should strive to stop gossiping and see how it changes those around me.

I know that’s over simplified, but I hope you get the point.  We are often facilitating the behaviors that we are less than pleased with in others.

I encourage you this morning to take the “me first” approach to this problem.  When you are faced with a person who is challenging for you to be around or a spouse who you are fed up with, take a moment and step back and say, “God, change me first”.

God, please forgive me for my arrogance in assuming others are wrong, when I’m also at fault.  Please give me grace for those around me and the humility to examine my own heart before I point out fault in another.  I want to be pure of heart, Lord.  I want to by fully Yours, in Jesus name, Amen

You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  Matthew 7:5

What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace?  By no means!  Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance.  You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.  Romans 6:15-18

 

As school has just begun and my kids have started to break new ground, I have been faced with hard choices.  After the first day of school, I was hoping to be met with joyful smiles and hearts full of excitement and expectation for the new year, as this has been the normal first day of school response in years past.  Instead, I was met with one smiler, and three somber expressions.  They all downloaded their days, which was exhausting to hear.  Then they spoke of the challenge of being new and not having friends to talk with yet, etc.  One recounted that at lunch he sat alone at a table, but his teacher asked if he’d like to go sit with others from class.  This painfully shy child of mine, responded with, “No thanks.”  My heart stopped as he continued the story.  Next some kids from class invited him to their table and he refused again.  Gasp.  Then he told how all the boys at one table then stood and came to him.  They moved to his table.  Can you believe it?  As if a beacon of light came down straight from heaven I felt so grateful that my son was being understood.

But then I was confronted with another one of my children’s tears.  All evening long, she tearfully spoke of how overwhelming this day had been.  I asked, “Was someone mean to you?”.  She replied, “No”.  The problem was she didn’t know what to expect, and she’s a devoted rule follower.  So, the prospect of this new territory was leaving her crippled with fear.  All evening, the tears flowed.  Every member of our household encouraged her.  Every single one.  Now that I think about it, I see us as a team helping out someone who is “giving birth”.  We can rally and encourage and cheer, but we can’t go through it for her.  This is a walk she must walk out alone.  We read scripture.  We prayed.  We tried to laugh.  We loved.  We listened.  And when everything inside of me wanted to say, “You don’t ever have to go back.”  God intervened.  He showed me in a flash that He was allowing her to walk this out, for her own good.

Wait a minute, you mean I am not supposed to make it better?  No, I am not.  And that’s where the choice came, I could refuse to allow my child to be uncomfortable for the sake of her “happiness”, or I could let God complete His good work inside of her heart.  I am to be a supporter, not an enabler.

I am so grateful that our heavenly Father loves my kids so much that He allows and even orchestrates growing seasons while they’re living at home in a protective “encouragement bubble” and not out on their own.  I am so glad that if I listen to Him, then I can partner with what He’s doing in their lives so by the time they head off into the world, they will be more emotionally equipped.

I have heard parents complain of coaches being too rough or teachers being too challenging, etc. but every time what I really feel in my heart is, the circumstances don’t need to change, the kid is getting an opportunity to grow.  We can’t create a lifetime of problem free living for our kids and then expect them to survive when they discover what the real world is like.  Likewise, our lives can’t and won’t be void of challenges, but it’s how we face those challenges that matters most.

How will you choose to face today’s challenges?

My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  Colossians 2:2-3

As a new day is dawning, I greet Abba with my heart.  Fear and worry woke me from my slumber.  When my mind was awake enough to realize, I knew I’d been tossing and turning even before my consciousness arose.  I lay in bed fraught with thoughts of “what if” and “maybe” and then I realized I could allow this wave of anxiety to control me or I could take control of my own heart by turning it to Jesus.  I deliberately made the decision to rise from bed even at this early hour, to come here, my secret place and turn the tide of my heart and mind.

We are never without decision.  The Bible makes it clear that no temptation will not be met with an escape.  I have chosen the path of escape.  Escaping into the arms that love me.  The One Who knows my whole life and everything in it and orchestrates my path.  I will be held.

This is a new dawn.  A new opportunity to decide to be at peace.  A new chance to make better emotional and spiritual decisions than yesterday.

Here is what I know to be true, God loves me.  There is nowhere I can go that He is not already.  He knows my heart.  He loves my family more than I do.  His plans are to prosper me, and He’s asked me to plan for Him to do so.  Any thoughts I have contrary to that, are not from Him.  I do not have to entertain the negative thoughts.

Friend, you are not subject to the enemy.  You have choices.  Every day, you have choices.  In every situation you have a choice.  You do not have to be victim to the attacks of the enemy.  You are more than a conqueror.  That means, you are a conqueror and then some.  You are beyond a conqueror.  That should mean something to your heart.  It’s not as if life is easier for some, or choices come easier.  No, that’s a victim mentality that would lead you to believe that.  Every person has challenges of some sort.  Sure, the challenges are different but that doesn’t mean they are not equally difficult to bear.

I used to feel that life was harder for me, and then I realized I was helping to make it harder because of my frame of mind.  When I realized that I did not have to succumb to negative thoughts, and that not all the thoughts I have in my mind actually come from me, I began to take control of them far better.  I was able to shake off the guilt I felt when random negative thoughts would come into my mind and instead take them directly to Abba and ask Him if they were mine or not.  Most assuredly, the negative ones weren’t actually me, but I still had a choice whether to entertain them or not.  So, I began to make positive decisions, one thought at a time. And I began to wage war on the one who seeks to infiltrate my thought life.  He is not welcome there.

Today, I submit my mind to the Father.  His thoughts will be my thoughts and I will walk in victory.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.  “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.”  Isaiah 55:8-9 (Since His thoughts and ways are far greater than mine, I will surrender all my thoughts and ways to Him)

More than anything you guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.  Proverbs 4:23

Tomorrow my children have their first day at the new school.  My kids don’t know it, but I am struggling.  Big time.  All my momma bear instincts have kicked in.  I feel near tears at every turn.  This morning my 2 youngest had orientation.  It went great, but I was almost in tears as we left.  I hid it from them, behind a smile and a kind word, but my heart was breaking.  This evening my 2 oldest have their orientation and I am so nervous.  Again, I will hold back my emotions and instead stand strong next to these little lives that need me to be solid right now.  But later, I will release it all.  I will let the tears come and I will let my heart grieve.  I will trust the Lord in the midst of change, once again.

He is so faithful.  I have no reason to doubt that.  But I will not deny my feelings.  He knows that I have them and He is equipped to hold them.

So today I come to you, my devotional friend, and I ask that we turn the tables….. just this once.

Please hold me in prayer as we set out into uncharted territory.  As we break into new social circles and ministries, please remember us.  We need you too.  None of us is above needing the prayer covering of loved ones.

And today, instead of wallowing in my self-pity, I will pray for you.  Immediately after typing that, I felt a burden lift off me.

Today I pray God will meet and grant the desires you have hidden in your heart.  I pray your lives would be blessed and so full of His presence that lack is a thing of the past.

God has so thoroughly wrapped every leg of our new journey in His presence, that I cannot deny we are in exactly the right place at exactly the right time.  He has orchestrated one detail after another, so the transition is as smooth as it can be, and I am so very grateful.

Won’t you take a minute and acknowledge all the ways the Father has smoothed the road before you.  Even when times have been tough, He has been there to soften the blow.  Even when you’ve faced great disappointment, He has been there to catch your tears and offer an encouraging glimpse of where you’re going.  Keep on, keepin’ on friend.  Don’t stop now.  You’ve made it too far to stop moving forward.

Now to Him Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.  Ephesians 3:20

In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:6

This morning while running I had the clearest vision of myself as a warrior.  I was dressed in the type of armor you might see when watching a “Lord of the Rings” movie.  I was kneeling down on one knee and holding a sword, which I drove down into the ground and then leaned upon.  In that moment I felt God showing me that He had brought us here to this new town and home for a season of rest.

What a welcomed thought.  For the many years we lived in Pennsylvania, I always felt we were fighting one spiritual battle after another.  I was exhausted by this and struggled to feel at rest.  God had told me that we were living there as missionaries.  This explained some of the feelings I had while there.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved a lot about our time there, it’s just that I never truly felt released to fully rest.  It was a challenging thing.  I need rest.  I need some downtime.  I need time at my Saviors feet just resting and loving Him.

I will enter into this rest.  I receive this season with open arms and a willing heart. It’s time.

I’m not the only one needing it though, my kids have been on quite the journey too.  They need some rest.  They need a time to establish and further develop a strong root system.  The thing that will help them navigate the world once they are out on their own.  I have longed for them to have a place that truly felt like home.  This is it.

My husband needs rest.  He has done whatever it takes to provide for our family.  He has lived apart from us many times, so he could provide.  He doesn’t shy away from this and I am so proud of him, but we are much more likely to keep him working from home or at least close to home now that we are located in the South.  What a blessing.

I ask you today, “Where are you in the battle?”  In what season are you living?

It’s important to know these things.  It’s important to acknowledge where you are, so you can know where and how to focus.

Take some time and let God lead your heart and mind into the revelation of your season.  Then ask Him how to best navigate it.  How would He have you live out each day?  If you are in a season of rest, then I encourage you to embrace it.  If you are in a season of warfare, then I encourage you to be “all in”.  You won’t regret it.  But one thing I suggest is please, please do not deny your season.  If you do, then even rest will feel like work.  The best way to remain in peace is to embrace the season to which you are called.  Be where you are.

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30

Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain.  Unless the Lord watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat- for He grants sleep to those He loves.  Psalm 127:1-2

As I ran today, I saw myself standing at the bottom of a waterfall.  The water was pouring over my head in a refreshing way.  Then I thought, “Didn’t I climb to the top already?”  It was in that moment that I saw something.  It was a stack of waterfalls.  I realized then that I will never reach the final waterfall, this side of Heaven.  No, instead I will spend my life climbing and jumping or under the downpour, all at His leading.  But at each precipice I will be growing closer to Him.

This was a breath-taking encounter with God.

In that moment I realized that I don’t need to strive.  I don’t need to “arrive”.  I only need to keep moving with Him, that way whether I am jumping off, resting in the water, or climbing, it will all be beneficial.

I want all my efforts to be beneficial.

Have you ever worked out at a gym?  Every time I do, I see some people doing exercises improperly and I think to myself, “You are wasting all your energy doing that when if you just modified it a bit you would be really benefitting.”  Likewise, I have been the one at the gym misusing machines or using incorrect postures, making my workout far less impactful.  I don’t want to do that at the gym, much less in life.

So much of the struggle comes from a lack of focus.  We are often so distracted by life that it’s hard for us to focus in on what’s most important.  Just like at the gym we must focus our bodies to do exercises correctly.  At first that focus can be exhausting, but in time it becomes so much more natural.

My encouragement for you today is, enjoy where you are and continue to look forward to the future, but always stay connected to the Father so you don’t waste your time and energy (physical or emotional) doing the right thing the wrong way.

Be focused so you are not wasting your finite time on this earth being tossed to and fro.  Let God focus your thoughts on His thoughts and your heart on His.  It will first be a deliberate act, but will soon become natural.

Finally, don’t stop finding waterfalls.  Places of adventure and refreshing.  Places that challenge you and make you feel alive.  God is full of adventure.  I love that about Him.  His adventures bring the deepest satisfaction.

Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.  1 Timothy 6:12

You make known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.  Psalm 16:11

 

Some of you may have noticed that our family just moved into a new home in Oklahoma.  When things began to breakthrough for us, I felt God nudging me to share.  In the past, I was hesitant to share things like this because I didn’t want anyone to misread my heart.  My heart in this is not one of boasting and pride, instead it’s a very tender and previously broken place that leads me to now share our abundant blessings.  When I post the pictures and updates of our breakthrough, I am always feeling so broken and blessed at the same time.  “Why is this?”, you may be asking.  Well friend, it’s because for most of my life I was held captive to a poverty spirit.

This spirit followed me around even as a small child and I felt like I would never amount to much and I definitely never thought I would have much.  I remember thinking those were the facts about my life.  I didn’t realize it, but the enemy attacked me in such a way because God had a different plan.

As I’ve mentioned before, I know many believers move so far away from the “prosperity gospel” that they become engulfed in a self-deprecating form of false humility that embraces poverty in life as a form of holiness.  That’s interesting to me because in my experience, when God touches a place in my life, it innately becomes abundant.  God has more than enough and He is more than enough.

When I surrendered my emotions to Him, I became transformed and now can navigate situations that I would not have previously been capable of navigating with grace.  That’s abundance.

When Chris and I surrendered our finances to God, we found we always had enough and in time we discovered we had more than enough.  That’s abundance.

When I gave my relationships to God, I discovered I could have such fulfillment in a few close friends.  I realized that I was designed to have intimate friends, therefore my friend “pool” wouldn’t include a large group of people because I can’t maintain that.  Instead, I am good at pouring into a small circle.  This is largely due to the fact that I’m an “all in” personality.  I give all to those I love.  Once I realized I worked this way, I began to have thriving relationships.  That’s abundance.

This brings me back to the shared pictures of our new property and home.  Years ago, God gave Chris and I a certain vision for our future.  It was definitely God, and had not previously been on either of our radars, but God has been showing me that having a stable home to build that dream would be necessary.   First, He began building a firm foundation in our hearts.  Over time He began to manifest outwardly.  Why would I hide that?

Yesterday, He reminded me of the word He long ago spoke to us and He told me, “Lisa, I want you to have a healthy living and financial situation as a foundation for the promise I will build in your lives.”

I will no longer be held captive to poverty, because it’s trying to hold back the plan God has for our lives.

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

 

 

2 Kings 6:15-17 

When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city.  “Oh no, my lord!  What shall we do?” the servant asked.  “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered.  “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.”  Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha. 

No matter where you are or what challenges you are facing today, you are not alone. The God of angel armies is by your side.

I feel God stirring in my heart that some of you are facing impossible odds.  Some of you are facing things that those of this world would tell you are going to destroy you.  But I say, “Not today!”  Right now, I pray that God would open your spiritual eyes to see His guard standing around you.  I pray you would see the angel army assigned to your watch and assigned to your family.  Yes, I fully believe that God places angels around us as protection, and many times I’ve seen them.

Once while worshiping, I felt God drawing me to go worship Him in my garage.  The door was opened and that meant the people driving by and walking by could see me, and I felt nervous and exposed.  Suddenly, I saw a giant (to me) angel standing guard at the door.  I felt peace and began to sing worship with my eyes closed and arms outstretched to heaven.  This story happened many years ago, and ever since I have been acutely aware of angelic protection around me and my family.

It’s a lot easier to walk confidently when you know who is guarding you, and furthermore Who sent them.

We are not alone.  We sing that in songs and read it, but do you truly believe it?  Until you do, it may be hard to walk a life of bold faith.

Abba, I pray that You would show Yourself to every single person reading this devotional today.  Let them see how You surround them.  Remind them of times past when Your presence has walked alongside them.  Show them how You have protected them throughout their whole life, even when they didn’t realize it.  Open our eyes to see You every day.  Let us always walk in confidence because we know Who our Father is and what He can do.

Nothing is impossible with God.  Nothing is impossible for God.

For nothing will be impossible with God.  Luke 1:37

Don’t fear, because I am with you; don’t be afraid, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, I will surely help you; I will hold you with my righteous strong hand.  Isaiah 41:10