Laced With Grace

There is a young man who lives around the corner from us. He use to live with his father in his fathers house, but ever since his father passed away, this young man has been living in the house alone and in the dark…

Literally.

Because of choices of a certain lifestyle, this young man spends all of his money on drinking and drugs and chooses to live in the house with no electricity. He has lived like this for years. It is a lifestyle, that quite honestly, I cannot even comprehend. With the climate that we live in here in the south, how can one be without air conditioning in the heat of the summer or be without a working furnace on the brisk cool nights of the winter?

Driving by his house the other day, I wondered to myself, “what would it take to get the lights turned on?” The simple resolve would be for someone to just pay his electricity bill each month, but the logical and most important resolve would be for this young man to leave behind those things that keep him in the dark.

We live in a world not so far fetched from this young man. I am quite certain that most of you reading this post have electricity in your home with plenty of light illuminating and plenty of heat to keep you warm on a cold winters night. But I wonder how many of you go into places that are not so brightly lit, the darkness over-weighs the light and it is difficult to see the power at work at all. I am talking about living in a world that is void of the light and power of Christ!

What a difference a small glimpse of light can make in a darkened room. Late at night when I enter my bedroom, in order to not disturb my sleeping husband, I use the light of my cell phone to lighten my path so I don’t stumble or stub my toe. Its just a small light, but its enough to show me the way. However, if I were to turn on the main light, oh how brightly it would shine, it would not only help me to find my way but it would erase all of the darkness that once was present.

When I go into my world, at my workplace, or at the grocery store or visiting with my unsaved family members, I have to ask myself the same question that I asked about my neighbor…”What would it take to get the lights turned on?” How far would I be willing to go to remove the darkness that so many of these that I rub shoulders with are in?

“Then Jesus spoke again saying, I am the light of the world. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” -John 8:12

For many people, it is only a matter of turning the power switch on. But… we have to be willing to share Gods love and light with them. Instead of wondering why they continue to live in the dark, isn’t it time that we reach our hand out and walk them into the light?

There is so much power in His light…our footsteps become more steady, our attitudes change, and our love grows deeply for others. There is someone, maybe a neighbor, maybe a friend, a co-worker or maybe a loved one just waiting to have alittle light illuminated in front of them so they can find their way.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for lighting my world. Because of You, I no longer walk in darkness, help me now to show your light to others so that all can see. In Your name, I pray. AMEN

Now … go and let your Light shine!

Visit my blog for more devotionals… www.womentakingastand.blogspot.com

Thanksgiving was 4 days ago and if you are like me, you are still eating on the leftovers! Let’s see…first, there were turkey sandwiches, then turkey soup, then turkey casserole and now today, warmed up turkey, dressing and potatoes! Turkey, turkey, turkey and more turkey!

I have seriously had my fill of leftovers.

Somehow by the 4th day it just isn’t as exciting as it was on Thursday! I’m kind of tired of having nothing but leftovers.

I not only get that way around the holidays, but my spirit man also tires of leftovers. A few years ago, my husband was overworked, underpaid, stressed and frustrated at his job. While he was at his job during the day he gave 120 percent, doing everything he could to resolve issues, be kind to others, even do his work and the work of others but by the time he came home from work it seemed like all the children and I would get was his leftovers. You know how we get when we are tired, cranky and just downright stressed.  While he gave his best at work, he brought home the overloaded stress to us which didn’t always come across as his best.

Leftovers are not always as appealing as they once were. The salivating over the roasted turkey has diminished some from Thursday to Monday. Spiritually speaking, when we give less than our best, when we give our leftovers to others, we also lose our sweet aroma.

God wants our best to not just be yesterdays menu. He wants our best to be renewed each and every day. Sometimes we worry about tomorrow, so we try to live on what we have today or what we had yesterday. The children of Israel worried that hunger would overtake them while in the wilderness. After much grumbling and complaining, God finally told Moses to tell the people that Manna would rain down from heaven every day to feed them.

 EXODUS 16:4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. “

But there was a catch…

The people could only take enough Manna for the day, no extra. On the Sabbath day, God would double the food gathered the day before so that the Sabbath day could be observed and they still have plenty. In His attempt to teach them faithfulness, the children of Israel were not all quick learners. Some worried there would not be enough for tomorrow so they took more than their share. They took leftovers. But the manna literally grew old and rotted if more than the allotted share was taken.

God did not need them to live on leftovers. His bread was new each and every morning. He wanted them to trust Him for their daily bread. Likewise, He does not want us to live on leftover experiences either. Yesterday’s blessing was for yesterday, TODAY God has something new for us!

LAMENTATIONS 3:22″Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.”

Too many times I think we come to the Lord’s table still eating the crumbs from yesterday. Our testimony seems to be about what God DID instead of what He is DOING! One of the reasons that I think that we give our leftovers to others is because we are still living on the leftovers of our yesterdays. It is time to partake of the fresh Bread of Life that He offers us TODAY!

Aren’t you tired of living on leftovers?

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (KJV)

” To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

           A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;    a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;    a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;   a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;    a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;   a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace”

Our front porch with the "love-birds" Fred and Louise.

Autumn is my favorite of the four seasons.    At the beginning of autumn we still have the bright colorful flowers of summer along with the bursts of sunflower yellow, burnt orange and burgundy colored mums.  As the season continues I love to see how each day the leaves on the trees turn from bright green to orange, yellow and red.  Our rural mountain community looks like a beautiful oil painting by Thomas Kinkade.  Communities begin hosting Harvest Festivals and Oktoberfest’s with hayrides, candy apples, pumpkin carving contests, and the sweet aroma of freshly baked pumpkin pies and hot apple cider fills the air. 

Autumn is also a time when I ponder upon the above passages in Ecclesiastes.  There is so much wisdom in those eight verses.  I reflect upon these verses in reference to my own life. 

• Do I “die” to my fleshly desires so I may “live” in Christ anew each day?
• Do I plant seeds of the fruit of the Spirit so others may reap the harvest? 
• Do my actions tear down the work of the Lord or do I build up others with words of kindness?
• Do I help bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted?
• Do I weep when I see poverty, abuse, starvation and hopelessness in my own community?
• Do I mourn for the lost souls who need the Lord as their Savior?
• Do I find time to bring laughter in my life and rejoice in the joy of Lord?
• Do I dance with joy when a lost soul receives Christ as their Savior?
• Do I embrace the life the Lord has given me?
• Do I purge the things in my life that hinder my witness for Christ?
• Do I know when to “let go” and “let God” take over?
• Do I speak up for the “right” things and for those who cannot speak for themselves?
• Do I keep my mouth shut when I really want to lash out and hurt others as they have hurt me?
• Do I have a Christ-like love for others?
• Do I truly hate “sin” or do I tolerate “sin”? 
• Do I have a conscious awareness that there is Spiritual Warfare going on trying to keep me from living for Christ?
• Do I seek a life in peace with others as well as share the Peace that passes all understanding? 

Dear Heavenly Father, as I enjoy my favorite time of the year, I ask that you examine my heart and bring to my mind the things I need to confess so that I can be a better witness for you each day of my life.  Lord, remind me that to everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven.  In Jesus precious name, amen.