place | Courage for Today

Making Room for God

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Psalm 6:33)

I was recently at my father-in-laws house searching for some space to store additional items. I found an old storage room that was piled with years and years worth of various items. We all have those places in our homes; closets and shelves that become permanent home to things we haven’t used in decades. I know in my case, I always think I may need a particular item at some point in the future, so I am afraid to discard anything. The result is that the piles get higher and the clutter gets unbearable.

This particular storage room at my father-in-laws was no different. I found everything from old clothing to books to magazines to old tools and everything in between. In fact, the storage area was so full, there was no room for anything else. Unfortunately, the items filling up the storage room were outdated; damaged; and unfit for use. The clutter of the past prevented any new items from taking their rightful place.

I have sometimes found that my Christian life and testimony are no different. I fill my life with hobbies and work and tasks that max out my schedule, and allow little time for God. God becomes second or third place instead of my number one priority. If I’m not careful, my life becomes like the storage closet: Full of relatively worthless time killers that wedge out any available time I have for God.

When we seek God’s Kingdom first, we will always find room in our life for HIM.

Do you need to clean your “spiritual closet” today and find room to put God first?

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Worship is a Person Not a Place

Strength

“All the earth will worship You, and will sing praises to You; They will sing praises to Your name.” (Psalms 66:4)

When we think of the word “worship,” a lot of thoughts come to mind. Worship implies celebration or reverence or praise and can come in a lot of different forms. We can worship our jobs or careers. We can worship money or finances. We can worship sports or hobbies. We can worship other people such as Movie stars, Sports stars, or Politicians. Worship can even take place in Church auditoriums as we listen to inspirational music.

Worship, at its core, is not about how we feel towards things or people or even how we feel during inspirational music. Worship is recognizing that it is God who gives us our everything. It is God who directs our every path. It is God who meets our every need, even when we don’t know what’s best for ourselves. It is God who comforts us at times of loss. It is God who gives us meaning for our very existence.

Worship is an adoration and appreciation of our Heavenly Father for who He is and what He has done by giving His life for us. Worship doesn’t require a place–it only requires a relationship with Him.

Courage Thoughts for Today:

What are you worshiping today that is getting in the way of worshiping the true God?
Does your worship require you to be in a “place” or are you worshiping from your heart?
What will you do TODAY to change how you Worship?

A Beautiful Masterpiece of Scribble

Self-Worth

I have thoroughly enjoyed having my Daughter, Son-in-Law, and three Grand-children live with us temporarily. Since their arrival from China, they’ll be staying with us for a few months until they can get their own place. It’s been many years since I’ve come home every night from work and had children to welcome me after a long day, but you just can’t beat the Grandkids world of video games and toys to remind you of your true priorities.

There is no way to put a price on learning to love the Grandkids personalities and interests and see the excitement in their eyes watching the latest episode of Sponge-Bob Square Pants. My youngest Grandson is especially artistic and creative. He loves to draw and color. Almost everyday, he will spend time coloring a new page in his coloring book. Of course, at five years old, the colors don’t always match and he doesn’t always color between all the lines, but he is so proud of his masterpiece. He smiles from ear to ear when he finishes his artwork and can’t wait to show it to me and everyone that will look. To the casual observer, it wouldn’t even be noticed, but to me, it’s as beautiful as the greatest Picasso. My grandson is an extension of me and I couldn’t be more proud, no matter how his artwork looks. He isn’t worried about how the artwork will be judged. He isn’t worried what others will think. He’s just drawing and coloring to the best of his abilities. In fact, he’s so proud of his handy work that he has taped pictures that he’s colored to his bedroom walls. Most people hang framed pictures and posters; he hangs pages from a coloring book. It would never be part of Better Homes and Garden decor, but it’s beautiful to me.

There’s a lesson here for me, and maybe for you as well. Even though he doesn’t even realize it, my Grandson is already using his God-given gifts. He’s learning that the important thing in life is not necessarily the depth of his preparation, but the willingness to be obedient in starting the work. I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve felt God speaking to me or tugging at my heart to do something, only to talk myself out of following HIS direction. I was too worried about being perfect or not being good enough or having everything just right or just simply being afraid of getting out of my comfort zone. I wanted to make sure I had everything in place so I wouldn’t fail, only to fail because I wouldn’t step out on faith. God has begun a good work in each of us, even when we don’t see it. HE is proud of us even when we don’t think our gifts and talents are as good as someone else.

Are you feeling less important in life? Are you at a stage where you don’t feel you’re measuring up to others? Always remember that what matters most is that you’re obedient. I can promise you that if you are obedient, your Heavenly Father will be as excited and proud for you as I am for my Grandson, no matter what the World may think.

Never Doubt That The Loser Takes All

Faith

I am a very competitive person. It doesn’t matter what game I’m playing or what contest I’ve entered, I want to win. I want to win badly. If it was a game of Tiddly Winks, I want to stomp you decisively. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not a sore loser if I happen to be on the losing side of things, but I’ll do everything I can to win in any situation.

I suppose most people are competitive to some degree. Our Society and way of life forces us to be this way. We’re competing against others for employment opportunities. We’re competing in our businesses against other businesses. We’re competing against other students for the best grades in our schools and universities. We’re competing against each other on the roads and highways to get to our destination faster and faster. Our Sports World is driven by the desire to win the next Super Bowl, World Series, or Stanley Cup. I could go on and on, but you get the drift. We’re taught and conditioned that second place is for losers.

In Luke 9:23, the Lord says “….if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (NAS). In another translation of the Bible, “The Message,” the same verse reads “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am.” I have to confess that I’ve always struggled to follow this verse. Not because I didn’t believe it or because I didn’t want to. My competitive nature to win left no room for anyone else, least of all God. There were times when I just didn’t want God to lead. Quite honestly, I was afraid where God might lead. I felt like I knew what was best for me and I would just let God catch up with me at some point. Afterall, HE had more important things to worry about. I was always confident that God would ultimately approve of my direction. Unfortunately, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

God always wants me to be second to HIM. HE wants me to allow him to lead, even when it makes no sense to me. Obviously, this is where trust comes into play. I can’t let anyone, God included, lead me if I don’t have confidence in where they’re leading. Without question or hesitation, I can honestly say that God has always shown me the right path and led me in the direction I should go, even when I’m being dragged kicking and screaming and not understanding why, where, or when. It’s at those times when I’m truly allowing God to lead that I’m at that perfect place God wants me to be.

I’m still competitive in sports and activities, but as for my Christian Walk, I’ve learned that losing isn’t so bad afterall. It’s at those times of letting God lead, that I’m actually a winner because only then can I tap into the everlasting resources of our Heavenly Father.

Where are you today in your Walk? Are you allowing God to lead in all you do, or are you wanting to lead God instead? Remember, losing is actually winning when you recognize God is in the driver’s seat, not you.

Playing Hide and Seek With God

Encouragement

When our children were pre-schoolers, they loved to play “hide and seek.” I’m not sure why they loved the game so much. I guess it was the thrill of hiding somewhere and, then, having Dad become frustrated trying to find them hiding in some obscure place. My daughter, especially, took the game to its most extreme level. She took hiding serious. So serious, in fact, she was disappointed if she was found.

I remember one particular occasion we were playing hide and seek indoors and she hid in some small space between two dressers in our bedroom. A space so small, I wouldn’t have even thought she would fit. I searched and searched and searched. In closets; under beds; everywhere. She was as quiet as a mouse. I was actually beginning to think she may have gone outside or gotten hurt. I searched continuously for several minutes until, finally, I saw her wedged into this small place that no one would have thought to hide. As soon as I found her, she burst out laughing knowing that she had “won” this particular battle.

This morning, I was reading Colossians Chapter 3, Verse 1. It says: ” Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ” Of course, the logical question is, what are the things above we should keep seeking? I continued reading through versus 12-17 in the same Chapter and it was there I found the answers. The Lord lists such things as putting on a heart of compassion; kindness; gentleness; humility; and patience. But beyond all these things is love. It was a true blessing this morning to be reminded of these “things above” and my responsibility in finding these “things above.”

Speaking from experience, I sometimes just expect the Lord to pour these “things above” on me in a mighty way, without any effort on my part. I lose sight of the fact that it is I that should be seeking those things. And, I should be seeking those things continually. Not just once or twice, but continually. Seeking these things in Christ is a Goal, not a destination. I’m always working toward the goal, but I’ll never fully reach it.

I never stopped searching for my daughter all those years ago until I found her. In Christ, I am reminded to never stop seeking those things above.

Getting Rid of Dust In The Attic

Self-Worth

I was remembering a couple of weekends ago about how little I enjoy putting items back up in my attic for storage. I had taken down our artificial Christmas Tree and all the little ornaments and nick-knacks that we place around the house at Christmas, and neatly packaged them back in their storage boxes; only so that I would take everything back upstairs in our attic until next Christmas. I don’t really know why I dislike storing things in the attic so much.

Maybe it’s because I have to lug everything up those ridiculously small steps. Perhaps it’s the cramped quarters or dark spaces? Maybe it’s all the dust? I’m not really sure, but I am sure I don’t like it. Nonetheless, I managed to put all the Christmas storage boxes in their proper place until the excitement of next year’s Christmas begs me to take them down from the attic once again.

It reminded me somewhat of particular times in my Christian Life when I’ve treated God the same way as I’ve treated the items I stored in my attic. There were times that I really didn’t have much use for God. I was too busy. I knew what I was doing and really didn’t need Him anyway. Or, perhaps I was just “tired” of this ole “religion thing” and just didn’t really have a need for God at that time in my life, or at least that’s what I thought. I still believed in God and knew that there was a God, but I just neatly tucked him in “the attic of my mind.” After all, if something ever did come up, I could always ask God to come down out of the attic and tend to my situation. Plus, I knew there were people out there who really needed God more than me. I figured I would let God tend to those folks and then HE wouldn’t have to waste His energy on me. I have to admit, though, I was miserable. During those Spiritually “dry” times in my life, I just simply packaged God into a nice little box; stored him in the attic of my mind; and retrieved Him out of storage only in dire emergencies. I certainly wanted God to be available when I needed Him but, otherwise, I really wanted Him out-of-sight; out-of mind.

I’m really ashamed to admit that my relationship with the Lord was that shallow, at times in my life. However, over time, I realized that my relationship with God had to be–just that–a relationship. My relationship with Christ could not be based on my convenience or when I chose to “use” God. My relationship with Christ had to be personal and intimate. I discovered that God wanted to be with me every step of the way. HE didn’t want to call upon Him only at certain times. Thankfully, HE has always been there when I did need to lean on HIM, but it has been a much more satisfying relationship (for me) when the communication and fellowship with HIM is constant.

Where is your relationship with Christ? Is HE tucked away in the “attic of your mind” only to be called upon on certain occasions, or is HE close and personal all the time. I encourage you to make HIM an everyday; every moment part of your life.