How to Change the View

A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Matthew 7:18 (New American Standard Bible)

For years, I could only read Scripture with a limited range of what it was saying. In today’s verse, Jesus was speaking of the false prophets of His day and giving people a way of protecting themselves from the influence of such. That is necessary for us today as well. It is vital that we sit under those who know and speak the truth about God. If that is the only thing I take from this verse I am the wiser for it, but God’s Word is not meant to only be interpreted as such. It is also meant to come alive and meet us where we are at in the moment.

This morning, today’s verse speaks volumes to me when it comes to my thoughts….particularly my perceptions of others and how I “think” they view me. If my thoughts are filled with suspicion toward them and tainted by my own insecurities the result of those thoughts will not be good. I will misread their facial expressions, misinterpret what they say or don’t say, and draw conclusions that lead to an uneasy spirit within myself. What normally would be lively, fun filled moments quickly become uncomfortable and strained at best. From that point on, everything they say or do becomes “proof” of what I believe to be true. I can tell the exact moment peace and joy have left and darkness has entered. It is a vicious cycle that has actually become a stronghold in my life. This morning, God is letting me know once again how to demolish it! Change my thoughts! Derive the good fruit that can come from giving others the benefit of the doubt and walking in an attitude of love, forgiveness, and freedom.

I see that so clearly right now, sitting in the quietness of my home with just me, God, and His Word. The truth of what God is saying is getting into my heart. Yet the test of how it will affect me is going to be the next time I am face to face with someone and perceptions begin to make their way into my mental gallery of thoughts. When distorted portraits begin to be displayed on the walls of my mind will I believe what I “see” or will I remove them with a rebuke and live in the freedom of uncluttered thinking? I have a choice in the matter and too often I dust and straighten the pictures instead of removing them. The longer I dwell upon what is false the stronger its grip will be. The pull of that grip can also be weakened and that is the realization and hope God wants me to embrace.

Father, how You must ache to see me lose battles that don’t have to be lost. Help me to fight when I so easily want to yield. Amen.

All to Jesus I Surrender
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7x2IpLSfqp8&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

Created and Recreated

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26 (New American Standard Bible)

One of the aspects of being created in God’s image is that we are triune in nature. That means we are made up of three parts…body (physical), soul (emotional), and spirit (spiritual). Along with those components we were created for a purpose. We struggle to fully live out that purpose when one or all of our being is not whole and healthy.

A little over a year ago, I was in trouble in all three areas of my life. Physically I was obese with a life style of making unhealthy food choices. Emotionally I was dependent upon a significant person and bottomed out when all ties were severed. Spiritually I was more in tune to listening to what others said about God than what God was saying to me. Although I could write devotionals with ease, internally I was on shaky ground. Over the course of this past year, God has graciously worked on all three areas.

My physical transformation began when I joined Weight Watchers five months ago. I learned not only what to eat but how to properly view food. One benefit that came from that was a loss of 50 pounds. I feel better than I have felt in decades.

My emotional transformation began when my pastor’s wife saw my struggles and offered to be in an accountability partnership with me. Her listening ear, discerning spirit, wise words, and desire to see me emotionally free have been God’s primary means of healing for me. As we presently do a study through a book on emotional wholeness the fog is beginning to clear and the emotional strength is coming.

My spiritual transformation has been in learning to hear God’s voice more clearly through His Word, prayer, music, and the every day happenings of life. The mutual communication, contact, and connection that we share is both profound and powerful.

Although there is still much to be done in me, I am NOT the same person I was last year at this time. I can see the differences and I am living life more fully out of those differences. To God be the glory!

Father, I doubted I would ever see days like this. What You have done in the last year leaves me in wonder and amazement of You. I look forward to Your continued touch in the coming new year. Amen.

With All I Am - Hillsong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMrAafe7Mns&feature=related

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16

The Preservation of My Spirit

You have granted me life and loving kindness; and Your care has preserved my spirit. Job 10:12 (New American Standard Bible)

One of the aspects of God’s loving kindness and watch care over us as His children is the preservation our spirit. To guard it, protect it, and keep it safe. In the midst of hurt, disappointment, troubles, or loss…when the bottom of life seems to fall out from underneath our feet….when life’s worst circumstances make their way into our once peaceful abode, He is faithfully and lovingly keeping our spirit alive and intact. That part of us that seeks after God, that desires fellowship with God, and that longs to know Him continues to pulsate with life even when our heart is breaking or our mind is in turmoil. It is as constant as the beating of our heart.

So how can we tell our spirit is being preserved? We are still open to God and His ways. Turning our back on Him and walking away is not our intent or experience. We are looking to Him for direction and comfort. We continue to stand on the foundational truths of His Word. We remain teachable to the things He wants us to know and learn. Over time we see the growth in our life that has come about by the very thing we thought would do us in.

Often though, we mistakenly think that because we shed tears, ask why, experience a full range of emotions, feel internally at odds, and walk with a heavy heart and mind that our spirit has not been preserved. That is not the case! Just as we will bleed if we are cut, the problems and difficulties of life will hurt. God is not surprised by our pain. He knows how deeply it hurts or scares us but He also knows what He will use to bring us out on to the other side of whatever we are walking through. He is holding on to us even when our own grip is weakening.

My heart’s desire is to come away from whatever God’s causes or allows in my life with more knowledge of Him, more trust in Him, more awareness of Him, and more love for Him than I had before the storm broke. That is a part of the preservation of my spirit. Who but God could do such a thing? Who but God would even think of it?

I don’t always get it right but He does. He is passionate about bringing me through this life molded into the image of His Son…complete, whole, and mature in Him. I trust Him for the process, timing, and accomplishment of it all.

Father, You keep astounding me at every turn. Amen.

You're Still God - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvclzwpAMxg

There are now over 800 previous devotionals housed on this blog site. Read them according to date, theme or book of the Bible. Copy them for a personal notebook. Share them with others. Enjoy!

The One Who Teaches Me

I, even I, will be with your mouth, and teach you what you are to say…and I, even I, will be with your mouth … and I will teach you what you are to do. Exodus 4:12, 15 (New American Standard Bible)

Moses’ sense and belief of inadequacy, inability, and insecurity made for an interesting response to God’s choosing of him to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. God offered Himself as Moses’ personal Teacher so he could learn the things necessary to carry out the responsibilities that lay before him. God knew that Moses’ words and actions would be important aspects of his leadership and He was ready and willing to invest Himself in the development of both.

It is no different for each child of His today. Just like with Moses, God promises to teach us what to say and what to do in any and all circumstances and situations. I, for one, need His help! If left on my own, I say and do the wrong things. What are the things God is teaching me to say and do?

As far as my words are concerned, He is teaching me the necessity of truthfulness. Speaking what is true rather than what is perceived and believed. Those misperceptions and lies can be huge walls and doors that keep out the very things that are meant to be said. They affect the way I think, feel, and act. They limit the freedom God desires that I walk in and (like Moses) they cause me to believe I can’t do the things God calls me to do. One litmus test I am learning to use for determining the truthfulness or falsehood of my words, is to speak them to those who know me. They will usually be able to tell if what I am saying is really true or not. When my perceptions have clouded my view they help to clear the sky of my mind. It is then up to me to take the steps necessary to align myself with what is true and then speak it.

As far as my actions are concerned they must stem from a life of obedience derived from open ears and an open heart to God‘s voice, will, and ways. I can either choose to walk parallel with God or I can choose to walk opposed to Him. Both have huge consequences. The first brings about unity, power, and peace. The second brings turmoil and unnecessary hardships. The first is based on faith while the second is based on fear and self preservation.

How important are my words and actions? Important enough for God to step in and personally instruct me in the way I should speak and the way I should go.

Father, help me to say and do that which You are teaching me. I don’t just want to hear You. I want to walk in agreement with You. Let Your words to me affect my words and actions in profound ways. Amen.

In The Potters Hand - Hillsong (HQ sound)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6beNoG0H0E0&feature=related

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16

When I Don't See It

For we walk by faith, not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 (New American Standard Bible)

If I live out of only what I can see, feel, and experience, than I will lack the joy that comes from living with anticipation and expectation of what I believe God is able and willing to do in my life. Faith is as much a necessity for my spiritual life as eating and breathing is for my physical life. It propels me to move forward in the midst of difficulty. It comforts me in the midst of sadness and heartache. It cheers me on in the midst of failure and weakness. It sustains me in the midst of tiredness. It guides me in the midst of confusion and uncertainty. It brings forth the impossible in the midst of impossibility. Not faith for faith’s sake, but faith that is grounded and based upon God’s Word and in God Himself.

I have faith that God is going to complete the work He has started in me. I long for the completion of that work and stand in full awareness that there are areas of my life that are incomplete. One thing I do to nurture that faith is look at things God has fully worked out in me and take those as my guarantee that He will do the same else where. This is especially true for me in the area of addictions.

I have seen God work wonders with one addiction that use to control and bind me and what He has done helps me to see that freedom is possible in regards to other addictions. It paints for me a picture of what the freedom will look like and keeps me fully aware of when I am not experiencing it yet. When I am free of something it no longer has a pull on me. It no longer consumes my thoughts. It no longer becomes a requirement for me to have in order to feel satisfied, fulfilled, or significant. It no longer takes me on an emotional roller coaster of highs and lows. I can honestly take it or leave it. I am fully free of its power and meaning in my life even when it is in my presence.

I am experiencing that in one area of my life, but when I am not experiencing and seeing that in other areas that is when my faith in God’s ability is essential and life giving. That is when I have to stand on His Word and His promises to help me, uphold me, and guide me. That is when I have to see with my spirit eyes instead of with my physical eyes. The changes are coming. The freedom will be mine without a doubt. When that happens I will fully know it. I will fully embrace it. More importantly I will fully share it with others as a way of giving them hope for what they themselves long for.


Father, I still feel the pull of the addiction that only You can break. In the midst of it all, let me feel the pull of Your hand on me as well. Amen.

Word of God Speak ~ Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JK_6osCH74&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

A Perfect Fit

It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65:24 (New American Standard Bible)

I cannot tell you the number of times I have asked God a question or brought a problem to Him and He would give me the answer within the written words of His children. Sometimes these words were written many years ago and at other times they were recently penned. My point is that long before I asked He was already nudging someone to write out the very thing I needed to hear. This morning has been no different. As I read a devotional book entitled Jesus Calling I was struck by the exact nature of the words being the very thing I had talked with God about yesterday.

Yesterday was a day when my own weaknesses and searching surfaced. Frustration grew as I knew I still had tendencies to try and get needs met through relationships. There came a point when I wanted God to fix me in such a way that the needs would not be apparent to me and therefore I would not seek the meeting of those needs through others. I not only saw my “sources” as a problem, I saw the actual needs as a problem. Little did I realize that God intended to clear up my thinking in regards to this ongoing issue. What I was missing yesterday was shown to me in a precious way through the words of Sarah Young who wrote them four years ago! I share them with you now. Keep in mind that she writes as if Jesus is doing the talking.

Your needs and My riches are a perfect fit. I never meant for you to be self-sufficient. Instead, I designed you to need Me not only for daily bread but also for fulfillment of deep yearnings. I carefully crafted your longings and feelings of incompleteness, to point you to Me. Therefore, do not try to bury or deny these feelings. Beware also of trying to pacify these longings with lesser gods: people, possessions, power.

Come to Me in all your neediness, with defenses down and with desire to be blessed. As you spend time in My Presence, your deepest longings are fulfilled. Rejoice in your neediness, which enables you to find intimate completion in Me.

I am reminded once again of how lovingly and graciously God works to prepare answers for me long before I ask, so that when I ask I have no trouble hearing the answer. For years, I missed this aspect of Him and now I delight in it time and time again.

Father, my journey is filled with moments of Your perfect timing. I find pleasure in the times when my questions and Your answers come together with such unity and completion. Amen.

Will Lift My Eyes - Bebo Norman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtAjrNqEsoM&feature=related

When Others are in Need

To bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. Isaiah 61:3 (New International Version)

I have known what it was like to choose ashes, mourning, and despair over beauty, gladness, and praise. Those were not times of joy and delight for me or those close to me. Consumed with feelings of hopelessness and sorrow left me with little ability to see the light at the end of my tunnel as anything but an on coming train! The exchange of my crown, oil, and garment came through God’s work in my life and He often used books, music, and significant people. One person in particular saw my struggles and knew the truth of what God could do. She patiently and persistently reminded me of that truth until it made its way into my mind and heart. Do I still have days where the old ways of thinking and acting are evident? Absolutely! But those days are fewer and farther between and their duration is definitely shorter. It is still a journey and process of growth.

Now I am finding myself on the other end of the scenario as a person in my life is struggling with a propensity toward negativity and despair. He cannot see the hand of God in his life and squirms under the weight of his present circumstances. What I know to be true is that while he doesn’t have a choice in where he is at or why he is there, he does have a choice in how he views it all and what attitude he will carry throughout his days. My responsibility is not to change his heart, alter his circumstances, or allow his mindset to become mine. I in no way am to become a fellow pit dweller with him. That would benefit neither one of us. What I am to do, however, is pray Scripture over his life, speak truth to him when he wants to talk things out, and keep directing his attention back toward the One who views him as precious in His sight. In order to do that I must be daily reviewing truth myself, connecting with God, and choosing God’s view of things over my own.

I cannot give to this person anything I do not first possess for myself and I will not possess those things through any other source but God Himself. I have been ministered to in powerful ways and now I am poised to do the same for another in need. With that in mind, I anticipate with joy the way God is going to work in mighty ways. He will show us that His ways and thoughts are higher than our own. In that I delight!

Father, I look to You to help the one who is struggling. He is Your son and the clay upon Your potter’s wheel. I entrust his heart, mind, and life to You. Amen.

Go Light Your World - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVSHCbolJew&feature=related

He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction, to the comfort of your table laden with choice food. Job 36:16