Hidden Agendas

Then Herod, when he realized that he had been misled by the wise men, was furiously enraged, and he sent and put to death all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that territory who were two years old and under, reckoning according to the date which he had investigated diligently and had learned exactly from the wise men. Matthew 2:16 (Amplified Bible)

Herod’s rage led to murder but it was based in the idea that he had been betrayed. At least that was the lie he told himself and decided to believe. He was actually the one who was doing the misleading by seeking to convince the wise men that he intended on worshiping the Christ child. Had he told them the truth, they would have never agreed to return to him with information of where to find the babe. Unbeknownst to him, God had revealed his hidden agenda to the wise men and directed them to return home another route. They listened to God and followed His instructions. Herod was not a seeker of truth therefore he never found it. He also never found the freedom that comes from knowing and walking in the truth.

I have been guilty of the same “Herod mentality.” Many have been the hidden agendas of my own heart that I thought would remain my secret in order to get what I wanted or get my needs met. I know now that God will not allow that form of manipulation to continue in the life of any child of His. He loves me too much to permit me to stay in bondage to such thinking and actions. He also loves His other children too much to allow my manipulation to affect them. It has been a two step process that He has been walking me through.

First, I had to see the truth of my own heart for myself. I had to see what I was doing and why I was doing it. I had to be honest with myself and God as to the condition of my internal world and the insecurities and fears that were a part of me. Then, I had to be willing to admit the truth to another individual. I have noticed that the more I do that, the more I walk in freedom. What I am not willing to admit to myself or others will continue to master and control me. When I allow myself to “blow my own cover” I am empowered to go beyond the places of imprisonment.

I am not one for standing before a congregation or group of people and admitting every weakness and failure I have ever had. But I am convinced that one-on-one acknowledgement with a trusted friend opens me up to a world of healing that I have known little of up to this point.

Father, keep showing me the hidden agendas of my heart. I know now the freedom that comes from getting out in the open what the enemy seeks to keep concealed and out of sight. Amen.

He Knows My Name - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXsiWoyjw60&feature=related

Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

A Necessary Change of View

Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law. Psalm 119:18 (Amplified Bible)

How I approach God’s Word, interact with it, and allow it to impact my life can become defining moments for me. I have been guilty of seeing the Bible as merely documented, historical facts. Before I became a Christian it held no appeal to me. After I became a Christian it was one of the initial things I reached for. The first time I read it through from cover to cover the stories astounded me! I had never heard of the people I read about and taking in knowledge of them was exhilarating. That is a good thing but if I go no further in my view and relationship to Scripture, knowledge alone will have very little effect on me. When my present journey began, nearly five years ago, I asked God to show me His heart in Scripture. He has faithfully been doing that. My view of God has changed as has my relationship with Him. Again, that is a good thing but God desires more. His Word is meant to be more to me than a book of knowledge and truth about Himself. It is meant to be that which uncovers my eyes, heart, and mind. To be a well spring of teaching and instruction that takes me beyond my own power and ability to live the life God created me to live.

This morning, I desired once again to read through the Bible this year, but God had more in mind for me than simply reading His Word. Within the first few verses of Genesis He clearly nudged me to begin praying the words I was reading. Some of what I was reading would evoke praise and acknowledgement of Him. Some became actual requests. Reading of God’s assignments and tasks given to Adam, I prayed I would be faithful in the things He gives me to do. Reading of Adam and Eve hiding from God, caused me to pray I would take the route of confession rather than hiding. Reading that God gave Eve to Adam to be a helper who was suitable, adaptable, and complementary to him, led me to pray I would be that more fully to my own husband.

What has happened this morning is that I have finally begun to see the Bible as a prayer book! Not just when I am reading actual prayers in the Bible. Every circumstance and individual account can become a guide for me to pray over my life and the lives of those I know. To ask for qualities and characteristics to become part of me and to release those things that should no longer be a part of my life.

I can tell already, that this is not going to be a light reading. This is going to be God’s Word coming alive to me in ways I have not begun to know as of yet. I have no words to express fully my emotions and thoughts at the moment. All I can say is, “Thank You, Jesus.”

Father, open my physical eyes as well as my spiritual eyes to the many wondrous things Your Word possesses. As I get into Your Word, let it get into me and change me. Amen.

Open the Eyes of My Heart - Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wutmEjdbedE&feature=related

Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

Knowing Ahead of Time

I have told you this now, before it happens, so that when it happens, you will believe. John 14:29 (New Century Version)

Jesus’ words to His disciples came while He was telling them of His departure. Numerous times He told them of what lay ahead…His arrest, crucifixion, and subsequent resurrection. He wanted them to know that things would change but this wasn’t meant to scare them. It was meant to help them live in truth. Jesus understood how easily people can be led into false sources of security and permanence. He knew their perception was one that He would remain with them in a physical body and proceed to establish His kingdom here on earth. To allow them to continue to live with such a view would not be acting out of love. It would set them up for a huge amount of disappointment when the end would come of what they knew. At the time, it was hard for them to take in all that He was telling them but that did not stop Him from saying what they needed to hear.

I have known the tragic result of thinking something was permanent when it wasn’t. Of looking at a relationship through rose colored glasses with the belief that it would never go through changes much less end. My purpose was never to do without significant this individual. My purpose was to continue to live under the safe canopy of her encouraging words, giving heart, and well of wisdom. It was where I was at and where I wanted to stay. Oh, the devastation that awaits us when we refuse to see the truth. When change did come to the relationship I feasted on, I took it as rejection and abandonment, instead of God directed and God purposed change. It has been a long and arduous road out of my valley of grief and heartache.

How different a present relationship is. I am aware of the tentative nature of this relationship. I am aware of a time coming when the scope, purpose, and necessity of this relationship will cease to be. Not the entire relationship but this aspect of it. I am aware of it because we have talked about it and it was presented to me in such a way that I could understand. My desire is no longer to continually live under the watchful care of the one God is presently using. My desire is to know God in such a way that when the time comes for change I will walk prepared and ready for that change. I can so easily go into the mode of one who hunkers down and waits for an approaching storm but that is merely self-preparation. In prayer, last night, God let me know the preparations of my heart are from Him. As I walk in obedience and openness to Him, He will get me ready for upcoming transitions.

Father, You don’t always tell me the things that lie ahead, but this time You knew that I needed to know. I will forever be grateful for such knowledge. Amen.

My Life is in Your Hands - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlmYxZAgrGI

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

Crossroads

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Philippians 4:8 (New Living Translation)

The difference between God’s Word being in me and God’s Word impacting me is whether or not I apply it to my every day life. I can take in the truth of what God is saying quite easily and I can speak or write that truth to others just as easily. The difficulty comes when I am faced with the decision to implement it into my life and see it make a difference. God’s Word is certainly alive and powerful but I often don’t reap the benefits of that because I stop short of doing what it says….especially in regards to taking my thoughts captive and living out the practical truth of today’s verse.

Many have been the times when my perceptions would take over and I would opt to let them. I told a friend this past weekend that it is like I come to a crossroads in my mind and I fail to move forward in the right direction. Rather than thinking on what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable I continue to think on the wrong things. I get a picture in my mind of what I think a situation is or what I perceive another person is thinking and I stay there. While I know it is a choice I make I don’t always know why I make it.

My ray of hope for change came when God let me see this process as a crossroads. A crossroads to me is a place in my mind whereby I can choose to stay where I am at emotionally or mentally or I can choose to step into the realm of truth. It takes mere seconds but I have recently experienced the freedom that comes from crossing over into right thinking. It requires three simple steps. Recognizing when a shift in my mood or feelings has transpired, realizing I am at a crossroads in my mind, and making a conscious decision to take that necessary step toward truth. For now, this is not a daily event…it is an hourly moment by moment necessity. Of the dozen or more times that I have chosen to do this in the last 24 hours it never failed to work…not once!

Being a prisoner of ones thoughts and perceptions is living life at its worst. I rejoice in God who saw my plight and offered me a way out. His Words are not only commands but vital options He will help me to take.

Father, I marvel at the power of Your Word and Spirit working in me. They both serve as my support each time I choose to move ahead at the crossroads. Amen.

Can't Live a Day Without You - Avalon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGCQnwn2hIQ&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

What He Wants Me to Know

I have carried you since you were born; I have taken care of you from your birth. Even when you are old, I will be the same. Even when your hair has turned gray, I will take care of you. I made you and will take care of you. I will carry you and save you. Isaiah 46:3,4 (New Century Version)

If there is one thing I have learned about God it is that He has special purposes for pin-pointing areas in our life. Although it can be uncomfortable at times to have the light of truth shine on the very things we want to hide or run from, God’s purpose is to show us where we need His touch and transformation. It took me a long time to begin to see that He wasn’t condemning me but rather showing me where He wanted to work.

A couple days ago, I squirmed at the fact that I saw how easily I look to people to take care of me. Being under someone else’s care can make me feel safe and loved. But God wants me to see it is a false sense of safety and a counterfeit source of security. Temporary and inadequate at best. How He longs for me to see Him as the One who is really able to take care of me in every area of my life. I am still not sure why I am so convinced at times that I could be content otherwise. Not sure why people seem like such good sources. In time, He will let me know…of that I am sure.

For now, He is allowing His words through Isaiah to speak to me in a personal way. Most translations will use the word “carry” through out this passage. Last night I came across the New Century Version and the phrase “I will take care of you” was what I needed to hear God saying to me….all three times! It was like He was saying, “You want to be cared for. I will do that for you. Let Me care for you in a way you have never known on a human level. My ways are not only higher than your ways but also higher than their ways. Trust Me. Rely on Me. Rest in Me. Learn to be cared for by Me.”

Why is this so important for me to get? Because when the Bible speaks of God caring for us it means to look after, care for, pay attention to, attend to, take charge of, and watch over. Those are the exact things I have looked to people to do for me. God knows that and is intent on helping me see that only He can fill such a role in my life. Only He can be that watchful and attentive.


Father, let the truth of Your care impact my life in such a way that my desire to be cared for is finally directed toward You. Amen.

Be Still
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMaIEmliQt0&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.

Living By Kingdom Principles

And again He said, ”To what shall I compare the kingdom of God? It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.” Luke 13:20,21 (New American Standard Bible)


There are kingdom principles throughout Scripture that we need to familiarize ourselves with. They are ways for God to teach us how He works and how the Christian life is suppose to operate. If we do not know His kingdom principles for our every day life we will flounder at taking truth and allowing it to work in us. God has set up His rule and reign in our life in order for us to live life to the fullest.

The kingdom principle of this passage is that God’s work is an internal work that has an effect on my whole person. I love word pictures and Jesus used many of them to explain concepts and truths that are often hard to grasp. Here He is taking a simple concept of adding yeast to flour in order to see God’s principle at work. God’s work in us is such that He affects change for us from the inside out.

I found it interesting to see how yeast actually works. This explanation I found on the web fascinated me….The yeast's function in baking is to ferment sugars present in the flour or added to the dough. This fermentation gives off carbon dioxide and ethanol. The carbon dioxide is trapped within tiny bubbles and results in the dough expanding, or rising. In other words it is a process of growth, multiplication, and change. You are not able to add yeast to dough and not see a change in the dough. The change is profound and evident!

Too many of us live with the concept that if we just change the way we act it will somehow produce inward change. That is backward to God’s kingdom principles. His intent is for us to be changed internally through taking in Scripture, the working of His Spirit in us, and our cooperation with Him. It is not something we do but rather something we allow to be done in us. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” The KJV says it is “both to will and to do of His good pleasure.” I need that reminder often lest I begin to once again live my Christian life out of self effort, behavior modification, and performance. I want my heart to be like the flour mentioned in today’s verse. It simply becomes the breeding ground for the yeast to do its work just as my heart becomes the breeding ground for God's Word and Spirit to do their work.

Father, keep reminding me that it is YOUR work in me that I need. You will do in me what You want to do through me. Amen.

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

Ready to Learn How to Live

Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. 1 Timothy 6:18-20 (New American Standard Bible)

What are the things I need to be instructed in and taught? That which does not come naturally to me. I often think about the ones God has sent into my life to instruct me and what it was He wanted them to teach me. If I was open to their words I was the richer for it, but if not, I remained unaware of how to take hold of life! I am well aware of the result of living in a Proverbs 5:13 mode of not listening “to the voice of my teachers nor inclining my ear to my instructors.” The lessons they desired to teach me fell on closed ears and an unreceptive heart. The tools for living they so lovingly wanted to place in my hands remained unnoticed and unused. It wasn’t that they didn’t instruct me. It was that I wasn’t allowing myself to be their student. I was too busy beating myself up over the things I didn’t know when all the while they were saying, “Let me teach you!”

Last night, a friend remarked during a study, that we have to be taught to do the right things. Living right does not come naturally to any of us. I had no trouble knowing where to apply her words to my life. What comes naturally to me is to live by my perceptions, opinions, and judgments of others. What I need to learn is how to know the truth, believe the truth, and walk in the truth. My perceptions are counter productive and destructive. Truth will set me free and allow me to take hold of life in a richer way. I have to learn the difference between my perceived truth and actual truth.

This is going to require some help. Just as I would no more perform surgery on myself (even if I were able to perform surgery) I cannot be my own instructor. I must be willing to sit at the feet of those God has called to teach me, just as He called Timothy to teach others. It will not only be individuals who will stand in as my instructors, it will also be the circumstances of life. Life’s lessons are not limited to one individual or one classroom. Jesus taught through various settings and used a variety of visual aides. He has not changed. If I truly see Him as my Instructor I will allow Him to use whatever means or whoever He chooses to teach me.

Father, I am ready to learn that which You have desired to teach me for quite some time. My ears are open, my heart is receptive, and my eyes are on You. Use whatever method or individual You deem best. Amen.

The Potter's Hand - A Capella Christian Music
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2fEr8S4vj8&feature=related

I am honored and privileged to share these devotional thoughts with you each day. Feel free to forward them on to those whom you think would benefit from them. Also feel free to copy them for your personal files or notebooks. May God individualize each one for you.