"I be ok, I got Jesus"

Fear | “He doesn’t promise to save your business, or get your son off drugs, or bring your wife to Christ, or keep you from losing your job, but He does promise to save you. Rescue by Jesus is the great promise we have if we will only call out to Him when we are afraid.” – Patrick M. Morley The Man in the Mirror

scrip·ture | 2 Timothy 1:7 ⁷for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.

de·vo·tion | My oldest son has this deep seeded fear of basements. I am not exactly sure where the fear comes from, but no matter how many times you sit down to rationalize the situation, he sits and stairs at you and you can see in his eyes, “I don’t care how crazy it sounds, I am still scared out of my mind!” In our old house, he would never go down to the basement to get a toy by himself, no matter how much he wanted that toy. He would always blackmail his younger brother into going down with him.

One day, his brother was not around, and there was something in the basement he really wanted to play with. Of course, instead of being awesome parents and walking downstairs with him to make him feel safe, we decided to turn it into a teachable moment on facing your fears. We proceeded to rationalize the situation again, and you could see both the ever-present fear on his face, but you could also see the determination of wanting that toy so bad. After talking with him for a few moments, we left it up to him. If he wanted to play with the toy bad enough, he would have to go down to the basement by himself to go get it.

Thinking that he would give up on the toy, we went about doing whatever we were doing. All of the sudden, we look back, and our oldest is sitting at the top of the stairs saying something to himself out-loud. As we crept a little closer to him, we could finally hear him giving himself a pep talk. “I be ok, I got Jesus…I be ok, I got Jesus…I be ok, I got Jesus”, and off he ran in lightning speed down the stair. For about 30 seconds, he was able to give his fear and anxiety to God, and he grabbed the toy and brought it upstairs to play with.

I learned a great lesson from my oldest son that day. Even in my deep seeded fears, “I be ok, I got Jesus”. Where do you find yourself today with your anxieties, fears, and worries? Do you believe in your heart, “I be ok, I got Jesus” or do you rely upon yourself to get over your anxieties, fears, and worries?

prayer | LORD, as I think about my fears and how they can sometime debilitate me, I realize how much my entire soul has not been given up to You. You are truly my strong tower. In the times where I fear, grant me Your shelter LORD. I pray that Your Spirit is a constant companion that I can turn to like a friend. Give me the confidence and courage I need to fully grasp what it means to have a spirit not of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. Amen

Daily Alone Time with God |

Chapter of the Week | Proverbs 12

Mon·day | Isaiah 35:4 ⁴Say to those who have an anxious heart, "Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you."

Tues·day | John 14:27 ²⁷Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Wednes·day | Matthew 6:34 ³⁴"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Thurs·day | Psalm 23:4 ⁴Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Fri·day | 1 Peter 5:6-7 ⁶Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, ⁷casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Oh Good for Me

The Man in the Mirror | Chapters 16 | Pride | “A humble man does not look down on others. He can be both proud and humble at the same time—proud of himself without comparison to others and humble by not thinking of himself more highly than he ought.” – Patrick M. Morley

scrip·ture | Philippians 2:3-4 ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 

de·vo·tion | Have you ever been inspired by the Spirit? Inspired to the point that the words that come out of your mouth are not your words at all. Words that have such wisdom in them, you know they could not be of your own? Have you been in the position where after a conversation with someone about Christ or faith or God, the individual has been so moved, they come up to you afterwards and wholeheartedly thank you for that inspiration? The pride you feel in that moment is so overwhelming. The accomplishment is so tangible that your heart is overwhelmed with belonging and purpose. I have had these moments, actually, I continue to have these moment…”Oh good for me”, right?

I am not saying this so you see in me a Spiritual advisor looking for adoration. I am not saying this so you remember to come up to me and thank me. I am saying this, because I am confessing that in my heart of hearts, I actually want that, but it is that way of thinking that feeds my personal pride that I constantly battle with when trying to emulate the character of Christ. We are all called to live out the character of God, to love, do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, to live our life in humility and obedience. Jesus Christ, born a human, being of God and God yet chose to humble himself to the point of being exposed to the desires, emotions, and fleshly outcome we all face. Christ came into this world and became a king. Yet, not a king that exposed himself through flashy clothes or trumpets to announce his presence. He represented humbleness to the point of death. Humbleness to the point of taking no credit of the grace and blessings that had already being given to His people. Credit that was so richly deserved that Christ should have been praised while he walked this earth, praised in a way where his face was splashed on Billboards and his signature sought after, because his inspiring word has more depth than any 10 step help book. Yet, Christ did not seek that type of publicity, in fact, he always tended to avoid it. After many of his miracles, he asks that they tell no one. In his ministry, he did not seek to be glorified as king nor does he admit that he is God all too often.

“All glory to God our Father and Jesus Christ”, a message missing from my repertoire and vocabulary post a Spirit filled conversations. In many ways, we need validation as humans that what we have said or done in the name of Christ is inspiring. This validates in some way that we are abiding in what God asks of us. God knows that we need some form of praise as humans to move forward in our journey, a form of feedback that lets us know we are not off our rocker, and that what we are saying and doing is Spirit led. We must remember in those times to not dwell on the pride that comes with that validation or praise, but to thank and give praise to God for His inspiration. A lesson I must learn and live by.  I need to remember that it is gifts from God and the Spirit that provide me the ability to say and do things on His behalf. That he has put all of you on this earth to hold me accountable to living out the Word of God. That through your feedback, praise, and adoration, it keeps me motivated to keep living my life in the direction set before me in Christ. That I must also check my pride at the door and respond with a thank you, but also with “All glory to God our Father and Jesus Christ”. It is in for the honor of the Father we live in His son Jesus Christ.

prayer | LORD, I come to you with thanks and adoration.  I come to you with love and thankfulness.  I realize that I do not always abide in you even when I say and do what you ask of me.  That I seek praise and adoration for myself, and that my pride gets in the way of accepting praise for your Spirit filled words and wisdom.  I also thank you for giving me the feedback through the friends and peers that you surround me with.  Help me to keep that in mind when I stand in front and lead others on Your behalf.  Help me to honor you in all that I say and do.  That you break down the walls I surround myself with in selfishness and that I take a page out of Your Book and humble myself to the point of kneeling before you and confessing that Jesus Christ is Lord, and that all that I say and do is to the glory of God the Father.

Daily Alone Time with God |

 

Chapter of the Week | Proverbs 11

Mon·day | Galatians 6:4 ⁴But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.

Tues·day | James 4:6 ⁶But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

Wednes·day | Jeremiah 9:23 ²³Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,

Thurs·day | Philippians 2:3 ³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Fri·day | Proverbs 11:2 ²When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

When Did it Get So Heavy

The Man in the Mirror | Chapters 15 | Time Management: Doing God’s Will | “The effective time manager finds time for all of the priorities God has for the Christian.” – Patrick M. Morley

scrip·ture | Luke 12:34 ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

de·vo·tion | When I started my first job, I had purchased this stylish over the shoulder bags. It was great, because I didn’t have a ton to carry. I would have my small thermos filled with coffee, my Bible, and a couple of other papers letting me know where I needed to go on my first day on the job. As I continued on in my career, I noticed that I started carrying more and more to work and home everyday in my little bag. My little bag was starting to represent my life, I had more responsibility which meant a little bit bigger of a workload, as well as my Bible being buried by those extra little things I was carrying. Things were getting just a little to heavy for the bag, so I upgraded myself to one of those business backpacks. I started bringing a big thermos, my lunch, take home work, and at the bottom, my Bible remained. For a long time, the backpack worked. I was able to bring all of what I needed, and I was able to carry its weight without it being too much of a burden. After a while, I slowly started adding more and more to my business backpack. On top of my large thermos, my travel mug, my notebooks, business papers, and my Bible, I started bringing home my laptop and other reading materials. My business backpack was just not doing it anymore, my daily load was becoming too heavy, so I upgraded to one of those pull behind business thingys (technical term). I sat and wondered, when did it get so heavy? I had created layer upon layer of things inside my pull behind. My pull behind had become as complicated to navigate as my life had. I had added so much to it, that I didn’t know where to start and in my case, one of the most important things had gotten buried at the bottom. My Bible had gotten buried by my large thermos, my travel mug, my work papers, my laptop, podcasts, and Stephen King novels.

In that moment of realization, I started thinking of my pull behind briefcase and how it related to my spiritual life. You see, when I was born, all I had was one thing in my sleek little bag to worry about, and that was God. My faith with God was so simple. I did not have a lot to focus on but God, but then my parents started throwing little things into my bag and life started getting a little heavier. As I continued to grow, as a teenager, I became even more independent. There were things I wanted to do, and carrying that load with a little bag wasn’t going to do it anymore. I upgraded to a backpack and started adding all of those personal things to it. I started adding sports, games, girls, etc, and my back pack continued getting heavier and heavier and God kept on getting buried. As I got older, I got married, had some kids, and got a career. My backpack was no longer going to work, I needed to get a pull behind briefcase to carry the burdens I added to my life. Not only was I taking care of my family, kids, and work, I started burying God with novels, podcasts, technical work documents, and Facebook. At some point I asked myself, when did life become so heavy and why has it gotten so complicated? I realized that I needed to start pulling things out of my pull behind briefcase and prioritize those things that had gotten buried. I needed to find out what I was doing to complicate my life and I identify what was keeping me away from doing what God had created me for.

Take some time and be honest with yourself, how heavy has your pull behind briefcase become. What have you added to it that has you saying things like, “I don’t have time to read the Bible?”. When you unzip your bag, what do you see at the top? Start identifying those things that you can remove and will allow you to bring God to the top.

prayer | LORD, when did life become so heavy? I really can’t believe I have spent so much time burying you with things that took me further and further away from You. Forgive me for that selfishness LORD. I pray LORD that You help me to sacrificially cut out those things in my backpack that take me away from spending time with You in Your Word and prayer. Give me strength LORD to prioritize You to the top and help me to lessen the burden I have made for myself. Amen

Daily Alone Time with God |

Chapter of the Week | Proverbs 16

Mon·day | Matthew 6:33 ³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Tues·day | Romans 12:2 ²Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Wednes·day | 2 Timothy 2:22 ²²So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

Thurs·day | Philippians 3:13-14 ¹³Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, ¹⁴I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Fri·day | 1 Peter 2:21 ²¹To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.