Day 13: Keeping up with the Jones

Today we are reading Proverbs 13 and Psalm chapters 61-65. Ask God to open your heart and mind today to receive his truths!

-Read Scripture-

The idea of appearances, image, and reputation play a huge role in our society. We dress, make purchases, and drive cars to impress those around us. We want people around us to think we have it all together. Most people spend finances way beyond their means to "keep up with the Jones". (Must be other Jones! ;) If you look past the car they drive, house they live in, and clothes they wear, their bank account is empty. Even worse, their hearts and minds are full of stress, frustration, and depression.

God invites us into another different life, one without the stress and anxiety that comes with living beyond your means. One of peace and contentment, free of trying to impress your friends, family, or neighbors.

I believe the first thing we need to realize to fully embrace this free way of living is realizing this: That this life, our lives on this Earth is not our finale. It's only Act 1. Everything of this earth is not real, not permanent. It doesn't carry on with us. Psalm 63:9 says, "Human beings disappear like a breath; even people of rank live artificial lives. Their weight is that of a breath in a balance-nothing. Added together, they're still lighter than air." The Voice

I love that this verse says, "even people with rank live artificial lives." Even the people we think have it all, movie stars, sports heros, and politicians live artificial lives. Not lasting, and perhaps, not real.

Secondly, we must let go of appearances. Its funny, we know they mean nothing anyway, we know that things are never what they seem. But we still strive to maintain them! We need to let them go, and only focus on what our heavenly father thinks of us and our lives, not our friends and neighbors. Don't look to the right or left, only up. Two of my favorite verses are:

"A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life." Proverbs 13:7 The Message

"Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant than pretend to be somebody and have no food." Proverbs 12: 9 TNIV

Plain and simple.

Plain and simple, huh. I really really like the sound of that. Talk about going against the grain of culture. One of my favorite books is "The Irresistible Revolution" by Shane Claiborne. I highly recommend this read. It a book about how a young man from Philadelphia who came to this same conclusion. If you want to learn more about him and The Simple Way, his organization, go to www.thesimpleway.org.

After realizing that the tangible "treasures" of this world won't last and that they don't matter, it is time to focus on the treasures that WILL last, the things we do for eternity. Our service for others, helping others grow in their relationship with Christ, spreading love to the unlovable, giving of our time and resources to support those people doing these things. Being Christ's hands and his feet to his fellow followers and those he is pursuing!

My challenge for us today and for the rest of this month. Let us let go of the desire to impress those around us. Let's choose to serve God with our willingness to give, rather than our friend who just bought a new car. May culture and the world around look at us like we are crazy because of our reckless pursuit of all things ETERNAL!

Abba, give us eternity goggles! Let us see everything through that lens. Today, that is my only prayer for us. Amen!

Day 8: The Overflow.

Today we are reading Proverbs chapter 8 and Psalm chapters 36-41. Before you begin, ask God to reveal to you something about yourself today. Either something good that maybe you have never recognized before, or something that you need to work on.

-Read Scriptures-

"I'm ready to meet those who love me, bestow true riches upon them, and fill up their lives until their treasuries overflow." Proverbs 8:21 The Voice

If you get nothing else from this study, I want you to understand this promise. That you can live a life full of true riches. That your life can be in a constant overflow.

I know this to be true because I am living it right now. Ever since I have fully given myself over to God, not holding back, submitting to him, and spending time with him everyday, I have lived in a constant state of overwhelm-ment. (I just made that word up, it's that awesome and intense, it deserves it's own word. :)  In every aspect of my life, I feel overwhelmed. (In a very good way of course). The Holy Spirit's presence and power in my life is overwhelming, people's generosity and capacity for goodness overwhelm me, God's words overwhelm me, my children's growth and progress, financially, blessing upon blessing, etc. Even my business, COLORS, is in a constant state of over-flow, (not as much financially, lol, but being able to watch God work has been SO exciting!)

Everywhere I look, everywhere I go, in everything I seem to do, God shows up. And it is always in a way that is so obviously him, all credit goes to him. That is not to say that things are always easy. That doesn't mean that there aren't moments of sadness, frustration, disappointment, or suffering. But it DOES mean that in those moments of darkness, I NEVER feel alone or hopeless. And even in the hard, tedious work, I know that God will take my efforts and make more of them than I ever could. Truly knowing and believing that God is always working in, with, and through me, gives me peace. Even when I feel I can do nothing right, knowing that he is always in control and can turn my mess into a masterpiece, makes me feel brave and confident. To me, that is true riches! 

Which is why I know that this could be your life too. It has NOTHING to do with me or the individual, just their desire to serve and honor God with their lives. He provides my needs, He gives me my heart's desire, He sends the people into my life, He provides the finances, He provides the words and encouragement I need, etc.

Psalm 37:4-6 in TNIV says: "Take delight in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun." 

The "reward" and "treasuries" referred to in both scriptures are not monetary (in my opinion). Money and earthly riches can be taken, stolen, or lost. The overflow that I've experienced can not be taken away.

The tangible presence of God in my life.
My joy.
My confidence.
My peace.

All of these things are available to you. You can live a life full of abundance and overwhelm-ment! God has blessed me beyond measure, and even in the trials and difficult moments, I have found SO much peace and joy knowing that God uses these things to take us where we need to go. That refinement requires fire. And even though the fire can be painful, it's results can be immeasurable and beautiful. When you really thing about it that way, it can be very overwhelming. In a good way. :)

My prayer for you today:

Abba, I pray for every single person doing this study right now, in this very moment. That you fill them so full of your presence that it overflows in tears. That you give them a tangible reminder that you desire to overflow us, with you. That you have a life so FULL ready for us, we can not even comprehend. A life full of blessings and joy. A life full of peace and confidence. A life living every day aware of your presence. A life full of contentment and love. A life full of forgiveness and grace. A life FULL of you. I give mine over to you today, you can do so much more with it than I ever could. I pray the same for my friends.

Give them a glimpse today, let today be the day that they know everything has changed. I pray that every single one of my friends claim these treasures and riches you have for them right now. We are your children, and this is our inheritance. We don't have to wait for it, it's available to us here and now. Thank you for it. Thank you for giving us these things that we don't deserve. Thank you for loving us through all our mistakes and failures. Thank you for loving us through the fire. Thank you for making us into something beautiful. We desire to honor and glorify you in all we say and do today.

Amen.