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Day 10: J is for Joy

“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of JOY; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” Psalm 16:11

J is for Joy. Joy is a feeling of great pleasure, happiness, or delight. According to this definition, one could easily think that joy was an emotion. But, it is not.

There is so much heard and seen in the world today about happiness. It seems like it is a world-wide … or at the minimum, a nation-wide … epidemic, correct? It seems like we are over-run with unhappiness. What is the world’s answer? Make yourself happy! They tell you to stop letting others dictate your life. In other words, DO things that make YOU happy! Hmm!? It makes me believe that happiness is based on the circumstances around me. Is that what you are seeing as well?

The definitions of joy and happiness are very similar, and, therefore, can be mistaken as one and the same. But, as I study this word, I am seeing more and more of a difference between the two.

In fact, out of curiosity, I looked up to see how many times the word happy was found in the Bible. It is found 25 times. That really is not a substantial amount seeing as there are 783,137 words in the King James Bible. So, that means that the word happy appears in .00003 percent of the words of the entire Bible. Wow! That is a great indicator of how important our happiness should be in our lives.

Now, look at the word joy. It is found 187 times. I did not read each of the verses with happy and joy in them, but I read enough to see a pattern coming forth. “What is that pattern?” you ask. Well, I see where happiness was always surrounded by happenings. Joy was always surrounded by inner peace and contentment that had nothing to do with the circumstances surrounding it. Take time today to check it out yourself and see if you can see this as well.

Out of all of the verses on joy, I love Psalm 16:11 because it just seems to so simply put true joy into perspective … and I need simple! True joy is found in God, my friend! You can try to change all of the circumstances around you in search of that peace and that happiness, but you will never find it … aside from God Himself!

True joy comes from being close to God … being in His presence … and being obedient to Him. It is not all about Y-O-U, my friend, but it is all about Him! I am sure that you have heard of the simple acrostic for J-O-Y (Jesus-Others-You). When we put Jesus first, others and yourself will fall into their proper place (Matthew 6:33). When you spell Y-O-U backward, what do you have? U-O-Y … does that even make sense? No, because U are in the way! Put J-esus first and then you will have J-O-Y!

Lesson Objective: To understand the difference between joy and happiness. To understand how “U” (you) can get in the way of true joy. To learn to put J-esus first, followed by others, and leaving yourself (“U”) for last.

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 9: I is for Individuality

“I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made …” Psalm 139:14

I is for Individuality. Wow! That is a mouthful, is it not? So, what in the world does this word actually mean? It means the quality or character that distinguishes one person from another.

Think about that for a minute … God made each one of us different. There are not two of me anywhere on this earth. I have known sets of twins before and no matter how close they look alike on the outside, they have their own personality on the inside.

Now, I know that you are wondering why I even picked this word for today’s devotion … and to answer that question, ‘I can only say it was God” … because who does not use I for Indian, right? Me, I guess!

There is such a wide variety of angles that we can look at this word from, so let us begin!

First, as an individual … a person uniquely myself … I should not be judging others according to my own makeup, my own ideas, nor my own thoughts. Matthew 7:1 says to, “Judge not, that ye be not judged” I am not to make myself the plumb-line (guideline for all others to be measured by). God’s Word is our only true guideline and He is our only true Guide. Let us let Him do the guiding.

Second, as individuals, we are not to compare ourselves with others. II Corinthians 10:12 says, “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: [for] they … are not wise.” We all know what the opposite of wise is and we surely do not want to be thought that, do we? So, let us not compare ourselves with others and let us try not to make others fit into our mold … because my mold only fits one person … ME!

Thirdly, there are times where we think that because someone else does not do as we say or act the way that we want them to act, that they must change to meet our expectations. Guilty! So, who died and made me boss? Umm … no one! I know it is hard to accept, but we cannot change anyone … our spouse, our child, the cashier at the grocery store, the dog groomer … NO one! Only God can do that! He is the One who is all-powerful! Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah Lord God! … there is nothing too hard for thee.”

Last, but definitely not least, we are individually going to have to stand before a righteous and holy God one day and give an account of our lives. We see this in Ecclesiastes 12:14. No one else can do that for us. Matthew 12:36 tells us that even every idle word that we speak will be brought into account. Oh my!

Lesson Objective: To understand how my individuality affects those around me. To understand that as an individual, I will have to give an account one day for things that I alone have done.

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 8: H is for Holy

“Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.” I Peter 1:16

H is for Holy. What do you think that the definition of the word holy is? Well, holy means to be morally and spiritually excellent; to be pure; to be dedicated or consecrated to a life of righteousness. I always thought of holiness as purity. But, as we see here, it is so much more!

You all know how I LOVE definitions and using my dictionary when studying my Bible. Why would I want to do that? Well, for this very reason … because I have heard most of these verses preached on sometime in my lifetime. In fact, many of these verses I have committed to memory over the years. But … you just knew there was a ‘but’ coming, did you not … when I go back to those verses and look up the words, they take me to an entirely different level of understanding. If you have never done this, I strongly encourage you to do so … and soon!

What is the command that we find here? To BE holy! Wow! The command could not be more simple or more plain, could it? Yet, have we obeyed it? Oops! I do not know about you, but I failed that test … BIG time!

Have you ever carried on … or tried to carry on … a conversation with an analytical, detailed person? Whew! It is a chore, is it not? I am that person; yet, there are times when I have been talking with others that I Just want to scream, “Just get to the point! Stop dilly-dallying around and just spit it out!” Are you like this? Now, be honest! I know that I am not the only one who is like this.

There are times when we need the details and knowing every step before we take it. But, this is most assuredly not one of those times! We just, in simple faith, need to obey!

We, as Christians, can get so lazy and so lackadaisical in our Christian lives that our only goal seems to be how we can portray to others (in hopes to convince them … and oftentimes ourselves) that we are a Christian. We do this totally over-looking the fact that if we are truly a Christian that we are called to not only be a follower (“be ye holy, [even as] I am holy”) of Christ, but we are to be LIKE Christ … HOLY!

We want the name of Christ, but at the same time, we do not want to live too closely to Him. I mean, what would others think of me then? We would be called one of those “goody-two-shoes,” or an “extremist,” or a “holier-than-thou” person. That is the last thing that we would want. But, the fact still remains … we are to be HOLY!

Lesson Objective: To understand what true holiness is. To understand that it is more than just being clean and pure, but it is something that we dedicate or commit or consecrate our whole being to. Is that you? Is that where you find yourself, my friend?

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 7: G is for God

“Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me.” Isaiah 46:9

G is for God. God means the Creator and Ruler of the universe; one who is the source of morality. Many believe that there are no gods. Others believe that there are multiple gods. Then there are others who believe that there is one, true and living God. That is my God!

This past week we had Vacation Bible School at church. The theme this year was “God Always Wins!” I absolutely loved this theme! Why? Because it clearly showed us from God’s Word that there is only one God. We saw that in our verse for today too. Not only is there no other God, but there are no other gods who can even compare to our God!

Sunday we saw that God wins over kings and armies. We see this in numerous passages of the Bible. One example is one of my favorite Bible stories that is found in Judges chapter 7. In this chapter, we see the story unfold of Gideon facing the Midianites. The Lord told Gideon that there was a problem though, and that problem was that Gideon had too many men in his army. So the Lord weeded out the weak and fearful ones, 31,700 in all, leaving him with only 300 men. But, God was with those 300 men and they were able to defeat the 135,000 Midianites. Truly God always wins!

Monday we saw that God wins over all other gods. I Kings 18 was the setting to the lesson on that night. This is another Bible story with a powerful message. Elijah, with complete faith in his God, stood up against the 450 prophets of Baal. No matter how hard the prophets of Baal tried to get their god to bring fire down upon their sacrifice, it did not happen. But, what did happen? The true and living God, the God of Elijah, not only brought fire down from heaven but completely consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, the dust and all of the water that surrounded it. God always wins!

Tuesday we saw that God wins over Satan. Romans 3:23 tells us, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” But, then Romans 5:8 does not leave us in that place … “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ became our sacrifice. He shed His very own blood that we might live. God always wins!

Wednesday we saw that God wins over all other masters. Matthew 6:24 tells us that “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other …” How many times have we found ourselves trying to serve man and the world around us when we need to be serving God ALONE? It does not work, my friend! Do as Joshua did in Joshua 24:15, “… choose you this day whom ye will serve …” God always wins!

Lesson Objective: To understand that there is only one true and living God. To understand that no matter who or what our God goes up against, He ALWAYS wins! Is this your God? Are you living in defeat in the battles of life? If so, you have the wrong god. You need the God with a capital “G!”

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 6: F is for False

“A faithful witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.” Proverbs 14:5

F is for false. False means opposite of truth; incorrect. Merriam-Webster even takes it a step further and defines it as “intentionally untrue; adjusted or made so as to deceive; intended or intending to mislead.”1

This world is more black and white than we think or admit. Because no matter how we “slice” it, it always comes back to black or to white. It is either false or it is true. We talked extensively about lying in Day 11 and Day 12 of the July 2019 devotionals, so we will not go back over that, but I do want us to see some truths today about falsehood.

It is like when a witness is sworn in into a court of law. They swear to “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth”2 In layman’s terms … just in case we did not understand what that means … it means that “you will not lie, you won’t leave anything out, and you won’t try to deceive or mislead anyone.”2 Wowzer! I believe that nailed it on the head right there, did it not?

How can we know what is true and what is false though? Well, God did not leave us hanging on this one because He tells us in John 17:17 that His “Word is truth.” If God’s Word is the truth (white), then what is false (black)? Anything that does not match up with God’s Word, correct? What is the easiest way to spot a falsehood? To know the truth!

If I had a flat tire … and my husband was not around … and someone was trying to instruct me over the phone how to change a tire, I would follow their instructions. Why? Because I would believe that they have more experience than me changing tires … because, in my half a century of life, I have never changed a single tire! Now, if someone were to come to me and try to tell me how to bake a cake, that would be a different story because I know how to bake a cake. Do you follow me here?

Being in ministry and constantly working with people, you begin to learn them. There have been times when we have been confronted with someone or something and it just did not “sit” right. Some things just did not add up in the equation. Why do you think that was? Because there was something there that was not supposed to be in the equation!

People can try to deceive us with their words and actions, but the truth of God’s Word will reveal their lies, their deceitfulness, and their true self. It is like in a quiz or test with true/false answers. It can only be either true or it can be false. It cannot be both!

May we live a life of truth before God and all men, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Lesson Objective: To understand what it means to bear a false witness. Have you been studying the truth (God’s Word) so that you may spot falsehood when confronted with it? Have you been trying to live a false (deceitful) life before others?

Did you pass or did you fail?

1http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/false 2http://www.johnfoy.com/glossary/oath/

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Day 5: E is for Examine

“But let a man examine himself …” I Corinthians 11:28

E is for examine. Examine is to inspect in detail; to investigate thoroughly; to test for purity and accuracy. Some may get examine confused with examination because they look and sound so similar … and they are actually related. Examine is an action verb. An examination is a noun meaning the actual act of examining something.

Our verse today talks about a man examining himself. Why would a man need to examine himself? Well, remember that the context of this verse is the Lord’s Supper. When we come before the Lord’s Supper, we are to examine ourselves … in short, to see if we have any unconfessed sins in our lives.

Why do we need to confess sin in our lives? Why can we not just leave it there? Well, think about your house. If you leave dirty dishes in your sink today and then add more tomorrow and more the next day, what happens? Pretty soon you are over-run by dirty dishes and you have nothing clean left in the cupboards. Am I correct? Not only that, but when you do finally decide to do dishes, it is going to be so much harder and take so much longer.

I do not know about you, but I have come to an age and stage in my life where I like a clean kitchen. Do not come in my kitchen and not wash the glass or dish that you used and definitely do not leave it for later without at least rinsing it out. I LOVE how I feel when my kitchen is clean! Because I love that feeling, I do all in my power to make sure that it stays that way.

It is interesting to watch pre-teens as they move into the teen years. Do you remember those pre-teen years? The years where you did not really care about your appearance nor how clean you were or how clean your clothes were. But,   seemingly, one day you woke up and all that changed, did it not? What happened? You matured to the point where you keenly felt that fabulous clean feeling … and you then did all in your power to make sure that you stayed that way!

In our Christian lives, we can leave the filth and dirt of sin untouched and pretty soon we are so coated that we have not only lost our effectiveness, but we have lost our sensitivity as well. But, one day, when we came before a righteous and holy God, something changed, did it not? You learned what it felt like to be clean. He is the one who can help you to be clean again! Let Him search your heart! Let Him try you! Let Him show you where you need to be clean!

Psalm 139:23-24 “Search ME, O God, and know MY heart: try ME, and know MY thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in ME, and lead ME in the way everlasting.”

Lesson Objective: To understand what it means to examine yourself. Have you met a righteous and holy God? Have you been cleansed by His precious blood, but now you find yourself not caring anymore about the sin in your life? Today is a perfect day to examine and search out those sins. You can be clean again!

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 4: D is for Duplicity

“A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” James 1:8

D is for duplicity. Duplicity is a deceitfulness with it’s roots in dealing doubly. What does this actually mean in layman’s terms? Well, it is living a double standard. It is living one way in certain circumstances or around certain people and living another way in other circumstances and around other people. In short, it is deceit. I do not know about you, but we have not even gotten out of the first paragraph of this devotion and God has already smote my heart! Forgive me, Lord!

Do you remember in Matthew 26 when Jesus was taken to Caiaphas and “Peter followed him afar off?” (verse 58) Peter had just been spending time with Jesus, but then what happened? He lagged behind when things got hot, so instead of being in the forefront, he was left outside of the palace (verse 69) with the others. But, when questioned about his connection with Christ, he very boldly denied it.

Do we not do the same exact thing as Christians? Do we not put forth an appearance that we are right there with Jesus? I mean we have been saved and in church for decades. We speak His name here and there and even say a prayer now and then. But, when things heat up and circumstances change, we are like a chameleon and our colors very quickly change.

After Peter had been confronted the third time, he just lost it. He then began to curse and swear! Have you found yourself in this place before? A place where living a double life just about drove you crazy. The more that you tried, the more out of control it got and before you knew it, it all went up in flames. What a tragedy!

But, if we keep reading, what do we find? As soon as that cock crew, Peter’s heart was smote. That is when he went out from that place and he wept sorely … you know those deep, gut-wrenching sobs … the ones that you have not experienced in your life since you were a child … where you have been so broken by your sin, that it completely overwhelmed you. I know! I have been there!

How long has it been, my friend, since you found yourself in Peter’s shoes? It is time to change. It is time to find ourselves back in that place where our hearts are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s convicting power. The closer that we are to Him, the greater the conviction will be. Stay close to Him! Stop living a life of duplicity. You are only deceiving yourself!

Lesson Objective: To understand what duplicity is. Do you find yourself lagging behind like Peter? You are there at church, but then you are not there. You read and study your Bible and then you do not read or study your Bible. You speak the language of a Christian and then you speak the language of the world. Have you found yourself on your face recently on your face completely broken by your sin of living a double life?

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 3: C is for Clean

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.” Psalm 119:9

C is for clean. Clean means free from dirt or stains; uncontaminated; pure. To be clean we must be cleansed (washed; purged; freed from sin]. How are we to do that? Are we supposed to run down to the store and pick up a bottle of Dawn dish soap and some cleaning rags? No.

Our verse clearly tells us how we can cleanse our ways? What does it say? Does it say that we are to read God’s Word? No. Does it say that we are to memorize God’s Word? No.

These are good and important things, but I can read God’s Word and my mind be totally disengaged or be off in another part of the world. So, what will actually produce the cleansing that we need? It is “taking heed” of God’s Word. In other words, we need to sit up, pay attention and take note.

I am an avid [conscientious; keen] note taker when it comes to listening to sermons at church. Most of the time, I am so focused on the sermon, I do not pay attention to those around me. But, when I have, it has really puzzled me to see people not paying attention, people who did not bring their Bible (when they do have a Bible), people who do not even open the Bible in the pew, ones who do not take notes to study and assimilate later, and even ones who very loudly close their Bibles or zip their Bible covers before the pastor is even done preaching! Yikes! Do Christians really do this? Sadly, yes, they do.

You have heard that “actions speak louder than words,” and if you do those things, you are just proclaiming to those around you that you do not care to learn, you do not care to grow, and you do not care to be cleansed from sins in your life. You are making a very bold statement of “I have no need of cleansing!” aka “I want to be a failure.”

When you were in school, did you just show up when you wanted and did what you wanted to do during the class? Not unless you wanted a big, fat “F” on your report card, right? No, you made sure that you were there on time (so that you did not miss any of the material that the teacher was going to cover that day), you made sure that you had your textbook out and open and following along with the teacher, and you made sure that you were taking good notes because you knew that you would be held accountable for that information later … and you did NOT want to fail your exam!

If we did this for school, why do we not do this as Christians? Why would we want to set ourselves up for failure? Because exam time is coming and we will be tested! Why would we want to continue in sin? Romans 6:1 asks that very question, “… Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?” and we find the answer to that in verse 15 “… God forbid!”

Lesson Objective: To understand what is involved in cleansing. To do all in your power to be there when class is in session (be in God’s house). To be sitting up, paying attention, and taking notes when God’s Word is preached and taught … whether it be at church or in your own private devotion time at home.

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 2: B is for Bear

“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

B is for bear. Bear means to help (assist), to support (lighten the load), to show kindness (be gracious) to, to show patience and forbearance, and to strengthen. I realize that this is a very common verse to quote, but when I spoke on this very topic last year at the ladies meeting in New York, God showed me some things that I never had seen before. I want to share those with you today … and I trust that there will be enough space to do so!

First, did you notice that the subject (personal pronoun) “You” was implied?  What does that mean? That means that this is a command verse! As a command, it would read as follows … “[You] bear … one another’s burdens.” Ouch! That definitely brings it up close and personal, does it not? Now let us really get to the nitty-gritty and see how we are to bear:

To help: We all at some time or another find ourselves under a heavy burden or trial. In those times, our desire most often is to just get through it. There may be other times that our greatest desire is for someone to HELP us get through it … we do not have the strength or the knowledge on our own. Notice that I did not say “TAKE” one another’s burdens … there is a BIG difference. [Illus: Christ TOOK all my sin onto His body; I no longer have my sin] I am not going to take my sister’s burden from her, but I will bear her burden with her!

To support: “Many hands make light work.” How true this saying is! When I have a big project to do in the ministry, I often will seek help from others. Why? Because a project/chore that is a drudgery will take me much longer to get motivated to do and inevitably, will take me much longer to do it. But, when there is someone there to help, it makes the job more enjoyable and the extra hands do help make it go quicker as well! We may even learn from them! Then, sometimes we just need the extra nudge.

To be kind or gracious to: How much more sore our trials can be when others do not understand the situation. They are uncaring, or judgmental (they have never had this problem, or “they would never do that”), or they are actually rude or abrasive. Does this help our situation? No. It actually causes more pain and sorrow. Right? Some times that person doesn’t even know they have a need; but, if we are spiritual, we can see that need and we should treat them appropriately.

To be patient or forbear: Our flesh can be our biggest enemy. It wants to jump ahead. It wants to straighten other people out … like right now! It wants to rush forth acting and speaking things that can bring permanent damage. Instead, we should be patiently waiting on the Spirit for direction.

To strengthen: It has been said that a chain is as strong as it’s weakest link. When we join ourselves to another in bearing their burdens (trials), they will only gain strength IF we are strong. We cannot offer anything to someone else that we ourselves do not have.

Lesson Objective: To understand what it means to bear another’s burdens. To acknowledge that this is a command to Christians and that you must obey.

Did you pass or did you fail?

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Day 1: A is for Anxiety

“Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you …” John 14:27

A is for anxiety. It means a nervous, uneasy feeling often accompanied by worry. I personally have experienced and struggled with anxiety for a number of years. I do not believe that I have completely “arrived” yet, but, over time, I have found certain things that help and certain things that exacerbate the condition. I would like to share some with you today.

First of all, I would like to say that anxiety is a real thing. It is not something that you can just sweep under the rug and it magically disappears. That is as far from the truth as you can get. Anxiety is alive and thriving in our society and churches today. It is interesting to note here that depression and fear are very close relatives to anxiety.

I believe that anxiety has two main types of root causes. One is spiritual and the other is physical (which encompasses mental and emotional as well). This is not how anxiety is addressed in our society today though. Typically, it is addressed and treated as a mental issue. What is the problem with this though? It is never resolved! Why? Because the majority of the time, it is more than a mental issue; therefore, it has a much stronger physical root affecting it.

Imagine with me for a moment my friend who has seizures. When her body starts to go into a seizure, is she able to think positive thoughts or even mentally tell her body not to have the seizure and it obeys? No. That is ludicrous, is it not? Why? Because the body has a stronger power than the mind. I am not saying that the mind is not important in some cases (when it is a mind issue). What I am saying is that there are more than one type of roots and you must address the proper kind to get the results that you are looking for.

When it comes to the physical, mental, or emotional roots of anxiety, I believe that they have roots in not only dietary issues, but diseases of the body, allergies to food, mold and innumerable things, sugar imbalances, hormonal imbalances, etc. I know for me, I have a great fear of flying, bad storms, traveling in bad weather, etc. Is it because I mentally cause it? No, I believe, it is the things that are inside of me that are forcing my body into those modes. I have never done the mental “talk-through,” but I have done the “clean up my diet and get my body into a healthier state” and watched my anxiety disappear.

I cannot close this day without saying that anxiety can have spiritual roots as well. When there is sin in our lives, it can affect us mentally, which in turn triggers anxiety. I believe that anyone with anxiety needs to explore the possibility of BOTH the physical roots and the spiritual roots. It is very common for anxiety to be addressed from either one or the other, but rarely both; consequently, leaving it there to continue to fester and wreck havoc in your life. 

Lesson Objective: To understand what anxiety is. If you have anxiety, to determine if it is coming from physical roots,  spiritual roots, or both? Then, lastly, start working on digging up those ugly roots for good.

Did you pass or did you fail?

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