God Can Use Anyone … or God’s Plan is Bigger Than Me!

Also the neighbor women gave him a name, saying, “There is a son born to Naomi.”  And they called his name Obed.  He is the father of Jesse, the father of David.
Ruth 4:17

 We just finished the Book of Ruth in our Friday morning study.  I love this book.  It is a story of suffering, good fortune, blessing, risk taking, resourcefulness and redemption and of course, love – there is a wedding and a baby after all.

In a nutshell, this man, Elimelech, takes his wife, Naomi, and two sons and leaves his home, Bethlehem, to go to another country, Moab, a country that doesn’t follow God. There is a famine in Bethlehem, so he thinks he can do better for himself, in Moab.  It doesn’t happen; he dies as does his two sons.  Naomi is heartbroken and left with two foreign daughter-in-laws.  She decides to go back home to Bethlehem, one of her daughter-in-laws, Ruth, decides to go with her.  She wants to take care of Naomi and follow God. Once there, Ruth goes to work, trying to earn a living for her and Naomi.  She happens to be working in the field of the wealthy, bachelor, Boaz, who just happens to be a close relative of Elimelech.  In that culture, relatives were responsible to redeem (buy back or purchase) the land of those who were struggling with debt or poverty.   The next of kin could step in and pay off the debt, marry the widow and carry on the family name.  And that is what happens, Boaz agrees to pay off the debt (or buy back the land) of Naomi, marry Ruth and carry on the family name.  They have a baby and Naomi goes from heartbroken to lovesick over her new grandson and life becomes rich and full again.  The End.

But the end is never the end with God.  There is always more to the story.  See, Ruth had grown up in a very sinful place.  Moab was sin city, a sexually perverse country, actually founded by a fellow conceived through incest by Lot and his daughter, not a good place to be from.   And low and behold, we find out down the road that Boaz was the son of Rahab, the harlot, who helped the spies that Joshua had sent out to the city of Jericho.  Remember they marched around it for seven days and on the seventh day, seven times, and then the walls fell down.  Now that is an interesting plan of attack.  See what I mean about always more to the story, with God?

So Ruth from Moab (sin city) marries Boaz (son of a prostitute) and they have a son who is the grandfather of King David, who is the great- great- great to the 28th time, (or thereabouts) grandfather of JESUS!  Whoa … how wild is that?  God used two women of ill repute, and I’m sure there were many more we don’t know about, to be part of the heritage of his son’s life here on earth.

Many times we find ourselves thinking that God can’t use us because of our past.  I want to encourage you today.  Don’t let your past dictate your future.  God has a plan for you.  Twenty years ago, I was Ruth and Rahab rolled into one.  I was not living a Godly life.  I was gutter girl.  Drugs, alcohol and men were pretty much my day to day life.  But God picked me up, cleaned me up and set me on his path.  He brought Bobby into my life and he gave me a home and a family, and then he drew me close to him and showed me such love and I’ve not been the same since.  God changed my heart and my life… and he wants to change yours too!

Food for Thought:  Which side of the suffering are you on, still living in the pain of the past or embracing the redemption of his future?

Father, thank you for this story of real life redemption – that you give us examples of people just like us and how we all fit into your perfect plan.   Thank you for never giving up on us, even when we are slow to recognize our redeemer. And Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us first.

I love you Jesus.
   In Your Name I Pray,
   Amen

God’s Blessings To You!

Love,
Joyce

My newest book is here!

Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones
But Words Can Kill My Spirit.
The Lies That Get Stuck Inside.
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http://www.sticksandstones.cc

Love Like Jesus

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
   I Corinthians 13:13

Today is Valentine’s Day.  I was just on Facebook and there are thousands of people declaring their love for their spouses, their children and each other.  It’s a sweet day.  It seems like today most everyone is willing to say to at least someone … “I love you.”  Chocolates and roses and special cards are being exchanged today.  Love is in the air … as the old song states.

In 1 Corinthians 13, called The Love Chapter, Paul talks about love.  He has written a letter to the church in Corinth, giving them instruction and encouragement on their journey with Jesus.  They are a lot like we are today,  wanting to do right, but somewhat confused on how to stay on track.  As a result they dealt with problems like immaturity, instability, divisions, jealousy, envy, lawsuits, marital problems, sexual immorality  and the misuse of spiritual gifts.  Sound familiar?

But Paul doesn’t beat them up, he simply writes a letter to encourage them and help them get back on track.  And in the midst of that letter, he shares with them that no matter how great they think they are or what wonderful things they do, if they were not motivated by love, it means nothing.  He explains that love is the most excellent way.  He goes on to share that:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. (I Corinthians 13:4-8)

At the Last Supper, the night before Jesus was crucified, he told his disciples:  A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.  (John 13:34,35)

If we are followers of Jesus, we must love one another.  We are to be love. It wasn’t a suggestion.  He told them it was actually a new commandment.  So now, go back to the Love is section above and replace love with your name.  Are you patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, not dishonoring, not self-seeking, not easily angered.  Do you not keep records of wrongs?  Do you not delight in evil but rejoice in truth?  Do you protect?  Do you hope?  Do you persevere?  Are you unfailing?  Do you love?  Ouch …not so easy is it?

I want to be like Paul.  I don’t want you to feel beat up if you fail in some areas, because we all fall short, but rather do this exercise to take inventory, see what needs some work.  I encourage you to seek God in the areas that you struggle with, release them to him and let him fill you with His love, which will then overflow from you into those around you!

Father, thank you for your unfailing love.  When the world is fickle, when one day it loves me and one day it loves me not, you are faithful and true.  You don’t just love me, but rather you are love.  It is your nature.  It is who you are.  I honestly cannot even fathom the depth of your love. Forgive me Father for not loving as you do, help me to remove the planks out of my eyes, so that I can see others as you see them and love them as you love them.

I love you Jesus!
In Your name I pray,
Amen

God’s Blessings Upon You!
Love,
Joyce

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org/

Do Hard Things

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
   James 1:2-4

Today was Carson’s first track meet.  It was a beautiful day; sunny, blue skies, 80 degrees.  We were all excited to see Carson run.  In fifty years of living, I’d never been to a track meet, and I was eager for the experience. 

We got to the meet as they were announcing Carson’s first event, the Two Mile Run, eight times around the track.  It was a lot of running, but Carson held his own and finished respectfully.  But he was tired.  His little face was red, and he was worn out.  He sat down in the bleachers with us for awhile, catching his breath.  He was scheduled to run the One Mile a little later, but he was considering not … he said he was too tired to do it. 

I told him he needed to go ahead and do the hard thing … he needed to run the race.  His dad and I did not teach him to give up, that yes, he was tired, but that with some Gator Aid and a snack, he’d get his energy back and he could run the race.  And he did!  And he did even better in the second race.  I was so proud of him!

The boys are reading a book by Alex and Brett Harris,  Do Hard Things.  Alex and Brett were nineteen years old when they wrote about their desire to start a teenage rebellion against low expectations.  Not the normal rebellion.  But they are not normal teenagers.  Their message uses biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life, not a vacation from responsibility that has been the underlying theme for so many, for so long.

We have many examples of young people doing hard things in the Bible.  My favorite is David.  I image it was pretty hard for David to face Goliath with just a sling and five stones. David was a teenager … Goliath was a grown man, a very large grown man.  But God was with him. And David was the victor.  And the course of history was changed.  (I Samuel 17)

This is a great message to teach our children, but it’s also the attitude that we need to adopt as well. 

So my question for you today … what hard thing is waiting for you?

Father, enable me to embrace the difficult aspects on this journey with you.  I don’t want to take the easy road … I want to learn and grow and step out of my comfort zone into the life that you have planned for me.  I want to fulfill my purpose through you.  And Jesus, thank you for giving Carson the endurance to finish the race.

I love you!
   In Jesus Name I Pray,
   Amen

God’s Blessings Upon You!

Love,
Joyce

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

What’s Love Got To Do With It?

Today Chase has been bee-bopping around the house singing, “What’s love got to do with it?” And although he doesn’t know any more of the lyrics to the song, he puts quite a bit of heart into that one line. But as Tina Turner goes on to explain, “What’s love but a second hand emotion?”

But that is not how the Word describes love. In I Corinthians 13, verses 4-8, Paul tells us that:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

We are also told by John that:

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. (I John 4:16)

Well, it’s pretty easy for me to accept that God is patient, kind, does not envy, nor boast. He is not proud, neither rude, nor self-seeking and most certainly not easily angered. He keeps no records of wrongs. (YEAH!) God does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. He always protects, always trusts, always hope, and always perseveres. God never fails us! (YIPPEEE!)

But John also tells us:

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (I John 7 -8)

Okay, so if I love God, I should be love. Which means I should be patient, kind. I should not envy, nor boast. I should not be proud, or rude, or self-seeking, nor easily angered. (OUCH!) I should keep no records of wrongs, (oh this is hard). I should not delight in evil, but rejoice with the truth. (However much the truth may hurt sometimes). I should always protect, always trust, always hope and always persevere. I should never fail!

OUCH … OUCH … OUCH!

I don’t know about you … but I have a long way to go. The good news is, God is with me and helping me to become more like Himself. I don’t have to try to work through this process on my own!

Thank You Jesus!

Father, thank You that Your Word tells us that love is so much more than a second hand emotion. That love is life … life in You! Help me Father to live out the life You have given me through Your love.

I love You Jesus.
In Your Name Pray,
Amen

God Bless You!

Love,
Joyce

The Choices You Make Today …
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org

Wake Up

My brothers, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring him back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of his way will save him from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
James 5:19,20

I fell back asleep the other morning. I couldn’t help it. It was cool out and my bed was cozy. I just didn’t want to wake up. So I shut off my alarm and laid my head down, for just a minute. The next thing I knew, Chase was shaking me and saying, “Wake up Mom. I don’t want to miss the bus.”

I have Carson to get to school after Chase and if I were to miss Chase’s bus and drive him to school, it would start a whole chain of negative reactions and my day would not go so well.

But because Chase woke me out of my sleep, all was well here at the Schneider home this morning. Breakfast was eaten … lunches packed … book bags filled. Time to spare … no stress … no pain.

I was thinking about how sometimes we doze off in our relationship with God. We don’t mean to … but life, as we know it, is comfortable for us and we don’t want to step out of that zone.

It starts out as simply missing a Sunday or two, but then it becomes so cozy relaxing at home on Sunday mornings and there is preaching on the TV, we don’t really need to go to church. And that is true. Going to church doesn’t make us right or wrong with God. It’s what’s in our heart. But God’s Word tells us to not neglect the fellowship of the brethren. We need to hang out with other Believers, for support and encouragement.

Then we start having a couple of drinks on Saturday night, cause we aren’t getting up early for church, so it will be okay. Then we start going out with our friends to the bars, it won’t hurt to go have some fun, we’re just dancing. And we start flirting with someone and the next thing we know, we’re in the midst of an affair or we’re caught up in drugs or alcohol or surfing porn sites on the Internet.

Or maybe nothing quite so dramatic … maybe we just start to withdrawal into ourselves, caught up in that web of depression that never seems to let go of us. Or maybe we keep ourselves so busy with work or our kids or _____, that we just don’t have time for God anymore.

Regardless of the situation, the result becomes the same, God is not in the picture, he’s not a part of our lives.

Then one of our good friends comes along and says, “Hey … wake up. What are you doing?”

And we stop and take a look at our lives. We realize the mistakes we made, and we get down on our knees and ask God to forgive us. Then we move forward … with Him!

Father, thank you for the amazing grace that you offer to us. If we confess our sins, you are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Thank you Lord for loving us, so very much.

I Love You Jesus.
   In Your Name I Pray,
   Amen

God Bless You!

Love,
Joyce
The Choices You Make Today
Will Affect Your Tomorrow!
http://www.alifedecision.org