Dear God,

Please untie the knots that are in my mind, my heart and my life.
Remove the have nots, the can nots and the do nots that I have in my mind.

Erase the will nots, may nots, and might nots that find a home in my heart.

Release me from the could nots, would nots and should nots that obstruct my life.

And most of all, dear God, I ask that you remove from my mind my heart and my life all of the am nots that I have allowed to hold me back, especially the thought that I am not good enough.

Amen.

Anonymous

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My World

by Jonnie Wright

My world is very small. I have written three books, two of them Bible studies for those who live with chronic pain. But, I cannot seem to promote them to the small audience who might be interested because I myself suffer with Fibromyalgia and its cluster of syndromes. These health issues shrink my world to a few “can dos.”

A depressed, non-Christian friend calls. I can witness to her about how I hang on to the core of my life, Jesus Christ, when I am depressed. A frightened friend arrives at my door after spending the night in jail. I can fall to my knees and claim the spiritual armor of the Holy Spirit that she may stand and see the deliverance the Lord will give her. I open an email from a Christian celebrity who begs for help because she is in a health crisis. I can email back a prayer of power using God’s own promises from Scripture. These things I can do.

Perhaps my world is not so very small. I serve a mighty God whose ways are not my own. If He is enough, then so am I.

Jesus is The Silver Bullet Book One in the Series: God’s Rx for Chronic Pain

Changes: Managing Chronic Pain Book Two in the Series: God’s Rx for Chronic Pain

Lord, What do I do with Sammy? Workbook for Christian Teachers

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Dealing with Difficult Relatives

by Max Lucado

Does Jesus have anything to say about dealing with difficult relatives? Is there an example of Jesus bringing peace to a painful family? Yes, there is.

His own.

It may surprise you to know that Jesus had a difficult family. If your family doesn’t appreciate you, take heart, neither did Jesus’.

“His family … went to get him because they thought he was out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).

Jesus’ siblings thought their brother was a lunatic. They weren’t proud—they were embarrassed!

It’s worth noting that he didn’t try to control his family’s behavior, nor did he let their behavior control his. He didn’t demand that they agree with him. He didn’t sulk when they insulted him. He didn’t make it his mission to try to please them.

Each of us has a fantasy that our family will be like the Waltons, an expectation that our dearest friends will be our next of kin. Jesus didn’t have that expectation. Look how he defined his family: “My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants” (Mark 3:35).

When Jesus’ brothers didn’t share his convictions, he didn’t try to force them. He recognized that his spiritual family could provide what his physical family didn’t. If Jesus himself couldn’t force his family to share his convictions, what makes you think you can force yours?

Having your family’s approval is desirable but not necessary for happiness and not always possible. Jesus did not let the difficult dynamic of his family overshadow his call from God. And because he didn’t, this chapter has a happy ending.

What happened to Jesus’ family?

Mine with me a golden nugget hidden in a vein of the Book of Acts. “Then [the disciples] went back to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives.… They all continued praying together with some women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, and Jesus’ brothers” (Acts 1:12, 14, emphasis added).

What a change! The ones who mocked him now worship him. The ones who pitied him now pray for him. What if Jesus had disowned them? Or worse still, what if he’d suffocated his family with his demand for change?

He didn’t. He instead gave them space, time, and grace. And because he did, they changed. How much did they change? One brother became an apostle (Gal. 1:19) and others became missionaries (1 Cor. 9:5).

So don’t lose heart. God still changes families.

From He Still Moves Stones
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado

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I have discovered this wonderful Advent calendar with a devotional for each day in Dec. Dec. 1st is started for you below. I love the joy of this site and encourage you to visit it every day throughout this meaningful time of the year.

The Tale of Three Trees
A traditional folk tale, retold by Angela Elwell Hunt

Once upon a mountain top, three little trees stood and dreamed of what they wanted to become when they grew up.

The first little tree looked up at the stars twinkling like diamonds above him. “I want to hold treasure,” he said. “I want to be covered with gold and filled with precious stones. I will be the most beautiful treasure chest in the world!”

The second little tree looked out at the small stream trickling by on its way to the ocean. “I want to be a strong sailing ship,” he said. “I want to travel mighty waters and carry powerful kings. I will be the strongest ship in the world!”

The third little tree looked down into the valley below where busy men and busy women worked in a busy town. “I don’t want to leave this mountain top at all,” she said. “I want to grow so tall that when people stop to took at me they will raise their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the world!”

There’s more and it’s wonderful…

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Frequently, we who suffer chronic pain cannot “do” a ministry for the church, especially when we can barely do for ourselves. I liked this poem because it opens one’s mind to the vastness of ministry. Ministry is not a job, it is a “being.” 

Ministry Is….

Listening, when you’d rather fix the problem.
Searching for the joy, when it’s easier to say “it’s not fair.”
Helping, when you feel like you’re the one that needs the help.
Telling God, “use me,” when you’d rather ask to be rescued.
Encouraging, even when you don’t understand God’s reasoning.
Hugging when it feels awkward.
Saying, “let’s pray right now,” instead of “I’ll pray for you.”
Serving, when you doubt you have anything left to give.
Comforting, by being the flicker of light in others’ dark caverns.

[author unknown]

“Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10

find more good stuff at www.restministries.org

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It doesn’t take a person long to realize that bad things are happening to good people. The economy’s downward plunge has affected many Christians as well as non-Christians. How can that be when we are committed to living godly lives and following Scriptural principles?

The answer, of course, is in God’s Word, the Bible:

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure.

4 And endurance develops strength of character in us, and character strengthens our confident expectation of salvation.

 5 And this expectation will not disappoint us. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Romans 5:3-5 (NLT)

Our suffering is not meaningless. And because of this very truth, we Christians have hope. Maybe not hope in an improved economy, or a stimulus package, or a new retirement program, but hope in an unchanging, and therefore trustworthy, God. He has a plan for us, no matter what the condition of our pocketbook, or the deterioration of the rest of the world.

So should we be suffering in our circumstances? What’s the point of the lesson if we do not? We are not measured by our emotions or our feelings; we are not required to hold our heads high and appear undaunted; we are not called to declare Scripture in the hope that we sound as if we’re hanging in there.

Suffering is suffering. It’s a part of our walk. We are not “lesser” Christians because we are hurting, be it physical, emotional, or financial. Our suffering makes us stronger Christians! And this will become apparent once we’ve lived through our current situation.

Our joy, therefore, is found in spite of, not because of, what our circumstances looks like. Our hope is faith-based not situation-based. Prayer, church, and Scripture are our fuel. Jesus is our cornerstone. Be not downcast, oh saints of God. He has a plan for each of us, and we’re in the middle of it now… So hang on for the ride!

5 Why am I discouraged? Why so sad? I will put my hope in God! I will praise him again— my Savior and 6 my God! Psalms 42:5-6 (NLT)

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Just last week my chronic pain support group discussed how we might hear God speaking to us. We agreed that spending time in the Bible was obviously a place to start as well as memorizing His Word. And then I received Max Lucados weekly devotional and thought I would share it with you:

Learning to Listen
by Max LucadoEquipped with the right tools, we can learn to listen to God. What are those tools? Here are the ones I have found helpful.

A regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and a corner of your world, and claim it for God. For some it may be best to do this in the morning. Others prefer the evening Others prefer many encounters during the day.

Some sit under a tree, others in the kitchen. Maybe your commute to work or your lunch break would be appropriate. Find a time and place that seems right for you.

How much time should you take? As much as you need. Value quality over length. Your time with God should last long enough for you to say what you want and for God to say what he wants. Which leads us to a second tool you need—an open Bible.

God speaks to us through his Word. The first step in reading the Bible is to ask God to help you understand it.

Before reading the Bible, pray. Don’t go to Scripture looking for your own idea; go searching for God’s. Read the Bible prayerfully. Also, read the Bible carefully.

Here is a practical point. Study the Bible a little at a time. God seems to send messages as he did his manna: one day’s portion at a time. Choose depth over quantity. Read until a verse “hits” you, then stop and meditate on it. Copy the verse onto a sheet of paper, or write it in your journal, and reflect on it several times.

Will I learn what God intends? If I listen, I will.

Understanding comes a little at a time over a lifetime.

There is a third tool for having a productive time with God. Not only do we need a regular time and an open Bible, we also need a listening heart. Don’t forget the admonition from James: “The man who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and makes a habit of so doing, is not the man who hears and forgets. He puts that law into practice and he wins true happiness” (James 1:25 PHILLIPS).

We know we are listening to God when what we read in the Bible is what others see in our lives.

Paul urged his readers to put into practice what they had learned from him. “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, do” (Phil. 4:9 RSV).

If you want to be just like Jesus, let God have you. Spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day—then apply it.

From Just Like Jesus
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 1998, 2001) Max Lucado

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Relationships, whether husband and wife, friends, or family, can and do get messy at times. Feelings get hurt, grudges are fed, offenses are taken. Dr. Gary Smalley addresses these issues:
Intimacy Can Be a Mess!

You need to understand that God created intimacy as His plan to build oneness in marriage. The way men and women respond to intimacy is vastly different. Sometimes those differences can complement each other and sometimes it complicates the experience. Those differences can tear apart the very fabric of your mutual fulfillment.

Blessings,
Gary (& Norma) Smalley
Editor, Smalley Relationship Center

Though Dr. Smalley addresses marriage, these concepts can be applied to all relationships.

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by Jonnie Wright

published by www.christianityfortoday.com

“Religious people are just weak individuals who can’t deal with life’s problems so need a crutch called God! They don’t want to be responsible for their actions.” Have you ever heard a statement like this before? I have. I used to think and speak this way as I breezily dismissed God, church and the whole religious scene. Then God led me back to Himself, after an eighteen-year hiatus, and began to teach me the cost of following Him.

The first lesson was accountability. Life requires choices for which we are responsible. No Christian can say, “The devil made me do it!” Many of our choices cause us difficulty because they require that we pay a personal price. Jesus told His disciples: “Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” (Luke 14:27 NASB) Jesus carried His cross to His death–now that’s enough to make one pause.

Death to self is another hard-to-swallow lesson. The world we live in proclaims the virtues of being our own person, taking what we can get, living with gusto. At any moment, my needs try to eclipse another’s. And so, another choice: “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:27 NASB) Jesus tells us that there is a cost, not a crutch, to follow Him; and sometimes I feel disinclined to pay the price.

What if Jesus had chosen to forgo the cost of our Salvation? Without His death by crucifixion, we would never have tasted freedom from sin’s bondage. Here’s where “the rubber meets the road,” and all Christians must face the question: Can my obedience to Jesus be just as important as my Salvation?

Are Christians who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ weak? Christianity is not for the faint of heart. If we take responsibility for our choices, count the cost of discipleship, and step forward in Jesus’ Name, we are anything but feeble personalities and frail egos. We are saints and warriors of the risen Lord. We are promised: “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the LORD will give you… Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the LORD will be with you”(2Ch 20:17).

Photo Credit: Simona Dumitru, Oxford, England

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