Sherri Evans

Sherri Evans

Thursday, November 28, 2013

So Much More than Food


 

 

"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,"  Romans 14:17


 

Happy Thanksgiving!  The turkey is  prepared to bake,  the chicken and dressing are ready for the oven.  Cakes, pies and congealed salads are prepared waiting for the right moment.  Ingredients for special casseroles sit upon my counter tops.  Everything is in readiness for the Thanksgiving meal.   What a feast it will be!  A dining experience anticipated year round.

As I contemplate my blessings today, I am reminded that there are others in this world- people that God loves just as much as He does me- who do not have lavish provisions.  They would not have the food in a month that we will sit upon the table this one day.  I am humbled  by my blessings and so grateful for God's provision.

But as wonderful- and delicious- as that all is, it is just food.  A source of sustenance and thank God for that!  But ultimately it is food that will be consumed over the next few days and then forgotten.   All except the pound or two that we pick up from our indulgence.  But what about the real blessings in life?  The things that dive beneath the tangible into the realm of the supernatural?  The everlasting?  If only I could quantify the number of prayers answered in the last 365 days.  If only I could weigh the grace, joy  and peace that I have received!  The righteousness that has been credited to me by Almighty God because of His  sacrifice!  How can I ever begin  to describe to you the ways that the Lord has led me this year?

The Kingdom of God is so much more than food and drink!  And although I am moved, humbled and grateful for those blessings, they just do not compare!  My salvation- the ability to avoid  eternity in hell- is so much deeper, sweeter and satisfying.  It is a gift, a blessing, that I did nothing to  deserve.  Knowing that makes it even more precious to me!

So, today as you recount God's material blessings in your life, count high and long!  He deserves your thanksgiving!  But go beyond that.  Begin to recall all His manifold blessings- both spiritual and temporal.  Remember your Source and rejoice!

Dear Lord, I pray a blessing on all that read this today.  Flood  our mind with memories, knowledge and understanding of all the blessings that we enjoy in You.  Help us to understand Your love- how deep, wide and all encompassing that it is.  Anoint us to praise and thank You as you deserve.  In Jesus  Name.  Amen.
 

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

We Went Through


 

   

Ps 66:8-12

 

8 Oh, bless our God, you peoples!

And make the voice of His praise to be heard,

9 Who keeps our soul among the living,

And does not allow our feet to be moved.

10 For You, O God, have tested us;

You have refined us as silver is refined.

11 You brought us into the net;

You laid affliction on our backs.

12 You have caused men to ride over our heads;

We went through fire and through water;

But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

NKJV

 

Thanksgiving is a time to focus on the blessings in our lives.  The things, the people, the blessings that enrich our lives are worth recalling and giving thanks. If we take the time to review the past year, we will all have different testimonies with varying degrees of "wow factor", but still we have a testimony to share.  Did the Lord heal your body?  Make financial provision?  Encourage you with good  friends?  For all of these things- give thanks!

Some of us look back over the last year and see  a time of testing,  trial and growth.  The blessings of it all may be less obvious.  But even within that there is a testimony, "We went through fire and through water; but you brought us out to rich  fulfillment."  Sometimes our testimony is simply this, "I have been through some hard stuff, but I am still here!"  There are situations that are difficult to find the blessing in.  But there is never a time that we cannot look back and see the Blesser in the middle of it all.  Maybe we did  not hear his voice audibly.  Perhaps we did not feel goose bumps, but if we came through, we must recognize His keeping hand was upon us.  He has sustained us and kept us from falling.

Dear Lord, thank you for all you have done on my behalf this past year.  Help me to see Your hand in all that you have brought me through  as well as in the good things you have brought my way!  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.
 

 

Friday, November 22, 2013

Offering Thanksgiving


 

    

Lev 7:11-12

 

11 And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the LORD.

12 If he offer it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.

KJV


 

All the times that I have read the Bible through I have been amazed by the sacrifice and offering requirements of the Old Testament.  Not because I thought they were awesome- but because the very idea of such an intricate task overwhelmed me.  I cannot imagine what it was like living under the Law, but I am so grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus made that utterly fulfilled the law!  The sacrifice that freed me to walk in grace.

But of course, the principles behind the Old Testament Law are instructive for us today. They symbolize powerful aspects of the believer's heritage in Christ and of the Kingdom of God.  They help us remember what it took to become holy and blameless in the sight of an altogether Holy God.

Our pastor, when he came to our church, began the practice of a Thanksgiving offering the Sunday before Thanksgiving.  Perhaps you do something similar as well.  At first the idea seemed a little foreign, but there is also something fitting about giving to honor the One who gave so much! 

We can, and should, say a simple prayer of Thanksgiving as we celebrate.  But there is also something beautiful about bringing an offering as well.  Perhaps you know a family in need that you could share food with- or a local food pantry.  Perhaps you feel led to bless a man or woman of God and their family with pantry items.  Maybe you feel compelled to give a special offering at church.  Regardless of how you celebrate, be sure that your celebration truly focuses on the Lord.  We make a tragic mistake when we enjoy the blessings but neglect our "Blesser".

Dear Lord, thank you for all that you provided.  As I enter this season of Thanksgiving, help me to live in an attitude of gratitude and show me how I can be a blessing  and acknowledge that to You. In Jesus' Name.  Amen.   


Thursday, November 21, 2013

Good Ground


 

    

    

 

    

 
 
Matt 13:8-9

 

8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

NKJ

 

Today's  verses outline the optimal conditions for yielding a bumper crop.  When the ground (in this case, the soil of our heart) has been tilled until it is soft, the seed can readily be imbedded in the ground.  After that, it is easily received and  nurtured.  The right amount of rain and the right amount of sun, causes the seed to break forth  out of the ground, growing strong and mighty shoots.  Plants that have deep roots and produce an abundant crop.  As Jesus explains:

    

Matt 13:23

 

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

NKJV

 

 

I have seen it all of my years in church.  Two people receive Christ around the same time.  One is excited about his/her conversion, but never really seems to be overly zealous. The other person could be described as "on fire."  They just exude passion, zeal and interest.  They consume Bible study after Bible study.  They are in church every time the door is open.   Fast forward five years.  The first guy attends a lot of Sunday's and has a testimony of being a Christian.  The second guy is now heading up men's ministry, is a youth sponsor and is mentoring new converts.  They were both saved under the same teaching.  In the same church.  At the same time. Why is the one fruitful a hundred-fold and the other only thirty?

 

The amount of attention, focus and care we give to tending our soil makes a huge difference in the outcome of our crop.  I have noticed that on the years that I really add the Miracle Grow to my plants, they spread quickly and I have abundant, cascading flowers.   The years I don't, I have puny, small flowers.  The difference between the two is quite astonishing.

 

The amount of prevalence we give to the Word of God, worship and fellowship is directly proportional to our spiritual state of "bearing much abundant fruit."  God never gives us more of Himself than we truly desire. Producing an increase on the seed of His Word must be a fervent desire  that translates into action.


 

Dear Lord, help me to be good soil to receive your Word and bring forth an abundant harvest.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Choked by Thorns


 

    


    



Matt 13:6-7

 

  7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

NKJ

 

When the seeds of the Word of God are going forth, today's verses describe a common condition.  To be really  honest, this is probably the hazard that could most threaten my own personal walk.  What does this verse mean?  According to Jesus,

 

22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. (Matt 13:22)

 

 

 

Can you relate as well?  I am not really tempted by riches.  My problem lies more in allowing the cares of this life to choke out my fruitfulness.  A demanding job, kids,  an incessantly ringing phone, bills,  all of this can definitely act as briars in our lives. All of  these distractions can cause us to lose our focus.   We can find ourselves attending to the urgent, but not the important, needs in our life.

 

I grew up on a farm.  I was blessed to enjoy many blackberry cobblers.  Delicious- and with the added bonus of turning your teeth blue!  Pretty cool when you are a kid.  I loved going "blackberry-picking".  Country folks know that the delicious fruit of wild blackberries actually comes off of a briar.  That's right.  A prickly, sticky briar can produce delicious fruit.  Why does this matter?  Because we need to understand that just because something seems good and is producing some fruit, does not necessarily mean that it is a good thing.  The test of whether or not the fruit is wholesome or a nuisance lies in recognizing its impact in your overall fruitfulness.

 

Baking cupcakes as the homeroom mom is a good thing.  If it keeps you from spending time in prayer and Bible study, it may be a briar.  Enjoying fishing is a good thing.  If it keeps you out of church, it is a briar.  Singing in the choir is a good thing.  If you are doing it to get attention, yep- it could be a briar.

 

We cannot allow anything, anything, to choke out the fruitfulness of the Word of God in our lives.  Jesus must come first.  Everything else is briars.  We can cut the briars back, keep it off the garden and have our blackberries, too!  But when the vine chokes out our fruitfulness, the time has come to do some pruning.  And sometimes, the briars simply  have to be uprooted to protect the whole garden.

 

Are you bearing fruit? Is time in prayer and the Word a priority?  Are good things- maybe even ministry- choking the life out of your vine?  If so, call on the Master Gardener and He will prune you back to health.

 

Dear Lord, thank you for the simplicity of your Word- simplicity because you reveal it to me and enable me to understand it.  Help me to apply today's word.   Show me the true vines from the briars.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Building Your House


 

   

Matt 7:24-27

 

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock:  25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock.

26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand:  27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

NKJV

 

The statistics are staggering. I read an article today that stated that 50% of all first-time marriages, 67% of second marriages, and 74% of third marriages end in divorce.   This provides a bleak view for the future of most of our homes.  Perhaps that is why fewer people are choosing marriage and opting instead, for live-in relationships.  But does that really prevent the perceived threat of being hurt and rejected? Not at all.  Rather, it will likely result in shattered people with even more baggage to bring into marriage.  With those odds, what can we do to protect our homes?

For the remainder of this devotional, please visit me at http://lacedwithgrace.com, where I will be spending the day.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Rootless and Scorched


 

    

Matt 13:3-6

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.  5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.  6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

NKJV

 

I have seen it, and so have you, if you have been in church for any length of time.  There are always shooting stars.  They come into the congregation, maybe when they have a problem of some sort, they receive Christ and they are on fire. They are there every time the doors open, they are telling people about Jesus, and hungry for the Word.  Everything looks great, then all of a sudden their attendance starts dwindling, and the next thing you know they are back to their old life.  What happened?

 

According to today's verses (v. 5-6) they are those who received the Word but did not have enough soil to put down deep roots.  The rocky places do not allow for much depth or root system.  But there is even more to this:

   

Matt 13:20-21

 

20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;  21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

 

 

As a person in leadership at church, this  is one of the most frustrating phenomena that occurs.  I have even seen people quickly rise to places of leadership, even become ministers, then have this happen.  When hardship or persecution comes, they run and they stumble.  They do not have the "stick-to-it" attitude that ensures success.

 

We all have a flesh to contend with.  For those who have lived a life of sin, there may be more to deal with when they come to Christ.  Obviously a former drug addict will have more baggage and relationship issues to navigate than will a seven year old kid who receives Christ while living in a Godly home.  The power of God is just as effective in either case to help the Christian succeed, but sometimes we allow our dysfunction and the "rocks" of our personality to stunt the growth of our vine.

Christianity is not a guarantee of a smooth sailing, worry-free life.  It is a warfare  and there  will be obstacles to contend with.  But in Christ we have the strength and power to succeed and even thrive.  And on the other side of all of this,  we have a promise of eternity.


 Dear Lord, help me to have deep roots that are not shaken by the storms of life.  Help me to support those who are new in their faith and struggling.  I pray also, Lord Jesus, for the new converts that I know.  Help them to put down a deep root system and not be discouraged.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

 

 

 

Friday, November 15, 2013

Planted, not Snatched


 

    

Matt 13:3-4

 

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.  4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

NKJV    

 

Having grown up in church, I became familiar with the awesome and miraculous  teachings of the Bible at a very young age. My  faith reached the place to receive Christ as Savior when I was five. In truth, I have never really known a life apart from Jesus. For that, I am exceedingly grateful.  But I am also aware that not one everyone was blessed to have such opportunities early in life. 

 

Many studies have shown that childhood is the prime time to win people to Jesus.  If  they do not choose Him in their early years, the likelihood that they will do so late,r goes down significantly.  Why is that?  One  of the things  that I believe contributes  to this  phenomenon is that a child's ability to believe is so much higher than that of an adult.  Children do not have to understand every facet of a situation to just believe. Child-like faith is a beautiful thing, and one that we should endeavor to cultivate throughout our lives.

 

Today's passage talks about a sower, or farmer, planting seed.  In this portion of Scripture, some of the seed fell on the wayside.  It was not planted in holes or trenches, rather it was sown on top the ground.  Because of that, the seed was easy prey for birds to come along and snatch it up and eat it.   In this parable, the seeds mentioned is the truth about the Kingdom of God, or more specifically, that Jesus is Savior.

 

Further explanation is given in verse 18:

 

18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower:  19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

 

It is so vital that everyone have the opportunity to hear the gospel message.  Without that, how can they ever hear, know, or understand that Jesus loves them and died to give them life eternal?  I have always been puzzled about the various responses of people  when they hear truth.  Some readily receive it and are transformed immediately, others it takes a process, while still others never choose to believe at all.  The parable of the sower explains  so  much  about this process.

 

In light of today's verses, what is our duty as a Christian? Foremost, our duty is to share the gospel.  We have to let people know what the Lord has done for us, within the context of His  Word.  After that, I feel it is important that we pray for those we are witnessing to, that God will prepare their hearts to receive the seed of Truth.   We must pray that the Lord will plow up the soil of their hearts, that it will be softened and prepared to receive it.  Then we must pray that it settles deeply within them.  Finally, we must pray against the  enemy  stealing the truth from them.  Becoming a Christian is such a supernatural phenomenon, that we can never leave out the importance of God's divine involvement.

 

Another important thing to note is that we must share the truth in a way that people can understand.  To tell a person who has never been in church a day  in their life that that they are a wretched  sinner, bound for hell unless  they receive Christ's  atonement for their sin and be redeemed, is like speaking a foreign language to them.  "Christianese" is not a universal language!  What people can understand is that they do not do everything right, that Jesus died to cancel the penalty of that sin and offers  them a relationship with Him instead of an eternity apart from Him.

 

As you witness, pray that the Lord will give you wisdom in your words to speak in the language of your hearer.  If it is an educated person, your approach will be different than with a simple  or illiterate person.  Both are equally valuable, but the soil must be prepared  differently!

 

Dear Lord, help me to have an effective witness.  Show me who to share with, and grant me wisdom and favor to sow seeds that they can understand and receive.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.