Audience of One

From the Word:

Click and Read Colossians 3

Key Verses:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Colossians 3:23-24


Hi, my name is Becky, and I'm an approval junkie.

Words of praise, acknowledgement for a job well done, and positive feedback are gold to me. When I was in elementary school, I loved getting assignments back with a "Scratch 'n Sniff" sticker and words like "Way to Go" or "Fantastic" written across the top in red ink.

As an adult, I often long for that same kind of encouragement. When I get done scrubbing a toilet, no one hands me an "Excellent Work" certificate. Most of the time, no one even notices a clean toilet. The other day, I actually dragged my poor husband into the bathroom to show off my handiwork. I had used a new steam cleaner, and I wanted him to see how shiny it all was. Trying to be enthusiastic, the best he could come up with was, "It smells nice and disinfected!" Not exactly the glowing praise I was after. : )

Recently, God gave me some ministry assignments. I struggled with them at first because I wasn't getting feedback. There wasn't anyone telling me if I was doing things "right" or "well." I wasn't even sure if He was using the work at all or if anyone was even aware of the work I was doing. And when I reached out and took the risk of looking for affirmation from people, it was all falling flat. I started to doubt God had called me at all. My natural self wanted to quit. I felt apathetic about the work because I figured no one was paying attention anyway. It became drudgery to do the work.

It took time to figure it out, but my attitude is slowing changing. I'm learning I am doing it for an "audience of One." There is only One person to please, only One who needs to see. And whatever I do, in word or deed, it should be done with excellence, because it is done for Him!

Personal Application:

We can forget that as followers of Christ, our WHOLE lives need to be lived for Him. There should be no separation of religious and secular aspects of life. Everything needs to be done as an act of worship.

Take a look at your attitude about the work you do. Are you doing it with excellence? Are you finding joy in doing it for Him? Talk to Him about it this week. Ask Him to breathe new life into the way you look at your responsibilities. Ask Him to show you how to make them your own acts of worship and gifts to Him.

Do you crave affirmation and approval? Do you find it hard to do work where there will be no affirmation or encouragement? Ask Him to help you crave His approval and to get the encouragement you need from Him. He has already accepted you and loves you. Your worth is not determined by your boss' opinion of you nor by that important person you hope to impress.

Father,
Help me to desire your approval above the approval of anyone else. Give me the desire to work hard for you. Make my everyday activities acts of worship to you. Be glorified through me and forgive me for the times when I want the glory for myself. Where I have experienced discouragement, I pray you will build me back up and renew me. Help me to see that my worth is in belonging to you, not in the opinions of other people. Thank you for loving me and accepting me. Thank you for giving me a unique purpose and gifts that I can use for you and your Kingdom.

In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen

More of God's Word:
1. On the contrary, we speak as men approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please men but God, who tests our hearts. 1 Thessalonians 2:4 (NIV)

2. Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. - Galatians 1:10 (NIV)

3. The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' - Matthew 25:40 (NIV)

Held Up By Many Hands

From the Word:

Click and Read Exodus 17:8-16

Key Verses:

As long as Moses held up the staff in his hand, the Israelites had the advantage. But whenever he dropped his hand, the Amalekites gained the advantage. Moses’ arms soon became so tired he could no longer hold them up. So Aaron and Hur found a stone for him to sit on. Then they stood on each side of Moses, holding up his hands. So his hands held steady until sunset. As a result, Joshua overwhelmed the army of Amalek in battle. Exodus 17:11-13 (NLT)

The garage door goes up. My minivan drives in. The garage door goes down.

I don't interact much with my immediate neighbors. We all drive in to our garages and disappear into our homes. We occasionally knock on each other's doors to hand the mail that was delivered to the wrong box, but that's about it.

I'm sure my neighborhood isn't unique. Today, face to face interaction is becoming old fashioned. We read each other's blogs and catch up on Facebook or Twitter. We "talk" to each other through text messages. It's convicting that I know more about the contestants on Biggest Loser than I know about the young family that lives across the street from me.

We are an affluent society. We are technologically advanced. We are lonely.

God did not design us to be isolated and alone. He designed us to need Him and need each other. We are made for communion with God and fellowship with one another. But reaching out to people, developing and maintaining relationships and friendships, requires commitment, risk taking, time, confidence, and work. There are so many things that can get in the way. Being alone can be the easiest and most comfortable, if not satisfying, choice to make.

I am so blessed to be able to say I have amazing girl friends, and as a family we have wonderful friends that enrich our lives, but my husband and I will be the first to admit we have the tendency to be lazy friends in return. Often, we allow busyness, distractions, time, distance, etc. keep us from prioritizing those relationships and doing what is necessary to maintain those friendships. It is easy to take those friendships for granted. That is until life throws you a curve ball and those amazing friends are there to hold you up, like Aaron and Hur held Moses up.

Life is hard. Ministry can be exhausting. We NEED support. Real life, face to face friendships must be a priority in our lives. Those friendships need to be prioritized, maintained, and nurtured long before you need them in crisis. Trying to serve God as a lone ranger doesn't work. Moses needed help. We need help. Pastor Bob says that when Christians go off on their own they "get weird." It's humorous, but true. We can't be all that God called us to be when we are alone.

Personal Application:
Spend time in prayer thanking God for the people in your life. Ask him to reveal to you ways that you can enrich the relationships you have and to find friendships where they are lacking in your life. Pray that he will reveal ways that you need to step out of your comfort zone in order to maintain or develop fellowship in your life.

There are many enemies to fellowship. Here are a few:


- apathy
- insecurity
- gossip
- jealousy
- fear
- busyness
- computer and technology taking away from real life friendships/relationships
- unreasonable expectations
- pettiness
- lack of forgiveness
- self-centerdness
- not making it a priority

Take an honest inventory of your life this week and look for ways to make people a priority. Ask for God's wisdom and provision.

One of the very best ways to get fellowship is to attend a women's Bible study. Here's a link to the current Bible studies that Calvary offers for women. They are all wonderful. Push yourself out of your comfort zone and get plugged in with other women who can support you, help you know more about the Bible, and can point your heart to Jesus. It may take several weeks before you feel at home, but it will be worth the effort and will feel more and more comfortable the longer you go.

If female friendship has been a source of pain in the past, ask God for healing and trust him to help you trust again.

More of God's Word:
1. If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! … Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. -Ecclesiastes 4:10- 11 (NIV)

2. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
-John 13:34-35 (NIV)

Love,

The God Who Sees

I'm sorry that there hasn't been a new post in awhile. We had some technical difficulties that I think are ironed out now. Thanks for your patience and for those of you who are faithful to read these devotions.

Today's devotion was inspired by my own personal Bible study. I'm following a plan for reading the Bible in a year in chronological order. I love it. It is so interesting to read the Word in the order the events were happening in history. I highly recommend it. Here's a link to the same plan that you can customize for yourself.

From the Word:
Click and read Genesis 16

Key Verse:
Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?”
-Genesis 16:13 (NLT)

During my reading recently, I read about Hagar. God promised Abraham he would be the father of countless descendants. While waiting for the fulfillment of that promise, his wife, Sarah, decided to take matters into her own hands and offered her husband her servant, Hagar, to provide his heir.

(Note: Taking matters into our own hands is a topic I'll have to tackle in another devotion. Bad Idea! Ha ha)

What stuck with me after the reading was how hard life was for Hagar. She must have felt so alone, and of so little value. She was property, to be given to an old man for sex without her consent. How insignificant she must have felt!

This is an overused analogy, but it always amazes me when I'm in an airplane and look down at the ground. People become smaller and smaller and more and more insignificant the higher the airplane goes. Looking out that airplane window, I can relate to the feelings of the agnostic. Why would God care about me, someone so small in the sea of humanity?

But the Word tells us that God is intimately aware of us. He knows our name. He cares about our circumstances. We are known! We are seen! He knows even the number of hairs on our heads.

In today's reading, Hagar says, "You are the God who sees me!" Isn't that an amazing thing to consider? The God who is big enough to create the universe, and small enough that His fingerprints are seen in the tiniest of cells, saw Hagar, an insignificant servant girl with a rough life. He also sees you and me.

What a comfort to be KNOWN and SEEN. I join Hagar at being amazed by this truth.

Personal Application:
Do a study on the names of God. You can do a Google search or check out one of the many book on that subject. His names give insight into His character. Worship Him for who He is! Thank Him that in the midst of your everyday life, in the midst of the joys and sorrows, you are seen by the One who loves you. Trust him today and rest in knowing that you are not alone.

More of God's Word

1. You know me inside and out,
you know every bone in my body;
You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something.
Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before you,
The days of my life all prepared
before I'd even lived one day. -Psalm 139:15-16 (The Message)

2. Who is like the LORD our God, the One who sits enthroned on high, who stoops down to look on the heavens and the earth? -Psalm 113:5-6 (NIV)

3. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. - Matthew 10:30 (NIV)


Love,