I Matter

"God gave us the gift of life; it is up to us to give ourselves the gift of living well." —Voltaire

Today, December 8^th is my birthday. In my quiet time with the Lord this morning two scriptures came to my mind—2 Samuel 7:18 written in the photo above and Psalm 8. The Psalm, I selected for my birth day.

³When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,

⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

    human beings that you care for them?

⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels

    and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
    you put everything under their feet:

When we look at ourselves in light of God and the vastness of his creation, we feel small. However, we need to see ourselves as God does. God looked over all of his creation and saw that it was good. Humanity was the pinnacle of his handiwork.

From the dust of the earth, God created us in his three-fold image—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, giving us a three-fold nature—a body, a soul, and a spirit. Then, he breathed life into us.

Our spirit man most reflects his image. He’s given us the capacity to know him and to reflect his character so others will see him and realize their value in his sight.

The next time you question your worth as a person, remember God ascribed a high value to you. So much so, he sent his Son to die for you so that you can spend eternity with him.

Don’t let anything mar the image of his glory in your life. It matters. I matter. And so do you. 

Now it's your turn.

I always welcome your comments.

Blessings, 
Starr

Call to Me

Take Heart

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Philippians 4:13, NKJV

Write the Vision

"Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it."

— Habakkuk 2:2, ESV

Now it's your turn: What are you working on? I'd love to hear.

I always welcome your comments.

Happy Writing!

Starr

Psst!

"All too quickly the Message is crowded out by the worries of this life,

the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced."

—Mark 4:19, NLT

Remembering God's sovereignty is key to the surrender of our days.

Pause

"So teach us to number our days,

that we may present to you a heart of wisdom."

Psalm 90:12, NAS

Forward . . . March!

"Feelings are real, but they aren't always based on reality 

so don't let them lead you." —Jennifer Rothschild

God freed the Israelites from captivity, but the enemy was relentless. Pharoah was in hot pursuit and threatened to return them to a place of bondage. 

Moses prophesied over God's people. He told them not to be afraid, to stand firm, and to see the deliverance of the Lord. He assured them that the Lord would fight this battle for them. 

Then the Lord said to Moses, "Why are you crying out to me? tell the Israelites to move on."  Exodus 14:15

The Israelites were not to lift a hand to defeat the enemy. God had set them free, and he was calling them to move on...to walk in the freedom he'd provided. 

Don't let the enemy strike fear in your heart. Let the sound of your praises and the pounding of your feet on the pavement before you drown out the rattling of sabers and the clamoring of the enemy behind you. God's got your back. 

What has God called you to do? Get busy with his plan for your life. Trust him and move forward. He's got your future too.

Now it's your turn: What are some ways you choose to move forward when the enemy is in hot pursuit?

I always welcome your comments.

Blessings,

Starr

The Empty Chair

 "When he was at the table with them,

he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them.

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.”

—Luke 24:30-31, NIV
 

“Hey! That’s my chair!”

Silly as it is, I imagine at some point you’ve gotten upset when someone took your seat—or someone has gotten upset with you for taking theirs. If not, perhaps you played musical chairs as a child. How did you feel when there wasn’t a chair left for you? Did you push and shove to claim the remaining chair? Did you walk away upset because you lost the last seat?

Regardless of what we lose, we’re prone to get upset when someone takes something we believe is rightfully ours— even if there is music playing in the background.  

No one likes to feel cheated, but what about when we cheat ourselves? Who do we argue with then?  Do we even know we’re cheating ourselves—or care?

The heartbreak is that we regularly cheat and steal from ourselves, but we seldom bat an eye about it. Then, to add insult to injury, we repeat the behavior.

We cheat ourselves out of quality time with those we love, fritter away hard-earned money, and squander our days. We choose the path of least resistance, make harmful food choices, and give television sitcoms priority over reading God’s Word. The Word is where I want to sit for a moment, so pull up a chair (your own, please) and let’s talk.

There are plenty of chairs at the Lord’s table. There’s one reserved for each of us, so we never have to worry about someone stealing our seat. The question is: do we want it? I ask this because there are often empty chairs at his table. Sometimes the empty chair is mine. Do you allow misplaced priorities to rob you of time in God’s presence too? 

A few days after Christ’s resurrection, the Emmaus disciples failed to recognize Jesus. Not until they invited him into their house and received the Bread of Life from his nail-scarred hands did their eyes open to his identity.

Do you wonder where Jesus is in your circumstances? Wonder if he cares? If so, refuse to substitute fare from the world’s table for the Bread of Life that comes through reading God’s Word. God paid the ultimate price for our reservation at his table—the blood of his only Son, Jesus. To know that we’re cheating ourselves out of a relationship with Jesus Christ and do nothing about it is foolish.

If we could pull back the curtain of eternity and see what is to come, there would be no empty chairs at the King’s table. Push away from the world’s table and claim your seat.There’s a chair reserved for you.
 

Now it's your turn: Do you have a daily reservation at the table? What is a struggle you have that keeps you from your seat? What is one change you can make that will help you keep your reservation?
 

I always welcome your comments.
 

Blessings,

Starr
 

Is Your House in Order?

“There is a time to keep, and a time to throw away.”

—Ecclesiastes 3:6, NIV

TV reality programs showcase hoarders for our entertainment. However, hoarding is neither entertaining nor laughable. An excess of clutter in our homes can be the symptom of a severe psychological disorder. Hoarders not only cling to things of value, but they also cling to mounds of things that have no value at all. Most of us say we can’t comprehend this type of thinking, and yet we often replicate it.

The start of a new year is the perfect time to take inventory of areas we’ve neglected and rid our homes of items we no longer use. When I clean, I tend to concentrate on the rooms people see and push aside the cluttered drawers and closets (and heaven forbid, the attic). Out of sight, out of mind, right? Wrong. Because I know the clutter is there, it creeps into the corners of my life and disturbs my peace until I’m pressed to do something about it.

But clutter doesn’t only accumulate in the physical realm, it builds up in the spiritual aspects of our lives as well. Anything that disturbs our peace or blocks our pathway of communion with the Father is clutter. Let’s face it: no one wants to open the door of their prayer closet and meet an avalanche of shelved grievances, stored anger, or suffocating pride.

The prophet Isaiah told King Hezekiah, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover’” (2 Kings 20:6). We may think Isaiah was short on bedside manner, but the truth is, he delivered a hard message from the Lord straight to the proud heart of a king who had opened up his doors to the enemy. Isaiah’s message produced repentance, brought cleansing, and added years to the king’s life.

“It’s time to put your house in order” is not a declaration we want to hear. Those words from our doctor mean he believes our days on earth are few and that we need to attend to the important things before it’s too late—things that if left undone would burden and add further heartache to the lives of those we love. But what if hearing and heeding his words could add years to our lives, or at least enrich our remaining days? Wouldn’t you welcome them?

In church, we sing, “All to Jesus, I surrender; all to him I freely give.” This song is so familiar it’s easy to let the words roll off our tongues with little thought.  However, surrendering to the Lord requires intentionally barring the door of our hearts to the enemy, giving God the keys to every chamber, and clearing a pathway to his throne room through repentance and prayer. Are you surrendering your all to Jesus or only giving him lip service?

Be intentional. Today is the day to set your house in order.

Now it's your turn. What is one thing you can do to set your spiritual or your physical house in order in 2016?

I always welcome your comments.

Starr
 

My One Word 2016 — SOAR

"They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run,

and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
—Isaiah 40:31, KJV

In 1999, I replaced the practice of making New Year's resolutions with the prayerful selection of a scripture verse for the coming year. Each year, I'm amazed at how God repeatedly brings this verse to my attention and affirms and uses it to lead me through situations that arise.

Two years ago, I read My One Word written by Pastor Mike Ashcraft of Wilmington, NC. His book speaks of this same principle, only he takes the concept a step further and narrows the selection process down to one key word for the year. I now select my scripture and sum it up in one word. For added emphasis, I develop an acronym that underscores the reason I've selected the word. 

This year my focal verse is Isaiah 40:31. My one word is SOAR. Its acronym defines my focus and reveals the pathway to my success.

Surrender
Of
All
Repeatedly

My desire in 2016 is to rely on the power and strength of God to enable me to soar above the circumstances and distractions of life and accomplish all that he envisions for me. If I neglect to surrender my will to God's will daily, I'll undergo numerous false starts and stops and will fail to experience life from his vantage point.

Now it's your turn. Please join me in the selection of a scripture focus and one word for 2016.

I always welcome your comments. I'd love to know what you've selected. Please share it in the comment section below.

Happy New Year! I hope you soar.
Starr 

Land of Promise

The land you are crossing to take possession of . . .

"It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end."

—Deuteronomy 11:12, NIV