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Mi Top 10

Parece que cada industria o ámbito de la vida tiene un Top 10. Top 10: restaurantes, lugares de vacaciones, canciones, películas, jugadores, empleados, coches, etc. Esta mañana me gustaría hablarles sobre las principales distracciones.

Cuando me despierto TEMPRANO en la mañana  tengo varias opciones. 1) Puedo luchar para volver a dormir 2) Puedo preocuparme por cualquier cosa y todo 3) Puedo orar por todo y/o 4) Puedo alabar a Dios y descansar en él.

Honestamente, paso por varios de estos pasos cada mañana cuando me encuentro despierto temprano, muy temprano. Esta mañana eran las 2:30. Así que me detuve y oré y  dije”  Señor, realmente me gustaría volver a dormir”. Luego me acosté allí otros 30 minutos, pero  no vino el sueño.

Las cosas empezaron a llenar mi mente y así comencé a orar. Oren por mis hijos, mi familia, amigos, nuestra nación, mi vecindario, salud, finanzas, la condición del mundo. Escuché a un pastor decir una vez que cuando encuentras “distracciones” inundando tu mente mientras tratas de rezar debes moverlos a la parte superior de la lista, orar sobre ellos, sacarlos de tu mente, de tu corazón y en las manos de Dios.

Y cuando hice eso, inmediatamente sentí una canción que me vino a la mente. Una canción escrita por Hillsong, Mighty to Save

“Salvador, puede mover las montañas
Mi Dios es poderoso para salvar.
Es poderoso para salvar.
Para siempre, autor de Salvación
Se levantó y conquistó la tumba.
Jesús conquistó la tumba.”

Mi Dios es poderoso para salvar – ¡piensa en eso! Tendemos a pintar la salvación con un pincel estrictamente espiritual, pero esa no es la forma en que Dios lo ve.

Su propósito y plan desde el principio era tener un pueblo que estuviera en relación con El. ¡Amistad! ¡Filiación! Y proporcionó a “Su” pueblo todo el tiempo – le dio a Noé un arca; Abraham hijo; Isaac una esposa; José se reunió con su familia; Moisés liberando; Josué una nueva tierra; David un convenio; Isaías una profecía; Jesús un propósito; Pedro un mensaje; y Pablo una revelación de la gracia de Dios.

Hemos recibido la salvación por nuestro espíritu, nuestras almas y nuestros cuerpos. ¡Es poderoso para salvar!

“El Señor vuestro Dios está en medio de  vosotros, un Poderoso, un Salvador [quien salva]! Se regocijará por vosotros con gozo; Descansará [en silencio] y en Su amor se callará y no hará mención [de los pecados del pasado, ni siquiera los recordará]; Se exultará sobre ti con el canto. Sofonías 3:17 AMP

Al llevar nuestras mejores distracciones al Señor y dejarlas en Sus manos,  descubriremos que tenemos más espacio para alabanza y acción de gracias.

“Da todas tus preocupaciones y preocupaciones a Dios, porque él se preocupa por ti.” I Pedro 5:7 NLT

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Exciting News!

I mentioned a few weeks back that I was working to develop a Spanish translation page for Kristi’s Morning Devotional. Well that day is here.

It won’t be a daily posting but I will have the format available a few times each week. If you have Spanish speaking friends they will be able to read the blog on Facebook from my page “Kristi’s Morning Devotional” or they will be able to subscribe here on the www.arizonakristi.com site and receive the post directly to their email.

I hope you will help me make this information known. I praise the Lord for the opportunity to reach Spanish speakers with the Good News of Jesus and His love.

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Like A Little Child

Yesterday morning Dave and I drove up to the Phoenix area to visit our daughters and their families. Today we will be celebrating one of our granddaughters’ third birthday.

It just so happened that our youngest daughter, her husband and two little girls had regular doctor’s visits and so we were asked to stay with our grandson while they were gone. We were reading books and learning all about the new and fun things he had been doing. He is such a smart little guy and is so much fun to listen to.

I could go on telling you stories about how smart he is but… At one point I was telling Dave about an email I had received from a friend and told him that she had requested prayer for her husband. At that, Sam said “And we need to pray for Mr. Dave, he needs a job”. We weren’t sure who Mr. Dave was so he explained it to us and that he was without a job and needed one.

I asked Sam if he would like to pray from Mr. Dave and our friend. He told me we could do it at bedtime. I told him we wouldn’t be there at bedtime but we could do it now. “Ok” and so we did. I am confident that those prayers will bring Mr. Dave to a new job very soon.

Child-like faith.

“Then he said, ‘I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. 4 So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. 5 ‘And anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf is welcoming me.'” Matthew 18:2-5 NLT

Little children are accustomed to asking their parents for what they need and knowing that their parents will provide. The necessities of life, (food, water, shelter, protection), are the things that we as parents naturally take care of. Sometimes we go without ourselves to provide for our children – its part of who we are as parents. God, the Father, has a much deeper compassion and commitment to His children than we do.

Jesus was telling the adults who were listening to Him that they needed to be humble enough to ask their heavenly Father for help. They needed to quite relying on their own abilities or lack thereof, put their faith and trust in the Father and in so doing they would learn a valuable lesson about living in reliance and dependence upon their loving heavenly Father.

How better can we learn about placing our trust in God than from a child? They have much to teach us.

When we come to the Father in childlike faith we won’t be turned away.

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Time to Sit

The last few weeks have been very busy but yesterday we had a good rain and everything came to a stand still. It was time to sit.

Relax and reflect!

This year has been one of so many changes. A lot of things have been turned up-side-down. But some things should never change – one being our faith and trust in the unfailing, inerrant Word of God. The Word of God should and will be the final authority by which all is judged. It is the word of God that spoke this world into existence and it is what is holding it together still.

Many struggle with issues in life, depression, recession, dis – ease, fear, hopelessness, anything but the abundant life that God has promised to us in His word. The authority of God’s word and His promises are unchangeable and infallible.

If we live by the Bible we are considered old fashioned, uninformed, not academically in tune or worse yet intolerant and politically incorrect. But, I know of no other Book that has stood the test of time and not had to be revised or rewritten – it is the living Word of God. We either acknowledge it as absolute and live in victory or we disregard it as old fashioned and passe` and live defeated in those areas of our life.

“When Jesus had finished these talks to the people, he came to Capernaum, where it happened that there was a man very seriously ill and in fact at the point of death. He was the slave of a centurion who thought very highly of him. When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish elders to him with the request that he would come and save his servant’s life. When they came to Jesus, they urged him strongly to grant this request, saying that the centurion deserved to have this done for him. “He loves our nation and has built us a synagogue out of his own pocket,” they said.
6-8 So Jesus went with them, but as he approached the house, the centurion sent some of his personal friends with the message, “Don’t trouble yourself, sir! I’m not important enough for you to come into my house—I didn’t think I was fit to come to you in person. Just give the order, please, and my servant will recover. I am used to working under orders, and I have soldiers under me. I can say to one, ‘Go’, and he goes, or I can say to another, ‘Come here’, and he comes; or I can say to my slave, ‘Do this job’, and he does it.” 9 These words amazed Jesus and he turned to the crowd who were following behind him, and said, “I have never found faith like this anywhere, even in Israel!”
10 Then those who had been sent by the centurion returned to the house and found the slave perfectly well.” Luke 7:1-10 ERV

Jesus was amazed because this man recognized the authority of His words. The same word of God that had authority all those years ago still has power today.

“But as for me, I will sing of Your strength. Yes, I will sing with joy of Your loving-kindness in the morning. For You have been a strong and safe place for me in times of trouble. 17 O my Strength, I will sing praises to You. For God is my strong place and the God Who shows me loving-kindness.” Psalm 59:16-17 NLV

It’s good to sit and reflect on the power of God’s word. I choose to put my faith in the authority of God’s Word. There is nothing greater!

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My Top 10

It seems like every industry or walk of life has a Top 10. Top 10: restaurants, vacation spots, songs, movies, players, employees, cars, etc. This morning I would like to talk to you about the top distractions.

When I wake EARLY in the morning I have several options. 1) I can fight to go back to sleep 2) I can worry about anything and everything 3) I can pray about everything and/or 4) I can praise God and rest in Him.

Honestly, I go through several of these steps each morning when I find myself awake early, very early. This morning it was 2:30. So I stopped and prayed and said “Lord I really would like to go back to sleep”. Then I laid there for another 30 minutes but sleep didn’t come.

Things began to fill my mind and so I began to pray. Pray for my children, my family, friends, our nation, my neighborhood, health, finances, the world condition. I heard a pastor say once that when you find “distractions” flooding your mind while you are trying to pray you should move them to the top of list, pray about them, get them off your mind, out of your heart and into God’s hands.

And when I did that, immediately I felt a song come to mind. A song written by Hillsong, Mighty to Save

“Savior, He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save.
He is mighty to save.
Forever, author of Salvation
He rose and conquered the grave.
Jesus conquered the grave.”

My God is mighty to save – think about that! We tend to paint salvation with strictly a spiritual brush but that’s not the way God sees it.

His purpose and plan from the beginning was to have a people who would be in relationship with Him. Friendship! Sonship! And He provided for “His” people all along – He gave Noah an ark; Abraham a son; Isaac a wife; Joseph reunited with family; Moses deliverance; Joshua a new land; David a covenant; Isaiah a prophesy; Jesus a purpose; Peter a message; and Paul a revelation of God’s grace.

We have received salvation for our spirit, our souls and our bodies. He is mighty to save!

“The Lord your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [Who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy; He will rest [in silent satisfaction] and in His love He will be silent and make no mention [of past sins, or even recall them]; He will exult over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17 AMP

As we take our top distractions to the Lord and leave them in His hands we will find we have more room for praise and thanksgiving.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” I Peter 5:7 NLT

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The Treasure Hunt

This morning I decided to go on a treasure hunt and I wanted to take you along. I know that God’s word is more valuable to me than any amount of silver or gold. If I was asked to give up my Bible or access to Scripture for a million dollars, without hesitation I would turn it down.

I read an article about the treatment of Christians in China. The government is going in to impoverished areas, searching homes, removing crosses and pictures of Jesus from the walls and replacing them with pictures of Chairman Mao or President Xi. These are the homes of people who receive government welfare. If they refuse to comply they are being removed from the list of names that receive assistance. It’s the government or God. Many are standing strong and refusing to deny their faith. They need our prayers.

They have found a treasure and they refuse to let go.

So here are some of the verses that came to mind after reading that article. Verses that promise treasure, better than silver or gold, to those who are willing to search for it.

“If you cry out to know right from wrong, and lift your voice for understanding; 4 if you look for her as silver, and look for her as hidden riches; 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find what is known of God.” Proverbs 2:3-5 NLV

“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are sinful and have done bad things. There is no one who does good. 2 God has looked down from heaven at the children of men to see if there is anyone who understands and looks (searches) for God.” Psalm 53:1-2 NLV

God is always watching for those who will search for Him and there is a promised blessing for those who do. God is not a narcissist; He’s not an ego-centric dictator. He’s a loving Father who wants to protect and provide for His children.

“But without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him.” Hebrews 11:6 CEV

This verse is in the chapter that many refer to as the Hall of Fame of Faith. It recounts the stories of men and women who abandoned all and sought God. Maybe you’ve heard of a few of them – Abel, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Rahab (a prostitute), Samson, Gideon, David. These all sought the treasure of knowing God and their lives were enriched and serve as a testimony to all of us.

“Ask, and you will receive. Search, and you will find. Knock, and the door will be opened for you. 8 Everyone who asks will receive. Everyone who searches will find. And the door will be opened for everyone who knocks…But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask.” Matthew 7:7-11 CEV

This is just part of the teaching Jesus gave on searching for the things of God. The promise is that everyone who searches will find. There are stories upon stories of men who have led expeditions on land and sea searching for treasure. They search for years and never find what they are looking for but always hoping that someday they will make a great discovery.

As Christians we don’t have to wait for the “someday” of discovery. Each day, as we seek to know more about our heavenly Father, we will find Him. He’s not hiding!

“I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. 12 Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 ERV

There is no greater treasure than finding a personal relationship with God, our Father!

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Start Each Day Right

I love the way the Father gives me examples of Christian life. This morning He showed me something about my routine that reflects on Him.

“Then Jesus said, “I am the bread that gives life. No one who comes to me will ever be hungry. No one who believes in me will ever be thirsty.” John 6:35 ERV

My morning begins with starting the coffee, coming to my office, telling the Lord I love Him, talking about the morning blog with Him and then having my Bible reading and prayer time. I have done this for over twenty years. There are a few variations when I go visit family or am traveling on the road, the location is changed but the routine is the same.

Before that, I was a working wife and Mom. I needed to be at work by 6:30 and had a husband to send off and a daughter to get up for school. My routine was different in those days. I like this one better. But if you have a busy morning routine already let me encourage you to get up just a little earlier and spend some time with the Father before you spend time with anyone else.

My time with the Father is my most important part of the day. It’s a time of refreshing. A time of friendship. A time of counsel. A time of joy. It’s a time I come to Him to get nourishment, eat from His word and then stay to visit and experience His love.

He doesn’t want our Bible reading to be “drudgery”. We should be excited to come, eat and then stay to be loved on. God’s word is a wonderful love letter but it’s also a banquet, a meal that will strengthen us and provide all we need for each day. We shouldn’t eat and run.

“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are? 27 You cannot add any time to your life by worrying about it.

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? Look at the wildflowers in the field. See how they grow. They don’t work or make clothes for themselves. 29 But I tell you that even Solomon, the great and rich king, was not dressed as beautifully as one of these flowers. 30 If God makes what grows in the field so beautiful, what do you think he will do for you? It’s just grass—one day it’s alive, and the next day someone throws it into a fire. But God cares enough to make it beautiful. Surely he will do much more for you. Your faith is so small!

31 “Don’t worry and say, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 That’s what those people who don’t know God are always thinking about. Don’t worry, because your Father in heaven knows that you need all these things. 33 What you should want most is God’s kingdom and doing what he wants you to do. Then he will give you all these other things you need.” Matthew 6:25-33 ERV

They say Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Getting spiritual nourishment at the beginning of our day is like starting the day with a big country breakfast. It will stay with us all day long!

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Enjoy the Harvest

How’s it going for you this morning? I have to admit, the last few days have been challenging. Physically challenging. Not sure of the what or how but something I did aggravated my back and slowed me down a bit.

I am pleased to report that when I got up this morning most of the pain and stiffness is gone and I am praising God for that. I love to sit in the quiet of the day and praise God! It’s as natural as breathing – inhaling I think “Thank you Father, Praise you Father” and with each exhale I convey my words of love. I love you Lord!

It’s not “Prayer Time” because I’m not asking the Lord for anything. It’s a time of awareness, knowing that my Father and I are sharing this time, enjoying one another’s presence.

“I have placed the Lord always in front of me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be moved. 9 And so my heart is glad. My soul is full of joy. My body also will rest without fear…11 You will show me the way of life. Being with You is to be full of joy. In Your right hand there is happiness forever.” Psalm 16:8,9,11 NLV

I heard two words this morning – peace and joy! Both are internal conditions. There has always been and always will be conflict; peace is the sense of well being in our souls regardless of that conflict. The peace that God gives bypasses our understanding, it goes beyond the natural way of thinking to a place of trust and rest in God and His goodness. Peace is found when we spend time with the Father and joy comes along with it.

“The rain and snow come down from heaven and do not return there without giving water to the earth. This makes plants grow on the earth, and gives seeds to the planter and bread to the eater. 11 So My Word which goes from My mouth will not return to Me empty. It will do what I want it to do, and will carry out My plan well. 12 You will go out with joy, and be led out in peace. The mountains and the hills will break out into sounds of joy before you. And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.” Isaiah 55:10-12 NLV

For a number of years Dave and I spent our summers in eastern Iowa. They say that you can watch the corn grow – literally. One day the stocks are knee high and the next they are waist high. Give it a few days and they will tower over your head. All the conditions are right – fertile soil, rain, sunshine and humidity.

Just like rain causes the seeds to sprout and the corn to grow, God’s word causes peace and joy to grow in our lives. God’s word, like a seed, planted in our hearts will bring a harvest. I guess that’s what I do each morning as I sit here in my quiet place – I’m planting seeds of joy and peace. And then when the challenges come, I can pick an ear of joy and an ear of peace and enjoy the harvest of God’s word.

Enjoy the planting process today. Before you know it, you will also be enjoying the harvest!

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Motives Matter

Good morning all.

I am going to pose a question to you that I have had to ask myself. When you are doing something nice for someone, do you ever hear “they probably won’t appreciate this anyway” going off in your head? If so, you’re not alone. That’s exactly what I dealt with. I had to come face to face with my answer.

Definitely a motive check-up. I Corinthians 13, the love chapter, tells us that if we are martyred and it isn’t motivated by love – then it profits us nothing. Thoughts like “I’m giving all my time to do this or that and no one will really appreciate it anyway – no one is going to know how hard I worked, how I gave up sleep, how much it cost me to do this nice thing” – are all wrong motives!

Years ago I would do things for people just to get them to like or accept me. I tried to buy friendship – wow, what a destructive force that was! I was so insecure in who I was that I needed constant affirmation from others that I was lovable. Then I heard a wonderful, godly woman, Dale Evans Rogers, speak in our college chapel service about God’s love, His unconditional love, and the message got through.

Knowing that God loves me – really loves me – is more than enough acceptance to last a life time. I went from doing things for people to get them to like and accept me to doing the same things because I really loved those people and I wanted them to know they were loved and appreciated. A complete 180 in motivation.

When thoughts spring up “they probably won’t even appreciate this”, and my response back is but I appreciate them and I want them to know that they are special the question of motive was answered.

It seems when we are tired and under stress that our motives come into question. Satan knows when we are weak and tries to kick us when we’re down. He’s such a creep – he did the same to Jesus. After a forty day fast he tempted Jesus with food – he said “IF you are the son of God, turn these stones to bread”. His tactics with us are the same, when we recognize them we can walk in the same strength and victory that Jesus did.

Let’s face the daily challenges and make our motivation one of love without expecting anything in return.

“I may give away everything I have to help others, and I may even give my body as an offering to be burned. But I gain nothing by doing all this if I don’t have love. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. 8 Love will never end.” I Corinthians 13:3-8 ERV

We have the opportunity to be an example of Jesus love today. Our motives matter.

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Timeless

There are some who think the Bible is antiquated, archaic or just plain out of touch with our modern day society. This sentiment seems to be expressed quite frequently during the last generation. With this sentiment is a failure to show that God’s word is ever living, ever powerful and always life changing. God’s word is more contemporary then the latest best seller on the New York Times list – it is certainly more accurate.

God’s word is infallible. My life verse comes from the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. This is a book I skipped through many times when I was younger because I felt it really had nothing pertinent for me. After all, it was mostly just a list of names and numbers. It is the census that Moses recorded after the Israelites fled from Egypt. How life changing could that be?

But then I found this verse securely anchored in the middle of the book.

“God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?” Numbers 23:19 NLT

Once I began to really take this verse a part, phrase by phrase, I realized that if this one verse isn’t true then the whole Bible can be discarded. If God can lie or change His mind then we have to eliminate other teachings that are foundational to our Christian faith. Things like the unconditional love of God becomes conditional, if God can change His mind. Eternal life becomes relative and not available to everyone, if God can lie. Grace is no longer grace and our Christian walk becomes merit based if we can’t trust what God says.

But God isn’t human; He doesn’t lie and His word isn’t subject to change. It is truth and it stands forever.

“The sky and the earth will not last forever, but my words will.” Mark 13:31 CEV

God’s word never fails. The failure is a human issue and not caused by God. The Word of God will make a difference in our lives if we allow it too. We aren’t suppose to be living stressed out like the rest of the world; we aren’t supposed to be living under the circumstances. The Word of God tells us that we are world overcomers, more than conquerors and it causes us to triumph. When we are standing on the Word of God the storms of life won’t flatten us. We will be steadfast and sure.

“Let the peace of Christ have power over your hearts. You were chosen as a part of His body. Always be thankful. 16 Let the teaching of Christ and His words keep on living in you. These make your lives rich and full of wisdom. Keep on teaching and helping each other. Sing the Songs of David and the church songs and the songs of heaven with hearts full of thanks to God. 17 Whatever you say or do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus.” Colossians 3:15-17 NLV

These verses from God’s Word should become our standard. We can look at our life now and say, “Lord I don’t quite measure up to this yet…but I am growing and I am who Your word says I am and I am growing and I will be a beacon of what Your Word will do in the life of someone who is willing to be believe it – not in theory, but by faith.” AMEN

God’s Word is timeless! It doesn’t need to change, we do.

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