by Catherine McDaugale | Jul 18, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
Shall the ax boast itself against him who chops with it? Or shall the saw exalt itself against him who saws with it? As if a rod could wield itself against those who lift it up, or as if a staff could lift up, as if it were not wood! (Isaiah 10:15 (NKJV))
It’s easy to take credit for the things that God is doing in and through your life. But the truth is that God deserves all the glory. He is the One who should get the praise. That’s because He is the one who
- made you;
- gave you certain abilities and intellect;
- gives you strength each day;
- puts each breath in your lungs; and
- guides you with His Spirit.
When we do God’s work, we are tools in His hand – like the ax or the saw in the verse above.
It seems ridiculous to imagine an ax looking back at you with a wink and boasting, “Look at all the wood I chopped. Aren’t I the sharpest, strongest ax you’ve ever seen?” You know that someone made the ax and sharpened it. And the strength and guidance of the one who was wielding the ax was responsible for the wood being cut.
Or let’s put it in more conventional terms. Let’s say you’re making vegetable soup for dinner. You went to the store to shop for the ingredients, washed the vegetables, and used your knife to cut them up just right. What if your knife started bragging about all of the work it had done?
You would know it was just a tool you had used. It didn’t do the work. Instead, the knife was used by you to accomplish your purpose of making the soup.
The same thing happens when we do God’s work. God works in and through us to accomplish His purpose. We shouldn’t take any credit for it because God is the One who did everything. He equips us for the work, prepares the way before us, and gives us strength through His Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. We are tools in His mighty, capable hand.
Although we make ourselves available and submit to His plan, we cannot please God with our own efforts. We need His help to do His work the right way. As Jesus told us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 (NKJV)).
So, don’t get full of yourself. Resist the urge to steal God’s glory. As my pastor said the other evening, if your head gets too big, God might take a big pin and pop it. God won’t give His glory to another (Isaiah 42:8). Humble yourself or, one day, God will humble you.
Instead, give credit where credit is due. Praise God for all He is doing in and through your life. Tell others about the amazing things God has done. Share with them how God equipped you, helped you, and gave you the strength and ability to do His work. Remind them about the way God lined up certain things so it was possible for Him to work through you in that situation.
And, remember that God deserves all the glory. “Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God!” (Revelation 19:1 (NKJV)). He is the One who will be exalted among the nations (Psalm 46:10). And one day, every knee will bow to Him (Romans 14:11).
Let’s exalt Jesus’ name now, remembering that we are tools in God’s hand as we walk by faith with Him.
* Photo by Alexei Scutari on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Jul 4, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6 (NKJV))
Decisions, decisions, decisions. Apparently, an average person makes about 35,000 choices each day. 35,000. That equates to 2,000 decisions every hour you’re awake and one every two seconds.[1]
Of course, most of those decisions are minor. And you probably don’t think too much about them. Decisions like . . .
Do I really want to get out of bed now? Maybe just five more minutes.
Should I wear a purple shirt or a blue one?
What should I eat for breakfast? I don’t really feel like eating yogurt this morning.
Should I drive five miles per hour over the speed limit? Maybe I should use my cruise control.
You get the idea. But there’s one decision that is more important than any other. It’s the most significant one you’ll ever make. And that’s not an exaggeration. The decision will not only affect your current life but all of eternity.
Have you decided to follow Jesus?
I hope you’ve already chosen to follow Him. If you haven’t, don’t put off making that decision for another day.
Anyway, by waiting, you’ve already decided by default. Jesus said that you’re either with Him or against Him (Matthew 12:30). By choosing not to make the decision, you’ve chosen to not follow Jesus today. By putting it off, you’ve chosen to be against Jesus.
If you wait until tomorrow to decide, you might not get a tomorrow. We are not guaranteed another day. No one knows when their time is up. And if you die before choosing to follow Jesus, it will be too late. The Bible teaches us that “each person is destined to die once and after that comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 (NLT)).
There is no purgatory. No penalty box where you wait until you’ve done your penance so you can enter into heaven. We don’t come back in another life as someone or something else. This life is your only opportunity to choose. As the saying goes, “You make your choices and then your choices make you.”
So, what’s keeping you from deciding? Maybe you think that you have plenty of time left and you’ll wait to take God seriously when you’re older. Or maybe you’re waiting for a sign – a lightning strike that will prove once and for all that God means what He says in the Bible.
But God has already given us a sign. As Jesus said,
“This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign. But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that He was sent by God.” (Luke 11:29-30 (NLT))
When God told Jonah to go and preach to the Ninevites, Jonah refused and got on a boat that was going to a place in the opposite direction from where the Ninevites lived (Jonah 1:1-3). God sent a storm that threatened the lives of all who were on that boat (Jonah 1:4). So they tossed Jonah overboard, and the storm ceased (Jonah 1:12, 15).
Jonah descended into the depths of the water where God had prepared a large fish to swallow him (Jonah 1:17). Still, it took three days for Jonah to repent (Jonah 1:17-2:9). When he did, God spoke to the fish, and it expelled him onto dry land (Jonah 2:10).
What happened to Jonah was miraculous. When he finally obeyed God, Jonah went to Nineveh and cried out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” (Jonah 3:4 (NKJV)). That very short sermon was enough to get the people of Nineveh to believe in God and repent (Jonah 3:5).
Similarly, Jesus’ resurrection was a sign to that generation and every generation since then that Jesus is who He said He is. He is the Son of God. And Jesus is the only way to come to the Father and have eternal life. Jesus died on the cross for our sins, was buried in a tomb, and rose again on the third day – just as the scriptures had predicted.
In fact, all of the Old Testament’s prophecies about the coming suffering, servant Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. Jesus is our sign. So stop looking for another one.
As Steven Curtis Chapman exhorts us in his song, Waiting for Lightning:
But the sign and the word have already been given,
And now it’s by faith, we must look and we must listen.
Instead of waiting for lightning.
A sign that it’s time for a change;
Listening for thunder,
As He quietly whispers your name.
If you haven’t chosen to follow Jesus, do so today. Stop waiting for lightning. Today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2). Tomorrow never does come. By choosing Jesus, you can start walking by faith with Him today.
* Photo by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
[1] Eva M. Krockow, Ph.D., “How Many Decisions Do We Make Each Day?,” Psychology Today, Sep. 27, 2018, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/stretching-theory/201809/how-many-decisions-do-we-make-each-day.
by Catherine McDaugale | Jun 20, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth, Thoughts
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKVJ))
War is real. Countries invade other countries. Lives are lost and devastation follows. It’s no surprise. Jesus told us in the last days we would “hear of wars and rumors of wars” (Matthew 24:6 (NKJV)).
But did you know that there is a spiritual war going on around you? A battle is being fought at this very moment in the spiritual realm. As the Bible explains, “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV)).
We’re at war. And many don’t even know it. That war is being fought over people’s souls and Christians’ lives. Although we can’t see it, it doesn’t make it any less real.
We get a peek into this spiritual realm through God’s prophet, Elisha. When Elisha and his servant were surrounded by a great army with horses and chariots, the servant was afraid (2 Kings 6:15). Wouldn’t you be afraid too? I would. But Elisha told his servant, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them” (2 Kings 6:16 (NKJV)).
I’ll bet at first the servant thought Elisha had lost his mind. Maybe he looked at himself and then at Elisha. Yep, there were only two of them. Two. . . versus a great army. What was Elisha talking about?
Elisha then prayed that God would open the servant’s eyes so he could see (2 Kings 6:17). “Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17 (NKJV)).
That must have been an amazing sight. Elisha’s servant was able to put on spiritual glasses (so to speak) to see what was really going on. He had the privilege of seeing what most are unable to witness.
We get more insight into the spiritual realm from another one of God’s prophets. Daniel had prayed for God to give him understanding about a vision. But his prayer wasn’t answered for three weeks.
When an angel came to answer his prayer, he told Daniel that his words had been heard “from the first day” he had “set [his] heart to understand” (Daniel 10:12 (NKJV)). Yet, the angel had been delayed by “the prince of the kingdom of Persia” – a fallen angel or demon – until Michael the Archangel had come to help him (Daniel 10:13 (NKJV)).
In the spiritual realm, God’s angels are battling against fallen angels. And the stakes are high. People’s souls rest in the balance. As Jesus warned us, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy” (John 10:10 (NKJV)).
If you’re a believer in Jesus, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). You belong to God; your soul is secure. Still, the battle rages on around you.
Satan tries to keep you from drawing closer to God and from being effective at doing God’s work. He knows that God uses people to reach other people. So, he tries to render believers ineffective.
His tactics have been the same for generations. In the garden of Eden, Satan tempted Eve to sin by appealing to
- the lust of the flesh (she “saw that the tree was good for food”);
- the lust of the eyes (“it was pleasant to the eyes”); and
- the pride of life (it was “desirable to make one wise”) (Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)).
When Eve got her eyes off God and on herself, “she took of its fruit and ate” even though she knew she wasn’t supposed to eat it (Genesis 3:6 (NKJV)).
And Satan continues to use these three things to tempt us. He tries to get us to satisfy
- our flesh (It’s okay if I flirt a little; my husband never pays attention to me like he does.);
- our eyes (I know I can’t afford it but that outfit would look great on me.); and
- our pride (She deserved what I said to her. Doesn’t she know who she’s talking to?).
Out of these temptations arise distractions, irritations, addictions, and misplaced desire. And those things take our focus off God and places it on ourselves.
So, what do we do? We need to use the spiritual weapons God gave us to fight the war. As we see from our verse above, those weapons are “not carnal,” which means they are not of this world. Instead, they are “mighty in God.”
If we look in Ephesians 6, the apostle Paul tells us about the spiritual armor God gave us to use in this fight. He directs us to “put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm” (Ephesians 6:13 (NLT)).
Paul then tells us more about this armor. Let’s look at one piece – “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17 (NKJV)). Did you know that you can use the Bible to protect yourself? You can.
The Bible is a powerful weapon that you can always rely on. That weapon is “alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12 (NLT)).
Jesus used the word of God to counteract Satan’s temptations. Each time Satan tempted Him with something, Jesus quoted from the Bible (Matthew 4:3-10). As He did, Jesus withstood every temptation that came His way.
That’s why it’s so important to memorize Bible verses. When you’re in the middle of a spiritual battle, God will assist you by bringing those verses to mind. You can then speak God’s word out loud to resist temptation.
When we use the spiritual weapons that are mighty in God, we are able to fight the battle. “By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life” (2 Peter 1:3 (NLT)). Let’s arm ourselves with the spiritual weapons God has provided so we can live a life pleasing to Him. When we keep ourselves pure, God will be able to do His work through us to reach the lost as we walk by faith with Him.
* Photo by Joel Muniz on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Jun 6, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.” (Psalm 39:7 (NKJV))
Many of us are waiting for something. Maybe you’re going through a trial that seems like it will never end. Or maybe God has given you a promise that has not yet come to fruition. What should we do while we’re waiting?
In short, we should trust God. And “let patience have its perfect work” (James 1:4 (NKJV)).
Waiting for a promise to be fulfilled may seem like a trial in and of itself. Waiting is hard – especially in our culture. We’re not used to waiting for anything. Instead, we’re used to getting things the way we want them, when we want them.
We have fast food. On-demand movies. Giga-bit internet. People get impatient if they have to wait for more than a few minutes in a drive-through. Some even get irritated and leave (or worse). We stream entertainment at our fingertips whenever we want it. Our internet is now so fast that everything works in an instant, even on our phones.
Gone are the days of patiently cooking your own food. Many don’t remember dial-up internet that binged and bonged for a minute before it even connected. And then it would run so slowly that you could get up and do something else for an hour while you were waiting for something to download. Literally.
So when we’re going through a trial, we want it to end now. Or, better yet, yesterday. We don’t want to wait for a promise; we want it to happen immediately. Right?
Sometimes, God does deliver you out of the trial. It started, you prayed, you trusted, and bam! It seemed like God delivered you out of it instantly.
Other times, God gave you a promise that was fulfilled soon after He gave it to you. You were overjoyed by His blessing. You couldn’t believe how quickly God had worked.
But then there are those times when you’re not sure if God is listening. You wonder if He’s doing anything or if He even remembers the promise He gave you. You cry out, “How long must I wait?”
God’s timing is perfect. We need to wait for Him. In the waiting, God is doing a work in us. He’s using that time to change us.
It’s easy to get our priorities mixed up when we’re in pain. When we’re hurting, our focus can get stuck on the trial or the unfulfilled promise. But that’s not where our attention should be. We need to remember that we’re not waiting for something, but on Someone.
Our eyes need to be on Jesus. Our hope lies in Him and Him alone. Refocus your eyes; change your depth of field. Stop focusing on your struggles and fix your eyes firmly on Jesus. Remember all that He has already done for you. Recall how He brought you up out of the miry clay and set your feet on a rock (Psalm 40:2).
When we wait on God, instead of something else, He will strengthen your heart (Psalm 27:14). And “those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)).
God has a plan. And He has a time for that plan to happen. He is working all things together – not just in your life but in the lives of others as well. God is doing a work while you’re waiting. Even though you can’t see it, God is working. He never sleeps or slumbers (Psalm 121:3-4).
Trust Him. Wait on Him. Be patient while He works.
In the meantime, here are three things you can do while you’re waiting:
1. Read the Bible
Take time each day to nourish your spirit. We tend to focus on our physical needs and forget that our spirit has needs too. When was the last time you forgot to eat food? I have heard of some people who say things like, “I was so busy that I forgot to eat.” But for most, our stomachs readily remind us when we need to eat. (And often too frequently. Sigh.)
But it’s easy to get distracted with whatever we’re doing and forget to spend time reading the Bible. Set aside a regular time to be in God’s Word
- getting to know Him better;
- finding out what He likes and what He hates;
- discovering what He wants you to do and what He doesn’t want you to do; and
- learning about the amazing things He has done.
As you draw near to God, He has promised to draw near to you (James 4:8). And, as your relationship with God deepens, you’ll be able to trust Him and be patient in the waiting.
2. Pray
Pour out your heart to God. Tell Him how you’re feeling. He knows what you’re going through is hard. And He will be there to listen to you and walk with you through it.
In the waiting, you may question the truth that God loves you. But that is the truth. Because He cares for you, He wants you to cast all your care on Him (1 Peter 5:7). The word “cast” means to throw. God wants you to throw your worries to Him. When you do, it’s out of your hands and in His. His hands are able to hold all your cares. Let Him help you.
3. Worship
Praise God for what He’s going to do in your life and for the things He’s already done. When you’re feeling down, put on your favorite worship music and sing to Him. As the psalmist encourages us,
“I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will tell of all Your marvelous works. I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.” (Psalm 9:1-2 (NKJV))
As you sing praises to God, something awesome happens. When you started singing, your spirit may have felt heavy. You probably didn’t even feel like worshipping God. And it may have been difficult for you to even get the words out of your mouth.
But as you praise Him, as you continue to sing, your spirits are lifted. You feel lighter, calmer – even joyful. Your disposition actually changes while you’re worshipping our beautiful Savior. He is so good to us!
Have you noticed how the psalms often begin with despair and end in hope? The process of taking your cares to the Lord and then praising Him despite your pain results in lifting your spirit. Your circumstances haven’t changed. Yet, your perspective has. You are able to see the size of your problem in light of our great God. Take time to praise Him every day.
So, in the waiting, wait on God. Take time to read His Word, pray to Him, and praise Him as you anticipate how He will work. As you do, you will grow closer to God as you wait by faith on Him.
*Photo by Guilherme Stecanella on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | May 23, 2022 | Life, Ministry
“He created them male and female, and blessed them and called them Mankind in the day they were created.” (Genesis 5:2 (NKJV))
The Confusion about Gender
The other day, I googled the question, “How many genders are there?” The search produced a variety of answers, many from medical-sounding websites. Based on the dates of those articles, it became clear that the number had been rising. Recently, people had come up with over 70 ways to self-identify.[1]
The idea that you get to choose your gender is becoming entrenched in our society. You’ve most likely heard about the effects, including
- the ability to get a passport or a driver’s license without specifying your gender;[2]
- discussions about the singular “they” to be used as “a generic third-person singular pronoun in English”;[3] and
- confusion about the biological implications of being male or female, such as the introduction of a pregnant man emoji, the mocking of a state governor for saying men can’t get pregnant,[4] and the elimination of gendered restrooms.[5]
The movement has also targeted our children with picture books about their gender options and school districts “educating” them on that subject.
The Truth about Gender
In the midst of the confusion, it’s important to go to a reliable source for the truth. And there’s no better source of truth than God’s Word, the Bible. As we see from the verse in Genesis, God created gender. And God’s Word is clear – there are two. God made them male and female.
It’s no surprise that biology supports this truth. Our DNA shows this very thing. A person either has a Y chromosome and an X chromosome (a man) or two X chromosomes (a woman). A person can try to change his or her gender with clothing, hormone treatments, or surgery. But the person’s DNA remains the same.
The Bible teaches us that God made the first woman, Eve, from a rib in Adam’s side (Genesis 2:21-22). Man alone was not good (Genesis 2:18). So, God made Adam a helper who was comparable to him (Genesis 2:18).
Importantly, God loves men and women equally. He doesn’t love a man any more than He loves a woman or vice versa. Both men and women are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27) and are one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28). Yet, equal doesn’t mean the same.
God made us differently. Generally, men are physically stronger than women. And women can bear children while men cannot. There is a purpose for our different reproductive organs. After God made Adam and Eve, He told them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth” (Genesis 1:28 (NKJV)). God made us male and female so the earth could continue to be populated.
In this upside-down world where good – God’s design – is now being called evil, it’s important to remind ourselves of this truth. Internalize it. Choose to believe the truth and not the lie. It’s not for us to decide how we were designed. That is within God’s purview. He alone has that authority.
If you struggle with this truth, meditate on what God has told us in His Word. In addition to Genesis 5:2, read Genesis 1:27, Matthew 19:4, and Mark 10:6. As our Creator, God defines who we are and how we’re made.
Talk to God about what you’re thinking and feeling. He won’t be surprised by what you say. Come to Him and ask Him to help you accept His truth.
Your Responsibility as a Truth-bearer
As a truth-bearer, you have a responsibility to “walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him” (Colossians 1:10 (NKJV)). What does that mean in this context? Here are three things that will help you to “walk worthy.”
1. Remember Where You Came From
Don’t forget who you were before God saved you. We “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23 (NKJV)). As Paul reminds us,
“Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people – none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (NLT)).
Paul lists some sins that may have been a regular part of your life before you decided to follow Jesus. One that most, if not all of us, used to practice was the worship of idols. I’m not talking about a little statue that you call your god and bow down to like ancient cultures once did (and some existing cultures still do).
Worshipping an idol means that you have made something more important than God. It might be money, a job, power, family, or even yourself. These are things that many people commonly prioritize over God. If you’ve ever done so, that is sin.
And your sin is not any better than the sin of self-identifying as a gender that God has not given to you. It’s only by God’s grace that you were saved. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9 (NKJV)). You were not saved by anything that you have done.
2. Consider God’s Love For that Person
Just like you, that person was made in God’s image. And God sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross for that person’s sins – not just yours. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 (NKJV) (emphasis added)).
God doesn’t love you any more than He loves that person. And He wants that person to come to repentance like you did. God is patient toward us, “not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9 (NKJV)).
3. Be the Hands and Feet of Jesus
If the gospel is offensive on its own terms, that’s okay. The Bible tells us that “the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV)). But if you’re offensive, that’s another thing. In that case, you aren’t loving people like God loves them. If you’re obnoxious or hateful, you are misrepresenting God.
You can meet people where they’re at, just like Jesus did. You don’t have to get angry with them or tell them that they’re living in sin the first time you meet them.
As you get to know the person, you can share your testimony – who you were before Jesus, how God brought you into a relationship with Him, and what God has done to change your life since then. Tell the person about the work God is doing in your life.
Then, if you get an opportunity to speak the truth, you must do so in love. You can hate the sin without hating the person. Send up a quick prayer to God in your mind, asking Him to fill you with His Spirit to help you handle the truth well. Ask God for His wisdom and guidance as you share His truth.
Tell the person what God’s Word says about gender. However, don’t forget to share the truth about God’s love and all that He has done for him or her.
With these things in mind, let’s stand for the truth. But let us not forget where we came from. And obey God’s command to love others as you love yourself (Matthew 22:39). Love the people God has placed in your path with His love as you walk by faith with Him.
*Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
[1] Shaziya Allarakha, MD, “What Are the 72 Other Genders?,” Medicine Net, Feb. 2, 2022, https://www.medicinenet.com/what_are_the_72_other_genders/article.htm.
[2] U.S. Department of State, “X Gender Marker Available on U.S. Passports Starting April 11,” Mar. 31, 2022, https://www.state.gov/x-gender-marker-available-on-u-s-passports-starting-april-11/; Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, “Change Your Sex,” https://dmv.colorado.gov/change-your-sex.
[3] American Psychological Association, “Singular ‘They,’” https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/grammar/singular-they.
[4] Gabriel Hays, “Gavin Newsom savagely mocked as ‘disgusting transphobe’ for claiming men can’t get pregnant at abortion rally,” Fox News, May 5, 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/media/gavin-newsom-mocked-disgusting-transphobe-men-cant-get-pregnant-abortion.
[5] Kyle Morris, “Chicago Public Schools eliminating sex-specific restrooms to ‘increase gender equity,’” Fox News, Dec. 2, 2021, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chicago-public-schools-moves-to-eliminate-gendered-restrooms.
by Catherine McDaugale | May 9, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and
all these things shall be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33 (NKJV))
By examining yourself, you should be able to determine if God is the One who’s on center stage in your life. To do so, ask yourself what you spend most of your time thinking about. Is it your children? Your husband? Or getting a husband? Maybe it’s not family-related but your job, a vacation you’re planning, or a fun night out with friends.
Now compare the amount of time you spend thinking about those things with how much you think about God. Meditating on His goodness – on who He is and all He has done. Thinking about things like how He created the universe by speaking it into existence and how that shows His power and might. About the promises He’s made to us and all He’s done for you.
If God’s not front and center in your thought-life, you may have relegated Him to that dusty supply closet backstage where you only go when you need something.
God wants to be the main thing in your life, for you to seek Him first. He doesn’t want to be an after-thought, the One we only think about when something bad happens. We shouldn’t confine God to our Sunday mornings. Of course, God also wants us to seek Him in those times. But He doesn’t want them to be the only occasions in which we come to Him.
Make sure you haven’t confined God to certain parts of your life. Instead, put Him on center stage. Give Him priority. Seek Him first, not when you get around to it. When you do, God has promised to provide for your needs.
Besides His promise of provision, there are other reasons we should seek God first. For one, God deserves to be on center stage in our lives. He is the One who created the universe – the One who made us (Genesis 1:1, 27). And Jesus is the One who sustains us. He is literally holding us together. The Bible teaches us that “He holds all creation together” (Colossians 1:17 (NLT)).
Moreover, God wants to have a relationship with you. But you can’t have a relationship with someone you’re not spending time with.
Think about the connections you have with your family and friends. They take time, thought, and energy. Without that investment, a relationship can become estranged. Or it may never form to begin with.
It takes time to develop a friendship – to get to know a person’s likes and dislikes, to understand what they think is important, and to learn how they feel about certain things. If you don’t make the time, you won’t get to know that person very well.
It’s the same with God. If you don’t spend time with Him, your relationship with Him won’t deepen. It won’t grow. You won’t know Him very well. And God wants you to know Him. He has revealed Himself to you in the Bible.
Isn’t that amazing? The all-powerful, all-mighty God wants to have a close relationship with you! He already knows everything about you. God knows what you do and what you think about. He even knows what you’re going to say before you even say it (Psalm 139:4). But He wants you to get to know Him.
So let God be on center stage in your life. Seek Him first today. That doesn’t mean you stop caring about other people or things. Seeking God first just means that God takes priority each day of your life.
Here are a few things that will help you to seek God first:
- Read the Bible every day to discover who God is and His will for your life.
- Meditate on what you read. Ask yourself what it means and how God wants you to apply it to your life.
- Pray to God. Tell Him what’s going on in Your life. Ask Him for guidance and help with the decisions you need to make.
- Be obedient to do whatever God asks you to do. If the Bible teaches you that you shouldn’t do something, obey God and stop doing it. Conversely, if there’s something God wants you to do, start doing it.
As you seek God first – putting Him on center stage, you’ll be able to walk by faith with Him.
* Photo by Barry Weatherall on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Apr 25, 2022 | Christian Living, Life
“. . . forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” (Colossians 3:13 (NKJV))
When someone has wronged you, forgiveness is likely the last thing on your mind. The pain cuts deep into your heart. Thoughts like, “How could she have said that?” or “How could he have done that to me?” run through your mind. You justify withholding forgiveness because you feel like they don’t deserve it.
Before we talk about why you should forgive, let’s start by defining our terms. Forgiveness means that you release the person’s debt – the debt that was created by the wrong. It does not mean that the person’s words or actions were okay. It’s only a decision to no longer hold that wrong against them.
Moreover, forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation. You can forgive without the relationship being restored. The trust that was lost is not necessarily regained. Depending on the circumstances, that person may still not be a part of your life and may not even know that you’ve forgiven them.
With that in mind, here are three reasons you should forgive:
1. God Told Us To
The main reason we should forgive is because God told us to. As we see from the above verse, God commands us to forgive. It tells us that we “must” forgive (Colossians 3:13 (NKJV)). The word “must” means that it’s mandatory. It’s not optional. We don’t get to decide if we want to forgive. The Bible doesn’t say, “You can think about whether it’s a good idea.”
Because God told us to forgive, we should be obedient to do what He’s asked us to do. Frankly, this should be enough. (Drop mic, exit stage right.) But if you’re still not convinced, there are two more reasons you should forgive.
2. You’ve Been Forgiven Much
Second, you should forgive based on the forgiveness you’ve received from God. Going back to the verse in Colossians, the Bible teaches that you must forgive “even as Christ forgave you” (Colossians 3:13 (NKJV)). When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive his brother, Jesus told him a parable.
In the parable, a king was settling his accounts with his servants and saw that a man owed him 10,000 talents (Matthew 18:23-24). That probably doesn’t mean much to you since we don’t have talents in our monetary system. But at that time, 10,000 talents would equate to payment for 60 million workdays.[1] Yes, million. If you divide that by 365 days in a year, you come up with about 164,383 years. Obviously, it would be impossible to work off that debt.
Because the servant was not able to pay the debt, the king ordered that the man, his wife, his children, and all his possessions be sold (Matthew 18:25). The man fell down before the king and begged him to have patience with him (Matthew 18:26). So, the king “was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt” (Matthew 18:27 (NKJV)).
The servant then went to a fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (100 days’ wages), “laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying ‘Pay me what you owe!’” (Matthew 18:28 (NKJV)). When his fellow servant begged him to have patience with him, “he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt” (Matthew 18:29-30 (NKJV)).
When the king found out about it, he called the servant and said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (Matthew 18:32-33 (NKJV)). So the king “delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him” (Matthew 18:34 (NKJV)).
Jesus then said, “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses” (Matthew 18:35 (NKJV)).
Like the servant in the parable, we have been forgiven much as believers in Jesus. The price of our forgiveness was costly because we have sinned against an all-powerful, almighty God. Jesus had to die to pay that price. He was brutally beaten and hung on a cross. Yet, Jesus willingly died because of His great love for us.
In turn, any infraction against us pales in comparison to our sin against God. Because we have been forgiven much, we should forgive those sins committed against us.
I’m not trying to minimize your pain. That pain is real. The offense may have been great. Your trust was probably violated. Relationships may have been ruined. But any sin against us is like the debt owed to the servant by his fellow servant. And our sin against God is like the debt the servant owed the king – one that we would have never been able to repay.
3. It’s Good For Your Health
Finally, you should forgive because unforgiveness is bad for you. It’s a heavy burden. Until you forgive, that burden is always with you. When you see the person or think about them, whatever they did comes to mind. Your anxiety rises as you dwell on it. You become bitter as you replay it over and over in your mind.
The anxiety you experience has an adverse effect on your body. As the Bible teaches us, “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression” (Proverbs 12:25 (NKJV)). Of course, medical studies corroborate the Bible’s claim. And I’m sure you’ve experienced anxiety at one time or another in varying degrees. It’s never a good thing. When you forgive, you feel lighter and your anxiety is relieved.
So let’s obey God and forgive those who have wronged us. God knows what is best for us. Let’s always remember how much God has forgiven us. You’ll reap the benefits as you draw closer to God and walk by faith with Him.
[1] Earl D. Radmacher, ed. NKJV Study Bible – Notes. n.p.: Thomas Nelson, 2019. Olive Tree Bible Study App Edition.
by Catherine McDaugale | Apr 11, 2022 | Bible Study
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV))
All scripture is profitable. Profitable means helpful or useful. That includes those pesky genealogies. You know, the Biblical family trees. The ones that seem to have an endless list of names we can’t pronounce and wonder why they’re there in the first place.
Yet, genealogies are useful. And they even contain hidden gems when we’re willing to take the time to look for them. For example, the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1 includes some surprising names. One of those is Rahab. We know from Joshua 2 and 6:22-25 that Rahab was a harlot who God later spared when the walls of Jericho fell. Despite her past as a harlot, she ended up in Jesus’ family tree. It just goes to show you that God can work through your life no matter what’s in your past. God is amazing!
Another genealogy is useful to answer a question I received from one of you. Someone asked, “God made Adam and Eve. They had two sons. Where did all the other people come from?” That’s a great question. Before we get to the answer, let’s start with a little background.
On the sixth day of creation, God created the first man, Adam (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:7). After Adam named all of the animals, he saw that there was no one comparable to him (Genesis 2:20). So God put Adam into a deep sleep, took a rib from Adam’s side, and created woman (Genesis 2:21-22).
God presented the woman, Eve, to Adam in the first marriage (Genesis 2:22). Then God commanded them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth (Genesis 1:28).
We are then told about the first two sons that came from the union between Adam and Eve – Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-2). After Cain murdered Abel (Genesis 4:8), Adam and Eve had a third son named Seth (Genesis 4:25).
We are also told that Cain “went out from the presence of the LORD and dwelt in the land of Nod” (Genesis 4:16 (NKJV)). Cain “knew his wife, and she conceived and bore Enoch” (Genesis 4:16 (NKJV)). And Seth had a son named Enosh (Genesis 4:26). Where did Cain and Seth get their wives from?
We get our answer from the genealogy in Genesis 5. I confess that this particular genealogy was a stumbling block to me for many years. For some reason, I thought I had to read the Bible like other books – starting at page one through the end. In order. Because I could never seem to finish reading through this genealogy, I didn’t get very far in reading the Bible for a very long time. Of course, the Bible doesn’t actually need to be read like that.
Anyway, I later discovered that you can learn a lot from these genealogies. If we take the time to slow down and consider them, we can glean some really great information.
In this genealogy, we learn that Adam lived for 800 years after Eve bore Seth. During that time, “he had sons and daughters” (Genesis 5:4 (NKJV)). We don’t know how many sons and daughters he had because the Bible doesn’t tell us. But 800 years is a long time. Even if Adam and Eve only had children during a portion of that time, they could have had many, many sons and daughters.
We also learn that Seth begot Enosh when he was 105 years old (Genesis 5:6). Based on that fact, there would have been plenty of time for one of Adam’s and Eve’s daughters to grow up to be a marriageable age.
And yes, that means that brothers and sisters would have married at the beginning of it all and had children. While this practice is unacceptable in our society (and even by the time of Moses about 2,500 years later (see, e.g., Leviticus 18:6-18)), it was not a restriction at that time.
As AnswersInGenesis.org points out, when Adam and Eve were created, they were perfect. It wasn’t until after they sinned that “suffering and death affected mankind and every other living thing.” [1] One thing that came with sin was mutations in people’s DNA. But since Adam and Eve had perfect genes, their children would have had few mutations. It was only when those genetic mutations increased that the likelihood of inherited disease became so great that it was dangerous to marry a close relation.
So, the next time you come across a Biblical genealogy, resist the urge to skip over it. Instead, pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to teach you something as you read through it. You may be surprised at what you learn.
* Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
[1] Dr. Georgia Purdom, “Where Did Cain Get His Wife?” Answers Magazine, July 1, 2014, https://answersingenesis.org/bible-characters/cain/creation-basics/.
by Catherine McDaugale | Mar 28, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry, Spiritual Growth
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV))
Have you noticed that God doesn’t usually give you the whole picture when He asks you to do something? It’s like putting together a puzzle when you don’t have the front of the box. You’re not sure what it’s going to look like when you’re finished. You can’t see how it will turn out.
For example, you may feel God prompting you to text someone a Bible verse but you have no idea why. You may feel uncomfortable because you’re worried what she’ll think. Later, she may tell you that the verse was exactly what she needed at the time. However, when you sent it, you didn’t have that insight.
Or God may give you a vision with just the first step. He shows you what He wants you to accomplish overall but doesn’t give you the details. Until you take that first step, God doesn’t give you the next one. You have no idea how God is going to take you from step one to the vision’s completion. You don’t have the whole picture.
A few years ago, God gave me a vision about writing a book about His faithfulness. I had never written a book before and didn’t have any idea how it could come to completion. God had only given me the first step. He wanted me to write about how He had been faithful to bring me through a difficult time. It wasn’t until I completed that first step that He gave me the next one. As I followed His direction, God guided me step by step, giving me everything I needed as I stepped out in faith to do the next part.
After the book was completed, I could look back and see the whole picture. I could see how God had met me where I was, each step of the way. And that first step – the one that was so hard to take – didn’t even make it into the book. It was necessary to start the process, and God used it for me personally. But the first step was never meant to be part of the book.
Each time God gives us something to do, we really want the whole picture, don’t we? We think it would be helpful to know all the details. We believe that we would be more confident if we knew each step we would need to take, what would happen in response to each step we took, and how God would work in each situation
Yet, if God gave us the whole picture, we wouldn’t be walking by faith with Him. Instead, we would likely move forward on our own.
Moreover, having the whole picture wouldn’t necessarily help. The truth is that we might not be able to handle the whole picture if God gave it to us up front. It might be too overwhelming for us to take it all in.
We see an example of this in Moses’s life. When God called Moses to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, He gave Moses many of the details about where He wanted Moses to go, what He wanted Moses to do, who He wanted Moses to talk to, what He wanted Moses to say, and how the people would respond.
- First, God told Moses to go and gather the elders of Israel together, what he should say to the elders, and how the elders would respond (Exodus 3:16-18).
- Second, God told Moses to go to the king of Egypt with the elders, what he should say to the king of Egypt, and that the king of Egypt would not let the Israelites leave (Exodus 3:18-19).
- Finally, God told Moses that He would do the work so that the king of Egypt would let them go and they would leave with the Egyptians’ riches (Exodus 3:20-22).
In short, God gave Moses the whole picture.
When God was finished, we see that Moses was still stuck on step one. Moses asked God, “But suppose they [the elders] will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’” (Exodus 4:1 (NKJV)).
God had just told Moses how the elders of the Israelites would react. God told Moses that they would believe him – that they would “heed” his voice (Exodus 3:18 (NKJV)). But Moses was focused on himself and his own abilities. It’s like he shut down after that first direction. Maybe he began thinking about it, trying to figure out how it would all work.
Did Moses even hear the rest of what God told him in that moment? We don’t know. But it must have been overwhelming to hear about it all.
How often are we like Moses? We also get stuck on the first step. Instead of trusting God and stepping out in obedience, we get anxious. We ask ourselves, “How could I do that?” Or we worry about what people will think. For that reason, it would be easy for us to get overwhelmed if God gave us more than that first step.
Rather than focusing on our own abilities – or lack thereof – we need to trust God. God is able to help us with everything He wants us to do. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way” (Psalm 37:23 (NKJV)).
So stop waiting for that step-by-step plan. Don’t worry about whether God’s given you the whole picture. Step out in faith when God gives you that very first step. Trust Him and see the amazing things that He will do.
*Photo by Benjamin Zanatta on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Mar 14, 2022 | Bible Study, Christian Living
“Now to our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:20 (NKJV))
Moses saw the afterglow of God’s glory. The disciples caught a glimpse of it. We can reflect it. And one day we will see it for ourselves. So let’s learn what the Bible teaches us about the glory of God.
What is God’s Glory?
In the book of Revelation, we get a glimpse into the heavenly realm where God is being worshipped. The 24 elders fall down before His throne and say,
“You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created” (Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)).
The Greek word for glory is doxa, which means dignity, praise, and worship. It speaks of the splendor and brightness of God’s majesty. As we see from this verse, God deserves all the glory – all our worship and praise – because He is the One who created all things. It is only by His will that we even exist.
The Bible also teaches us that God will not give His glory away. The prophet Isaiah reports that God told him,
“I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:8 (NKJV)).
The Hebrew word for glory in Isaiah is kabod, which means splendor, honor, and reverence. We already know from the verse in Revelation why God deserves all the glory. And here, we see that God will not give that glory to another. Of course, that makes sense. It would be dishonest for God to tell us to worship and praise something or someone else. He alone is our great Creator and Sustainer.
God’s Glory can be Seen
God’s glory is not just the subject of our praise. It can be experienced. It can be seen. The Bible shows us different ways that God’s glory has been manifested physically. And in the future, we will see it for ourselves.
Let’s start with one of my favorite examples. Moses experienced God’s glory firsthand. He spent time with God on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 34:28). On one of those days, Moses said to God, “Please, show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18 (NKJV)).
God answered, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live” (Exodus 33:20 (NKJV)). But in God’s graciousness, He told Moses,
“Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen” (Exodus 33:21-23 (NKJV)).
The Hebrew word for “back” means not only someone’s physical back but also “afterward” or “hereafter.” Commentators suggest that the word in this verse refers to the afterglow of God’s glory. God passed by Moses, and Moses got to experience the afterglow of His glory.
Later, when Moses went back down the mountain to the Israelites, his face shone and the people were “afraid to come near him” (Exodus 34:29-30 (NKJV)). Moses literally reflected the glory of God.
We see another example when the angel announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. The “angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them” so that the shepherds were “greatly afraid” (Luke 2:9 (NKJV)). The shepherds were able to see a manifestation of God’s glory as the angel told them that the Messiah had been born that day. We can only imagine what that must have been like.
And Peter, James, and John caught a glimpse of God’s glory when Jesus was transfigured before their eyes. Jesus’ “face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light” (Matthew 17:2 (NKJV)). Mark tells us that “His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them” (Mark 9:3 (NKJV)). The Greek word for transfigured is metamorphoo, which means to change into another form. Jesus’ appearance was changed and became resplendent with divine brightness.
When Jesus came to dwell with us, He set aside His majesty and glory. But on that day, Peter, James, and John were able to momentarily experience Jesus’ glory. Peter was so befuddled that he said something foolish about making tabernacles on the mountain (Mark 9:5). And the Bible tells us he did so “because he did not know what to say, for they were greatly afraid” (Mark 9:6 (NKJV)). I’m sure if I had witnessed the same thing, I would have said something foolish as well.
Finally, God promises that we will get to experience His glory one day. In the new Jerusalem, the city will not need the sun or the moon to shine in it “for the glory of God” will illuminate it (Revelation 21:23 (NKJV)). What an amazing time that will be!
We can Reflect God’s Glory
So what can we learn from all of this? Although we cannot fully grasp the extent of God’s glory, we do know that we can reflect it as we walk by faith with Him. We won’t glow like Moses did. But when we spend time with Jesus, people can tell. When the religious Jewish leaders “saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled” and “realized that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13 (NKJV)).
Let’s spend time abiding in Jesus – reading His word, praying to Him, worshipping Him, and obeying Him when He asks us to step out in faith to do something. If we do, people will see it. They will know that we have been with Jesus because we will be reflecting His glory.
* Photo by Jonathan Borba on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Feb 24, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
“So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:12 (NKJV))
One of my favorite movies is Groundhog Day. In it, the main character gets stuck in a sort of time loop and lives the same day over and over. Essentially, time stands still.
He starts off confused. But then he progresses through different stages, using each “new” day to do whatever he wants without any consequences. Some days are filled with frivolity, while others are used to learn new things. After he understands the needed lesson, the clock finally moves on to the next day.
Wouldn’t that be great? Wouldn’t you love it if time stood still so you were able to have all the time you needed without worrying about the consequences?
But it doesn’t work like that. Ever. Time marches on, second by second at an unchanging, rhythmic pace. Time stops for no one.
If you waste a day binge-watching your favorite tv show on Netflix or some other streaming service, you won’t get those hours back. When you wake up the next day, it won’t be the same day again. Once a day has passed, it’s gone for good.
We all get one life. Each of our lives are allocated a certain number of days. In the Bible, the psalmist asks God to “teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12 (NKJV)). We don’t know exactly how much time we will have. But our days are numbered. This life won’t last forever.
When we realize how short our time is, we will use the time we have wisely. In the time that we have, God has fashioned days for us (Psalm 139:16). We can choose to follow God’s plan for our lives. Or we can squander the time He has given us on things that don’t really matter.
As it’s been said, only what is done for Christ will last. When a person comes to the end of her life, she doesn’t look back and say, “I wish I had watched more movies.” Rather, the regrets are that she didn’t spend more time with family, didn’t do something she knew God wanted her to do, or didn’t live her life in a godly way.
Don’t misunderstand me. When you die as a believer in Jesus, you won’t be judged for your sins because Jesus already paid the price for them (John 5:24). God has cast your sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12), and He has promised to remember them no more (Jeremiah 31:34). Praise God for that!
Yet, you will be judged for what you did with the time and the talents that God has given you. The Bible tells us,
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
At the end, our works will be tested by fire (1 Corinthians 3:13). The things you did for yourself will be burned up. But the things you did for the Lord with the right motive will be rewarded.
Jesus told us the parable of the talents. A talent was a unit of measurement used to weigh a coin. Likely, at the time Jesus taught this parable, a talent would have been equal to a year’s wage.
In the parable, a man who was going to travel to a “far country” gives his servants different amounts of talents according to each one’s ability (Matthew 25:14-15 (NKJV)). The man gave one servant five talents, another two talents, and another one talent (Matthew 25:15).
While their master was away, the servants with five and two talents each traded them and doubled the money (Matthew 25:16-17). “But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money” (Matthew 25:18 (NKJV)).
When their master returned, the servants who had been given five and two talents, told their master how they had doubled what he had given them (Matthew 25:19-20, 22). In response, their master told each one, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21, 23 (NKJV)).
But the servant who had hidden the one talent made excuses, accusing his master of being “a hard man” (Matthew 25:24-25 (NKJV)). In response, his master took the talent from him and gave it to the servant who had ten talents (Matthew 25:28).
Just as the master in the parable gave talents to his servants to invest for him while he was away, Jesus has given each one of us different abilities to use for His glory while He is away preparing a place for us. When we refuse to use them for any reason or are lazy, we sin.
So let’s be time sensitive because time stops for no one. Let’s commit to walking by faith with God, making the most of the time He has given us. Let it be our desire to one day hear our heavenly Father tell us, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.”
by Catherine McDaugale | Feb 10, 2022 | Christian Living, Ministry
It’s become common in our society to wear masks. I’m not talking about the cloth covering that we’re required to wear in some places because of the pandemic. The mask is the disguise we put on when we go places.
How often have you taken part in a short exchange like this one at church?:
“How are you?”
“Good, you?”
“Doing great.”
Sure, it may be true. Everything in your life might be going well at that moment. But sometimes, it’s not. You may be feeling discouraged. Or you may have just had an argument with your husband in the car while you were driving to church. Even so, when you walk through the door, you put on your best smile and act like nothing is wrong.
The Bible tells us, “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2 (NKJV)). What is the law of Christ? When Jesus was asked about the greatest commandment, He responded,
“‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39 (NKJV))
The law of Christ is to love God first and then to love your neighbor as you love yourself. One way to love your neighbor as yourself – to fulfill the law of Christ – is to bear one another’s burdens. The word “bear” means to take up in order to carry. When you bear someone else’s burdens, you come alongside that person and help her to carry the heaviness of her problems.
In another place in the Bible, God tells us, “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15 (NKJV)). We shouldn’t just share our victories with each other. We should also share our discouragements, our trials, and our difficulties.
By listening to someone who has a heavy burden, praying with her, and pointing her to Jesus, you can help her remember that she is not alone. By lending a helping hand, you can help someone who isn’t able to do something by themselves.
Yet, how often do we do that? Many times we’re wrapped up in our own little world, thinking about our own lives. It’s so easy to focus on what’s wrong in your own life.
When we’re focused on ourselves, we don’t pay attention to those around us. If we don’t make ourselves available to fulfill God’s command, we miss out when the Holy Spirit prompts us to check in with someone.
And it goes both ways. You may be the one with the burden – the one who needs that encouragement or help. The person greeting you when you come to church may be more than willing to listen. But many times, we don’t practice this verse because we’re unwilling to let our guard down. We don’t want to feel vulnerable. We’re afraid of what others will think.
Let’s stop being so concerned with appearances that we keep ourselves isolated. That’s exactly what the enemy wants. Instead, if you’re going through a difficult trial, ask a trusted sister in Christ to pray with you. Be willing to receive the help you need to carry your burden.
And make yourself available to help another in need. Ask God to give you spiritual eyes to see when someone needs your help in carrying a burden. In this way, all of us can fulfill the law of Christ. Let’s purpose in our hearts to do so as we walk by faith with God.
* Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Jan 27, 2022 | Bible Study, Christian Living, Thoughts
God is amazing. Each time I take a few minutes to contemplate the fact that He created the universe, I marvel at how powerful He is. The Bible teaches us that God made the heavens just by speaking.
“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth” (Psalm 33:6 (NKJV)).
That’s incredible. God spoke, and it was. Look up at the night sky. Our omnipotent God formed all that you see by His word.
Now think about the vastness of space. Scientists still don’t know how big the universe is. But the distance to the sun – the nearest star – is 93 million miles away. Let that sink in – 93 million miles. Can we actually grasp how far that is? And they estimate that it would take 100,000 years to travel across our galaxy, the Milky Way.
Scientists also don’t know how many stars are in the universe. They estimate that there are 100-400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone. That’s not a typo. Billion. It would take about 11,574 days just to count to one billion (assuming you could go without sleep for that long).
Not only that but there are more than 200 billion galaxies (each with another 100-400 billion stars) and maybe even 10 times that many.
Those numbers are astounding. It’s really hard to wrap your head around them. I can’t actually quantify how many stars are up there. I’m guessing that you can’t either.
But God knows exactly how many stars He created. The Bible tells us that God “counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4 (NKJV)). The extent of God’s knowledge is astonishing. I have trouble even remembering the names of a few people I meet, let alone trillions upon trillions of them. Our God is bigger than we could ever fathom. Praise God!
Have you ever had a chance to get out of the city and gaze up at the night sky? The number of stars that you see is extraordinary. It’s a beautiful sight. If you have that opportunity, take time to meditate on the fact that our awesome God is the One who created each star and knows each one by name.
Better yet, God knows each one of us. He knows, and understands, our thoughts (Psalm 139:2). I don’t know about you, but I don’t even understand my own thoughts part of the time. And “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:30 (NKJV)). Have you ever tried to count how many hairs you have? If not, don’t bother. Seriously, it’s an insurmountable task that will just leave you frustrated.
God knows everything about us – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And yet, He still loves us. God loves us so much that He gave His only Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).
So, remember God’s power. Meditate on His might. When you have a problem, don’t evaluate it based on your own strength and resources. Instead, look at whatever you are going through in comparison to our all-powerful, remarkable God. If God could speak the universe into existence (and He did), He can handle anything that comes your way.
And God wants you to cast “all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 (NKJV)). Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Ask Him for help. Then trust Him to handle whatever it is. He will give you direction. God will guide you. He will go before you and help you.
Then look up. Take in the beauty of the stars God created. Remind yourself of His power and might. Stand still in awe of God. “For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast” (Psalm 33:9 (NKJV)).
* Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Jan 13, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
Many of us begin a new year by making resolutions. A new year feels like a fresh start – an opportunity to improve ourselves in some way.
Maybe it’s losing those pounds that crept on while working from home in your pajama pants during COVID. Or maybe you’ve decided that this will be the year that you finally end a bad habit or develop a good one. Whether you’re determined to run a half marathon or achieve a goal that’s been on the back burner, a new year for many equals another chance.
Since we’re almost two weeks into the new year, some have already given up on their resolutions. Maybe you decided to stop eating sweets. But when your coworker brought her amazing cookies into work to share with everyone, you couldn’t resist. Or maybe you had resolved to work out every day. After missing one day, then two, you feel like a failure.
Our spiritual walk with God can be like that. You decide that you’re going to read your Bible every morning. A few days or a week goes by, and you’re feeling pretty good about yourself. But then you wake up late one morning and don’t have time to do your devotions. The days you did well don’t matter to you anymore. The only thing you can focus on is what you didn’t do.
Let’s make one thing clear – that self-condemnation you feel is not from God.
God doesn’t love you any more or any less because you did or didn’t read His word. God’s love for us is not based on our works. We can’t earn His love. When we were at our worst, God loved us so much that He gave His only Son to die for our sins so we could be forgiven (John 3:16).
Of course, God wants us to be closer to Him and do the things He’s asked us to do. But we can’t do those things in our own strength. We need God’s help. Only God can help us to live holy lives – ones that are set apart for Him.
Instead of coming up with resolutions on your own, a better way is to seek God, asking Him what He wants you to change.
As you read the Bible, God will reveal to you the things in your life that He wants you to do or stop doing. When He shows you something, the best course of action is to agree with God and do the things He wants you to do, in the way He wants you to do them.
Daniel did just that. When Daniel was a young man, he was taken captive by the Babylonians. They wanted to indoctrinate the young Jewish men into their culture so they could serve in the king’s palace. The Babylonians gave Daniel a new name, taught him the “language and literature of the Chaldeans,” and offered him “a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:3-7 (NKJV)).
Daniel was an Israelite – a group of people who had been set apart for God. God had given the Israelites guidelines about what they should and shouldn’t eat (see e.g., Leviticus 11). Daniel knew how God wanted him to live. He had been taught that God didn’t want him to eat certain things.
It must have been tempting to eat the king’s delicacies and to drink the king’s wine. Daniel was far away from home. He was no longer around his family. He could have justified trying the new foods and drink since he now had to survive in a new culture, a new way of life. Daniel could have decided that it wouldn’t really matter if he continued to follow God’s commands.
But instead of giving into temptation,
“Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank” (Daniel 1:8 (NKJV)).
Daniel was determined to follow God. He made a choice to please God.
Then Daniel took action. He not only made the decision to follow God’s commands, he acted on that decision. The Bible tells us that “he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself” and proposed a plan (Daniel 1:8, 10-13 (NKJV)).
We know that God was pleased with Daniel’s choice to honor Him. The Bible tells us that “God had brought Daniel into the favor and goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs” (Daniel 1:9 (NKJV)). God went before Daniel and prepared the way for Daniel to be successful.
Like He did for Daniel, God will prepare the way before us when we choose to honor Him and do the things He’s asked us to do. God will help us every step of the way. God has given us everything we need to live a Christian life.
- God’s “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3 (NKJV)).
- The same power that raised Jesus from the dead lives inside the believer (Romans 8:11).
The Holy Spirit will help us do the things that God wants us to do.
So put aside your own resolutions – the ones you came up with on your own. Seek God and His will for one thing that He wants you to change this year. When He reveals it to you, make a decision – purpose in your heart like Daniel did – to do whatever God shows you.
Then act on it. Take a step in the direction of the change, asking God for strength as you step out in faith. God will empower you through His Holy Spirit. Each day, renew your decision and rely on God for help as you walk by faith with Him.
by Catherine McDaugale | Dec 30, 2021 | Christian Living, Spiritual Growth
As we get ready to start the new year, let’s look at an example of someone who walked by faith with God. The Bible tells us twice that “Enoch walked with God” (Genesis 5:22, 24 (NKJV)). What does that mean? In Hebrews, we get more insight into Enoch’s walk with God.
“By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, ‘and was not found, because God had taken him’; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” (Hebrews 11:5 (NKJV))
Although we are not given the details, we know from this verse that Enoch pleased God. And how did Enoch please Him? Enoch pleased God because he walked by faith.
The next verse in Hebrews teaches us about faith.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” (Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV))
So, to walk by faith with God you must
- come to God;
- believe that He is God – that He is who He said He is, the way He has revealed Himself to us in the Bible; and
- believe that He rewards those who diligently seek Him.
Diligent means that you seek God in a steady, earnest, and energetic way. It’s a daily desire to find out more about God and draw closer to Him.
If you come to God, truly believing that He is God and that He will reward you if you diligently seek Him, you’ll share your life with Him and trust Him with everything. When you are trusting God, you live the way He wants you to live. And you do the things He wants you to do. You want to please Him. You do things God’s way because He knows what is best for you.
You can learn about what God wants you to do by reading the Bible. The Bible is “inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right” (2 Timothy 3:16 (NLT)). The Bible tells us what God loves, what God hates, and how God wants us to live.
After you learn about the things God wants you to do, you must actually do them. To walk with God, you must “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 (NKJV)). In other words, you don’t just listen to the Bible, you do what it tells you to do.
As you move forward, you’ll talk to God about what is going on in your life and look to Him for direction. You’ll walk alongside Him at the pace He sets for you. You’ll go where He goes, turn when He turns, slow down when He walks more slowly, and stop when He stops.
We need to examine our walk with God because we don’t always do that. Paul exhorted us to examine ourselves “as to whether you are in the faith” (2 Corinthians 13:5 (NKJV)). We must focus on our walk with God because we can stray if we’re not paying attention. You may not even notice that you are no longer walking with Him.
Let’s look at it in a different way. Think about going for a walk with a friend. Generally, when you’ve planned to walk with a friend, you’re excited about spending time with her. As you walk, you talk about what is going on in your life. You keep in step with each other, walking at the same pace. Her nonverbal cues tell you when she’s going to turn a corner instead of going straight.
But what if you started to ignore her? Instead of paying attention to your friend, you begin thinking about the things you need to do or a problem you have. Before you know it, you start walking in a different direction. Further down the road, you look up, and you’re no longer with her.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t it? Yet, our walk with God can be like that. One moment, we’re excited about spending time with Him. We’re sharing everything with Him. We tell Him the things we are thinking about and the problems we are having. We trust Him with our dreams. We ask Him for help, for wisdom. We seek His guidance as we walk in step with Him.
Then one day, you look up and realize that you’re no longer walking with God. You’ve started walking on your own path, at your own pace. You’re making decisions without consulting Him. You feel alone. You’re tired and weary.
What happened? You took your focus off God. God didn’t leave you; you left Him.
It doesn’t happen all at once. Typically, a person doesn’t wake up one morning and make a decision to stop walking with God. Instead, you start slowly drifting away from Him. Maybe you got up late and didn’t have time to read your Bible. You got busy so you didn’t pray. You didn’t talk to God throughout your day. Then one day becomes two. Before you know it, a whole week or month has passed.
We need to make a decision to walk by faith with God like Enoch did. It’s a choice we make – whether to get our direction from God each step of the way as we abide in Him or whether we do our own thing, in our own way.
Each day, we decide how we will walk. I hope you will join me in being like Enoch. Let’s diligently seek Him and be known as women who walk by faith with God.
by Catherine McDaugale | Dec 16, 2021 | Bible Study, Christian Living, Thoughts
I have been asked, “How do I meditate on God’s word? How does Biblical meditation work?” So I thought it would be valuable to take some time to reflect on the subject.
Before we begin, it’s important to recognize that Biblical meditation is different from the meditation practiced in yoga and other disciplines, in which you seek to empty your mind. The basic tenant of Biblical meditation is to fill your mind with the word of God.
The Greek word for meditate means to reason or think on. We see that word used in Philippians where Paul tells us to “meditate” on certain things.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. (Philippians 4:8 (NKJV))
Instead of using the English word meditate in that verse, the New Living Translation tells us to “[f]ix your thoughts on.” The idea is to ruminate on or contemplate what the Bible is telling you. It’s an intentional act of purposefully thinking about God’s word. Following five basic steps will help you to do so.
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Choose a Bible verse
Decide which Bible verse you want to think about. Is there a situation that’s been troubling you? Do you need direction for something in your life? Are you curious about what the Bible says on a particular subject? Or do you have a favorite verse that you want to reflect on?
Some Bibles have a concordance at the back that can help you find a verse. If you don’t have a concordance, many Bible apps have a search feature. Or you can ask a pastor or leader at your church for Bible verses on the topic you want to meditate on.
Don’t get overwhelmed by choosing a verse. If you have a list of verses that someone has suggested, start with just one. After you have spent time meditating on that verse, you can move on to another one.
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Memorize or write out the Bible verse
After you decide which verse you want to meditate on, memorize the verse or write it down on a 3×5 index card. Memorizing the verse or writing it down makes it convenient to think about or look at. Otherwise, you will need to have your Bible open to the verse. Making the verse more accessible will help you to meditate on it more frequently.
I have found it easiest to meditate on verses when I have memorized them. By committing the verse to memory, you can literally think about it any time of the day or night, regardless of where you are or what you are doing. For example, if you are driving your car, you can go over the verse in your mind. Or if you wake up in the middle of the night, you can direct your mind to the verse and go over it word by word.
If you’re not good at memorization, use a 3×5 index card. The card is a good size to slip into your pocket, your purse, or to put by your bedside so it’s convenient to read. And, the act of writing the verse and looking at it often will help you to memorize it.
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Pray
Before you being meditating on the verse, pray and ask God to help you understand it. Ask God what He wants to reveal to you. The Holy Spirit teaches us all things (John 14:26). He is the One who helps us to understand and internalize God’s word. Without the Holy Spirit’s guidance, we are not able to learn what God wants to show us.
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Meditate
Recall the verse in your mind or read the verse slowly. Think about each word. Ask yourself the basic who, what, where, why, and how questions. What is the verse’s context – where is it in the Bible and what are the verses around it? Who is talking in the verse? Who was it written to? What does it say? What does it mean? Think about what the verse tells you about God. Ask yourself how the verse applies to your life.
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Apply the verse
While you are meditating on the verse, God will show you what it means and how it applies to you. When He does, the final step is to apply it to your life. The Bible instructs us to “be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:22 (NKJV)).
Live out what God has revealed to you. If you have learned that God doesn’t want you to do something that you’ve been doing, stop doing it. Conversely, if you realize that God wants you to do something that you haven’t been doing, start doing it. Once we discover God’s will, we should align ourselves with what He wants us to do.
Choosing to meditate on God’s word will bless your life. As the psalmist taught us, the blessed man is the one whose “delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). Let’s be like the blessed man and take time to meditate on the Bible each day as we walk by faith with God.
by Catherine McDaugale | Dec 2, 2021 | Bible Study, Christian Living
Where is the best place we can be? At the feet of Jesus – our God and Savior, the one who willingly died to pay the penalty for our sins. At Jesus’ feet, we’re in a position of surrender. In that posture, there is humility. Choosing to sit at Jesus’ feet acknowledges His position as Lord over our lives.
In the Bible, we see that Mary understood the value of being at the feet of Jesus. We are told about three times when she was at His feet.
Sitting at Jesus’ Feet
The first time, Mary is sitting at Jesus’ feet, hearing His word (Luke 10:39). Mary was listening to Jesus. She was paying attention to Him and to what He was saying.
But her sister, Martha, was “distracted with much serving” (Luke 10:40 (NKJV)). The word distracted in this verse means that Martha was “over-occupied” or drawn away.
Could you imagine if Jesus came over to your house for dinner? How much time would you spend planning the meal, shopping for the best ingredients you could find, and making sure your house was spotless? Wouldn’t you want everything to be perfect? Then after Jesus arrived, how much time would you spend making sure that the food was cooked to perfection and beautifully plated? You would want to ensure that Jesus had everything He wanted.
Don’t misunderstand, serving is good. The problem was not Martha’s desire to serve. It was Martha’s failure to focus on what was important in that moment. She was so occupied with what she was doing that she wasn’t paying attention to Jesus.
Jesus was there; Jesus was teaching them. But Martha wasn’t listening. Martha didn’t hear. In fact, Martha was so distracted that she was complaining to Jesus. She approached Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me” (Luke 10:40 (NKJV)).
Instead of telling Mary to help her sister, Jesus acknowledged that Mary was in the best place – at His feet, hearing His word. Jesus told her,
Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her. (Luke 10:41-42 (NKJV))
There is a time for service. Yet, we must remember that there is also a time to sit at Jesus’ feet, hearing His word. We need to spend time in the Bible, reading God’s word. As we learn about the things He wants us to know, our relationship with Jesus will grow deeper.
Falling at Jesus’ Feet
The second time we see Mary at Jesus’ feet, her brother Lazarus had died. When Jesus came, she fell at Jesus’ feet weeping (John 11:32-33). Mary took all her sorrow and pain to Jesus. She was honest with Him about what she was thinking. She told Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died” (John 11:32 NKJV)).
When we’re going through a heartbreaking situation, we too should fall at Jesus’ feet. We should bring all our pain and sorrow to Him. You can be honest with Jesus about what you’re thinking and how you’re feeling.
Jesus invited us to do so. He said, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)). It is God who “heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3 (NKJV)). That includes your broken heart.
When we bring all our pain to Jesus, we are admitting that He is the One who can help us. By bringing our sorrow to Him, He can comfort us and begin the healing process.
Worshipping at Jesus’ Feet
The third time we are told about Mary at Jesus’ feet, it is only a few days before His crucifixion. While Jesus was having dinner, (John 12:2) Mary came to Him with her most valuable possession – an “alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard” (Mark 14:3 (NKJV)).
The perfume was worth about 300 denarii (Mark 14:5; John 12:5). A denarius was a coin used at that time. Commentators suggest that 300 denarii was the equivalent of a year’s wages. The flask of oil was likely Mary’s dowry – what she would have presented to her husband at the time of her marriage.
Mary broke the flask and poured it on Jesus’ head and anointed His feet (Mark 14:3; John 12:3). Then she wiped His feet with her hair (John 12:3).
Mary came to Jesus with her future. She gave it all to Him and worshipped Him. She didn’t hold anything back. “[T]he house was filled with the fragrance of the oil” (John 12:3 (NKJV)). The fragrance of Mary’s worship and devotion filled the room.
When the disciples were “indignant” and “criticized her sharply” for wasting the oil because it could have been sold and the money given to the poor, Jesus rebuked them (Mark 14:4-6 (NKJV)). He said,
Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me. For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always. She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial. Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her.” (Mark 14:6-9 (NKJV))
We too should bring all that we have to Jesus and worship at His feet. As our Lord, everything we are and everything we have belongs to Him. Don’t worry about those who may be indignant or criticize you for your worship of Jesus. As you worship and pray, the aroma of your devotion will fill your house. Our prayers are like “golden bowls full of incense” (Revelation 5:8).
So let’s be like Mary –
- sitting at Jesus’ feet, hearing His word;
- falling at Jesus’ feet in our distress; and
- bringing all that we have and giving it to Jesus as we worship at His feet.
by Catherine McDaugale | Oct 16, 2021 | Christian Living, Spiritual Growth
Walking by faith doesn’t mean closing your eyes or sticking your head in the ground, so you don’t know what’s going on around you. Instead, it’s a choice to focus on God. It’s a decision to continue doing things God’s way and trusting Him for the outcome, despite what’s happening in your life.
I’ve heard people say that Christians need to take a blind leap of faith to trust God. The insinuation is that you need to leave behind all reason and follow God solely based on emotion and a lack of thought.
But that isn’t true. God has given us the Bible. In those pages, God has revealed Himself to us. He tells us what He likes, what He hates, where we came from, where we are going, and much more.
As we consider the things we read in the Bible, God invites us,
Come now, and let us reason together. (Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV))
And Jesus told us to “count the cost” before deciding to follow Him (Luke 14:27-30 (NKJV)). Jesus warned us that it wouldn’t be easy. God wants us to ask questions about who He is and why we should follow Him.
It’s only after we decide to follow Jesus that God instructs us to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 (NKJV)). Still, the direction is not to close our eyes. Instead, the Bible tells us that we should be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2 (NKJV)). The Greek word for “looking” means to turn our eyes away from other things and fix them on Jesus.
It’s like a horse walking with blinders on. The purpose of the blinders is not so the horse can’t see at all – the blinders don’t go over the horse’s eyes. The blinders are placed on the outer sides of the horse’s eyes to keep the horse focused on the road in front of him. The blinders keep the horse from getting distracted by the things around him. In a similar way, when we walk by faith and not by sight, we must keep our eyes on Jesus.
We can get distracted by the things that are going on around us – things we have no control over.
- Every day, the news informs us about people who are killed, storms, wars, disease, and many other horrible things. Our thoughts can be consumed by those awful things.
- We can become divided over social issues. It’s easy to get caught up in arguments about whether everyone should or shouldn’t be vaccinated, the effectiveness of wearing masks, and how the government should or shouldn’t be handling the pandemic.
When we get sidetracked by these things, we are derailed from God’s plans for our lives.
Don’t misunderstand me. You shouldn’t ignore the things that need to be taken care of in your life. It is important to care for your family and be a good steward of the things that God has entrusted to you. God has placed people into your life for a reason. He wants you to love those people, help them with their needs, and tell them about Him.
Yet, first and foremost, we need to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. We need to spend time with Him, reading the Bible, praying to Him, and worshipping Him. As Jesus taught us, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5 (NKJV)).
We are unable to care for the people in our lives the way God wants us to without first being empowered by Jesus. Jesus gives us the strength we need, gives us direction, tells us which way to go, and tells us the things we should do. When our eyes are fixed on Jesus, we’re not distracted by the things going on around us.
There’s a beautiful hymn written by Helen Howarth Lemmel that encompasses this very idea. The refrain of the hymn encourages us,
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
So, keep your eyes wide open as you follow Jesus. Turn your eyes upon Him. Spend time with your Savior. Take in all that He wants you to see.
by Catherine McDaugale | Oct 2, 2021 | Bible Study, Life, Thoughts
Have you read about Jacob, Leah, and Rachel in the Bible? Each time I read about them, I tend to look at it from Jacob’s perspective – a love story with obstacles placed in the path of the hero. But the other day, God showed me Leah’s point of view. Before we turn to Leah, let’s remind ourselves what happened to Jacob.
In obedience to his parent’s request, Jacob traveled to their relatives’ country to find a wife (Genesis 28:1-2, 5; 29:1, 4-5). When Jacob saw Rachel, he fell in love (Genesis 29:9-11, 18). Jacob agreed to work for Rachel’s father, Laban, for seven years so he could marry Rachel (Genesis 29:18). The years seemed only a few days because of his love for her (Genesis 29:20).
At the end of the seven years, it was time for the wedding (Genesis 29:21). The day had finally come for Jacob to marry the woman he loved. But on the wedding night, Laban had Leah (Rachel’s older sister) go into the wedding tent (Genesis 29:23). The following morning, Jacob realized that he had actually married Leah (Genesis 29:25).
How could Jacob have married Leah, thinking she was Rachel? Commentaries explain that the traditional wedding attire included a veil that would have entirely concealed Leah’s features. The veil, along with the alcohol that would have been consumed during the wedding feast, would make it possible for Jacob to unknowingly marry Leah.
Jacob was upset. And rightfully so. Laban had tricked him into marrying Leah because it was customary for the elder daughter to be married first (Genesis 29:26). Yet, Laban also agreed that Jacob could marry Rachel if Jacob worked for him another seven years (Genesis 29:27). Eventually, Jacob also married Rachel (Genesis 29:28-30).
So that’s Jacob’s point of view – he received the short end of the stick from Laban. He ended up marrying a woman he never intended to marry, a woman he didn’t love.
But now let’s look at it from Leah’s viewpoint.
First, we know that Leah was not beautiful like her younger sister. The Bible tells us that her eyes were “delicate” (Genesis 29:17 (NKJV)). That either means she couldn’t see well or she had blue eyes instead of the more accepted brown eyes of her culture. Although that may not seem like a big thing, the contrasting description of Rachel as “beautiful of form and appearance” shows us that Leah was not attractive like her sister (Genesis 29:17 (NKJV)).
Second, we know that she watched Jacob pursue her sister. Jacob was attracted to Rachel, not Leah.
Third, her father had her sneak into the marriage tent to deceive Jacob into marrying her. How do you think she felt knowing her father thought the only way a man would marry her was to be tricked into doing so?
Finally, the Bible tells us that Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah (Genesis 29:30). Leah was married to a man who didn’t love her. That, in and of itself, would be difficult. But the situation was compounded by the fact that her husband was also married to another woman that he did love. And that other woman was her sister.
But God saw that Leah was unloved. (Genesis 29:31). So, God “opened her womb; but Rachel was barren” (Genesis 29:31 (NKJV)).
Given Rachel’s barrenness, it appears that Leah tried to get Jacob to love her by bearing him children.
- When Leah had Jacob’s first son, she named him Reuben, which means, “Look a son” (Genesis 29:32). And Leah said, “The LORD has surely looked on my affliction. Now therefore my husband will love me” (Genesis 29:32 (NKJV)).
- Then Leah bore Jacob a second son and said, “Because the LORD has heard that I am unloved, He has therefore given me this son also” (Genesis 29:33 (NKJV)). So she named him Simeon, which means heard (Genesis 29:33).
- Leah conceived again and bore Jacob a third son (Genesis 29:34). Leah said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons” (Genesis 29:34 (NKJV)). She called him Levi, which means “joined to.”
For several years, Leah tried to earn Jacob’s love by bearing him children. You can feel her pain – always feeling second rate to her sister, married to a man who didn’t love her, trying to win her husband’s love, and wanting to feel loved.
Then something changed. Maybe Leah finally realized she was looking to the wrong one for love. We don’t know what caused Leah’s heart change. But she stopped focusing on what she didn’t have and started looking at what God had already given her.
So when Leah had her fourth son, she said, “Now I will praise the LORD” and named him Judah, which means praise (Genesis 29:35 (NKJV)). She learned to praise God – not for her circumstances but in her circumstances.
Maybe you feel like Leah – plain, overlooked, and unloved. No matter what your circumstances are or how invisible you feel, the truth is that God sees you. And God loves you. God loves you so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for your sins so you can have a relationship with Him (John 3:16).
God has not overlooked you. Just as God saw Leah, God sees you. And when you come to Him, like Leah did, praise will flow out of your heart.
by Catherine McDaugale | Sep 16, 2021 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
Mornings are hard. I have always secretly envied people (like my husband) who are able to wake up early and still be congenial, outgoing, and talkative from the get-go. If I have to get up early, it seems the only thing I can focus on is how bad I feel – the brain fog and the general malaise.
I recently saw a mug that declared, “A fun thing to do in the morning is not talk to me.” Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.
During COVID, I worked from home. Without the long commute, I was able to slowly wake up before I had to travel down the hallway to our loft where I had set up my home office. I quickly adapted to my new routine. Needless to say, my morning disposition greatly improved.
But now it was time to go back to work at my real office. We had been summoned by those with the authority to change my morning routine. So, in the wee hours before the rising of the sun, I dragged my body out of bed. And I grumbled.
The Bible instructs us not to complain (1 Corinthians 10:10). The Greek word used for complain means to murmur or grumble against in a low tone. It shows a discontentedness with the way things are in your life.
Yet, I had been grumbling and complaining every chance I got. I grumbled in my head. I whined to my husband, coworkers, and friends. I complained about having to get up early. I criticized those who had made the decision to bring us back to the office given that we would be required to wear masks. I felt justified with my grumbling since I’m not a morning person.
Then God reminded me that we’re not supposed to grumble. While I was teaching other women in a Bible study, one of the verses talked about grumbling.
Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned.” (James 5:9 (NKJV))
Ironic, isn’t it? There I was, telling them how they shouldn’t grumble when I had been doing that very thing. A few weeks later, God brought that verse to my remembrance, and the self-application finally sunk in.
I realized that my perspective was wrong. I had only been focused on the early hours and how my body felt. I had lost the bigger picture.
When I shifted my perspective, I could see all that God had given me. Sure, I now had to wake up early, but God was still blessing my life.
- God had continued to provide me with a job.
- God gave me coworkers that I enjoy working with.
- God provided me with the opportunity to spend time with Him in the morning while I commuted in my car – time to sing praises to Him, listen to His word, and pray.
I had forgotten that God is in control of everything. Nothing happens in my life without it going through Him first. There is a reason for everything. God had a reason for allowing the early hours and the long commute back into my life – even if I couldn’t see what it was. I can be certain that God will use whatever happens in my life for His glory.
I had also forgotten that grumbling ruins your witness to others. When you complain, the people around you will wonder why they should be a Christian when you aren’t any different than anyone else. Jesus said,
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35 (NKJV))
Jesus didn’t say they would know you are His disciple by your complaining. There is no love in grumbling.
Jesus also told us,
You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. (Matthew 5:13 (NKJV))
Figuratively, Jesus was telling us that, as His followers, we are to exhibit wisdom and grace in our speech. As Pastor Jon Courson put it, “Salt promotes thirst, and as the salt of the earth, we should be making those around us thirsty for the living water of Jesus Christ.” We cannot be witnesses that will bring others to Jesus when we are complaining about things.
So I repented and asked God to forgive me for grumbling. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 (NKJV)). Praise God! Then I purposed in my heart to stop grumbling.
Have you been complaining about something? It may be something that seems unfair to you. And the situation may be unfair. Either way, God is faithful in your life.
If you’ve been grumbling, it’s time to change your perspective about your situation. Take a step back and ask God to show you the bigger picture. Instead of ruminating on what’s wrong, shift your focus from your circumstances to our faithful God. Make a list about the ways that God has been faithful in your life. Then meditate on God’s faithfulness. You can trust God as you walk by faith with Him.
