by Catherine McDaugale | May 1, 2023 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” (John 13:34 (NKJV))
Can we love others like Jesus? Jesus commanded us to do so. And Jesus wouldn’t tell us to do something we couldn’t do.
Yet, it’s a high bar (to say the least). Jesus loved us (and continues to love us) with a perfect love. A love that is patient and kind. One that’s self-sacrificial. A love that’s a verb – an action – more than a feeling.
So, can we really love others like that? Let’s take a few minutes to look at just a few examples of how Jesus loved when He walked on this earth.
- Jesus was available.
When Jesus heard that His cousin (John the Baptist) had been beheaded, Jesus “departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself” (Matthew 14:13 (NKJV)). It sounds like Jesus wanted to get away to mourn. But the crowds followed Him (Matthew 14:13).
What did Jesus do in response? Did He tell them to go away because He needed time alone? Did He hide and hope they would leave? Was He rude to them?
No. When “He saw a great multitude,” Jesus “was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” (Matthew 14:14 (NKJV)).
Even in His grief, Jesus made Himself available to serve the people who came to Him. He set aside His own feelings and helped them.
- Jesus was patient.
When Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection, Thomas wasn’t with them (John 20:24). They told Thomas that they had seen Jesus. But Thomas didn’t believe them. He said, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe” (John 20:25 (NKJV)).
About a week later, Jesus appeared to His disciples again. And this time, Thomas was there (John 20:26). Did Jesus rebuke him for his unbelief? Did He ask Thomas what his problem was or criticize him?
Jesus didn’t do that. Jesus was patient. He told Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing” (John 20:27 (NKJV)).
Jesus met Thomas where he was and helped him to believe. Because Jesus was patient, Thomas was able to come fully to Jesus, calling Him, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28 (NKJV)).
- Jesus served.
The night before He died on the cross, Jesus got up after dinner, “laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself” (John 13:4 (NKJV)). Then He poured water into a basin and washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:5).
In Biblical times, people wore sandals. When they traveled, their feet would get dirty. So, each house you entered typically had a basin of water and towel ready for visitors to wash their feet.
And if you were wealthy and had servants, they would assign the lowest servant to wash peoples’ feet. As I’m sure you could imagine, washing someone’s feet wasn’t something you wanted as your occupation.
Yet, Jesus – God Himself – was willing to serve His disciples in this way. He likely got down on His knees, serving those who should have been serving Him.
Earlier in His ministry, Jesus had taught His disciples that, in order to be great, one needed to be a servant (Mark 10:42-43). He told them that “whoever desires to be first shall be slave of all” (Mark 10:44 (NKJV)). Jesus then revealed to them that “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45 (NKJV)).
Jesus put His teaching into action. He showed His disciples that no task was beneath them. Of course, the next day, Jesus would demonstrate the greatest sacrificial love of all – when He died on the cross for our sins.
Can we love others in those ways? The answer is yes – and no.
It’s hard to love others as Jesus loved us. To be sure, it’s impossible without the help of God’s Holy Spirit. We need to ask God to help us. We need His power
- to make ourselves available when we don’t feel like serving,
- to be patient when others have a hard time believing, and
- to serve in self-sacrificial ways.
So, we can love others like Jesus with God’s help. Take time to meditate on the ways Jesus loved. Decide to follow Jesus’ command. Then ask God to help you love others as you walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Apr 17, 2023 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
Jesus said, “I am the true vine . . . Abide in Me . . . .” (John 15:1, 4 (NKJV))
Where do you live? I’m not talking about your address. We can be in one place physically with our minds somewhere entirely different.
Jesus instructed us to abide in Him. Abide means to stay in a given place – to be present or remain. We should remain in Jesus. In other words, we should live in Him with everything we are, including our minds.
If we live with our minds focused on Jesus, we’ll be attached to Him. Jesus is the true vine. In the metaphor, the Bible compares us to branches (John 15:5). A branch must be attached to the vine to get the nutrients it needs to grow and produce fruit.
But we can only get that sustenance from the true vine. We can try to get it from somewhere other than Jesus. There are other vines. Yet, those vines won’t give us what we need. Only Jesus is the true vine.
When we connect to something other than the true vine, we end up empty. Unfulfilled. Depressed. The false vines are detrimental to us and poison our minds.
So, where do you live? Where is your mind most of the time?
Do you . . .
- binge-watch tv shows or movies on Netflix or some other streaming service, numbing your mind to reality?
- ruminate on your circumstances, replaying something that happened over and over again?
- dwell on your finances, worrying about where the next dollar will come from, bills that need to be paid, or how to get more money?
- obsess about your appearance – the clothes you want to wear, how to do your makeup just right, how to fix your hair, looking in every mirror you pass by?
- constantly think about food, planning what you will or won’t eat, where you will get it, and how good it will taste?
To be clear, the Bible doesn’t say we should never think about these things. It doesn’t tell us it’s a sin to enjoy wholesome entertainment. Instead, those things shouldn’t consume us. They shouldn’t separate us from the true vine.
Examine yourself. Be honest about where you live. Is your mind immersed in those things? Or are you living in Jesus?
Are you . . .
- reading the Bible and learning about the things Jesus wants to share with you?
- talking to Jesus as you go throughout your day?
- praising Jesus for who He is?
- thanking Jesus for all that He’s done?
When we remain in Jesus, we’re in the best place we could be. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11 (NKJV)). There’s joy when we stay connected to the true vine. There’s a calm delight in being where we’re supposed to be.
So, I’ll ask you again: where do you live? It’s your choice. You can decide to live in the true vine, Jesus. Or you can waste your time on something that will have no eternal value.
Let’s choose to remain in Jesus so we can walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Apr 3, 2023 | Bible Study, Life
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14-15 (NKJV))
How stubborn are you? Are you unwilling to alter something that you know God wants you to change? Many in our society are stubborn – unwilling to yield or turn from the direction they’ve chosen.
And we’re not the only ones who are stubborn. God referred to the Israelites as “stiff‑necked” (see, e.g., Exodus 32:9 (NKJV)). I love how that gives us a visual of our stubbornness. When a person is stiff‑necked, she is unwilling to turn her head from the course she wants to take.
We see this play out when the Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years. At one point, the Israelites complained about the manna (the bread from heaven) that God provided for them to eat. They called the bread “worthless” and said they “loathe[d]” it (Numbers 21:5 (NKJV)).
“So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.” (Numbers 21:6 (NKJV))
Then, in His graciousness, God directed Moses to make a serpent and put it on a pole, so “everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live” (Numbers 21:8 (NKJV)). Moses did so. And anyone who was bitten lived “when he looked at the bronze serpent” (Numbers 21:9 (NKJV)).
Such an easy remedy, right? You would think all of them would have looked at the serpent. After all, the only thing they needed to do was open their eyes and turn their heads.
Yet, the Bible doesn’t say that all of them looked and lived. If they refused to look, they died. If anyone was stubborn, it would cost him his life.
The same thing is happening today. The penalty of sin is death (Romans 6:23). And all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). So, each of us is facing death.
But God has given us a remedy too. He loves us so much that He “gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 (NKJV)). Jesus was lifted up – like the serpent on the pole – so anyone willing to look to and believe in Him will have eternal life (John 3:14-15, 36).
Jesus paid the penalty for our sins when He died on the cross. It’s a free gift. One only needs to accept and open the gift that’s been given. “For whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13 (NKJV)).
So, how stubborn are you? Are you willing to turn your head to look to Jesus and believe in Him? I’m ashamed to say it took me 37 years before I was willing.
If you haven’t already, turn your head and look to Jesus. Believe in Him. Don’t be stiff‑necked. Don’t be stubborn. Your stubbornness could cost you your life.
Instead, believe in Jesus. Accept the free gift of salvation He’s given to you. Yield to Jesus. And then walk by faith with Him into eternity.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Feb 20, 2023 | Bible Study, Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. (John 6:63 (NKJV))
Remember that cute guy in high school? The one you stared at every chance you got. You were nervous every time he walked by you in the hallway because it might be the moment he would finally notice you.
What would you have done if he had written you a note? I’m guessing you wouldn’t have set it aside to read later. You wouldn’t have put it in a place you could see so you would remember to read it – yet, never actually get around to opening it.
And I’ll bet it didn’t go unread so long that you finally committed to waking up at 6:00 every morning to read three lines a day until you had finally finished reading it. Then, when you did read three lines on the morning you managed to drag yourself out of bed, you probably wouldn’t have forgotten what you read almost immediately after you read it.
I would be surprised if that’s how it went down.
No, the moment you had that letter in your hand, it would have set your heart on fire. You wouldn’t have hardly been able to wait until you had a moment to open it. And then you would have devoured it. You would’ve taken it all in, reread it multiple times, and literally held it close to your heart.
Why? You loved him and wanted to know what he said.
It’s the same now with my husband. When he writes me a note, I want to read it as soon as I can. I want to know the words he took the time to pen. I know the note will reveal something about what he thinks and who he is.
It’s about relationship, isn’t it? In a relationship, you want to know the other person. You want to
- hear his voice;
- discover what he likes;
- find out what he hates; and
- be close to him.
You read something he wrote because you get to, not because you have to.
So, why is it so hard to read the Bible sometimes?
God has written down things for you to read. The Bible is literally God’s word. And when you take time to read it, the Holy Spirit teaches you what God wants you to know in that moment.
The point is that we make time for the things we want to do. Are you reading the Bible because you think you have to – as an item on your checklist? Or do you open it up and read it because you get to?
Check your heart motivation. If you find that you’ve been reading the Bible mainly because you’re supposed to and not because you want to, ask God to give you the desire to read His word.
God wants you to know about the things He loves and the things He hates. He wants you to know Him better. God wants you to know how much He loves you. And His words are life (John 6:63). If you truly want that desire, God will give it to you.
So, open up God’s word and devour it. Take it all in. Think about God and who He is – not because you have to but because you get to. Keep God in your thoughts all day long as you walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Jan 23, 2023 | Christian Living, Life
By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. (John 13:35 (NKJV))
What have you done for me lately? Have you ever heard that song from the 80s? In it, Janet Jackson bemoans her boyfriend’s inattentiveness and his failure to do things for her. That idea is ingrained in our culture. You know, why should I do anything for you if you haven’t done anything for me?
It’s not uncommon to hear people say things like,
“What’s in it for me?”
“How am I going to benefit from it?”
Or, “There’s no point in doing it if I don’t get something out of it.”
It’s all about me, isn’t it? It’s about what I will gain from an interaction, a job, or a relationship.
Sure, maybe it’s not that overt. But I’ve heard women complain that their husbands never help out around the house with chores. And, I’ve heard them say their husbands can just deal with something on their own because they never help them with problems that arise. Essentially, they’re saying, “What has he done for me lately?”
Relationships can leave you feeling empty when the other person seems to only take and not give. Maybe it’s not a husband but a friend who’s only focused on herself. Or it could be parents who take more than they give. You’re their child, after all, so you wish for once they would focus on your needs instead of their own.
Relationships aren’t always trouble-free. We all have someone in our lives who can be difficult. It could be easy to start thinking, What have you done for me lately?
But it’s not about you. And it’s not about me. It’s not about what someone else should be doing for you. It’s about what Christ Jesus has done for each one of us.
As born-again believers, we’ve given our lives to Jesus. As the Bible teaches,
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20 (NKJV))
Jesus died on the cross so our sins could be forgiven. When we were born again, we became His. Our lives belong to Jesus.
And Jesus wants us to love others. He calls us to live self-sacrificially. When we do, His love flows through us and impacts others.
Remember what Jesus’ love is like? His love
- “suffers long and is kind”;
- “does not envy”;
- “does not parade itself”;
- “is not puffed up”;
- “does not behave rudely”;
- “does not seek its own”;
- “is not provoked”;
- “thinks no evil”;
- “does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth”; and
- “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NKJV))
So, instead of asking, “What have you done for me lately?” let’s love others like Jesus wants us to love them. Let’s show others that we are Jesus’ disciples as we walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Jan 9, 2023 | Christian Living, Life
“If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life – is not of the Father but is of the world.” (1 John 2:15-16 (NKJV))
When Jesus prayed for His disciples, He did not pray for God to take them out of the world (John 17:15). And before Jesus ascended into heaven, He told His disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15 (NKJV)).
We’re not supposed to isolate ourselves, go off the grid, or move to a remote area where there aren’t any people. Doing so would be contrary to Jesus’ command to preach the gospel to everyone.
In addition to staying in the world, Jesus commanded us to love others (Matthew 22:39). Yet, we’re not supposed to be in love with the world or the things in it.
If you’re longing for the things in this world, you’ll be distracted by stuff that doesn’t matter. Meditating on getting what you don’t have – like a new car, house, purse, or jewelry – will keep you from whatever God has for you. Jesus warned that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 (NKJV)).
We see an example in Lot’s life of what can happen when you fall in love with the world.
Lot was Abraham’s nephew. He had been with Abraham for years before they separated. And, we know that he worshipped God because the Bible tells us he was a righteous man (2 Peter 2:7).
But Lot’s priorities got mixed up. He fell in love with the world. It started when he “lifted his eyes” toward Sodom (a picture of the world) and saw that “it was well watered everywhere . . . like the garden of the Lord” (Genesis 13:10 (NKJV)). Lot liked what he saw and wanted it for himself.
Then Lot’s actions followed his eyes. He “chose for himself,” moved, and “pitched his tent” near Sodom (Genesis 13:11-12 (NKJV)).
Lot did what he wanted based on what Sodom offered him, instead of asking what God wanted for him. He chose to be part of a place where the men “were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13 (NKJV)).
Later, Lot moved into Sodom and lived there (Genesis 14:12). Lot had fallen in love with the world and wanted to be part of it.
By the time God destroyed Sodom for its wickedness, Lot was “sitting in the gate of Sodom” (Genesis 19:1 (NKJV)). He had become one of them. As Jon Courson noted in his commentary on this verse,
Like every other city gate in biblical times, the gate in which Lot sat was a large area at the entrance of the city wherein the city leaders would give advice and render civic decisions. The fact that Lot sat in Sodom’s gate indicates he had become a leader of Sodom.
Lot compromised to get what Sodom offered. He didn’t make an impact on Sodom. Sodom impacted him. As the Bible tells us, “Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits’” (1 Corinthians 15:33 (NKJV)).
Lot didn’t even influence his own family. When Lot told his sons-in-law to get up and leave because God was going to destroy Sodom, they thought he was joking (Genesis 19:14).
In the end, Lot didn’t gain anything from Sodom. It was all burned up when God “rained brimstone and fire on Sodom” (Genesis 19:24 (NKJV)). He even lost most of his family – his daughters and sons-in-law (who refused to leave) and his wife (who looked back intently toward Sodom and became a pillar of salt).
We won’t take anything with us either when we die. The only eternal difference we can make during our lifetime is to abide in Jesus and do His work.
So, don’t be like Lot. Don’t fall in love with the world. Instead, keep your eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (Hebrews 12:2). Be set apart for God – in the world but not of it – as you walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Dec 12, 2022 | Christian Living, Ministry, Spiritual Growth
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:10 (NKJV))
Do you want all God has for you? God has fashioned days for you (Psalm 139:16). Although we’re not saved by good works, we are saved by grace, through faith, for those good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). God has prepared those works for you beforehand that you should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).
God wants to do things in and through your life. But He won’t force you. He gives you the choice. Yet, when you say no, you miss out on so much joy.
So, I’ll ask the question again: Do you want all God has for you?
If you do, you will need to be persistent and focused. And you’ll have to watch out for discouragement. Unfortunately, discouragement can come from well-meaning sources.
Toward the end of Elijah’s ministry as a prophet, God told him that Elisha would take his place (1 Kings 19:16). So, Elijah went and threw his mantle – his garment or cloak – on Elisha (1 Kings 19:19). Elisha then followed Elijah and became his servant (1 Kings 19:21). By being Elijah’s servant, it prepared him to be God’s prophet.
Now, you may know that Elijah was one of two people in the Bible who never died. Instead, God took Elijah home to be with Him in a chariot of fire by a whirlwind (2 Kings 2:11). When it came close to that time,
Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal. Then Elijah said to Elisha, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on to Bethel.”
But Elisha said, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” So they went down to Bethel.
Now the sons of the prophets who were at Bethel came out to Elisha, and said to him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?”
And he said, “Yes, I know; keep silent!” (2 Kings 2:1-3 (NKJV))
The same thing happened two more times when Elijah continued on to Jericho and then to the Jordan River (2 Kings 2:4-6). Yet, Elisha was persistent. Each time Elijah told him, “Stay here, please, for the Lord has sent me on,” Elisha declared, “As the Lord lives, and as your soul lives, I will not leave you!” And he stayed with Elijah.
And even when others asked him, “Do you know that the Lord will take away your master from over you today?” he kept on. He didn’t stop. Elisha didn’t get bummed out or sidetracked. He was focused.
If Elisha hadn’t remained persistent and focused, he wouldn’t have received all God had for him. After they crossed over the Jordan River, Elijah said to Elisha,
“Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?”
Elisha said, “Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me.”
So he said, “You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” (2 Kings 2:9-10 (NKJV))
Did you catch that? Elijah told him, “if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so.” That means if Elisha had gotten sidetracked or discouraged at any point and hadn’t stayed with Elijah, he wouldn’t have seen Elijah when he was taken up in the whirlwind. And then he wouldn’t have received a double portion.
It makes sense, doesn’t it? God won’t give you more to do when you’ve already decided to stop doing what He’s already entrusted to you. If you’re not faithful with what God’s already given you, He’s not going to add anything to your plate.
We see this principle repeated in the parable of the talents. The servant who hid his talent and didn’t even try had his talent taken away. But those who used their talents were given more (Matthew 25:24-28).
So, the question remains: Do you want all God has for you? Or are you only pursuing what God has for you halfheartedly? If you’re not all in, seeking all God has for you, you could miss out.
I know the path can get hard. Sometimes the circumstances make continuing on to the next place difficult. It can feel cold and lonely. But let’s be persistent and focused. Let’s choose to be women who seek all God has for us as we walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Nov 28, 2022 | Christian Living, Spiritual Growth, Thoughts
You alone are the Lord; You have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and everything on it, the seas and all that is in them, and You preserve them all. (Nehemiah 9:6 (NKJV))
When someone introduces a speaker, he’ll tell you a little about the person. You’ll learn who he is, where he’s from, and why he’s qualified to tell you about the topic he’s speaking on. But God needs no introduction. He just is. He always was. And He always will be.
So, the Bible doesn’t start by giving us God’s credentials. Instead, it simply says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1 (NKJV)). God is God, and we are not.
Yet, we try to put God into a box sometimes, don’t we? We try to define Him. Or we try to bring God down to our level by making Him smaller and quantifiable. Like Natalie Grant lamented in her song, King of the World:
I try to fit You in the walls inside my mind
I try to keep You safely in between the lines
I try to put You in the box that I’ve designed
I try to pull You down so we are eye-to-eye
When did I forget that You’ve always been the King of the world?
I try to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world
How could I make You so small when You’re the One who holds it all?
It’s the old story of us wanting to be God. Before Eve sinned, Satan tempted her by appealing to her pride. He told Eve that her eyes would be opened if she ate the forbidden fruit. He promised that she would “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5 (NKJV)). He insinuated that God was trying to hold her back and keep her from being all that she could be.
I think we all make the mistake of trying to put God in a box sometimes. Our pride rises up, and we think we know best. We try to make ourselves equal to God. Yet, when we do, we’re making an idol.
Countless people before us have tried to minimize God by making idols of wood, clay, stone, silver, and gold. They gave those idols human characteristics that they could understand. But those idols were not God. As the Bible tells us:
Their idols are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
They have ears, but they do not hear;
Noses they have, but they do not smell;
They have hands, but they do not handle;
Feet they have, but they do not walk;
Nor do they mutter through their throat. (Psalm 115:4-7 (NKJV))
Idols cannot help us. They cannot see, hear, or do anything. They are lifeless.
You can’t make any image that would even come close to representing God. And you can’t fit God into a box. The almighty, all-powerful, all-knowing God cannot be contained or recreated by His creation. Our Creator exceeds our understanding.
And that’s a good thing. Anything you could hold in your hand or fully grasp with your mind would not be able to help you. Anything you make is limited by your own resources.
But our God is limitless. He is the One who made the heavens and the earth. He is the One who made you and me. Our God is bigger and more amazing than we could imagine. Praise Him!
So, don’t put God in a box. Don’t try to diminish who He is. You can’t hold Him in your hand. But God’s holding you in His as you walk by faith with Him.
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by Catherine McDaugale | Oct 24, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. (Romans 12:1 (NKJV))
How do you live for God? The Bible instructs us to give our lives to Him. We are to offer ourselves to God as a living sacrifice.
What does that mean? Living for God is a moment-by-moment surrender to Him. It’s about doing things His way and not the way you think you should be doing them.
If you’re born again, you are indwelt by God’s Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). God is with you every moment of every day and night. So, remind yourself of His presence. Pay attention to Him. As you surrender to God, listen for the direction He gives you.
For example, when you wake up in the morning, acknowledge that God is with you. Ask Him what He wants you to do that day. Sure, you may already know that you’re going to work. Or that you’ll be homeschooling your kids. Yet, God will guide you throughout your day.
When a thought comes into your mind that you should open your Bible and spend time with God, take the time to do it. Instead of checking your email or spending time on social media, use that time to seek God.
Before you begin reading, ask God to speak to you and teach you something He wants you to learn. Then when He shows you something He wants you to stop doing, obey Him and stop doing it. Likewise, if God shows you something you should be doing, obey Him and start doing it. If you ask God for help, He will help you.
As you go through your day, pay attention to the Holy Spirit as He guides you. When you’re talking to your colleagues at work and one of them starts gossiping about someone, you may start to feel uncomfortable. You know God doesn’t want you to gossip. If the Holy Spirit is prompting you to politely leave the conversation, obey His guidance and leave.
Then, that evening, maybe you start watching a movie you’ve been wanting to watch. Everyone has been talking about how good it is. But then you hear them use Jesus’ name as a curse word or there’s nudity. You think, I shouldn’t be watching this. God has said that I shouldn’t “misuse” His name (Exodus 20:7 (NLT)) and that I should abstain from sexual immorality (1 Thessalonians 4:3). When you have that thought, obey God and turn it off.
God’s Holy Spirit will lead you all throughout your day. When you decide to live for God, He will guide you. Listen for His voice and obey Him when He speaks to you.
Change the station when a song comes on the radio that has profanity in it. Listen when He tells you not to send an email in anger. Repent when you realize that you said something you shouldn’t have said. Forgive someone who’s wronged you.
Living your life for God is a moment-by-moment surrender to whatever He wants you to do. It’s a choice to live a life pleasing to Him.
Can we do it perfectly? No. As Paul lamented, “I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate” (Romans 7:15 (NLT)).
But praise God because He is so gracious to forgive us when we mess up. “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)).
So, live for God. Surrender your life to Him as a living sacrifice. Choose to listen to His voice as you walk by faith with Him.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Sep 26, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Spiritual Growth
A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (Luke 6:45 (NKJV))
Words are powerful. They can build one person up and tear another down. Inspire or crush. The words you say can make the difference between a great day with your husband or a cringeworthy one.
And your words reveal the state of your heart. As the Bible teaches us, “As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person” (Proverbs 27:19 (NLT)).
Bitter people spew venom – words that sear and scald. And hurting people use caustic words that wound others. As they say, hurting people hurt people. Misery loves company, doesn’t it?
So, what do your words say about you? Do they reflect your relationship with Jesus? Can people tell from the things you say that you’ve been spending time with Him?
Listen to yourself when you talk. Do your words glorify God? Edify others? Or do your words reveal a heart problem?
For example, God commanded us not to take His name in vain (Exodus 20:7). God told us, “You must not misuse the name of the LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse His name” (Exodus 20:7 (NLT)).
The word vain means empty, worthless. God’s name is holy. It is the name above all other names. It is far above “every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come” (Ephesians 1:21 (NKJV)). When His name comes out of your mouth, it should be used with reverence and awe.
Yet, it’s common in our society to use His name carelessly, recklessly, or even as a curse word. The exclamation, “Oh my God!” or its shorthand “OMG!” falls out of kids’ and grownups’ mouths alike. When it does, the person usually has no intention of actually calling on Him.
And the speech of many is peppered with the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus without any respect for His beautiful name. You hear it on the streets, on colleagues’ lips, and in movies and television shows. It’s so commonplace that many who profess to be Christian don’t think twice about hearing it or carelessly saying it themselves.
As James taught us, “And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!” (James 3:10 (NLT)).
If you notice that your words reveal a heart problem, pray to God. Ask Him to reveal the state of your heart. Bitterness often results from a lack of forgiveness. And careless words can demonstrate a lack of respect for God or an absence of love for those around you.
Once God shows you what you need to take care of, confess any sin. Then ask God to help you forgive whatever needs to be forgiven and to give you a greater respect for Him and more love for others.
We need to be careful with our words. Remember that the words you speak make a difference in the lives of those around you.
Let’s be women whose words encourage and bless the people in our lives. Let us use words that are “fitly spoken” – ones that are “like apples of gold in settings of silver” (Proverbs 25:11 (NKJV)). Let our speech glorify God as we walk by faith with Him.
Photo by Photoholgic on Unsplash
by Catherine McDaugale | Aug 29, 2022 | Christian Living, Life, Ministry
God said, “I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all my will.” (Acts 13:22 (NKJV))
The other day, I was reading an article about Stanley Jenkins. I’m pretty sure you’ve never heard of him. I hadn’t either. Stanley lived from 1884 to 1967. When he died, he left no wife or children. He’s not known as a man who did something incredibly noble. Instead, he’s credited as the inventor of the corn dog. [1]
That’s his legacy – corn dog inventor. A man who obtained a patent for a machine to skewer and deep fry hot dogs dipped in a corn meal mixture.
Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy a good corn dog from time to time. But after you’re gone, is that all you want to be known for?
It got me thinking, we only have one life. When your time is up, what will people say about you? What will you be known for? Inventing a food dish? Or someone who loved God?
David was known as a man after God’s own heart. He was known as a man who would do God’s will. Wouldn’t that be a beautiful way to be remembered?
It sounds like a high standard. Maybe you’re thinking that’s something you could never live up to. Yet, David wasn’t perfect. He made many mistakes. He not only committed adultery but tried to cover it up by having the woman’s husband killed (2 Samuel 11:2-5, 14-17). It wasn’t perfection that gave David this legacy. It was his love for God and his faith in Him.
When David heard that Israel was being taunted by one of the Philistine giants named Goliath, (1 Samuel 17:4-11, 23), he asked, “[W]ho is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?” (1 Samuel 17:26 (NKJV)). David knew that Goliath was not just challenging men, but God Himself.
So, when Saul told David that he wouldn’t be able to fight Goliath because he was just a youth, David assured him that the Lord – who delivered him from the lion’s paw and the bear’s paw as he shepherded his father’s flock – would also deliver him from the hand of Goliath (1 Samuel 17:37). David trusted God.
Not only did David openly trust God before all the people, he also expressed his love for God. When the ark of God – the place where God would meet the high priest once a year – was brought up to Jerusalem, “David danced before the Lord with all his might,” leaping and whirling before Him (2 Samuel 6:14-16 (NKJV)).
David gives us a good example to follow. We should aim to be known as women who love God and trust Him.
In your life, are you known as a woman after God’s own heart who will do all His will? Do those around you even know that you’re a Christian? What evidence is there of your love for God?
I’m not suggesting that you do things to call attention to yourself and what you’re doing so people will notice you. Jesus warned us not to be like the Pharisees who loved to “pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men” (Matthew 6:5 (NKJV)).
But if you live your life loving God, being sensitive to His Spirit, and willing to step out in faith to do the things He asks you to do, people will know you love God. As you abide in Jesus by reading the Bible, talking to Him, and worshipping Him, it will be evident that you’ve spent time with Him.
And as you live a life of obedience, your life will bless others. Don’t be afraid to pray with someone He asks you to pray with. Be bold to share with others what God is doing in your life. Make yourself available to serve those around you.
As we do these things, we will become known as women after God’s own heart. So let’s commit our lives to Jesus as we walk by faith with Him.
Photo by charlesdeluvio on Unsplash
[1] Kerry J. Byrne, “Meet the American who invented the ‘clean, wholesome’ corn dog,” Fox News, Jun. 10, 2022, https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/meet-american-invented-corn-dog.
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 | 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 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 | 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 | 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 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.
