Christian Devotions - Guest Devotionalist, Susan Boyer

Christian Devotions --Guest Devotionalist, Susan Boyer

Raising Your Hand
By: Susan Boyer

Listen to Raising Your Hand by - Susan Boyer

“The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.” –John 1:5

God often shows up in unexpected places. I confess that I sometimes watch Desperate Housewives. Are you shocked? Some folks I know find the television series not suitable viewing for Christians, although I doubt they’ve ever watched it. Since there are quite a few cautionary tales in the Bible I read, I figure it’s okay to watch one on TV.

Anyway, a few weeks ago, one of the characters, Lynette, who had suffered through the soap-opera-equivalent of the trials of Job—cancer, a tornado, marital problems—approached a friend, Bree, who habitually attended church. Lynette asked if she and her family might come along. Of course Bree was delighted to have them join her in the pews—until Lynette raised her hand to ask a question after the sermon. Mortified, Bree told her, “We don’t do that here.”

This made for a comic scene, but it resonated with me. I’ve always had a lot of questions, and I suspect I’m not alone. I’ve known Christians who believed that asking the wrong question was the equivalent of questioning the Lord himself, and thus a sacrilege. To be fair to the fictional minister and his church, he later shared that he found Lynette’s openness refreshing. Bree apologized to Lynette before the end of the episode, and helped her search the Bible for answers to her questions. Warning for those who don’t typically watch this show: they don’t do a lot of Bible reading, and much of the subject matter is of a sinful nature.

But, this episode raised an important issue for me. There are a lot of Lynettes in the world—people who are hurting and searching. Even among the faithful, we wonder about such mysteries as why bad things happen to the innocent. But too often we don’t deal with the hard questions, preferring to retreat into what must sound like platitudes to those on the outside looking in. How can we look non-believers in the eye and ask them to join us, but only ask the questions to which we have memorized the answers?

I accept that there is much we will never understand this side of Heaven: Almighty God is a higher being, and we humans simply cannot wrap our brains around all of Him. But it’s important for me to know all that I am capable of knowing.

I need to shine The Light in the dark corners. To walk with Him, I must understand Him. I raise my hand when I have questions.

Susan M. Boyer lives in Greenville, SC with her husband, Jim. She spends her days writing and daydreaming too much. Her work has appeared in Relief Journal, Spinetingler Magazine, The Petigru Review, and Catfish Stew. She is the recipient of Relief Journal’s, editor’s choice award in fiction. Susan is currently polishing her first novel, a Southern women’s suspense tale. She serves on the board of directors for the South Carolina Writers Workshop, and is in her second year as chairperson for their annual conference. In her spare time, Susan travels with her husband, occasionally makes it to her Jazzercise class, and sometimes remembers to update her blog, People I’d Like to Be at skinnywriter@blogspot.com, where she mostly complains about the exercise and her sluggish metabolism.

HE SAID - SHE SAID May 9, 2008

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. - 2 Peter 3:9





He Said -- Stick a Fork in Me, I'm Done!


By: Eddie Jones


With me? He's patient with me? How about I'm patient with Him? Yeah, that's right Big Boy, I'm talking to you. Glaciers form and melt in the time it takes you to.....

Oops, sorry, Lord. For a moment there I had you confused with the name-it-and-claim-it god sold by the power of positive-possibility-preachers who leave their debt ridden believers broken and despondent after they've fleeced their flock. Did I just say that out loud?

Last night my wife tried to cook a turkey. She put the bird in the oven and set the temp on 350 degrees. Later, as I was cleaning up the kitchen, I saw that he oven was still on, so I cut it off. When I looked inside I noticed the turkey, so I turned the oven back on and did what every good husband does.

I kept my mouth shut.

When we got ready to go to bed, my wife checked on the turkey - I'm back to talking ab out the bird in the oven, now - but it wasn't done, so she set her clock to get up every half hour.

Now me, I'd have tossed that turkey. No bird is worth losing sleep over. But not my wife. She wasn't going to chunk a turkey just because her husband was an idiot.

A few months back I asked God this question. "Does the extravagance of your blessings ripen with time, and if so, is this waiting and wishing a season of blessing? Is my impatience a reflection of my small faith? Will I be embarrassed when, at last, you answer my prayers?"

That turkey stewed a long time in its sauce. I've been stewing this week, too. Looking in the mailbox for a missing manuscript, listening for the rumble of the FedUPS trucks to deliver some packages. Sitting by the phone, waiting for agent to call with a book contract.

But if I understand the writer of Peter correctly, it is good to stew and wait. To simmer and sit until the full richness of our character fills the kitchen. On ly then will the favor of God bring forth the full flavor of our lives.

Does God have you on slow roast? Don't turn off the heat. It could be, your life is the main course for an important feast.



She Said -- I Asked. When Will You Answer?

By: Cindy Sproles

My head rested on the pillow and my eyes grew heavy. Somewhere between the 11:00 news and a late night talk show, I drifted in and out of consciousness. You see, I have one speed, and it's hyperdrive, so even when I sleep, I never really rest. My head never seems to shut down.

I've been praying a lot lately, especially for a good friend. Every time I pray, I find myself reminding God that "He promises." In fact, I caught myself saying promises, promises, promises, promises. Promises, promises, promises, and promises. When are you going to keep one? Answer a prayer? Buck up and pay attention? Come in from the back yard and answer an email? Shortly after I said that, we had a thunderstorm and a very heavy rain. Perhaps I was out of line-a little.

Still I take the Father at His word and He promises to hear our prayers and answer. He's slow. I'm sure God is wondering by whose standards I'm comparing Him to, and that would be my hyperdrive speed. But I don't get it. I don't understand the logic when I pray faithfully, ask according to His will, and pray persistently, why the Father doesn't throw me a bone-give me a break.

The fact is, sometimes His answer is in the "not" answering. Sometimes the answer is the silence. We will never comprehend the timing of God and we most certainly will never understand his patience with us, but the one thing we can rest assured in, is the fact that He always keeps his promise. "He knows the plans that He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us," and just because I'm tapping my foot impatiently waiting does not mean God is ready. All the pieces to His plan are not in place and all my toe tapping is going to do, is hurt.

So, I roll over and pull my pillow close. I close my eyes and rest in the assurance that God is God, almighty and amazing, and I am simply impatient. Thank goodness He is not. I feel His breath against my face as I drift into rest, and I heard Him whisper, "I always keep my promises, but I keep them in my time. Patience."

Spitting Contest

So, because you are lukewarm-neither hot or cold-I am about to spit you out of my mouth. - Revelation 3:16

I've done more things with my kids that, under normal circumstances, I would have never considered. Let's start with roller coasters. I hate roller coasters-the feeling stems from riding an old wood coaster with only a bar that came across your lap. Making that fifty foot climb up the incline, hesitating at the top, then tilting and soaring down the other side scared me to death. I felt like I would fall out. I'm proud to say, I've ridden The Hulk at Universal. I had to be peeled off the seat when it was over, but I rode it with my adult children.

When you have boys, you do things you wouldn't normally do. For instance, a spitting contest. I know, it's gross and frankly, I can't believe I actually participated, but you do what you must. I went outside one day to find the boys lined along the sidewalk, cups of water in hand, and spitting at mason jars. Each time they'd hit the jar, they'd move it backward, aiming for a harder hit. It wasn't long before Tim and I were both involved. Of course when we ran out of water, we resorted to the ole' time way of playing the game, and as disgusting as it was, we had a ball.

Spitting is just nasty. People do it when they're sick, or something tastes bad. Ever get a mouth full of lukewarm water? You spit!

My relationship with Christ is something I strive to never take for granted. Developing it means studying, reading, immersing myself into the heart of the Father through His word. Likewise, this same relationship is taken very seriously by God. He desires for me to know Him, and He has a wonderful plan for me. He wants me active and working, seeking and praying because that's where I can find Him.

When I read about the church at Laodicea, my heart breaks because God resorts to spitting--and this time, it's not a kid's game. He said, "because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold--I am about to spit you out of my mouth."

I stumble at times and sin. My weaknesses show through. But my heart and my conviction never falter. I can't imagine being so wishy-washy, so inactive in my spiritual life God would want to spit me out.

The only spitting I do these days is watermelon seeds, and my prayer is that on the day Christ comes, He will not spit me into a mason jar. How is your relationship with the Father? Is it lukewarm or is it boiling? Aim for boiling.

Guest Devotionalist -- Aaron Gansky

Guest Devotionalist -- Aaron Gansky

Namesake

(part 2)

By: Aaron Gansky

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by."

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

1 Kings 19: 11-13

What then, is most impressive about Elijah? Which miracles should we pick to recognize and marvel over? Clearly it's when he challenged four hundred prophets of Baal to a deity Smack down in the vein of the WWE. The odds were hardly in his favor, but his unwavering faith was rewarded. God, likely with a divine suplex, knocked Baal down for the count. And Elijah, His servant, commanded all four hundred prophets to be led to a river and slaughtered. Impressive.

But that's not why my second son is named Elijah.

Of course, then, it must be when he raised the poor widow's son from the dead. You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? What, then?

My son is named Elijah because Elijah ran away.

Really?

Really. See, the miracles, as impressive as they are, they don't reveal who Elijah really was. A prophet? Yes. An amazing prophet? Absolutely. Human. Exactly. Elijah made mistakes like so many others. But here's what Elijah did after his mistake. He made up for it.

Shortly after he had the prophets of Baal slaughtered, the wicked Queen of the land asked for his head on a platter. Elijah got scared and ran. This isn't what God wanted, per se. So God had a short conversation with him. Something to the effect of "Why you runnin', son?" To his credit, Elijah answers truthfully. "Uhm, Lord, I'm peein' my pants over here. This really bad woman wants me dead, and she can do it. I'm all alone."

God says, "Meet Me on the mountain." Elijah does. And he has to endure a harsh wind, an earthquake, and a fire. See, if it's me, I'm gone after the earthquake. That's when I start thinking, "Oops, guess God ain't too happy with me." But Elijah stays. There's his faith. God said, "Meet Me here," and by golly, I'm going to.

More impressive is God's gentle question-"Why are you here?" And his answer to Elijah's concern, "I'm all alone." God said, "Go back and anoint new leaders." See, this action provided for Elijah's concern, but also required faith on his part. Elijah never seems short of faith does he? Well, maybe just when he's running away.

So you see, my son is named Elijah because he's human. He'll make mistakes. He'll have doubts. But, eventually and unfailingly, he'll return to the service of God.

At least, he will if I serve God. His faith will be a measure of my own. And there's my challenge. More accurately--there's our challenge.

Where would God like to meet you? Are you late for that meeting? Are you waiting through the winds, earthquakes, and fires? Rejoice. God's gentle whisper is just around the corner.

Aaron is an author and creative writing teaching living in California.

HE SAID - SHE SAID May 5, 2008

HE SAID - KINGDOM WORK

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” - Philippians 2:13

I understand the appeal of prison. The security, the shelter, the daily sustenance provided by tax payers. Once you’ve tasted the fear of freedom, returning to prison can seem mighty appealing. I know. Two years ago I was tempted to return to prison, to my own, maximum security facility.

Before stepping into the stark landscape of freedom, I’d spent my whole career working for myself but I’d grown tired of it. I’d seen whole industries implode, my benefits cut, the meager investments in my retirement account, decimated. As a hard working American, I’d done everything my dad had told me to do. Get an education, earn a degree, work hard at every task and pick my nose in private. But in the end there was no security.

So when God called me again, as He’d called so many times before, and asked me to come to work for Him, I signed up. The paragraph on the job description was blank, the starting salary missing and the location vague. But that didn’t matter. I was ready for a new employer.

Then came that day when I looked over my shoulder and turned back toward my prison.
“I’m working at a job that isn’t paying the bills,” I wrote in my prayer journal. “But I’ve kept at it. That’s faith. I’m doing what you’ve called me to do even though I see few opportunities for advancement. That’s hope. I’ve shelved my dreams in order to spend all my energy training for this craft. That’s selling out to serve you.”

“And now it’s fall and the sky is gray. The air is damp and the wind cold. The season of hope has passed. Summer is gone, but it never really came for me. All that is left is fall and I feel as if I’ve failed in the job you’ve given me. Did I get it wrong? Should I go back?”

I understand the appeal of prison. It represents safety and significance, even if on a limited scale. The call to serve God, to follow Christ, is not a life of lottery winnings. It is a job. It requires work. And there are no employment manuals.

But Christ says that with perseverance, we will reap a harvest. Maybe not in material blessings and maybe not in this lifetime. But we will share in His joy. And what was the job God gave me?
To write. To become an author. To do what I’m doing today so that others may know of His goodness and glory.

When you hear His call, say “yes.” When you are tempted to turn back toward your prison, say “no.” And when someone tells you that your ministry made difference in their life, say “you’re welcome.”

Then thank God for the opportunity to work for Him.


SHE SAID - You Gotta Do What Ya Gotta Do

“For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” - Philippians 2:13

There are some things in life we have to do for ourselves. When asked why, there’s no good answer other than, “I just needed to do it.” I’d like to think I could hop on Interstate 81 and have a straight shot, four lanes and seventy miles per hour, to get from point A to point B. Unfortunately life has other plans for me, so I exit occasionally to grab a bite or take in a sight. Life is like that. Drive, exit, drive, exit, drive, potty break.

We all have roads to travel and our reasons, sometimes only known to the deepest part of our being, as to why we drive the routes we do. I remember picking my grandmother up from the bus station once and telling her that for someone who was supposed to enjoy a trip she looked pretty rough. She grinned and said, “I look this way for a reason. I’ve traveled a lot of roads and a lot weren’t paved, what do you expect?”

I’m not sure what I expected, but humorous as that was, her analogy made sense.
When we start down a road toward something we’ve longed for it looks like it’ll be a straight shot to our destination. However, many of us lose sight of point B long before they arrive, while others become lost and turn around. But for those who follow the map, stay the course—the reward is just ahead.

Heaven is that way—you know, due north, left turn upward. The problem is we take side trips. We never want to wait in traffic or be inconvenienced. That’s just not how you get there. We get there by following the Words the Father has given us. The directions are pretty clear. We’re the ones who muddle them, who insist on taking Highway Exciting only to find the excitement was all in dodging the potholes. Then we have to turn around, dodge again and hope we find the on ramp to the interstate.

Amazingly enough, the Father waits patiently for us to do what we feel we need to do before we finally drive to Him. He provides a map, complete with yellow highlighted directions and when we arrive, He will work for the good. Won’t you flip open your map and follow?

By the way. Don’t wait too long—you may miss the turn completely.

HE SAID -- SHE SAID May 2, 2008

Courting The Bereans - He Said

"Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." - Acts 17:11

Twice this week I’ve pilfered through my wife’s library of chic flicks and plugged in the VHS player. I am a hopeless romantic. I keep Christmas, birthday, valentine and anniversary cards. Beside my bed there’s a drawer full of my boy’s pre-school artwork, in the attic a box of high school love letters, and on my dresser a basket of ticket stubs from Jimmy Buffett concerts.

Okay, the Buffett thing isn't so much romantic as it is just sad.

The point is that I long for love and memorialize the moments when I find it.

The converts in Berea knew a few things about romance, too. For them, the message from Paul was an invitation to love, a call to courtship. When the apostle told them of God’s love, of how God desired for them to be made whole, they eagerly examined the Scripture, parsing Paul’s words to see if what the apostle said was true.

It was, and still is.

God is love. We only need to hear the laugh of a toddler, smell the biscuits of grandma, see the limbs bending in the pines. Small trinkets left for us by a God who loves us so much, He exchanged the life of His son that we might rest in His arms. My desire to return to Eden, to find Eve and the perfection of paradise is not the aimless wanderings of a hopeless romantic. It is the heart of a man hungry for the one who made me in His image.

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Be a Berean! -- She Said

Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see what Paul said was true. – Acts: 17:11

When you raise a household of boys certain things are inevitable -- bloody noses,

belching contests, and comic books. As a teen my husband loved comics. There are a number of plastic storage bins in the basement filled with original Spiderman and Fantastic 4 comics. He, like most kids in our youth, collected pop bottles and redeemed them for pennies to buy comics.

As our kids grew into adolescents, Tim involved them in his comic book interests. Each week he’d load the boys into the car and drive to the comic book store. They would burst through the door after Wayne, the owner, asking what books were in their tubs for the week. Wayne knew when the sideline books would hit, and he tossed a copy in their tubs, keeping them on top of all the characters. The kids couldn’t wait to get their new editions. They could bolt upright in their beds from a dead sleep and tell you the details of Spiderman because they were excited.

I offered some information on the scriptures to a group of folks who’d obviously missed their afternoon naps. They left the information in their seats as they trudged off to catch a few zzzz’s. Can we talk, and talk honestly –no lies (can’t do that according to the ninth commandment). I was saddened no one was eager to study the word. How can we be the Christians God asks us to be if we are not eager and excited to know His word? How easily can we be misled without knowledge?

The Bereans were “off the beaten path” from most folks and honestly –here it is again -- few expected them to latch on the Word with zest, but when they received it they were thrilled. More so, they studied it daily finding assurance in what Paul was teaching them was tried and true. We take for granted when a scripture is offered to us, that it is given in the right context. If we never study, we can never know if Satan has turned the word around to suit his agenda. You can justify most anything scripturally when you take it out of context –even sin. Loving God with an eagerness and a desire to know Him should come as easily as my boys’ excitement over comic books. That “want” is what will ground us in very basis of God.

Love Him with eagerness. Study His word with fervor. Know Him fully. Share Him with excitement to others. Be a Berean!

The Heart of a Servant

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you. – Luke 6:38

Kay peered over the stacks of files. Her heart sank as Les laid the last of the pile on the edge of the desk.

“I appreciate you taking on my half of the files. This way I can catch up to the guys after work.” He leaned across the mess and gave her a half-hearted hug. “Wait up guys.”

The office emptied and Kay sat alone wondering why she’d agreed to help Les. A weak smiled parted her lips as she began to sort the files. She wasn’t happy to be alone with the work, but she was pleased to help a friend.

Having the heart of a servant can be tough. Many times others take advantage of those with the willingness to give. Some servants are caregivers, some encouragers, and some give freely of their love and time regardless of their own commitments. Whatever the method, their hearts are tender and their minds obedient.

Many will say Jesus’ perfect example of being a servant was when he knelt to wash the feet of His disciples. But for me, His example lay in the fact that He paid full attention to all those He personally encountered. His ear was always tuned and His heart was always willing. In fact, He was such a servant that His only escape was in a boat on the lake. And when He walked that hill to His death, He walked it without regret and without doubt.

Those who are coined as servants do not ask for favors, they give freely of themselves, and they rarely accept credit for the work they’ve done. We never say thank you enough, instead we continually place more demands on them, and if they do happen to mention a sadness, we easily brush their needs to the side. All Christ asks of us is to love and obey Him, to spread the gospel so that every person can hear, yet all we manage to do is pile another stack of files on the desk.

Do you know someone with the heart of a servant? Have you genuinely praised them, done something special for them, or given just once? Christ gave His life. What have we given this servant in return?