Devotionals for the Heart: Authority

Is God Arbitrary?
A devotional by Linda Wood Rondeau

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” 

–Exodus 20:2 (NIV)

When it came to authority, our teenage son resisted any edict that did not mesh with his own crafted idealism. Every rule we made resulted in endless hours of debate. We tried to explain our rationale for the decisions.

However, discussions generally ended with the final statement, “Because, we said so. We are your parents, and we are responsible for you. We know things you do not. You will obey.”

Eventually, he concluded resistance was futile and acquiesced, if not from comprehension then out of respect for our position and if not out of respect for our position then out of respect for our power.

We held the purse from which his blessings flowed.

I reminded him: My ways are not your ways.

Throughout the Books of the Law, God explained his reasons for expectations. He instituted blood sacrifices, sin offerings, grain offerings, and wave offerings. He specified under what conditions each could be offered. Aaron, as the priest, was given explicit instructions on his wardrobe, his deportment and his handling of the offerings.

In some instances, God offered explanations for his edicts. Ultimately, however, God reminded Moses who was in charge and from where the blessings flowed.

According to Leviticus 11:45 (NIV), God said, “I am the LORD who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God: therefore, be holy, because I am holy.” He also said in Leviticus 19:37 (NIV), “Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.”

As we read the Law in our modern world, even the least pious among us will not argue the wisdom behind many of God’s ordinances. Our knowledge of the harmful effects of bacteria lends credibility to the handling of the meat and blood following sacrifice, the confinement of persons with infectious skin diseases and discharges, avoidance of certain sexual behaviors, and the fair and trust treatment of others.

These rules were intended for blessing, good health, and safety. Disobedience brought about death and disease. The Creator knows its creation and the result of its misuse.

We imperfect humans understand that our knowledge, as imperfect as we are, is of a greater scope than an infant’s. We make rules for our children to keep them safe, and we do this because we love them. Our decisions for the welfare of our children are not based upon their understanding or permission. We make our decisions based upon our knowledge of their individual needs and circumstances, our knowledge and experience, and the lessons we ourselves have learned from our own mistakes.

The future happiness and security of our children is our primary concern. We expect obedience even though they may not fully comprehend our reasons for the rules. How much more than does our Heavenly Father, perfect in every way, desire good things for His children?

God’s Laws are not given to cause hardship and drudgery. They are given to help us be secure in Him. When we are obedient, blessings will flow as a natural result. According to Leviticus 26:12-13 (NIV), God said, “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.”

Conversely, as a natural result, disobedience will beget unpleasantness, separation, and death. In the list of calamities that God tells Moses will befall the disobedient, God warns in Leviticus 26:18 (NIV), “If after all this you will not listen to me, I will punish you for your sins seven times over.”

Yet, even after His harsh warnings, God provides atonement for those desiring to return to Him. According to Leviticus 26:45 (NIV), He said, “But for their sake I will remember the covenant with their ancestors whom I brought out of Egypt in the sight of the nations to be their God. I am the LORD.”

God did not institute His Law arbitrarily. He cares for us.

Let’s Pray: I thank you Lord that you know what is best for me. I thank you that your discipline is never arbitrary. You are Sovereign. Help me to trust you and renew my confidence as I increase in obedience.

~*~
Author Bio:

Award-winning author Linda Wood Rondeau writes to demonstrate our worst past, surrendered to God becomes our best future. 

A veteran social worker, Linda now resides in Hagerstown, Maryland. 

Readers may visit her website at www.lindarondeau.com. 

Connect with Linda on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus and Goodreads. 

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Devotionals for the Heart: Inner battles and the spiritual lifestyle

Should vs. Want
A devotional by Linda Wood Rondeau

“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth." 
~John 16:13 (NIV)

I know the drill. I hear it from my doctor with every visit. Lose weight, eat more nutritiously, and get more exercise. After my physician has kindly reminded me of the benefits derived from healthier lifestyle choices, I make well-intentioned promises of changed behaviors.

I vow to increase fiber, though to me it’s not much better than cardboard. I promise myself I will lose 50 pounds, do aerobic activity for 30 minutes a day, drink eight glasses of water, and consume the requisite servings of fruits and vegetables. I pride myself on my good intentions.

With gusto and determination, I dust off the treadmill, put motivational stickers around the house, and keep a diary of my new healthy ambitions. Sadly, however, my behaviors slowly drift back to my comfortable unhealthy choices within a few weeks. “I just don’t have enough willpower,” I tell myself while pouring my fourth cup of coffee.

Is my inability to change due to lack of motivation? Am I too weak of spirit? “Why”, I reprimand myself, “can’t I do better?”

Perhaps it is because I suffer from the shoulds. I should drink less coffee, I should exercise more and I should lose weight. Every magazine I pick up has more than half of its content devoted to the shoulds.

The problem in compliance is a lack of the wants. Oh, it’s true it would be nice to be as beautiful as Miss America, as athletic as an Olympic champion, and as enthusiastic as a political candidate, but do I have the want for these things? Am I willing to make the sacrifices and commit to the long haul? My resolve wanes because I lack the wants.

Attitudes regarding change are shaped according to whether we desire the change out of a feeling of guilt or whether the change is motivated due to a conviction. The shoulds are a result of guilt; the wants are born from conviction.

Guilt is laden with self-incrimination and self-loathing. It is a heavy burden to carry. It tends to slow progress and cause depression. Guilt may propel us into action initially, but the momentum is difficult to sustain. When we fail, we convince ourselves there is some intrinsic flaw within us that dooms us to a cycle of attempts and failures. With each failure, the desire to try again is diminished.

When we truly want to change, we are convicted to change. Conviction alters our perspective, renews our energies, and drives us toward a positive outcome. Even if a first attempt is unsuccessful, we will keep trying until we experience ultimate success.

What of our spiritual lifestyles? We believe we should read the Bible more, attend church regularly, and give a tithe unto the Lord. Every devotional article we read reminds us of the benefits when we do these things. Yet, our striving toward these goals wean as life’s mundane needs erode our best intentions.

God does not desire us to follow a blind pattern of religiosity. Doing good deeds, merely because one should do them, will produce meaningless exercise that does little to uplift the believer.

God has provided the believer with the Holy Spirit. It is The Spirit’s working within us that will bring the believer to conviction. He places a hunger within the believer that propels us toward God’s word. Rather than condemn our past, He uses our failure as a lamp to show us what our future could be when we walk in obedience. As we grow in our desire to walk more closely with God, we no longer pray simply because that’s what a Christian should do. We pray because our day is incomplete without spending time alone with Him.

~*~
Author bio:

Award-winning author Linda Wood Rondeau writes to demonstrate that our worst past surrendered to God becomes our best future. 

A veteran social worker, Linda now resides in Hagerstown, Maryland. 

Readers may visit her website at www.lindarondeau.com. 

~*~
Connect with Linda on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus and Goodreads.

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True Love Stories: The Blonde and the Boy Scout

Such a sweet story is featured today about a woman who realized the man for her was better than a billionaire or Prince Charming. She met an ordinary man who accepted her for who she was and whose love for her was not only true but extraordinary!

I hope Linda's true love story inspires you as much as it has me.

Here it is...

~*~
The Blonde and the Boy Scout
Linda Wood Rondeau’s true love story

“He seems real nice,” I told my mother. “We’ve only been going out a few weeks, but I really like him.”

In the seven years since my divorce, I discovered that the Marines had taken whatever few good men were left. Demoralized, I moved to the redneck community of farmers and shoe factory workers to be near my parents.

“I’m glad to be close to you and Dad,” I told my mother, “but I doubt I’ll find a husband in these here hills.”

“Don’t be so quick to give up. You’ll find someone.”

When I’m so old, it won’t matter?

The ad leapt out at me—“Casting call for Annual Irish Play.”

I landed a one-line part. Hey, even Meryl Streep had to start somewhere. Since I learned my line within five minutes, I signed up to do publicity. My first interview was with a lanky major character who always wore his auto parts uniform. Imitating a psychiatric patient, he stretched out on the carpet. “So what do you want to know? I’m single, and I haven’t had a date in a year and a half.”

“I only need a few personal bits, like where you live.”

Our first date was the cast party. I wasn’t used to dating nice guys—only pretend nice guys who used children and pets to steal a girl’s heart. I didn’t trust nice guys. I married a nice guy, and he deserted me. Nice guys were myths—like the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

“It won’t last,” I said aloud while alone watching the wind blow against the curtain.

Nevertheless, I agreed to a second date. There was a third and a fourth. Who could say no to a boy-scout leader, a member of the prestigious Order of the Arrow?

“Have a nice night, Dear,” Mother said as we concluded our conversation.

It seemed silly to be exited over attending a Scouting banquet. Steve was to be the recipient of a prestigious award, and he’d asked me to be his date. He even asked me to sew a new patch on his scout uniform and never complained that I had stitched the pocket shut in the process, the first clue that I was indeed a natural blonde.

I’d hired a sitter who would arrive at six and feed the children their dinner so I could at least comb my hair in peace. At six forty-five, the sitter had not yet arrived. I called the teenager’s home. “Oh, I forgot to call you. I’m grounded for a week. My mother says I can’t baby-sit tonight.”

As I hung up the phone, feeling like I’d found the lucky lottery ticket after the prize had been claimed, Steve arrived in his highly decorated uniform, looking like a Norman Rockwell painting of the Last American Boy Scout. What would I tell him?

I took out a box of spaghetti noodles and placed a filled pot of water on the stove while I gave him the bad news. “You go on ahead. I’ll feed the kids and then try to find another babysitter.” It was the best out I could provide—convinced the romance was doomed. I had ruined a very important moment for him.

While three pre-school children clung to his neatly pressed khaki’s, he gave me the only order he has ever spouted in our nearly three four together. “You get on the phone and find a sitter. I’ll make the spaghetti.”

Any other man would have run like Peter Rabbit out of Mr. McGregor’s garden. Instead, he chose to stay through the worst of the crying, spilling, and saucy mess.

I fell in love that night. Not with a handsome prince or billionaire. It was not my fantasy—it was better. I had found a man who loved me as I was—a blonde who wanted only one thing out of life: acceptance for who she was. 

No pretensions—simply a blonde and a Boy Scout. 

~*~
Author bio: 

Winner of the 2012 Selah Award for best first novel The Other Side of Darkness, LINDA WOOD RONDEAU, writes blended contemporary fiction that speaks to the heart and offers hope to those with damaged lives. After a long career in human services, Linda now resides in Jacksonville, Florida. A Christmas Prayer, (aka A Father’s Prayer) was a finalist for both the 2014 Selah and Carol Awards.

Other books include: It Really IS a Wonderful Life, Joy Comes to Dinsmore Street, Days of Vines and Roses and her non-fiction book, I Prayed for Patience God Gave Me Children, also part of a compilation (Uplifting Devotionals).A sequel Joy Comes to Dinsmore Street, (Snow on Eagle Mountain) is expected to be released soon. Watch for Fiddler’s Fling and Red Sky Promise, inspirational romances expected to be released later in 2015.

Rondeau’s, Jolly Angel, is also part of a compilation, Blue Heaven Romances.

Readers may visit her web site at www.lindarondeau.com, her blog, This Daily Grind, or email her at lindarondeau@gmail.com or find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus and Goodreads.

~*~
Blurb for Linda’s book, A Father’s Prayer:

Award-winning author Linda Rondeau returns with a tender romance about a country singer, a father's plea for forgiveness, and a woman's heartbreak. 

A year after learning of a son’s existence, Country music legend, Ethan Jacobs returns to Jasper Falls, a place of bitter memories, to help the his twelve-year-old autistic child, given up for adoption at birth. Orphaned after the death of his adoptive parents, the boy is at risk of institutionalization due to probation violations and alleged inadequate guardianship of his current caregiver, an older, adoptive sister. In view of his son’s delicate emotional state, the court advises Ethan to keep his relationship to Gib secret for now.