Devotionals for the Heart: God wants to give you a good and perfect gift

God’s Good and Perfect Gift
A devotional by Karen Marstaller

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”—James 1:17 (ESV)

On the Friday before Easter, we remember the gift of salvation which God gave to us long ago.

His good and perfect gift was His Son—on a cross. His reason to give this lavish gift was simple: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 ESV).

God’s gift wasn’t wrapped in pretty paper with a frilly bow on top. Instead, His present was covered in innocent blood with “Paid in Full” pounded into the palms of His hands with heavy iron spikes.

Yet, God says His gifts are good and perfect. He says they come straight from our Heavenly Father. He says that every one of His gifts have their source in the light of God’s presence. And if we look closely, we will see His perfect radiance in the gift of His Son, His perfect sacrifice for our sins.

One of our granddaughters wanted a watch for her birthday, so we ordered it for her. Delivery was delayed and she didn’t receive it when she expected it. She waited for many weeks, and when it finally arrived, she opened the box with a lot of pent-up excitement and anticipation. After charging and synching it to her phone, she eagerly showed us all the new capabilities she has with her new watch.

In a similar way, the promised Messiah came to us kind of like our granddaughter’s watch did. God pre-ordered the mission of Jesus numerous times in the Old Testament, but it was a long time for God’s people to wait. Then the New Testament begins with the illumination of a great star at Messiah’s birth (Matthew 2:2). After that momentous occasion, the gospel writers record the truth of the mission of Jesus—to bring salvation to people of all nations. How excited they must have been as the followers of Jesus went everywhere with Him to share the good news of God’s perfect gift.

But then Jesus was crucified.

Shock. Horror. Fear. Despair. It must have seemed impossible to accept that their Rabbi, their Master, was dead. They had believed He was from God and they had followed Him for three years. And now He was gone, and they feared for their lives.

But God wasn’t finished with His perfect gift. From the utter darkness that covered the earth at the death of Jesus on that Friday afternoon, to the early morning Light of God’s resurrection of His Son, the followers of Jesus were terrified and confused. But when Jesus rose again on that glorious Sunday morning, God’s good and perfect gift was revealed. Jesus Christ, God’s promised Messiah, conquered death, rose from the dead, and He is Alive!

Gone were the clouds of sorrow and hopelessness. The followers of Jesus discovered how to walk in the strength of their risen Lord. Fearlessly, they shared the glorious news of God’s gift. Their faith became rock-solid because now they knew Jesus was the Promised One, the precious gift from the “Father of lights.” They were able to boldly declare that the Lord God Almighty, the Giver of all good gifts, proclaims salvation for all who believe in His Son, and He is faithful to His promises.

So, we celebrate a despised and horrific cross because it leads us to an empty tomb. Our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ is our perfect gift for every day of our lives, both on earth today, and then in Heaven for all eternity. Hallelujah! Thank You, Lord!

Let’s Pray: Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for Your good and perfect gift of Your Son, Jesus. Thank You for the Life and Light He brings to our lives, for His payment for our sins on His cross, and for Your promise of everlasting life to believers in Him. It’s all because of Your incredible gift of Your perfect Son, Jesus Christ. It’s in His name that we pray. Amen.

Song of Reflection: “Forever” by Kari Jobe. Listen it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

Karen Marstaller is a retired high school teacher who spent most of her career challenging creative students to write. Her heart is for her readers. 

She writes to encourage them, to make them laugh, to show them that life is a beautiful journey, and regardless of their past, to show them that there is joy ahead if they will just keep looking.

Karen and her husband live in central Texas in a sweet little home that they completely remodeled. They enjoy spending time with their family, which includes seven precious grandchildren.

Most of all, Karen writes in obedience to the command to love your neighbor, to offer a cup of water to those who are dying of thirst, and to comfort others with the comfort she has received.

You can reach Karen by emailing her at this address: klmarstaller@gmail.com

Devotionals for the Heart: When your past is messy, God can still bless you!

God Bless This Hot Mess
A devotional by Cyndi Staudt

Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 

– 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NLT)

I groaned in frustration as my Instagram opened.

“Again?” I asked to no one in particular.

Filling my screen was yet another picture of my friend off on some incredible adventure with the perfect pose in the perfect setting, the wind blowing perfectly through her perfect hair … it was, well, perfect.

In today’s social media world we get accustomed to seeing everyone with their beautifully filtered, seemingly picture-perfect lives and can often start feeling sorry for ourselves. Or worse, we jump on the bandwagon and spend an hour trying to capture the “perfect” selfie to post for ourselves, then spend another hour (or more!) checking our account repetitively to see how many “likes” our image has received. And if we are able to secure a comment, we’ve hit the social media jackpot. Comments like: “You look gorgeous!” / “I am so inspired by you!”/ “I wish I had your life.”

Acknowledgements like this would leave us feeling pretty satisfied with ourselves and allow us to completely forget the three hours of our life we just wasted and will never get back. Please somebody give this post a like if you can relate to any of this (just kidding!). We seem to have an addiction to making ourselves look like we have it all together. We rarely see people confessing their failures to the world on Facebook, posting unfiltered photos on “the gram.”

But our God wants us to be raw and real with Him. Romans 5:8 (NLT) tells us, “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.”

Or as I personalize this verse, “Cyndi, while you were still a hot mess I came to rescue you. I am so crazy about you! I think you are to die for.”

God didn’t wait for me to have my act together to save me; which is good, because at this point, I’m not sure that will ever really happen. He wants us to come as we are and leave the perfection up to Him, because He has perfection mastered. One of my favorite things about the the Bible book of Psalms is seeing how King David laid himself bare before God – the good, the bad, and the ugly. And God called David a man after His own heart. I don’t know about you but I would love to hear God say, “Cyndi was a woman after my own heart.”

I believe if I’m going to hear that from my Savior, I have to realize that God loves me as I am – hot mess and all – and accept myself just as I am.

I was several years into my Christian walk when God revealed to me that my desire to hide the mess of my past was robbing Him of glory and preventing others from seeing where God had brought me from. I was sitting in my office at work one day when one of my co-workers came into our office and plopped down in her chair visibly dejected and distressed. It was her day off which made it even more surprising that she was there, so I asked her if everything was okay. She said she “had a lot going on at home and just needed to get away from it for a bit.”

Then she added, “But you wouldn’t understand because you’ve got your life together.”

In that moment, God spoke so clearly to my heart. “Cyndi, if you don’t share what your life was like before you met Me, people will never know what I can do or how much I love them.”

It was in that moment that I had a full understanding of Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12. So I spent the next half hour sharing with my co-worker a glimpse of what my life looked like before I turned it over in complete surrender to Jesus Christ and how He helped me shed the shame of my past and trade it for a garment of righteousness that I will continue to wear until I meet Him in Heaven.

We tend to wear our (fake) perfection like a badge of honor when, in reality, we should be boasting about our weaknesses and the big God who helps us navigate them. Next time you are tempted to put on the happy face and pretend everything is “fine”, try instead crying out to God or admitting to a friend “I’m struggling.”

By walking in truth, you will come to know the freedom Jesus was talking about when He said, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32 NLT)

Let’s pray: Gracious God, we praise you for your love and mercy. Thank you for not requiring us to fix our failures before accepting us into your Kingdom. Help us to resist holding ourselves and others to unrealistic expectations of perfection, expectations that You never make of us. Remind us that as Your Holy Spirit works in us, You are looking for spirits that are surrendered to You, minds that are teachable and hearts that are tender to Your Word and Your will. Then give us the faith to believe You and the desire and dedication to obey. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray, Amen.

~*~
Author Bio:

Cyndi Staudt is a Jesus-loving, adrenaline junkie who is devoted to living her life for Jesus Christ until the day she is living with Him.

With a passion for cultivating a craving for God’s Word, her devotions and Bible studies are saturated with faith and hope to stir your soul to connect with God in deeper, more intimate ways. 

Through her writing she hopes to ignite your desire to read God’s Word, invite your heart to experience God’s love, and inspire you to live your live life “souled out” to the One whose love has no limits.

Connect with Cyndi on Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/souledoutcyndi/

Devotionals for the Heart: Back to the Garden of Eden with God

Walking with God in the Garden of Life
A devotion by Tema Banner

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” 

–Proverbs 3:6 (NKJV)

The Garden of Eden was designed to perfection with complete harmony and with no sadness, tears, pain or sickness. Sin was completely absent from this original paradise that God created. Our first parents (Adam and Eve) who were the first humans created by God, spent time daily walking with God in the garden and talking to Him.

Can you image how perfect this place was and how special it was to walk with God and spend time in His Presence face-to-face? Try though I may, I cannot. My feeble abilities to ponder what that experience would be like, I am sure, fall short of reality.

Many times, the thought has occurred that “back to Eden” is God’s plan. He wants us to return to a time of no pain, tears, sickness, or sin. To once again walk with Him in His garden of perfection. God has done a great deal to enable us to return to communion with Him. He has been patient, loving, forgiving, compassionate, and most important of all, sent Jesus Christ to provide the ultimate, permanent sacrifice: His life for our sin. 

Such love I cannot fathom. It is deeper, wider, higher and more encompassing than the human mind and heart can comprehend or conceive.

There is proof of God’s love in every small detail of the world in which we live. The majestic beauty of the earth, even when at times it seems she is coming apart with hurricanes that lash the shores and rip plant life from their roots and homes from their foundations; earthquakes that are untraceable in the destruction they cause, until they have ended with objects, lives, and thoughts turned upside down; tornados, their unknown path of destruction starkly definitive as it wipes one home off the face of the earth but leaves its neighbor untouched. 

The strength of nature in these storms leaves me amazed. I recognize that they represent a fraction of God’s might and power. The majesty of God should make us tremble at the audacity we exhibit in our thoughts and behavior when we barely acknowledge God or spend time praying to Him. How easy it is for us to forget about His Sovereignty as we go about our daily lives in this sin-filled world.

Proverbs 3:6 has pressed on my mind and made me ask myself, “Do I want God to direct my path?” The answer is a resounding, “Yes!” I have tried my way frequently enough to know that it is not the right way. God’s great love for us is once again shown in this verse (Proverbs 3:6): He desires to direct us, to show us His good will for us, which will give us peace, even in the storms of life.

God desires to walk with us for all of our days, both here on earth and in Heaven. God desires genuine friendship with us. But He doesn’t force us to be His friend. God gave us the freedom to choose Him, to acknowledge Him. He wants to be part of all your ways, as God was in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve, He wants now to walk with you through the garden of life.

Will you accept God’s invitation to walk with Him and talk with Him? He’s waiting with open arms, eager to guide you through this life on Earth and bring you “Back to Eden.”

~*~
Author Bio:

Writing stories that take the reader on a journey to parts unknown has been a lifelong love for Tema. She enjoys all history and continues daily to hone both her knowledge of history and her writing skills. 

God is her guiding light and the reason for every endeavor in her life. She is a member of the South Carolina ACFW chapter as well as an active member of her local RWA chapter, Carolina Romance Writers.

Tema has served as past President and Secretary as well as holding various chair positions. She is the honored recipient of the Harold Lowery Service Award, presented by the Carolina Romance Writers.

God has gifted her with a loving husband, two children and three grandchildren who are the delight of her life. In her spare time, she gardens and digs into genealogy for nuggets to use in her stories.

~*~
Connect with Tema:
Website: https://temabannerauthor.com
Blog: www.temabannerauthor.com/blog
Instagram: Instagram.com/temabanner

Devotionals for the Heart: Identity

I am God’s daughter
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

When my daughter was five, she was desperate to dye her dark-brown hair a vivid golden blond, swap her chocolate-colored eyes out for blue, and lighten her olive skin to a fair peach. (She also wanted to change her name, but that’s another story entirely.) In my mind, she should have been immune to these things, but already, the games had begun.

You know, the comparison games. The games many of us start to play as preteens and sometimes never stop.

“Why can’t I have curly hair like her?”

“Why can’t I have straight hair?”

“Why can’t I be curvy?”

“Why can’t I be less curvy?”

What is wrong with us? We’re all so desperate to fix these supposed flaws we believe we have, think if we can just change this or disguise that or get rid of X, Y, Z, or Q then everything will be perfect. Perhaps we think we can alter our identity, change our path.

At the root of all this is a misguided perception that somehow, someway, we don’t measure up to some ideal standard. Somehow, we fall short. Somehow, we are not good enough.

However, one look at Scripture tells us this is all an awful lie.

When God created the universe, He made the heavens and the waters over the earth, the plants and the trees, and said it was all good (Genesis 1:10, 12). He made the day, the night, and the stars above, and said it was good (18). He made the fish, the birds, and all the animals and said it was good (21, 25).

But when He made humans? That was exceptionally special.

Genesis 1:27 says God created human beings “in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them” (NLT).

That to God wasn’t just “good”—it was “very good” (31).

We know this is true. So why do we think negative thoughts about ourselves and how we were made? Why do we think we were born with the “wrong” hair color?

Why did God make me short, or have broad shoulders or hips?

Why I born deaf, or with a heart condition, or nearsighted?

No matter how God made us, we can rest assured it was by design. God didn’t “mess up somehow” or “make a silly mistake” when He made us. Every bit of God’s design for us was intentional.

And He made every single one of us in His image.

That is profound!

Not only are we made in His image, but we are also known completely by Him—and loved exactly how we are. Scripture is filled with those reminders.

Psalm 139-13-16 says, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed” (NLT).

Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope’” (NLT).

This same God—THE God, the One and the Only, the Alpha and the Omega—knit us, formed us, planned our future, and loves us completely and wholly.

And God doesn’t scrimp! I’m His daughter, and I know: He doesn’t make junk.

It’s time we remembered how very much He loves us and how perfectly created we are… just the way we are.

We need to love ourselves just as God loves us.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach and the recipient of the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for her novel, The Memory Garden.

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, and a member of the Wholly Loved Ministries team.

Learn more about her fiction and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com.

Devotionals for the Heart: On seeing yourself the way that God sees you

God doesn’t make junk—on loving ourselves
A devotional by Jessica Brodie

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

–Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

As many of us do, I come from a family that has struggled with body image. Several of my family members have battled eating disorders and low self-perception much of their lives. My heart hurts for them.

Because of this, I’ve tried so hard with my own kids to use loving language when it comes to our bodies. In our home, we celebrate differences, from physical shape and ability to skin and hair color.

And yet, in spite of my best efforts, they still struggle with loving their bodies. One of my children thinks they have “big thighs” compared to their peers. The other thinks they’re too short and skinny. Yet to me, they’re perfect!

I look around at the standard of so-called beauty in magazines and on television, at the way we tend to elevate certain people in social settings based on their looks, and I shouldn’t be surprised they’ve picked up this message, but I am—surprised, devastated, frustrated, and very, very concerned.

If my kids, who have a mom so focused on positive esteem, are suckered in by the lie that there is only one type of beautiful, how are the kids faring whose parents don’t talk about it at all?

The other day, my child brought home a placard from children’s ministry at our church that parents were instructed to hang in their car. On it was a portion of Psalm 139, about the magnificent the way God has made them.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” 

–Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV)

Driving to school the next day, my eyes caught sight of the psalm on my rearview mirror. I pointed to it and asked them to read it aloud.

“So, who made you?” I asked.

“God.”

“And how God made you is…?”

“Amazing and wonderful.”

Exactly.

God doesn’t make junk. God loves us! And God designed us the way we are because He thinks we are beautiful. He designed us to look and feel and think and be this way on purpose.

When we despise our bodies, or when we allow others to make us feel anything less than wonderful, we’re not just picking on ourselves. We’re picking at the glorious creation of our heavenly Father, who knit us together in the womb, who wove us and planned us and loves us so much He sent His only Son to die for us (John 3:16).

In fact, maybe we need to start thinking of negative thoughts about ourselves as more than just “poor body image” but rather an attack by the enemy on God and the goodness He created.

The next time a negative thought races through your mind, I hope you’ll join me and counter it with the armor the Lord Himself gives us: the Word. At least in my home, that’s what we’ll be doing.

~*~
Author Bio:

Jessica Brodie is an award-winning Christian novelist, journalist, editor, blogger, and writing coach and the recipient of the 2018 ACFW Genesis Award for her novel, The Memory Garden. 

She is also the editor of the South Carolina United Methodist Advocate, the oldest newspaper in Methodism, and a member of the Wholly Loved Ministries team.

Learn more about her fiction and read her faith blog at http://jessicabrodie.com/shiningthelight.

Devotionals for the Heart: FLAW

I’m FLAWed
A devotional by Paula Moldenhauer

Maybe you’ve conquered this completely. I hope so. But I gotta admit it’s hard to get through a day without noticing a flaw. In my appearance. In my behavior. In my work. It used to get me really down, recovering perfectionist that I am.

Most of us struggle with what to do when we see our flaws or the flaws of someone else. 

Recently, during a prayer time with some dear friends, God showed us His perspective on flaws. He reminded us that His blood has cleansed every imperfection, and we stand before Him as blameless. When He looks at us, He sees the person He created us to be. He sees the new creation we are in Him. It’s like 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” God sees a precious work of His very own hands, a work He knit together in our mother's womb. If you don’t believe that, hang out for a while in Psalm 139.

Sure. God knows we struggle with faults. The psalmist says God knows we are “but dust.” But He isn’t wringing His hands in despair when He sees our flaws. He already executed His perfect plan. He saved us, made us blameless in His sight, and is determined to change us from the inside out. He who started a good work in us will be faithful to complete it (Philippians 1:6). He works all things for our good to make us more and more like Jesus (Romans 8:28–29).

God is creative. He wanted to drive the point home, so during our prayer time, He gave my friends and me an acronym for FLAW:

Free to

Live

As

Worthy

I’ve had quite a journey learning to accept my flawed self. But if God is not freaking out about our imperfections, why do we? Our flaws don’t have to bring shame and self-judgment. They don’t have to lead to ugly, unhealthy thinking about ourselves.

How about a paradigm change?

The next time you are overcome with one of your flaws, try God's way of thinking. 

Even with that imperfections, you are Free to Live As Worthy!

Stop and praise God for the work of the cross, the blood that changed you and made you righteous, redeemed, and holy. Thank Him for creating you and praise Him that everything He creates is good! Accept yourself without pretending the flaw isn’t there or judging yourself for its existence. Stand up straight in your identity of a worthy child, beloved of God. Turn your focus to praise for the change God is doing within you as He remakes you to be more like Jesus. Then from a mindset of one who is Free to Live As Worthy (even with a flaw or two, or two hundred), ask Him to empower you to overcome.

Let's Pray: Jesus, the next time that I recognize a flaw in myself or others, remind me that because of Your blood we are Free to Live As Worthy. Instead of judgment, help me receive Your grace, mercy, and unconditional love. Then help me extend the grace You’ve given me.

~*~
Author Bio:

Author, speaker, and mom of four, Paula Moldenhauer encourages others to live free to flourish. She shares this message when speaking at women’s events, and it permeates her written work. 

Paula has published over 300 times in non-fiction markets and has a devotional book series, Soul Scents. Her first published novella was a finalist in the ACFW Carol Awards, and she now has six published works of fiction. 

Paula and her husband, Jerry, are adjusting to a sometimes-empty nest in Colorado. Today’s devotion was adapted from her devotional book, Soul Scents: Flourish. 

Visit her at www.paulamoldenhauer.com and sign up for her newsletter to get a weekly Flourishing Moments and periodic updates on free days for her books. Paula’s latest fiction work, an autumn novelette, releases this fall for newsletter subscribers only! 

For daily Flourishing Moments “Like” Paula’s author/speaker page. 

A FREE gift for you: Get Paula’s award-winning novella, You’re a Charmer, Mr. Grinch, free on Kindle today (Wednesday, October 17) via Amazon at this address.

Devotionals for the Heart: Tammy tells us why we should "put on love"

Choose Love
A devotional by Tammy Karasek

I have a favorite passage of scripture that draws me back like a magnet, Colossians 3:12-17 (NASB). I’ve written many dates beside these verses, times when I have been moved by the words. In this chapter, Paul encourages us, as believers, to put on the new self and gives us the instructions to do just that.

We should set our minds on things above, not on earthly things. No, we aren’t to ignore what is going on in the world, but we are not to partake in those worldly practices. Instead, we are to put aside the old self, such as immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and greed (verse five) as well as anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech (verse eight).

Paul then tells us what we should put on as new creatures in Christ on a daily basis. The expression put on actually means to assume, to adopt. He says we are to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. This explains that as believers when we step boldly into faith with Jesus, we are to put on this new self and live in a way that shows Jesus to those around us. Yes, even the guy who cut you off while driving the other day!

This is an ongoing process, one we must practice doing each and every day. It’s not an automatic BAM!, you believe in Jesus so now you possess all these qualities. We live in a sinful world, and sin is always lurking at our door. Therefore, we must make a conscious effort every day to become a person who strives to live in a way that honors God in our words and deeds.

Since this is the month of February which most of us consider the love month, I saved verse 14 for last. Not because it’s not as important as those above — quite the opposite.

"And beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity." 
~Colossians 3:14 (NASB)

When we choose to put on love, we show the love the Father has shown us, love that is unconditional, everlasting, and immeasurable in its depth. Is this easy? No. But when we strive for this, God honors that. This then is where the end of that verse comes in to play. When we put on love, the uniting bond of perfectness or completion in our faith makes us more like the image of God that we were created to be. 

Take a moment and read Colossians 3:1-17 for yourself and see how the Lord will speak to you today. Let’s choose to put on love, not just because it is February — the love month, but also because we should do this every day, every month. I’ll pray this for you. Will you pray for me, too?

~*~
Author Bio:

You’ll find Tammy seeing humor and causing laughter in every aspect of life. Tammy’s past filled with bullying and criticism is the driving force of her passion to always encourage others and share with them the Reason to smile. 

She’s been blissfully wedded to her college sweetheart, Larry, for 36 years, mom to their grown daughter, Kristen and wrapped around the paw of a little puppy named Hattie.

She’s the President of Cross N Pens Christian Writers and a member of ACFW. She will be published in the 2018 Divine Moments book – Cool-nary Moments.
~*~
Connect with Tammy:
Blog - http://www.tammykarasek.com
Twitter - https://twitter.com/tickledpinktam
Email - tickledpinktammy@gmail.com

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