By Lori Hatcher
In honor of the new year and the upcoming 105th anniversary of my grandmother's birth, I thought I'd share this popular post from 2012.
My granny was a quirky little Portuguese lady with a big laugh and a love for coffee. Every January 1 she'd call my dad and ask him to come to her house. "If a man is the first person to walk through my door on New Year's Day," she'd say, "I'll have good luck all year."
I often wondered what would have happened if one of her female friends knocked on her door before dad arrived. I suspect she'd have left them sitting on her frozen Rhode Island stoop.
Granny had another superstition concerning New Year's Day. "Whatever you do on New Year's," she'd say with a shake of her prophetic finger, "you'll do the rest of the year." I was really concerned the year the toilet overflowed and the oven caught fire. If her prophecy was true, things did not bode well for the other 364 days of that year.
While I don't send my husband out the front door only to turn around and walk back in to secure luck for another year, I often think about my granny's second pronouncement.
"What you do on New Year's Day, you'll do the rest of the year."
Overflowing toilets notwithstanding, the first day of each year sets the tone for the other 364. I'm not a fan of resolutions, because they leave little room for failure. I favor goals instead. They're much more gracious.
If you're like me and can look back over resolutions you've made and broken, or goals you've set and failed to accomplish, take heart. You're in good company.
I suspect the apostle Paul made and broke a few New Year's resolutions, too. Why else would he have written, "Forgetting those things that are behind, I press toward the mark of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus"? (Philippians 3:13).
When Paul "forgot" the past, however, he didn't forget the lessons he learned. He just didn't let those failures define him. He didn't allow the failures of his past to prevent him from starting over.
"Let the past sleep," writes Oswald Chambers, "but let it sleep on the bosom of Christ."
As we begin the new year, I invite you to do three things with me:
1. Trust God with the past, knowing that he will cause all things to work together for good to those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28).
2. Set new goals that will help you to draw closer to God and become more like him in the coming year.
3. Begin today. In the words of my little granny, "What you do on New Year's Day, you'll do all year long."
I pray your new year is filled with good, God-honoring activities.
I'd love to hear about the goals the Lord leads you to set for the new year. Leave a comment below and join in the conversation.
If you enjoyed this devotion, may I tell you about my new book, Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women?
Today's women want to connect with God, but in the craziness of life, it’s just not happening. You want practical, biblical answers to situations you face every day, but you don’t have hours to pore over Scripture.
You need a resource that answers the questions you’re afraid to ask out loud. Questions like:
• Is my situation hopeless?
• If God already knows what he’s going to do, why bother to pray?
• Why have you allowed this to happen to me?
• No one appreciates what I do. Why shouldn’t I quit?
Each devotion begins with a Facetime question and ends with a biblical answer wrapped in a modern day parable. Like a spiritual power bar, Hungry for God … Starving for Time is packed with enough scriptural nutrition to get you through the day.
Wherever you are—in break rooms, carpool lines, or wherever you can snatch five minutes of quiet reflection—Hungry for God … Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women is for you.
He took with him Mary, his fiancée, who was now obviously pregnant. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. Luke 2:5-6 NLT
We were in a strange place and had no plans to spend our first Christmas there. Eight years had passed since I graduated high school, but now I felt God’s call into full-time ministry. Obeying it would require furthering my education. I would have to attend college.
By this time in my life, I was married and had a ten month old daughter. Pulling up stakes and leaving everything and everyone behind was scary. So we left our home in South Carolina and headed for unknown territory—Graceville, Florida. A small town whose appearance and climate varied little from what we were accustomed to.
August found me back in a classroom but longing for December when we could return home for a week to celebrate Christmas with our family. My first semester breezed by. Before I realized it, we were loading the car for our drive to South Carolina. Eight hours later, we pulled into my parent’s driveway.
Mom had been busy. Gifts bulged beneath the tree and spread out onto the living room floor. We received so many presents we had to purchase a car top carrier to store our luggage. When the week ended, we reluctantly packed our car, stuffed ourselves in between the gifts, and made our trek back to Florida.
Sure we could have stayed in Florida and celebrated Christmas with our small family and perhaps a few friends, but we just couldn’t bring ourselves to spend Christmas in a strange place…a place that was only our temporary residence. A tax census forced Mary and Joseph to a strange place. Jesus had to experience what I hesitated to do.
Over the course of my life, I’ve spent Christmas in a number of strange places…places that weren’t my real home…temporary places of residence. But I’ve discovered Christmas isn’t tied to a place but rather a person. When Jesus abides in my heart, it’s Christmas all year long and anywhere I happen to reside. I’ll never celebrate Christmas in a strange place when I remember the true meaning of the season.
Welcome Christ into your life so you’ll never have to celebrate Christmas in a strange place.
Martin Wiles is a “preacher’s kid,” author, speaker, and freelance writer and editor currently living in Greenwood, South Carolina. He and his wife Michelle are founders of Love Lines From God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com), a devotional ministry helping those who want to enhance their spiritual journey with Christ. His latest book, Grits & Grace & God, is available at Amazon. Or sign up for his daily email devotions by visiting his website.
My grandmother taught me to pray whenever I heard an ambulance.
“Whenever you hear a siren,” she’d say, “that means someone needs help. Always stop and pray for that person, even if you don’t know who it is.”
I don’t remember praying often as a child, but whenever I’d hear a siren, whether I was on the playground, doing homework, or lying in bed at night, I’d say a prayer.
One spring day my sisters and I were visiting my godmother two houses over on the next street. Madrinha was a tiny woman with a tender heart and a generous supply of cookies, and we loved visiting her. We had just seated ourselves on the glider that graced her front porch when I heard the siren.
I knew the sound originated from the volunteer fire station six blocks away, but instead of fading as it usually did, it got louder and louder and closer and closer. Before long the red truck with flashing lights barreled down the street in front of us. Cars pulled off to the side as it turned right at the corner.
Dear God, I prayed as my grandmother had taught me, please help the person who needs that ambulance. Help the paramedics take good care of them, and please don’t let them die. Amen.
We finished our Sprite and cookies, but somehow, the fun was gone from the afternoon. I couldn’t quite shake the image of the ambulance with its flashing lights and screaming siren. My sisters and I carried our glasses to the sink, hugged Madrinha, and clomped down the stairs. Suddenly in a hurry to get home, we cut through the two yards between our houses and burst through the kitchen door.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re home,” my mom said breathlessly. “Granny passed out in the bathroom and hit her head. The ambulance just left. They’re taking her to the hospital. I want you to stay here with your sisters until Daddy gets home. I’m going up to the hospital.” She squeezed my shoulder and was gone, grabbing her keys from the hook by the back door.
My youngest sister started to cry, and I wanted to join her.
Whenever you hear a siren, that means someone needs help. Always stop and pray for that person, even if you don’t know who it is.
Sometimes we underestimate the value of simple lessons and life examples. We wonder if the children around us are really listening, especially when we see little evidence of our impact.
Teaching the children around us spiritual disciplines, even when they don’t fully understand the importance of them, helps them develop lifelong habits. Later, when they have the spiritual maturity to fully grasp the lesson, the habit is already formed.
When my daughters swam drills during swim team practice, their coach said he was working on their muscle memory. “If you do it right over and over again,” he’d say, “then one day you’ll dive in the water and your muscles will know what to do.”
By teaching me to pray whenever I heard an ambulance, be kind to small children and the elderly, and always be honest, my grandmother helped train my faith muscles. I didn’t always understand the spiritual implications of her instructions, but later, when I became a Christian, I already had the foundation for godly behavior. My granny helped develop my faith muscle memory.
Today, I still pray whenever I hear an ambulance. I’m kind to small children and the elderly, and I try my best to be honest. I’m also looking forward to the day when I can begin teaching my grandchildren important life lessons.
“Whenever you hear a siren,” I’ll say. . .
Lori Hatcher is the author of the blog, Hungry for God; Starving for Time, where she provides 5-minute doses of
spiritual nutrition for busy people. Like a spiritual power bar, Lori's
devotions will nourish your soul when you don't have time for
a spiritual meal. To subscribe, click here.
You can also follow Hungry for God; Starving for Time on Facebook by clicking here.
Hungry for God is on Pinterest! If you're a Pinterest fan, I'd love to connect with you there. CLICK HERE to follow Hungry for God. I'd love to follow you back :)
Sometimes the Bible surprises me.
And sometimes God seems unfair.
My organized personality prefers to tie every theological box with a color-coordinated ribbon, but sometimes these Scripture boxes are oddly shaped and lumpy. Other times the ribbon keeps slipping off. Such was the case with the account I read recently in Deuteronomy 34.
Moses is one of my favorite Old Testament heroes. Apparently he was one of God’s favorites, too, because God talked with him face to face, as a friend.
I like him because he was humble, self-sacrificing, courageous, and God-fearing. He loved God wholeheartedly, and he loved the people God called him to lead, too. In fact, he loved those whining and complaining Israelites so much that when God threatened to destroy them all and start over, Moses begged him not to. If it were me, I think I would have agreed with God and stood back while the lightning started popping.
But not Moses.
He led them through the wilderness, even when their cowardice and lack of faith added an additional 40 years to their desert wanderings. He prayed for them, even when they committed idolatry less than 40 days after they had pledged their loyalty. He mediated their disagreements, even when they pridefully challenged his authority. And he served God with the highest level of integrity, loyalty, and patience, even when few men stood with him.
This is why I had a hard time with Deuteronomy 34.
The wilderness wanderings are over. The Israelites stand on the edge of the Promised Land poised to enter the territory God promised to their forefathers. Moses has led them for over 40 years, shepherding, conquering, interceding, and teaching.
And God says, “Sorry Moses, you can’t go in.”
“Please, Lord?”
I imagine Moses saying, “I really want to see this land. I’ve served you faithfully, led your people courageously, and believed you could bring us in when almost no one else did . . . could I please go in?”
“I’m sorry, Moses, but remember that time I told you to speak to the rock so I could bring forth water from it? And you got angry and prideful and struck the rock instead?”
“Yes, Lord, but it only happened once, and I said I was sorry.”
“I told you then I wouldn’t allow you to enter the Promised Land.”
“Yes, Lord.”
And so Moses, faithful Moses, dies within view of the destination he’s been working toward for over one-third of his life.
The justice-loving center of my heart screams, NO FAIR!
I recently shared a message called “Serving a God Who Disappoints Us” at a women’s retreat. I made the statement, based on the story of the raising of Lazarus, that God says no to our requests because he has something better in mind. And this “something better” will often span time and space.
“For our light and momentary troubles,” the apostle Paul said, “are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all” (2 Cor. 4:17).
The words of the unknown writer of Hebrews puts the time/space question into perspective:
“God disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:10-11).
I repented of the ridiculous notion that God is unjust when I read the rest of Moses’ story:
“After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus,” (Matt. 17:1-3).
Moses. On the Mount of Transfiguration. Smack dab in the middle of the Promised Land. Hanging out with Elijah and talking with Jesus face to face.
God said no to Moses’ request to enter the Promised Land because he had something better in mind for him—not just a few years in Israel surrounded by grumbling Hebrews, but a heavenly, miraculous, eternally significant conversation with the transfigured Savior as he prepared to begin his mission to save the world.
If Moses had to choose, which visit to the Promised Land do you think he would have picked?
God says yes because he loves us. And God says no because he loves us.
And when God says no, it’s because he has something far better in mind.
Will you trust him today?
Lori Hatcher is the author of the blog, Hungry for God; Starving for Time, where she provides 5-minute doses of
spiritual nutrition for busy people. Like a spiritual power bar, Lori's
devotions will nourish your soul when you don't have time for
a spiritual meal. To subscribe, click here.
You can also read Lori's 5-minute devotions on Facebook by liking Hungry for God; Starving for Time by clicking here.
Hungry for God is also on Pinterest! If you're a Pinterest fan, I'd love to connect with you there. CLICK HERE to follow Hungry for God. I'd love to follow you back :)
Fireflies…commonly known as lightning bugs, are in the family of winged beetles and are known for their use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey.
Since their lights are easily observed on dark nights, my friends and I as children spent many evenings running through the yard scooping up these tiny creatures. We then placed them in our ready-made mason jars, complete with a few holes in the lid and grass inside. Placing them in my bedroom provided an inexpensive nightlight. But if not released shortly, they and their light would die.
You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden… let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father (Matthew 7: 14, 16 NLT).
Any type of light has a purpose: fireplaces provided light, heat, and a place for cooking, oil lamps illuminated dark rooms for reading, street lights gave light for travelers, and electricity made it possible for light to appear with the flip of a switch. Fireflies have a purpose for lighting up, and according to Jesus so do his followers…lighting up the Heavenly Father.
While hypocrisy (pretending to be something I’m not), legalism (paying more attention to the letter of the law than the spirit), and inconsistent behavior will cover my light, loving everyone unconditionally, accepting others regardless of their life station, and being hospitable will let it radiate brightly. When it does, others will be attracted to the Christ I serve.
Unfortunately, not everyone will be drawn to our lights even when we let them shine effectively. Some will poke fun…and others will question the validity of our beliefs, but we’re not responsible for their response…just our light. Let God fuel your light so it shines vibrantly.
Prayer: Loving Savior, as You have shone brightly for us on the cross, may our lights for You radiate fiercely so others will be drawn to Your love.
Martin Wiles is a “preacher’s kid,” author, speaker, and freelance writer and editor currently living in Greenwood, South Carolina. He and his wife Michelle are founders of Love Lines From God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com), a devotional ministry helping those who want to enhance their spiritual journey with Christ. His latest book, Grits & Grace & God, is available at Amazon. Or sign up for his daily email devotions by visiting his website.
 |
| credit Kari Davis |
The doorknob shouldn’t be rattling, I thought, turning toward the sound. The spoon in my hand paused midway between a bowl of Cheerios and my toddler's mouth. It was 8 a.m.—too early for visitors. My husband had left for work an hour earlier, and the neighborhood was just beginning to stir. A school bus rumbled up the road, skirting the trash truck as it made its Monday rounds.
“Daddy!” my eldest daughter squealed happily, scrambling from her seat as the door swung open slowly.
One look at my husband’s face told me something was terribly wrong.
“Are you sick?” I asked, trying to make sense of his premature return.
“They let me go,” he said.
Our eyes met in panic and disbelief. If anyone had asked us, we would have said David was at the top of his career. He had been with the company almost six years and was earning more money than he ever had. Although I only worked a day and a half as a dental hygienist, we were able to put money aside at the end of every month.
His dismissal made no sense.
David awakened the next morning intending to begin his job search, but instead was incapacitated by violent stomach pains and nausea. When I went out to get medicine, the car belched a cloud of black smoke and died in the driveway. “I think your engine’s blown,” our mechanic friend told us as he peered under the hood.
I eyed my children fearfully, wondering what Job-like plague would befall us next. It came the following day. A trip to the mailbox yielded a letter from David’s former employer informing us that our health insurance had ended with his termination.
Three days later, I reached my breaking point.
“Lord,” I cried out, “this is so bad; I can’t even imagine how you can fix it.” My mind swirled with desperate thoughts and my stomach clutched with fear. “You tell us in your Word that nothing is too hard for you,” I prayed. “Please help us.”
All my life I’ve heard people say, “God will never give you more than you can handle.” They base this on 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says “No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.” This verse, however, is talking about temptation, not testing or trials.
I’m firmly convinced God will allow more trials and testing into our lives than we can bear.
It happened to the Apostle Paul, just like it happened to my family during that horrible winter of 1994.
Listen to Paul’s lament: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about the hardships we suffered in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death” (2 Cor. 1:8-9).
Paul’s situation was so bad he thought he would die.
Yet God allowed it.
Why?
Paul tells us: “But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God,” (v. 10).
When Paul reached the end of his resources, the end of his endurance, the end of his courage, and the end of himself, he cried out to the God who could do the impossible, and he delivered him.
This same God delivered us.
It didn’t happen overnight, and it didn’t happen without effort on our part. Every day yielded new opportunities to trust God in the face of our fears. Some days we felt mighty and brave. Other days we felt weak and scared. Through it all, we continued to claim God’s promises and do our part.
David applied for jobs. We took the car to another mechanic for a second opinion. We sought medical help for his illness. And little by little, the pieces began to fall into place.
After a series of tests, doctors got David’s gastric distress under control. He found a temporary job that supplemented the generous gifts from kind friends and met our basic needs. A second mechanic discovered that our car needed a distributor cap, not an engine, and another friend paid for the repair.
It was a horrible, glorious time.
Our faith grew in giant leaps as we prayed and saw God answer. We learned the true source of our provision—God--not David’s job. We discovered that God cared about all the details of our lives and was intimately acquainted with all our ways. We learned to trust him and not ourselves. We learned to say with Paul,
“He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope . . .” (v. 10).
My husband and I discovered that God sometimes gives us more than we can handle, but he never gives us more than he can handle.
If you’re going through a difficult time today, I encourage you to trust the God who can do the impossible. He will not disappoint you. And if you have a story of deliverance, I’d love to hear it. Why not leave a comment below and encourage us all?
Lori Hatcher is the author of the blog, Hungry for God; Starving for Time, where she provides twice-weekly doses of
spiritual nutrition for busy people. Like a spiritual power bar, Lori's
devotions will nourish your soul when you don't have time for
a spiritual meal. To subscribe, click here.
You can also follow Hungry for God; Starving for Time on Facebook by clicking here.
