"Grandma's Newspaper Articles", a life application devotional by Kay Cameron from Eph. 2:10 and Hab 3: 2

My mother-in-law had to go into a nursing home, and we had to box up the things in the house. In the process of clearing out her home, we found a box full of old newspaper articles. She had cut out every article about her family that had appeared in the newspaper for the last 50 years! There were articles that mentioned her parents, siblings, and children. And of course, she cut out the entire article that accompanied any picture of her grandchildren.

While it has been really interesting reading through the articles, the thing that struck me most was how much she loved her family. She concentrated on her family her whole life, and the articles are testament to how much she cared about us all.

Every once in a while an article comes over the Internet that stays in my memory. One such article talked about how much God loves us, and how, if He had a refrigerator, our pictures would be on it. You know, I'll bet He even keeps a box of articles about our accomplishments somewhre in His storage closet. I can see the headlines now: Local Church Finishes VBS with a Carnival, Local Girl Goes on Mission to Bulgaria, Cell Groups Meeting in Local Homes, Church Ladies Present Quilts to Graduating Seniors, Youth Group Prayerwalks Town, and on and on, and on. I know He loves us enough to keep all those "articles". We want to please our Father, and He is pleased by our actions that glorify Him.

Yet we also need to remember the deeds that God does. He has saved my loved ones, He is always faithful, He protects and provides for us, He holds us close in bad times, and carries us in hard times. He is always there. His deeds are marvelous. Do we keep any "articles" about what He has done for us in our "box of memories"? I urge you to begin prayer journaling, if you haven't already, and write down how and when God does things for you. Mine might have titles like God Saves Young Girl, God Makes a Way--I''m Going to College!, God Saves My Mom, Brother Returns to Jesus, God Handles My Finances, God Provides Church Family, God Performs Miracle Healing....well, you get the picture!

In Jeremiah, God tells us that He knows the plans He has for us. I'd like to think of my "boxes" as being full of stories about God working in and through us, because in the end, my purpose will have been to fulfill all the things God had planned for my life.

"10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10 KJV

"2 O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy." Hab 3: 2

So What is Life Really.......and what goes in the box when it's all over. Blogpost by Tammy Konneker

I've always wondered.....why??? What purpose do we serve? What do the majority of us do with the gifts given to us? On the day that they close our casket door and we return home....what will they put in the empty boxes of the life that I led....that you lead. All of things that we gathered along the way that held so much value are tucked away in boxes, some never to be seen again, some to be pulled back out at other times to remind us of the one that we held so dear. I have always marveled that in the beginning was God and in the end is God. Its always mesmerized me that in Genesis.....God spoke everything into existence. Go ahead....read it. He spoke to the light and it appeared, he spoke to the waters and they appeared, he spoke to the stars and they appeared....but stop...now look at Genesis 2:7 the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and the man became a living being." NIV God didn't speak you and I into existence he felt us worthy enough of a touch from his royal hands, cupped in the dirt of the ground and he gathered it together and he formed and molded us into his image and then he bent over us and with one glorious breath....he breathed life into us. His lips touched ours and life would never be the same. But then the world starts pouring in and we forget those lips that touched ours. We forget the one that gave breath and that also takes breath away. We get so tied up in this world of OUR accomplishments that we totally miss the gift that has been there all along....but we in our hurried world have seemed to walk past it in an effort to make something of ourselves and our children. But what really is our purpose....our reason. Why did you choose to breathe life into my nostrils Lord? What purpose, what plan....have I failed to see. Ecclesiastes was believed to be wrote by the Great King Solomon...in it he writes about the temporality of this world and the meaninglessness of it. Eccl 1:11 There is no remembrance of men of old, and even those who are yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow." NIV What sits then in my box on the day they close my casket and begin to pack up the boxes of my life. Will I have served my purpose here? Will I have fulfilled what I was truly sent here to accomplish? Without Christ....LIFE....holds no meaning. Life as we have made it is meaningless. God gives life its meaning. Why he chose to use such weak vessels as us to proclaim and bring forth the good news...I'm struggling with the answer to. Why would you chose to send a son from such a lineage as Joseph's. Why would you chose a family with such stains and tarnish to bring forth the savior of the world. Why would you chose a bunch of sinners and save them by your grace...by GRACE alone!! I think I want nothing put into those boxes on that day.....I think I want my boxes to sit next to my casket.....EMPTY....and void of what this world has to offer. Knowing that because those boxes are empty.... my heart and soul were not burdened by the things of this world....but by my purpose alone. How many boxes will it take to fill your accomplishments in this life? Or will your's remain empty as well.....

"God Thinks He's God" a life application devotional by Kay Cameron from Luke 18:18-25

In a lot of sermons, Pastor Tim uses this phrase to instill in us the understanding that God wants to be number one in our lives. God should always come first in our lives. Then our family should come next. Church and job come third and fourth. My husband's uncle, a bi-vocational pastor, used to struggle over whether he should be at the Wednesday night church service or at his son's baseball game. It took him a while to realize that family comes before church. Sometimes we confuse church with God. People can put church number one in their lives and yet not know God. And sometimes we have a tendency to put our family or money or our job in first place. God has already told us that we should have no other gods before Him. How many of us know someone who worships money, or power, or a spouse? It happens. And God will call us on it. The things that we find most precious are the things that He will require from us. Just like the rich young man in the Bible whom Jesus told to sell all he had and give it to the poor, sometimes what we love most is required of us. If our time is precious to us, God will require our time. If our money means the world to us, God will require our money. After all, God thinks He's God. And He is. Be careful not to put anything else before Him. We don't really possess anything we have, it's just on loan from God.

Luke 18:18-25

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do no kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing; sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
15 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

KJV

What Can I Do With Only This....blogpost by Tammy Konneker

Mark 6: 6-8 Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. Calling the twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. These were their instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff-no bread, no bag, no money in your belts." (NIV) In all of the gospels each of the apostles never failed to mention this. Each is told from different perspectives but yet Jesus had made this point perfectly clear that each of them mentioned it in their writings. The disciples that Christ called weren't wealthy by any means but most had made a standard of living that made them comfortable. And then along comes Jesus and says to them first to drop everything....to leave their families....to allow the dead to bury the dead and by the way on this journey with Jesus....bring nothing with you. Everything that you have grown so secure in....leave it behind....it holds no value in Jesus world. It has no meaning, it can save no one......it can't even save you. I thought alot about that this week....could I do that. If Jesus said today to walk away from everything I know to be secure in my life....would I be able to do it. I was reminded in a sermon this week about Zacchaeus. Luke 19:1-10 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. A man was there named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was rich. He was trying to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was short in stature. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see him, because he was going to pass that way. When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried down and was happy to welcome him. All who saw it began to grumble and said, "He has gone to be the guest of one who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, "Look, half of my possessions, Lord, I will give to the poor; and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will pay back four times as much." Then Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek out and to save the lost." You and I can't imagine the desperation of wanting nothing more to see and know Jesus that we would give up everything that we hold so dear....I want to be a Zacchaeus. I want to be so desperate to behold Jesus that I would surrender everything just to be in his presence. How far will you climb to catch a glimpse of Jesus....how much will you surrender just to serve him.

"Ulcerative Colitis" A life application devotional by Kay Cameron from 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

A few years back I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease. It is a nasty disease that affects other parts of the body besides the colon. Since that diagnosis, I have had several surgeries for various problems, developed arthritis, and have days when I feel pretty lousy.

I used to take 16 pills a day to control the disease and keep it in remission. When the pill-makers came out with a higher dosage pill, I was ecstatic! I would only have to take 8 pills a day! Yeah! But, guess what? The pills were much bigger, and harder to swallow. It seems that for every step forward, I take two steps backwards.

Would I like to be healed? You bet! Have I prayed for healing and had others pray for me? Yes! Is my colonic disease still in remission? Yes! Yet it still affects other parts of my body. It is like a thorn in my side. I have often wondered why the Lord doesn't take it completely away.

Sometimes the thorn in the side doesn't go away. Paul knew about this. And he persevered, never wavering in this faith. Sometimes we just have to keep on going, always in the knowledge that the Father knows what He is doing. Let's see...I keep better track of my health now, I watch my diet, I exercise regularly, I really enjoy the good days, I keep in close touch with my Maker, I realize that each good day is a gift.

2 Corinthians 12: 7-10

"7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong." KJV