Blog/ Devotionals

The giant before me

10/4/2017

The children in Bible Club have really enjoyed hearing the story of David and Goliath (I Samuel 17.) David, "little more than a boy," defeats the nine-foot-plus tall giant with his slingshot and five smooth pebbles.

Sometimes believers have to fight giants too. Internal giants like doubt and fear, external giants such as opposition.

When the giant comes, taunting and sneering, the truth anchors believers in the sovereignty and omnipotence of God. God has won the war. Believers have access to God's power. The enemy has been defeated. God is faithful to carry His children through the challenge.

Chris Tomlin's song "Whom Shall I fear?" reminds us that there is nothing to fear when we face the giant.

I know who goes before me
I know who stands behind
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side
The one who reigns forever
He is a friend of mine
The God of angel armies
Is always by my side
And nothing formed against me shall stand
You hold the whole world in your hands
I'm holding on to your promises
You are faithful
You are faithful

Like David, our battle cry can be, "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel....All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and he will give all of you into our hands." (I Samuel 17)

Does God speak to individuals today?

9/10/2017

One of the topics my friends and I talked about in college concerned the existence of God, and if God exists, the activity of God in people's daily lives. An atheist friend thought that everything in the universe happens due only to atomic collisions. Another said, "I believe in God, but I think God is impersonal. He just set things in motion, but doesn't get involved in people's lives." The Bible clearly gives example after example of God actively engaging in human history. God speaks directly to individuals and nations, through Scripture, the Holy Spirit, prophets, other believers, and even circumstances. This too has been my personal experience.

I woke up one particular morning preoccupied by worries. How do I solve this problem? Will this be enough? As I mulled over possible solutions and outcomes, fear and unrest churned. "Something" prompted me to stop and give thanks for three things. Just three. Surely I could be thankful for just three things.

Yep, no problem.
✔ A safe place to call home.
✔ Clothes
✔ Food
This was not hard at all, considering the recent devastation in Texas after Hurricane Harvey. I found I could genuinely give thanks for much, much, more.

✔ Family, friends, church
✔ Purposeful, engaging work
✔ Reliable transportation
✔ Beautiful weather
✔ Above all, a loving, righteous, just God
This brief exercise did much to settle my unease. The situation hadn't changed, but I realized how rich and how richly blessed I am.

Then, my devotional reading that morning also helped to look at the problem in front of me from a different perspective. The reading reminded me there are two ways of living: self-centered living or God-centered living.

Self-centered living is proud and relies on my own abilities and skills.
God-centered living looks to God to make things happen.

I realized I was approaching the issue with a self-centered approach. It was about me, and not about God.

Later that day, a friend gave me a copy of a short daily devotion.that she had found refreshing earlier in the week. It talked about the cartload of blessings that Jesus' followers enjoy.

At the end of the day, I could look back and see clearly how God had spoken to me directly - through a prompting, through Scripture, through a friend's encouragement and the writing of other Christians. No, there was no booming voice, no flashes of lightning. It was a gentle, quiet voice telling me to be still, to give thanks, to remember His goodness and watchcare over me.

God still speaks today - and if we will stop to listen, we will hear His messages.

Back to School

8/26/2017

Scripture: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)

As our students head back to school, they have expressed eager anticipation mixed with anxiety. Thankful to get back into the school routine and learn, but scared of what other people think, scared of themselves.

"I flunked first grade, and I don't want other people to know....but I'm bigger than everyone else in my grade."
"I'm scared to get in trouble again this year. I have friends who pull me into bad things. My goal is to stay out of trouble."

The children's comments reflect the influence of school and social dynamics on their self image. At a young age, these children are already familiar with feelings of shame, unworthiness, and fear.

One of the most important things Emerging FIELD volunteers can do is to speak love and worth into their lives, and to remind them of the power they have through Christ to overcome the negative.

We can remind them of their inherent value to God, because He created each on in His image.

We can remind the children of the Holy Spirit working in them so they can say "No" when persuaded to partake in evil, so they can discern truth from lies, so they can make sound decisions. "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7)
We can remind them that it is possible to choose right. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Father, we pray Your watchcare over the children as they start school. Help them to rely on You as they learn and interact with friends. We pray for godly influences on their lives who will direct them toward righteousness. We pray for their minds, their hands, their feet, their hearts and mouths to be guided and used by You.

The Whole Reality

8/16/2017

At the end of the spring semester celebration, the music students performed their pieces at a recital, and Reading & Buddy students presented a Reader's Theater rendition of Seven Blind Mice based on the book by Ed Young. In the book, seven blind mice encounter a strange Something. As each mouse encounters part of the Something, each thinks it's a different object, and they begin to argue. It's a column, says one mouse. Another thinks it's a snake. Or is it a rope? It's not until the seventh mouse runs up and down and across the whole Something that they discover and agree it is an elephant. The moral of the story: "Knowing in part may make a fine tale, but wisdom comes from seeing the whole."

So it is in life. The dilemma, the injustice, the temptation facing me, can seem so overwhelming that it distorts my perception of reality. How many times before have I grimaced belatedly for blowing things out of proportion, for making a mountain out of a molehill?

The psalmist Asaph knew what that felt like. He had tried to live a godly life and suffered, while the wicked lived strong and in prosperity. How could that be, God? Such injustice! Had he lived a pure life in vain? The incongruity bothered him so much that he teetered on the brink of sin as he questioned God's goodness. "When I tried to understand all this," he says, "it troubled me deeply.....my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered, I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before You." (Psalm 73)

Until he entered the sanctuary of God;

That's when he began to see the big picture. When Asaph recalled God's faithfulness and goodness, he could see that the current state of things was temporary. God has a just consequence for evildoers, as He does for the righteous. Asaph recognized that he was in the best, eternal position under God's loving watchcare. He could say confidently then, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

For me, Sunday worship can be a call to reality. I may go to church with my mind preoccupied with this or that, but as I sing of God's power and lovingkindness and goodness, those burdens are lifted. They haven't changed, but my perception has, because I can see reality through the lens of God's omnipotence, omniscience, sovereignty, goodness, justice, forgiveness, and kindness.

"Ascribe to the Lord, the glory due His name. Worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness." (Psalm 29) God is a jealous God who will not give His glory to another. He wants our worship. I find that in the process of giving what rightly belongs to Him, I am healed and see a bigger picture.

A hope and a future

7/19/2017

Scripture: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11)

This is a busy time for our summer classes. The Literacy Movement Workshop with Miss Bonnie ended a few days ago, with the children performing a short dance from Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf and compiling a writing portfolio. Even as a few students take a break from classes to attend summer camp or visit family, new students are joining. Our classes are focused on developing and mastering skills - literacy, math, music - sometimes it seems SO focused that I have to remember to step back and look at each child, not as a "skills machine" but as a whole person.

This amazing little person sitting in front of me has a life story that's coming together. God has promised a hope and a future for this child.

I so appreciate parents who are acutely aware of this, and consciously help their children develop strong executive function skills such as listening, self-control, and patience.

I have to constantly ask the Lord to give me eyes to see and a heart to sense what is happening with each student, each soul who bears the image of God. What is the long-term? The skills we focus on in class are just tools to help them fulfill this greater life picture. God is already speaking to them and breathing into them a calling and vision for what their lives will look like. Some of the children in our program, even at a young age, face an uphill battle - broken families, health issues, financial difficulties. Yet they are full of dreams and hopes.

At the beginning of the summer, the Reading & Math students completed an "All About Me" page that was attached to the cover of their folders. It included, "When I grow up, I want to be a _______________." We have aspiring firefighters, doctors, athletes, archaeologists, artists, teachers, even a pizza parlor worker. The beautiful thing is to see in each child a desire to live a life of meaning and service to others.

The obstacles each student faces today - that's not what defines them. It is God's calling on his or her life that gives identity. The role of Emerging FIELD is to help equip each student with some of the skills they need for the journey. If we can also help the students see with a bit more clarity who God is, His love, how to hear and obey His voice, what His calling for their life is - all the better.

Father, we pray each student will know You, and that they will allow You to write their life story. Thank You for the goodness, hope, and future You have in store for them. You are for them. You hear the cries of the weak, the fatherless, the sick. You restore, You transform, You make all things new. Our hope and our future are in You.

Thanksgiving

6/21/2017

It was a year ago that we reached out to Texas C-BAR, a project of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid whose mission is to provide free legal resources and business law services to organizations working to improve the quality of life in low-income neighborhoods. We asked them to help us get started as an organization. Soon after, they referred us to a pro bono attorney, who helped us file paperwork to become a tax-exempt nonprofit. Emerging FIELD was recognized as a nonprofit corporation by the State of Texas in September of 2016, and three months later, received its 501(c)(3) tax exempt designation from the IRS.

Thanks be to God! Our first year has been full of God's grace and mercy at every step. We are small and without expertise/ resources in many areas, but He has always provided at just the right time.

Every student, every family that we cross paths with - those connections are precious gifts. Some seem to pop up out of nowhere, while others are familiar faces going back many years. What a mystery, how He brings people together.

We give thanks for what the Lord has done, for what He is doing, and for what He will do. We give thanks for who He is, and what a kind, gracious Father He is. Tomorrow is unknown, but we go into tomorrow with the assurance that He holds the future and that He accompanies us.

Brick walls

5/19/2017

There is something immensely satisfying in seeing growth and transformation. A seed sprouting, A baby learning to crawl. A change in attitude. These are beautiful signs of life, fragile and miraculous.

We have the privilege of seeing transformation as we work with students. Watching children go from reading fewer than ten words to reading fluently - how could we not be excited? The joy is not only in the end result, but in the process, especially when it doesn't come easily. It's in seeing the child try, and try, and try - and then finally getting it. The struggle, the perseverance, the overcoming - this makes the result even sweeter.

Over the years, I have noticed a change in my own thinking, placing less emphasis on natural talent, and having greater respect for sheer perseverance. Sometimes learning and success come easily, but at some point in life, it's not going to be easy. What then? I have tremendous respect for the adults in our programs who dare to undertake a new and sometimes uncomfortable adventure, when they could have continued with the status quo. They aren't letting age, lack of formal education in their youth, busy schedules, or other factors stop them.

Computer science professor Randy Pausch shared an unique perspective on challenges (what he called "brick walls") in his memoir, The Last Lecture: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They're not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."

Talent vs. perseverance? In an ideal world, we'd get both, but nowadays what I emphasize with our students is perseverance.

In the margin of my Bible at the end of I Timothy 4, I find some hand-written notes from a sermon heard long ago: "Focus on growth, not on perfection." The apostle Paul was giving young Timothy instructions on how to live and grow in godliness. This is a process that takes training, discipline, and doggone perseverance.

My goal is to make it across the finish line in the spiritual journey. Not first place, not second. Just cross the finish line. A younger, more competitive me might have once scoffed at such a seemingly simple goal, but today, I see it is a fully sufficient and lofty enough goal.

Her children bless her....

5/13/2017

Scripture:
It is hard to find an excellent wife. She is worth more than rubies. Her husband trusts her completely. With her, he has everything he needs. She does him good and not harm for as long as she lives.

She looks for wool and linen. She likes to work with her hands. She is like a trader’s ship. She goes far to get food. She gets up while it is still dark. She prepares food for her family. She also feeds her servant girls. She looks at a field and buys it. With money she has earned, she plants a vineyard. She does her work with energy. Her arms are strong. She makes sure that what she makes is good. She works by her lamp late into the night. She makes thread with her hands and weaves her own cloth. She welcomes the poor. She helps the needy. She does not worry about her family when it snows. They all have fine clothes to keep them warm. She makes coverings for her bed. Her clothes are made of linen and other expensive material. Her husband is recognized at the city meetings. He makes decisions as one of the leaders of the land. She makes linen clothes and sells them. She provides belts to the merchants. She is strong and is respected by the people. She looks forward to the future with joy. She speaks wise words. And she teaches others to be kind. She watches over her family. And she is always busy.

Her children bless her. Her husband also praises her. He says, “There are many excellent wives, but you are better than all of them.” Charm can fool you, and beauty can trick you. But a woman who respects the Lord should be praised. Give her the reward she has earned. She should be openly praised for what she has done.

(Proverbs 31:10-28, International Children's Bible)

This week, we have taken time in Reading & Math sessions to create special gifts for Mother's Day. While the children painted tiles today, I asked them to listen to what the Bible says about their moms.

"How can my mom be in the Bible? She's not even famous!" one second-grader impishly asked.

Yet as we talked through the attributes of the wife/ mother in Proverbs 31, all the children eagerly identified the characteristics reflected in their mothers (and fathers too!.) They see mom choosing and buying clothes for them, getting up early to go to work and get the kids to school on time, working late into the night and always busy. Mom who sews and knits scarves for them, who helps the needy, and who speaks with wisdom.

The children's everyday comments are a sign of how much joy Mom brings to their lives. "I can't wait to get home today, because my mom said she's making my favorite dish!" "Sometimes my mom leaves me notes and drawings in my lunch box," one of the music students said when he found a note tucked in his folder.

Emerging FIELD moms come from a wide range of backgrounds and are in different life stages, but all the moms love and give for their families sacrificially. Many are also women of faith, firmly rooted and seeking God's will for their families.

Sometimes mothers can feel overwhelmed by motherhood. One mom laughingly said some time ago, "I'm always the first to get up in the morning and the last to go to sleep! I'm tired!" Take heart, moms; it's not in vain. Your children see your hard work, and they bless you for it. They see the Proverbs 31 woman in you. You are worth more than rubies!

The Fight

5/8/2017

One of our favorite songs to sing in Bible Club is The Fruit of the Spirit: "The fruit of the Spirit's not a coconut, the fruit of the Spirit's not a coconut. If you wanna be a coconut, you might as well hear it, you can't be a fruit of the Spirit, 'cause the fruit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control...." The fun of the song undoubtedly comes from the accompanying hand jive motions.

The Christian life should indeed be characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. However, Christians can also expect trials, hardship, and opposition. After all, when we choose to leave the dominion of darkness and enter into the kingdom of light, Satan does not let go easily. All around are unseen spiritual forces fighting a spiritual battle. Temptation, self-condemnation, and old ways will beckon as a believer grows in faith. Opposition will arise as God's kingdom advances. These tactics are meant to discourage, wear down, and defeat the believer.

The good news for the believer is that these are just temporary battles. The War has already been won. We know the ending: God wins, Satan loses. Good overcomes evil, simple as that. At first, I thought of using Newton's third law of motion as an analogy to describe the spiritual warfare around us: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction." But this is a false analogy, because the enemy is in no way equal to God. Satan has lost. There is only One who is "God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see." (I Timothy 6:15-16)

What strategies do Christians have for winning the present battle?

Approach the throne with confidence (2)

5/8/2017

Scripture: This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him. (I John 5:14-15)

It is amazing that we have access to a King who hears us.

Those who follow Jesus Christ have immediate access to the King Eternal. That's a promise in the Bible! Furthermore, we know that we have what we asked of Him. God doesn't just hear us, He grants the desires of our heart.

Did you notice the conditional: if we ask anything according to His will? I shouldn't expect God to answer my prayers for things or situations that are contrary to His character, goodness, righteousness, love, or kindness. However, if I ask according to His heart, He promises to answer.

What are the things God desires? Read through a few pages of Scripture, and you will see plainly. Restoration of relationships, justice, peace, forgiveness, contentment, patience, joy. What we often need most are the "things" that money cannot buy. We might pay money to obtain this educational degree or that beautiful three-bedroom house, but we can't buy a package of "Relationship Restoration" or "Contentment" from a store. Yet we can have it through God!

He also cares about the physical, material world in which we live. Health, rest, our next meal, clothes, shelter, education, transportation, jobs - God gives us these gifts as well.

How long will it take? It's hard to wait, especially in the age of instant. Though sometimes God answers immediately, He often doesn't. I don't know why certain prayers haven't been answered, after decades of prayer. Yet His promise is that we will receive what we ask for.

Be not surprised when you pray for something or someone, and God stirs in your heart to take action or change. Praying for restoration or reconciliation? You may feel a prompting to take the first step in approaching that person. When that happens, walk in obedience. Praying for a sick friend? The Lord may show you some practical ways to serve. When that happens, roll up your sleeves and get to work.

Jesus came that we would have abundant life. It is ours for the asking. Start asking according to His will, and expect great things to happen.

<<Previous