Month: February 2022

What is your idol?

Exodus 20:3-4 “You must not have any other god but me. You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea.”

I have struggled this week to put down my phone and pick up my Bible. So much so that I’ve started to wonder if my phone has become an idol to me. So, I looked up the word idol and one definition says, “an image or representation of a god used as an object of worship.” I thought “phew” I don’t do that. I don’t worship my phone. But I kept researching to see what else I could find on the subject.  Another person defined an idol as “anything you give your life to. Anything you pour every ounce of your energy into in hopes of bringing you the things you desire in return”.

Was I doing that? Was I pouring my time and energy into using my phone to bring me things I desired? I didn’t think so, but I thought I’d check out the “Screen Time” feature on my phone to see exactly what I was doing and how long I was doing it. I’m embarrassed to say what I found. I spent an average of 5 ½ hours on my phone per day this week! The majority of the time was on games, Facebook, and text messages. I’m sorry to say my Bible App was #5 on the list.

So, if I’m sleeping for 8 hours, at work for 10 hours (including lunch and drive time) that only leaves me 6 hours to do everything else in a 24-hour day and I’m spending 5 ½ of it on my phone!?! Wow, that is not good.

More research provided this insight. “Incessant engagement with games might direct my heart and love toward achievement and competition shaping my identity as one whose longings are met in success.  Posting my every move on Facebook might be directing my heart and love toward being noticed or admired shaping my identity as one whose longings are met in social status.” Goodness, this is starting to hit a little too close to home for me. Am I seeking a feeling of success and social status with my phone? I guess if I’m being honest, I am. But my identity shouldn’t be tied up in that, it should be firmly planted in God.

I shouldn’t need to seek success and social status to give me a sense of identity.  It says in the Bible that God will give me all that I need. Matthew 6:33 says “Seek the kingdom of God above all else and live righteously and he will give you all that you need.” He will fill me up and give me a sense of identity if I turn to him for those things and if I direct my heart and love toward him.

Do you relate to any of this? Are you putting something first in your life before God? What is framing your identity? What practical steps can you take to help you with your relationship with God? Me personally, I’m going to use the App Limits feature on my phone to set an amount of time that I am allowed to be on games and social media per day next week. When the time limit is reached, the app won’t open. That will be a gentle reminder to open my Bible instead of my phone. What practical change can you make this week that will help strengthen your relationship with God?

Lord, I want to grow in my relationship with you. Please give me the wisdom to turn to you when I need to see my identity. You promise to give me all that I need and I trust you to fill me up. Amen.

Be Still

Psalms 46:10 “He says, “Be still, and know that I am God”

The verse of the day on the Bible app I use is Psalms 46:10 and boy, did I need to hear that today. There are so many things scrambling around in my brain at any given time that sometimes I cannot hear the Lord. I go to work and I am bombarded with things I need to do and people I need to help. I get home and there are dishes to wash, clothes to fold, dinner to make and connections to be made with my boys. I have worries about bills and cars and insurance and colleges and, and, and…. Can you relate? It is no wonder I cannot hear the Lord’s gentle voice through all of that.

This is why it is so important to be still. Make time. Carve out a space to hear from the Lord by reading the Word and opening your heart to hear what he is trying to tell you. Romans 10:17 says, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” So make time in your busy day to take a break from this world and make time for Jesus.

I need to take my own advice so this week I am going to set an alarm on my phone to remind me to stop what I am doing and be still. What can you do this week to help you make time to hear the Lord?

Lord, I am busy and burdened by life. But I need you more than I need anything else. Help me to tune out the world and to be still to hear your voice every day. Amen.

Don’t Compare!

Romans 12:6 “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.”

In 2019 I attended a course at my church called W.I.L.D. which stands for Women in Leadership Development. It was absolutely amazing and it is what inspired me to begin writing these weekly devotionals. I learned so much in that course and I am very grateful that God led me to it. Fast forward to 2022 and I’ve been asked to come back and be a table leader for W.I.L.D. Now it’s been a minute since I attended the classes, and we had all that crazy of COVID stuff in between then and now so I was tentatively excited to be asked and a little nervous about what being a table leader would entail. I mean, I remember my table leader from when I took the course (she was the one who asked me to be a table leader this year) but I don’t really know or remember what all she did for us.

Guess what? A table leader gets to get up in front of the class and present part of the lessons. Honestly, I don’t remember that but okay, I’m game. I mean I was in sales for years and I’ve given hundreds of presentations. But…I’ve never given a presentation at church (other than when I presented my devotional idea to my W.I.L.D. classmates). So, at this point I’m a little nervous. The course started last week and the speakers at the first class were A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. I mean really really good. So now I’m a lot nervous and I said so to the coordinator of W.I.L.D. after that first class. She said something to the effect of, “No ma’am. No comparisons. We do not do that here.”

She is so right. God gave each of us different gifts and talents and each of those gifts are important to the body of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul compares the individuals in the body of Christ to different parts of the body. Even though each part serves a different purpose and has a different function, all are important to the whole and are needed for the body to function properly. It is the same with our gifts and talents; they are all different but each one serves a purpose.

Romans 12:6 says, “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.” God has given me the gift of writing, storytelling, and encouragement. So I will use those gifts to help me prepare for my turn to speak to the class and then the Holy Spirit will do the rest. No comparisons to last week!

Are you comparing yourself to others? Did you know that you are exactly who God made you to be and he made you with a purpose? You are exactly where you are supposed to be so that God can use your gifts and talents for HIS purpose…and so am I.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the many gifts and talents you have given to us. Please guide us to use those talents for your purpose and to your glory and honor. Amen.

Lifting Each Other Up

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”

COVID hit us all hard. It hit us in waves that came crashing down on our lives. First the original strain hit us in 2020. We scrambled and adjusted and hunkered down for months and then slowly but surely things started to get better. The constant fear started to subside but at the end of 2020 and into 2021 the Delta variant hit us. This time we were better prepared, and we knew what to do to get through it. And just when we thought everything was back to “normal”, boom! The Omicron variant came to town at the end of 2021.

These ups and downs are similar to the ups and downs of our emotions as we go through life. Something happens in your life, like a sickness, a divorce, the loss of a job, an argument with your family, and you scramble and adjust and hunker down. Slowly but surely things start to get better…back to normal. Then just when you think everything under control, boom…another wave hits.

These ups and downs happen to everyone but when it is happening to you it is hard to know what to do. It is hard to look up and ask for help. But it is harder to go it alone. In Galatians 6:2 it says, “Carry each other’s burdens and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  There are people around you that want to help carry your burdens. There are people around you that want to pray for you and pour the love of Jesus into you. Prayer is a powerful tool and asking for prayer takes courage, but it will bring you comfort and peace. James 5:6 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

Life is difficult when you try to do it alone. We were made for community. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble.” Look for a community of people that will build you up, fill you up with the Holy Spirit, and encourage you to grow your relationship with Christ, your savior.

Dear Lord, thank you for sending people into my life that will stand in the gap with me when I am feeling low and help me to be that person for someone else. Encourage me to seek out a community of like-minded people that will pour your love into my life. Amen.