Morning Moments

"The thief does not come except to steal, to kill, and to destroy..." John 10:10

We live is a security minded day with alarm systems for our cars and homes and whatever else we might treasure. But it seems there is one place, the most important place of all, that we have failed to alarm - our hearts. Consider:

1) The Thief - Jesus said, "MY peace I give you; not as the world gives..." Honestly, how many of God's children actually know the peace that passes ALL understanding, that KEEPS our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus? Fear of losing what we have in the stock market has robbed many of that peace. Fear of what is coming with an Obama Presidency has robbed many of that peace. Fear of Global warming, fear of soaring food prices, fear of a thousand other things about which Jesus told us not to be anxious has robbed many of the calm in the midst of the confusion. God can't work when we worry, but His power is release when we praise Him. If I am not mistaken, He said, "Fret not!"

I use to pastor a church with an alarm system, and foolishly gave my phone number as one to call when the alarm went off. I could not tell you how often I climbed out of bed in the middle of the night, dressed and drove to the church to meet the police only to discover that something other that a thief had triggered the alarm. The point is that many of us are doing Satan's work for him by forfeiting that peace that no one can take from us.

2) The Killer - What do you find dying or dead in your life in terms of your walk with Jesus? Some disappointment, some crisis, some rejection, some something went wrong and your love died. The truth is that when faith dies, all else begins to die, and it is faith alone (His in us) that enables us to overcome the threats and the trials, and the temptations of the enemy to kill what we once had with Jesus. Remember HE IS THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. Only the power of the resurrected Lord can bring to life what has died in us that once was overflowing with life.

She said to me about her husband, "I just don't love him anymore." I replied, "Then repent!" Oh my, how shocking! How curt! How cruel! NO! It is the truth! The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit if we are true believers, and we are commanded to love, so if we lost the love, it can only be because we lost the fellowship. If the love died, GOD DID NOT KILL IT - YOU DID, so repent.

3) The Destroyer - How many of us look back on our lives to see hopes and dreams destroyed? Too many of us see what might have been, IF... only to destroy what could be NOW! You are not too old, too poor, too tired, too comfortable, too anything else to let what you were once building in your life to be destroyed. Don't cry over the past, but thank God for the present. Don't let past sins, past failures, past anything to keep you from allowing God to bless what has been broken and build what was bombed. It CAN be rebuilt despite the debris.

I don't know what her hopes once were. It did not matter any more. She had become a quadriplegic and the only thing still working was her head (brain, mouth, eyes, ears, etc), but that was enough for Joni Erickson Todda to become one of the most dynamic Christians of our day. Oh how God has used her! She cannot dress herself, feed herself, or do anything else for herself BUT GOD has touched untold millions with her art ( she paints with a brush in her mouth) and poetry. Her story helps us to see that when everything has been destroyed in your life, God can still do a MIRACLE.

PRAYER: Father, forgive us for grumbling. Forgive us for doubting. Forgive us for allowing this thief to steal from us; this killer that has brought death to so much that once lived in us. Forgive us for allowing this destroyer to do his work so that now we sit on a pile of rubble thinking "everything is ruined. Help us O God to see that all we need do is to place what has been stolen, killed, or destroyed into YOUR hands with trust and confidence that you are greater than he.