Category: 40 days

My good friend, Joanne at Blessed, often writes about how to be free from the “captivity of activity”. She and her family of 6 literally took a sabbatical from all extra-curricular activities for a year. Look for her book in the future!

In today’s devotion from author Henry Blackaby, we see how our activities should be used to draw us closer to God. If activities are interfering with our relationship with Him, we are in bondage to them and must break free. Sports, hobbies, music lessons, etc. can be excellent ways to develop the gifts He’s given us.
As long as they don’t become our idols.

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Henry Blackaby:
“You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” Exodus 19:4

God did not deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt so that they could enjoy the Promised Land. He freed them so they could come to know and worship Him. Three months after they left Egypt, God reminded His people why He had delivered them “on eagles’ wings.” It was to bring the people to Himself. That is, God saved them so that they could enjoy intimate fellowship with Him. The Israelites had been slaves with no freedom to worship God. Now, with their own land, they could come to know and serve God freely. God’s call was not to destroy the idolatrous nations in Canaan, not to settle the lands they conquered, and not to establish a new nation, although all of these would be accomplished. Rather, God called them primarily to be a people who loved and worshiped Him. Through God’s act of deliverance they came to know Him as an almighty and compassionate God, and they were now free to respond to Him.

We are so activity oriented that we assume we were saved for a task we are to perform rather than for a relationship to enjoy. God uses our activities and circumstances to bring us to Himself. When He gives us a God-sized assignment, its sheer impossibility brings us back to Him for His enabling. When God allows us to go through crises, it brings us closer to Him.


If we are not careful, we can inadvertently bypass the relationship in order to get on with the activity. When you are busy in your activity for God, remember that God leads you to the experiences in order to bring you to Himself.

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At this time of year, our activity level seems to grow exponentially. Sometimes, we need to “just say no.” And not feel guilty!! But, if you say yes, Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. 1 Cor. 15:58

Susan

In yoga and eastern philosophy, meditation is the emptying of the mind. Repeating “ohmmmm” over and over and “not thinking” is supposed to help “focus consciousness on the cosmic whole”.
Whatever that means.

For Christians, meditation is not the emptying of the mind, but rather filling it with the Word of God. The word “meditation” means “rumination” which is how a cow digests her food. A cow has multiple stomachs. She will graze a pasture eating everything in sight, but the grass remains in the first stomach until digestion starts. Then it moves back and forth between stomachs (and even back to the mouth to be chewed) until every nutrient is extracted.

Meditation on God’s Word is like rumination. We can read large portions to gain wisdom and understanding, but when we contemplate a Scripture over and over and over, it nourishes us, becoming part of our soul, like the nutrients we eat become part of our cells.

Rick Warren, in The Purpose Driven Life, describes meditation this way: “Meditation is focused thinking. It takes serious effort. You select a verse and reflect on it over and over in your mind…if you know how to worry, you already know how to meditate“.

Warren goes on to say, “No other habit can do more to transform your life and make you more like Jesus than daily reflection on Scripture…If you look up all the times God speaks about meditation in the Bible, you will amazed at the benefits He has promised to those who take the time to reflect on His Word throughout the day”.

A tiny book I read years ago provided great advice for meditation. Before you nod off to sleep, read in the Psalms. Read until a particular verse hits you. Then say that verse over and over as you fall asleep. Then, all through the night, your subconscious mind which never sleeps will be contemplating the Word rather than the scary story you saw on the nightly news.

Keep that verse in your mind as you work, shop, run errands, taxi the kids, prepare for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Say it aloud. Emphasize a different word each time you say the verse.

“Meditation will renew our minds (Rom. 12:1) so that we will think and act more like Christ. Its objective is to reflect on what God has said and done (Ps. 77:12; 119:15-16,97) and on what He is like (48:9-14).” [Cindy Hess Kasper, Our Daily Bread]

So, let’s start chewing our spiritual cud!

I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works. Psalm 145:5

Susan

Tired of retailers rushing Christmas? So are these guys:

“Nutcrackers before Thanksgiving? An embarassment!”
Every time I see that commercial, I just crack up!

And yet here I am talking about Christmas for 40 days!
But, as I said, it’s not about the Christmas spirit– it’s about the Holy Spirit!

Last year, my friend, Lisa, was asked, as we all have been asked,
“Are you ready for Christmas?”
She responded, “Yes, because Christmas is about Jesus, and I’m ready for Him.”

Are you ready for Him?

“Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. Luke 12:35-36

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35, 38-39
As a child, my daughter and some of her little classmates suffered from separation anxiety. Leaving their moms at the door to preschool became a test of patience and grace. The moms knew they weren’t leaving their children, but the children’s perspective was one of separation.

As God’s children, we can be comforted to know that He will never leave us or forsake us. He has assured us of that repeatedly (Deut. 31:6, Deut. 31:8, Joshua 1:5, 1 Kings 8:57 and Hebrews 13:5). Nothing can separate us from His love (Rom. 8)

Jesus left His home in heaven to dwell among us. Did He experience separation anxiety? No, Jesus said that He and the Father are one. Though wrapped in flesh and living as a man, He was one with His Father. And He said that we are one with Him.

So if He feels distant, the question is: Who moved?
As far as we might feel from God sometimes, it is only ever one step back into experiencing His presence. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. Acts 3:19

Next week is Thanksgiving. We are given the opportunity to contemplate what we have to be thankful for. When we list our blessings, the fact that God desires to be in our presence should be at the top of our lists. Over these 40 days, may we rejoice in His presence.  

You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever. Psalm 16:11

Susan

Are you expecting? 

Those words could be a thrill or they could strike fear in your heart.
It all depends upon what you are expecting.

2000 years ago, there was an expectation in the land of Israel that the Messiah would be coming (Luke 3:15). For 400 years (twice as long as the United States has existed!), there had been no spoken or written word from God. The prophecies pointed to this time in history as the time when their fulfillment would occur. The anticipation was palpable. How would the Messiah come? Who would He be? Would He meet their expectations?

Flash forward 2000 years. The church calendar recognizes the season before Christmas as Advent (from the Latin word, adventus, meaning “coming”). Traditionally, Advent commences on the fourth Sunday before Christmas Day. It is a season of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus.

As Advent approaches, what are you expecting?

If you were you expecting a season of stress, perhaps this will be the year that those expectations will not be met!

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. Colossians 3:2

As a photographer adjusts the lens of her camera, adjust the lens of your expectations. When the circumstances of your life, the things that are so close – the earthly things – are in crisp focus, everything else is out of focus. But by adjusting our lens, we can bring into crisp focus the things of God – the things above. Then the things of earth are not so defined. We can still see them; we know they are there, but they no longer are our focus. When we seek Him, we will find Him. We can find Him in the midst of our circumstances. We can find Him outside of our circumstances. He is never hard to find. If we are looking in the right places.

Throughout history, God has used 40-day periods to accomplish His purposes.

– It rained for 40 days delivering Noah, his family and the animals from destruction.

– For 40 days, Moses was on Mount Sinai, face to face with God, receiving the Ten Commandments.

– The spies of the nation of Israel surveyed the promised land for 40 days.

– Jonah, in obedience, went to Ninevah proclaiming destruction in 40 days and inspired a revival in the sinful city.

– Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness  overcoming temptation before beginning His earthly ministry.

– For 40 days, Jesus walked the earth after His resurrection, giving many “convincing proofs”, speaking of the kingdom of God, and birthing the early church.

– Even in this century, Pastor Rick Warren influenced millions of people with his 40 day plan in his bestseller book, The Purpose Driven Life.

Yesterday, I had a wonderful day with the women at Harvest Christian Fellowship in NYC, sharing this message at their annual Thanksgiving Women’s Fellowship. Speaking on the subject of Thanksgiving, I felt led to share from Phil. 4:6-9 where Paul exhorts us to “not be anxious about anything…. but WITH THANKSGIVING… present our requests to God.” We are approaching a period of time that each year is often filled with anxiety rather than thanksgiving. This may be a deliberate attempt of the enemy of our souls to distract us from the glorious truth that God came from heaven to earth so that God and sinner could be reconciled.

So, believing that God can do amazing things in your life over the next 40 days, I am sharing a challenge with you – that together we can each have a revival in our personal lives and can influence those around us to draw close to God as well.

As you know, I don’t usually post more than 2 times per week because I don’t want to flood your inbox and because I don’t want to drive my family or myself crazy to write more than that. However, I will be posting every day for the next 40 days! Why and how will I do this?

Why-
I want to partner together with you in this challenge to use these next 40 days as a time for renewal, restoration and revival. I will share devotions as well as practical tips to redeem this time as preparation for our coming King.

How-
Each day I will share either:
– Something old – a previous post of mine
– Something new – a newly written post
– Something borrowed – shared from another writer
– Nothing blue – all posts will be uplifting, motivating, encouraging, useful!

Will you join me in the 40 day challenge?
Will you commit to redeeming this time?
Will you let me know so that I can pray for you during this time?
Will you share your insights with me and my readers by leaving a comment?
Will you encourage others to walk this 40 day journey with us?

Lord, may those reading this today be encouraged to take this challenge with me and commit the next 40 days to draw closer to You, to not be influenced by the stresses in their world, to be blessed rather than stressed, to redeem this time, to glorify You with their words and their deeds.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14

Susan