Dwell

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“Dwell”

Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

 

I’ve been considering recently how easy it is for us to dwell on certain things in life.  Through my personal therapy sessions and conversations I’ve had with others, it’s a continued learning experience realizing how easy it is not only to dwell on certain things, but dwelling on the past mistakes and hurts as well as current problems I deal with. 

 

While it’s good to deal with issues in our lives, it’s not healthy at all to continue to dwell on things that have happened in the past.  After reading a book recently by Mel Robbins, I have learned how easy it is for my mind to spiral out of control with negative thoughts about myself.  I’m learning more how I need to stop focusing and dwelling on things I’ve either done wrong or things currently in my life that I struggle with daily. 

 

After this thought of “dwell”, I’ve been thinking about how incredibly important it is to dwell on God’s Word.  Something really incredible happens when dwell more daily on God’s Word.  He dwells within us even more and is able to move in our lives more than ever.  When He is priority in our lives, it’s fascinating how much more we dwell on things of eternity and not on all the bad things the enemy wants us to focus on. 

 

I hope that we all come to realize how easy it is to dwell on negative things in life that pull our focus off from dwelling on the great things God has done and continues to do.  When we shift our mindset of dwelling on things of this world to things in God’s Word, it’s amazing how our attitude and perspective on life changes.  It does not mean the problems just go away, but it does change how we look at life and we start dwelling more on God’s Word.  By the way, the enemy absolutely hates this!

 

My question to leave with us all is this……Do we find ourselves dwelling more on the things of this world and our past and current mistakes or is God’s Word?

 

It’s up to us what we choose to dwell on each day.

Now To HIM

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/j7xIu1-E50g?si=_pVHbiUjqu2YcwQr

“Now To HIM”

Ephesians 3:20- 21

NIV- “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

 

This is the benediction we say at our church at the end of each service every week.  Recently, something jumped out at me as I was thinking about this passage that I hadn’t really considered before.  The first three words totally grabbed my attention:

 

“Now to HIM!” 

 

The focus is completely put on Jesus Christ because He is the only One that can possibly do more than we can ever imagine.  Then the passage goes on to state “According to HIS power” as well as “To HIM be glory”. 

 

This is a very good reminder for all of us that nothing is ever about what we can do.  Everything is about what God can and will do and through us as He chooses.  So often we limit God because we don’t dream big enough or have a big enough faith to believe that God will do so much more beyond anything we can possibly dream or imagine. 

 

When we come upon challenging times in our lives and obstacles we cannot seem to make sense of, let us remember “Now to HIM”.  We need to put our total faith in God that He CAN and WILL do more than we can possibly imagine.  It’s all for His glory whatever comes to be as He works in us and through our situations in life. 

 

I want to encourage all of us to put our total faith in Jesus Christ no matter what obstacles or challenges come in our lives in the coming days and weeks.  When we come to think all is lost and there’s no way around certain situations, let the phrase “Now to HIM” ring in our hearts and minds as a reminder that only God can do what He does.  Let Him lead and guide.  He can move mountains and bring resolutions we would never have possibly imagined. 

 

All too often, I put too much confidence and faith in my own ways and forget that God’s ways are way beyond anything I could possibly come up with. 

 

Let this passage ruminate in your mind and heart for a few days and consider the powerful message Paul speaks here.  There is nothing more important in this entire world that what God can do in and through our lives.

 

Think on these 3 phrases, “Now to HIM”, “According to HIS power”, “To HIM be glory”  All glory and praise belong to our God Who works wonders!

Connection Makes All The Difference

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/Ue3mO4OYQ_0?si=VGwL0ezGvS6r28N8

“Connection Makes All The Difference”

Genesis 2:18 NIV- The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

 

This past week, I was driving one of our cars around and I thought I had the A/C turned on.  As I continued driving, all I felt was stale air blowing from the vents.  I looked down and noticed the A/C button was NOT lit up.  I thought all was ok when the air started blowing, because it usually takes a few seconds and the cool air comes right out.  Nope!  Not gonna happen when you don’t have the button pushed! 

 

The stale air in a car does not feel good at all.  It’s uncomfortable and you don’t want to be in it long because it makes you feel gross after a short period of time. 

 

As I got to thinking about how I simply had to push the button to connect with the car’s A/C system, it made me reflect on how important it is for our lives to be connected to others.  So often in our daily routines, we are running from one thing to the next and we are spinning our wheels, not even realizing we are not stopping to connect and recharge by associating with others in a genuine way.

 

God created us to connect with one another.  When we connect with each other and bond, it’s a refreshing feeling, just like making sure we are connected to the A/C system in the car.  When we aren’t connected well to others, we’re just going through our daily motions and not putting in the effort or trying to initiate connections with other people.  Life becomes stale when we don’t connect.

 

I find when I’m not connecting to my wife, the air becomes stale in our marriage.  When I’m not connecting with my kids, the air becomes stale in my relationship building with them.  When I’m not connecting with my friends, the air becomes stale in those relationships.  Anytime we are not connecting with others, as God intended for us to do, it’s just stale air and it gets weird and feels “off”. 

 

As we go through our daily lives, let’s not get so much into a routine that we forget to genuinely connect with others we love and care about.  We don’t want to continue this cycle and live in the stale air.  We want to be refreshed by connecting with people we care about and love. 

 

Connection with others makes all the difference.  God created us to connect, not to live in stale air.  We were meant to connect with others.  Adam didn’t stay alone for long and neither should we.  Not long after God created Adam, God made a helper so that Adam wouldn’t be alone.  If it was important to God that Adam not be alone in the beginning, it means just as much today still that we need connected with others on a regular basis. 

Solitude, Silence & Stillness

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/uB28N9pvQ7w?si=uWV4NwdaCP3kqZXb

“Solitude, Silence & Stillness”

 

I just recently finished reading a book by a Christian author and he mentions multiple times how he has practiced times of solitude before God while also being silent and listening.  As I kept reading the book, I became convicted that this was something I haven’t done much in my own personal faith journey through the years.  I’ve tried being quiet off and on through the years, depending on what situation I’m going through, but never a consistent habit. 

 

This past week, it really hit me hard as I finished the book and I determined that I was going to begin each day with my usual quiet devotional time.  Right after I read in the morning, I’ve decided I will sit and do nothing for at least 5 minutes.  I kept thinking of writing this devotional and using the title “Solitude & Silence”, but then it hit me just the other day that I needed something more.  Not just solitude and silence, but I also needed stillness. 

 

I have ADHD, so it’s very hard for me to sit down and sit still for a long period of time. Within a few minutes, my mind is usually thinking of something I need to do or a variety of other thoughts suddenly flood my mind.  This drives my wife and youngest daughter nuts when I’m home at night and on the weekends.  I tend to “busy” myself with tasks that need done, but I don’t sit down and rest long enough to really quiet myself. 

 

I was convicted this past week to begin my day with solitude, silence and complete stillness by sitting there and trying to clear my mind.  No additional reading, no praying, no nothing.  Just being in the quiet and trying to clear my mind so I can listen.  I also want to increase the amount of time as I feel led.  I want to encourage all of us to make this a daily practice and habit.  It will take time.  I know it will for me definitely!  But I am excited to add this spiritual discipline to my life. 

 

My goal is to be a better listener to what God wants to show me in my life.  By being in complete silence, I hope to better quiet my mind, heart and soul and just be in God’s presence.  I want to listen and allow the Holy Spirit to move in and through me. 

 

This is a tough practice and habit to take on, but I truly believe it will help draw myself and all of us much closer to God. 

 

One last way I would encourage you to be in silence is to go take a walk somewhere in nature.  I have found that when I have the opportunity to go walk, away from the noise of the every day routine, it’s amazing how you can quiet your mind, heart and soul and just take in the very presence of God.

 

Solitude, Silence & Stillness—Start with at least 5 minutes a day and see what God does!

Keep Cool & Regulated

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/__jzVCJOvvU?si=ekNY-mnV0dyn53pz

“Keep Cool & Regulated”

Proverbs 29:11 NIV

Fools give full vent to their rage, but the wise bring calm in the end.

 

Everyone in our household owns a stainless steel water bottle.  We used to have regular water bottles and I would always struggle with how to keep the water cold while also keeping the bottle from “sweating” as the ice melted.  After many years, I finally decided to buy a stainless steel water bottle.  After I did so, my wife and girls followed suit.  I was able to convince them that it was worth buying a stainless steel version in order to keep water cold a lot longer and not have it sweating all over you. 

 

Years later, we still use those kinds of bottles.  I don’t think I’ll ever go back to regular water bottles.  Just a personal preference!  As I’ve used this kind of water bottle through the years, I’m always amazed and refreshed when I pick it up, especially on hot days, and the water is still ice cold while the outside is very warm to the touch.

 

I was walking and running with my brother in law the other day and I suddenly thought of this as we both mentioned we were thirsty.  I thought about how it’s so refreshing going back home or to the car after a workout and taking a drink of cold water.  How refreshing!

 

I thought about how often in life it’s so important that we are like these water bottles in life when times get challenging.  People get mad at us or we suddenly encounter a dramatic situation where people need to be calmed down.  I think most about this when we watch cop shows.  It’s amazing to see cops keeping their cool while they work to calm upset people down.  The training these cops go through they learn a lot over time how to keep situations calm by keeping their voices as calm and steady as possible.

 

Let’s take this Proverb for instance.  How many of us want to be fools when it comes to challenging situations and conversations?  None of us.  We all would like to keep our cool and stay regulated, just like a stainless steel water bottle.  It might be getting flamed and hot outside, but inside the water is staying cool and refreshing.  Don’t we want to be people of refreshment when others are getting all uptight and wound up? 

 

This is how we really show the love of God.  When we can keep our cool and bring refreshment to others instead of letting our anger rage and boil our blood, we can stay cool and bring calmness to those around us.  It’s not easy by any means!  However, it is possible! 

 

The next time we are in a situation where the fire rages around us with people, let’s try to be like the water bottle and stay regulated inside so that refreshing and loving words come out. 

All In Sweet Harmony

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/py1WUm7fwmc?si=eUQOPK7skTYJdxrz

“All In Sweet Harmony”

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

 

Last weekend, we attended a race at a local fairgrounds for the afternoon.  It was fun watching cars race each other around a small track.  At one point, there was a bottleneck and multiple cars were stuck behind one another.  What happened next amazed me.  I watched almost every single one of them back up in unison and then they were all free to continue to drive on. 

 

I remember thinking, “Wow, they all did that at the same time and everyone was freed up to move on!”  As I pondered that moment, it reminded of Paul’s words of how he described the body of Christ and all the parts.  So often in churches these days, we “say” we are on the same team and claim we want to serve God together.  However, all to often, we tend to have ulterior motives when we do some things and do them only for our benefit.  This isn’t always true, but it happens more than we would like to admit.

 

When I watched the cars all back up at the same time, this devotional thought hit me immediately and I thought, “This is exactly how the body of Christ was meant to flow.”  It is truly a beautiful picture when the bride of Christ strives to work together in harmony.  It’s absolutely beautiful not only in how that works within the church, but also when non-believers witness this.  Word travels fast and it blows people’s minds when we are not only talking the talk, but also walking the walk.

 

I’ve been part of multiple churches through my years of paid and volunteer ministry.  It pains me to have witnessed so many places of worship get torn up to pieces because people don’t have the vision and desire to work together in harmony.  But then it also has brought me great joy to witness churches that do genuinely work together in harmony to love each other and those who are lost.

 

Every part of the body of Christ is unique and needed, whether you are in front serving or behind the scenes.  No one is more important than the other.  We all work together and it works wonderfully, just like the cars in that race that all backed up together and then drove off. 

 

It is my hope and prayer that we would all strive to do our part serving in the body of Christ.  It’s never about how we can benefit the most, it’s how we can serve and love others within the body. 

Back In The Day

 YouTube Channel Video Devo

https://youtu.be/oNoshSIQGrg?si=JwKFwHgt_68OKDvE

“Back In The Day”

James 1:17 NIV- Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows

 

Hebrews 13:8 NIV- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

 

Recently, as I got into one of our vehicles to drive somewhere, I had to readjust

the side mirrors to fit my view.  As I did this, I had flashbacks to when I was growing up as a kid.  I remember sitting in the passenger side with my mom, dad or other adults.  With the cars in my childhood days, we had manual mirrors.  Often times, my parents would ask me to roll down my passenger window and have me move the mirror left, right, up or down several times until their view was just right.  Then they adjusted their own driver’s side mirror as well. 

 

I also got to thinking about how we used to have manual crank windows to roll them up and down.  Then I thought about how we had manual tuning radios and cassette tape decks.  My thoughts continued with the old seat belts we used to have as well as being lucky if we even had A/C in the cars yet. 

 

My how times have changed with our vehicles!  For so many years, regarding cars and other items with modern day changes, I’ve heard people say, “Well, back in the day we had…..” or “Back in the day, we didn’t have……”  We often marvel today as how times have changed and what conveniences we have today compared to 20, 30 or 40 years ago.  Advances in technology and science have definitely brought us a long way! 

 

I have to admit that often times when adults would tell me, “Well, back in the day, we didn’t have……….”, I would roll my eyes or even mutter things under my breath and think, “Yeah, back in the stone ages!”  Sometimes, I got caught rolling my eyes or my very soft comments still being heard somehow!  The punishment was not fun! 

 

There are so many things that have changed through our years and continue to change each day.  With all the constant changes in life, I am so glad that God doesn’t change the way He is with us.  He is constant with His love, forgiveness, grace, mercy and patience.  He never says, “Well, back in the day I was more patient, but these days not so much.” 

 

It doesn’t matter how far back we look in Scripture, God is the same today as He was back in the day.  He never changes and He is constant and I love serving a living God like that!  I never have to worry that He can’t relate with me or comfort me.  He is with me today as he was when I was a kid and still loves me just as much as He did back then. 

 

There is no “Back in the day” with God.  He is, still is and will always be our God Who deeply loves us and will never change.  We can fully trust Him and know that His ways will never grow old or change.