Sadly, in my experience, this is where I find 99% of Christians today.  Happy to attend church once a week, and say a prayer when a little trouble comes along.  Happy to ask someone to say a prayer for a friend or family member who needs it and feel as if they have certainly done their part.  A short devotional is okay occasionally as long as they have the time.  But, you know how it is.  We’re all just so busy.

To my shame, I must admit that I have spent a fair amount of time there too.  Eventually I manage to claw my way out only to find myself right back in this sad state.  But God never intended that we spend a single minute there. His desire for us is that we live a victorious christian life filled with every blessing He has for us.  Blessings such as peace. joy, healing for our hearts and minds, and the rest that comes in knowing that we really matter to Him. Is there anything better?  Can riches or fame possibly compare to such blessings as these?

Don’t stay in mediocrity another minute.  Get into God’s word, step up your prayer life, and surround yourself with people who strengthen and encourage you.  It’s what He wants for every single one of us.  It what He wants for YOU!

I don’t claim to have a magic pill for this condition.  There is none.  But what if I told you that there was a cure?  Did you just feel a little glimmer of hope?  You should.  I promise you, it will work.  Here it is.   Step 1…Get into God’s word!  Step 2…start talking to Him (pray).  Step 3…surround yourself with encouragers.  Okay, did that glimmer of hope just leave you?  I’m guessing it did for some of you.  You see, what I find is that most of us would rather live in a state of total defeat that to put forth the effort it takes  to move into victory. 

Sadly, most of you will read this and say, “Oh that.”  Then the enemy will fill your head with all sorts of reasons why this is just not possible for you.  And again, he wins! 

Ladies, we choose where we live and were not meant to live in defeat.  Our God wants us to claim the victory that He has already won.  The peace and joy that He gives is ours for the taking.  Will you claim it today.  It won’t be easy but it will be worth it.

This past Sunday, my good friend Larry Wilson preached a wonderful message and I will be using parts of this message in my next few posts.  He gave clear reasons for why we don’t acknowledge God in our everyday lives and then clear directives as to how to restore that relationship back to a healthy one.  I pray this will be of help to some of you who are stuck in that particular situation.

To begin this “series”  I want you to ask yourselves a few questions today.

Do you live each day with an awareness of God’s presence with you all the time?

Are you aware of all the aspects of His presence around you?

Is this awareness limited to just calling out to Him when you have exhausted all other options?

Has this awareness resulted in  a true friendship with Him?

Has sin caused you to avoid acknowledging His presence?

I’ll end with this reminder.  If you are His child, He never leaves you.  We may choose to ignore Him but He is still there.  When we feel alone it’s not because we are.  He’s still there waiting for you to turn to Him and start talking or cry out to Him.

But I am a wanderer.  Just like you. I find myself living in days that do not include acknowledging His presence with me.  Plainly said, days if living just for me.  Those are days when I am lead into a mire of discontent that eventually leads to a rant about why He would refuse to give me my way.

But then, there are days when I do bask in His presence.  Days when my every move is made with a conscious awareness that He is right there beside me.  Those are the days that I find contentment in whether He has chosen “much” or “little” for me.  And those are the days that I am able to accept either as His will for me, in that moment.

I remember when my kids were first learning to talk, one if their first words was “mine.”  As a mother my heart wanted my children to have what they wanted.  But I knew that I had a responsibility to teach my children that the world did not revolve around them.  They needed to know how to put the needs of others above that of their own.  And they needed to  know that they would have to fight against their own sinful natures in order to do so.

The early teen years can be one of the biggest learning opportunities for our kids.  They go through a time when they are number one and no one else matters. If you are not careful, you can alienate them during these years because they can be pretty hard to get along with.   They need guidance without judgement through this time.  If we ignore this behaviour, our kids grow from selfish children to selfish adults who are bad friends, uncooperative co-workers, selfish spouses and eventually bad parents.

Think about what a different world this would be of we all followed this verse.  Wow! We’d all have better friendships, better marriages, better work environments and better relationships in general.  This verse is not to be ignored.

Sara and I went to Jr. High together.  We became friends and hung out together for those two years until she and her family moved away.  We were born in the same year but I actually hit the 50 mark a few months before she did.  Sara is an awesome, fun-loving person and a great sister-in-law.   I am proud to call her my friend.  Hope you enjoy the video Sara.

Her gift from her children this year was a weeping cherry tree.  In this video you’ll see as the family surprises her with her birthday gift.

 ⁸I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.  I read this verse this morning in Psalm 32  and it made me think about how many times I have been asked the question, “How do I know if it’s God who is speaking to me?”  Well, I can’t give you a sure-fire way to know this for sure but I can give you the age-old answer that still holds true today.  The more you talk with Him, listen to Him, and spend time in His presence, the more familiar you become with the sound of His voice.

I know, this is not the easy answer.  The fact is, if you don’t know the sound of His voice, you may mistake it for the voice of the enemy and I assure you, the enemy is a master at disguising his voice.

But the good news is…it’s not too late.  Start today!  Spend a little time alone with Him.  Get to know Him better.  Learn what His  voice sounds like so that you cannot mistake it the next time He speaks.

Since Satan knows what bothers us the most, you can be sure he will use that thing most often to cause us to loose our temper, or say that word we been trying not to say, or just show out in a way that damages our testimony for Christ. I Peter says ⁸Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:   He studies us and works with what we give him.  Remember Ephesians 6 tells us this…

¹⁰Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

¹¹Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

¹²For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

¹³Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Just being aware that Satan is on the prowl and recognizing his tactics in our own lives can be a huge advantage when it comes to controling these not so nice behaviors.

Let me encourage you this week to narrow down exactly what those things are in your own life.  Then just watch out for how Satan will use that more often in your life than he does in others.  What we noticed was that Charley did usually get in worse traffic situations than I did.  And we have the enemy to thank for that.  But we can show him that our God is greater and stronger that he is and with God’s help we can overcome.