June Jewett’s Thoughts

JUNE 3 DOING

Ephesians 5:16,17 “Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Almost every devotional I have read the last two weeks has in some way spoken about the difference between listening or listening and doing. It is pleasant to hear the words of Jesus but behind the words is the command to live them. As
God’s representatives in a world that delights in evil (darkness) we are to be the light. The above verses are part of Paul’s instruction to the church he had served. The first part says, “To make the most of every opportunity for doing good.” The next phrase tells us to “understand what God wants you to do.” That is not an excuse for putting off the doing. When God plants a thought in our minds, He also promises to go with us in the doing. It would be unwise of Him to give us a task and leave us on our own. The indwelling Holy Spirit wants to be our wisdom and power in the doing. When you see an opportunity…act, letting the Spirit show you one step at a time. Listening is good but listening and doing is God’s choice for us.

Father, help me to listen and then do as you instruct me through the Holy Spirit.
In His Name

MAY 19 JOY

John 15:15 “These things I have spoken to you that my jot may be in you and that your joy may be full.”

Tired, creaky, and feeling my age…that is the result of packing and moving when you are old. But underneath is immeasurable joy. When Jesus promised us joy, He said it would be full. To walk through each moment of our day and know He lives in us is a precious gift. The circumstances of our lives do not rob us of His joy. The unexpected, the lingering illness, the disappointments, or even failures cannot steal Jesus’ joy. Satan would like us to think so but the words of Jesus are trustworthy. Our hearts can leap for joy the joy of knowing Him in spite of a world that denies Him. “The joy of the Lord is my strength.”

Grant us the joy that makes us glad and sustains us in all circumstances. In Jesus Name.

MAY 11 M & M’s

ISAIAH 55: 8, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.’”

Memorization and meditation are the basic M & M’s of learning God’s thoughts and ways. Two excuses for not engaging in them are, “I can’t” and “I don’t have time.” Way back in the time of Moses and Joshua, God commanded them, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts” and “Do not let the Book of the Law depart from your mouth, meditate on it day and night.”
The Psalms echo those teachings with phrases like…”I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. The New Testament says, “Study to show yourself approved of God,” and “Desire the sincere milk of the Word so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” God takes very seriously the study and hiding of His Word in our hearts. It takes training to be a soldier in God’s army. The Bible is out training manual. He expects us to study and commit to memory the instructions. Eat your M & M’s daily.

Father, encourage me to memorize and meditate on your words every day. In Jesus Name.

APRIL 27 BUDGETS

Malachi 3:10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse that there may be food in my house. ‘Test me in this “says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see I if will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing you will not have room enough for it’.”

Many people don’t like the word ‘budget’. It represents confinement and a loss of freedom to do what they want. For me, a budget has been a source of freedom. After deciding the amount we owe to God and how much is needed to pay the government, the rest of our resources are for us to use…however we decide. Budgets aren’t restricted to income. They can include the investment of our time, our natural abilities and the God-given gifts we receive from the Spirit. Planning ahead frees us to set our goals and adds to the enjoyment of accomplishing them. Jesus taught His disciples, “Freely you have received, freely give.” It is God’s delight to bless us in all our giving.

Father, guide us in using out income, time, talents and Spirit-given gifts to glorify you in every way. In Jesus’ Name.

APRIL 21 ANYTHING NEW HAPPENING/

Ephesians 3:23, 24 “…to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

God has made me righteous in His sight and calls me to live a holy life, everyday. Jesus died so we can have a new attitude in our minds. We can find ourselves thinking of others first. We can have a willing spirit instead of making excuses. People who knew us five years ago will see new growth in our living. If we were created to be like God…righteous and holy…why are we settling for a little goodness? Picture a big barrel in God’s storehouse with your name written on it. Inside are the seeds for growing the new life God wants to plant in you. Open the door of your heart to His transforming power. When you delight in doing as He asks, the seeds will take root and the Holy Spirit will grow a new set of values in you…a new life!

Open our hearts, O God, to live the new life Jesus died to give us. In His Name.

APRIL 13 ON OPPOSITE SIDES?

Romans 6:10, 11 “The death he died, he died to sin once for all, but the life he lives, he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

Even as a believer in Jesus, do you ever feel as though you are at war, with God on one side and you on the other…instead of being allies you are opponents? When you read that God said, “Be holy even as I am holy,” does a little voice tell you that you’ll never achieve holiness? Take heart because when Jesus died for us on the Cross, He made us citizens of the kingdom of God. You are forgiven. Now the Spirit is at work in us to teach us about our new citizenship. Sometimes
we break the laws of society unintentionally and at other times deliberately. The same is true in our new kingdom. God may need to reprimand or correct us. He asks us to confess our sin and promises to forgive us. He trains us through His Word to be equipped to do His work in today’s world. God is our Friend, not our enemy. He demonstrated that by letting His Son die on the cross for us.

Praise you for the gift of a new life and the Spirit to train us. Let us live the victorious life planned for your children. In Jesus Name

APRIL 6 DWELLING IN GOD’S SANCTUARY

Psalm 15 “Lord who my dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?”

This past week I read this favorite Psalm. I have chosen to copy the rest of the Psalm which answers the above question. May it serve as a reminder to all of us what God’s expectations are.

“He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous,
who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue.
who does his neighbor no wrong and casts no slurs on his fellow man,
who despises a vile man but honor those who fear the lord,
who keeps his oath even when it hurts,
who lends his money without usury and does not accept a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.”

Praise God who guides us continually. May He empower us to live at His direction. In Jesus Name

MARCH 30 HIS TEACHINGS

John 8:31 “…if you hold to my teachings you are really my disciples.”

First comes faith…faith in Jesus as the risen Savior who delivered us from sin. Then comes holding to His teachings. We all stumble along the path. I recently did a comparison study on the difference between being proud and being humble. As I examined the behavior exhibited in both, I was often dismayed at the habits of pride hidden in my thoughts. (Occasionally, I score a plus on the side of humility.) It is one thing to hear or read the teachings of Jesus but “holding” to them is much harder. It was so wise of Jesus to ask the Father to send us the Holy Spirit. I need the Spirit to look at my heart and reveal “non-Jesus” thoughts. I also need Him to empower me to chuck them out of my life. I need to listen as He recalls to my mind lessons learned, lest they slip away. It takes willingness and perseverance to be transformed…but, oh, the joy as the teachings takes hold in my life.

Father, help me to listen and persevere in my desire to be your disciple. In Jesus Name

MARCH 23 EASTER

“Luke 24:6 “He is not here. He has risen from the dead…”

Easter happened because Jesus obeyed His Father. He traveled, taught, healed, and trained disciples until finally He died on the Cross and rose to conquer death. That is the glory of Easter…a Son who obeyed. We study and discuss the life of Jesus, but do we follow His example? Probably not as faithfully as we desire. Self distracts us. Jesus said that He did and spoke only what the Father willed. Do I ask each morning, “Father, what do you want me to do today?” Obedience needs to begin the moment we turn off the alarm clock. It needs to follow us everywhere we go and be in everything we do. We will need to practice discipline in listening for His voice, recalling His commandments, and remembering His abounding love. Easter is full of glory, joy, and celebration. It happened because Jesus obeyed. It can be ours everyday when we obey.

Open my heart to obedience, Father, even as your Son obeyed. In His Name.

MARCH 9 A CHANGE OF ATTITUDE

Psalm 38:15 “I wait for you, O Lord my God; you will answer, O Lord my God.”

Some times when you read David’s prayers in the Psalms, you sense his impatience or even anger with God for not answering his pleas readily. He cries, “Why O Lord do you stand far off ?”, “I cry to you day and night”, “Why you have forsaken me?”, or “O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.” Yet as we finish reading each prayer, we discover a transformation taking place in David’s thoughts. “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.” “For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face.” “I am confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” “Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.” We can learn from David. Often we come to God in despair and impatience longing to receive His help. He welcomes our fears and cries for help. As we seek his face, our thoughts turn to recognition of to whom we are praying. We acknowledge His wisdom, His knowledge of the path before us, and exactly what we need. Our pleas become thanksgiving and our frustrations turn to praise. We recognize God is never far from us and hears the desires of our hearts. Bring your frustrations to God, tell Him your needs. Amazing as it seems, our thoughts will become confident and our trust renewed. David was a man after God’s own heart. Following his example can renew our faith in the One who loves us and wants to walk with us daily.

Teach me to pray as David did and to listen when you answer. In Jesus’ Name