Take action: Explore the meaning of the Advent season through our interactive online study series Advent Journeys.

You said it: This week Em shared on the Don’t be a “Lukewarm” Christian women’s devotional, saying “Pls lift up a prayer for me. I feel like I face attack when I am physically weary. Please pray for protection with me, that I would stand strong in the truth of the Lord, & not give the enemy a foothold in any area of my life.” Read the rest of the comments on Don’t be a “Lukewarm” Christian, and join the conversation on Devotional for Men and Devotional for Women, each updated daily!

Blog: Involving your Friends in Christmas
You might ask: How does the approaching Christmas season make you feel? Anxious? Stressed? Worried? Sad? If so, Power to Change offers several articles on the subject that you can share with non-Christian friends who might be feeling this way: Read more

Devotional: Secret of a Rubber Band
My heart cries out to be increasingly intimately acquainted with Jesus. As one author wrote, “to sift the days for symbols and scan the sunsets for meaning … (to) enter into the being of life, alert to transcendences in ordinary things.” Read more

Coming up next week: One of the topics of our upcoming online chats is “Healthy Habits for the Holidays” Join us in the chat room November 29th 2009 @ 9:00pm EST for this chat, and check our full chat calendar for other upcoming topics.

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

Susan sat by the window with her pen and paper on her lap. A few quiet moments were hers to contemplate the things going on her life right now! Today she found herself a bit anxious about the future. She felt less in control then ever before. She jotted down some definite actions she would make a point of pursuing.

She made a quick list of the things beyond work and home responsibilities that she had committed to.  She knew she needed to be deliberate in her choices to continue in some and not in others. She paused to ask God to guide her in her choices and her plans. He knew every detail of her life and He was the one who could give her direction.

As she prayed a verse came to her mind. She thumbed through her Bible looking for it. It brought a perspective to her mind and heart. A perspective that put life into bite size, manageable pieces.

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17, NIV).

Whether the big picture ahead brings you excitement or anxiousness, God gives a formula to live by daily. He tells us that in whatever we say or do we should consider our words and actions to be representing Jesus and to display a thankful attitude.

Try it. Take your day one conversation and one action at a time. Recognize yourself as a representative of Jesus and His love and values as you move through your workplace and your home. Ask Him to cultivate thankfulness in your heart even in the situations that frustrate you. You will be surprised at the peace He gives as you hold His hand throughout each part of today. It will carry you, step by step and day by day, throughout the planned and the unplanned events of your life. It will revolutionize your days!!

Dear Heavenly Father thank you for loving me just the way I am today. Father God, You know the things that I need to change. You know the things that excite me and the things that worry me. Thank you that You give me instruction in Your Word about how to face each new day. I ask You today to help me speak and act in a way that represents You to those around me. Father, there are people and situations that annoy and frustrate me. Please help me to cultivate a thankful heart even in the midst of frustrating moments. Help me to live, in everything today, in the peace that following You brings to my soul. Guide me I pray. In Jesus name, Amen

Questions: How do you respond when things just seem to pile up and you know you can’t do it all? How can we know that when we take our situation to the Lord that He will help us?

About the Author Gail Rodgerschat, devotional,

As church pianist I started to play the introduction for the choir during the morning service. After several measures, I glanced at the keyboard and was so startled that I almost missed a beat. There, on middle D, lay a stunned cockroach flailing its legs. Obviously it had run into the path of my flying fingers.

What could I do? Gritting my teeth, I went on, gingerly trying to avoid middle D, but not always able to do so. (The choir number would be in the Key of D!) Finally, halfway through the first verse I was able to flick the now-deceased roach onto the floor. (Well, that’s one way to kill a roach!)

Some problems we may face are not so easily resolved as a cockroach on a keyboard. They might not be brushed off during the first phase of the situation. We may have to live with them longer than the first verse. But I have learned that if I just keep looking to the Lord for grace and trusting Him with a problem, He takes care of it one way or another.

Sometimes as we pray, He shows us ways to make the situation easier, as I did by avoiding the “middle” D while I played. Sometimes He shows us how to deal with the situation, as I did by flicking that roach to the floor during a whole note in the melody. (Thank heavens for piano “hold” foot pedals!)

Then during or after the resolving of the problem, there’s the cleanup.  After church I went to the rest room and washed my hands off using liquid soap. But in dealing with life’s problems, we may often need a more comprehensive spiritual cleanup.

It may be necessary to ask the Lord to forgive us if we have sinned. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).  We may discover a need to forgive any who have hurt us. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).

And let’s never forget the One Who guided and helped us! Let’s thank and praise Him for His help and deliverance.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever” (Psalms 107:1)

Question: Are there problems you’re facing that you haven’t yet brought to the Lord in prayer?

About this Author: Muriel Larson

Join us for our Daily Devotional Chat today in our Women’s Chatroom at 10:30 am EDT.

She came to me with her tormented thoughts. Had she made a mistake? Was she now out of God’s will? We quickly turned to the Word of God to find out His perspective. When we question God’s will for us He does have guidance for us. Listen carefully to these words from the Bible in 1 Thessalonians 5:18.

“In everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Having a thankful heart is not optional for the believer who wants to be in God’s will.
When you know nothing else of God’s will for your journey, you know this…if thankfulness has left your spirit you are out of God’s will. It’s a startling thought!

Take a minute and replay the words that have come out of your mouth in the last 24 hours. Did the majority of them fall on the critical, nagging, complaining, grumbling side? Or did they mostly reflect a thankful spirit, filled with gratitude to God and to others for even the smallest of blessings?

So often we allow our thoughts to be plagued about what God’s will is for us. Am I in the right location? Did I make the right decision? Am I moving in the right direction? Should I take this job or go to that school?  In pursuing His will geographically we can often miss His will for our hearts.

His will for your heart is to be thankful…thankful in all things. Not thankful for all things, but thankful in them; thankful that He is there to be your strength, your guide, your deliverer and the one who will bring joy into your heart.

In the process of maintaining a thankful heart we are more sensitive to hear His direction in the other matters of life too. Today is a fresh page, ask His Holy Spirit to change you. Ask Him to help you live within His will today by being thankful. Ask Him to continue to direct your paths in the way He wants you to go.

Living with a thankful heart will bring new horizons to your life. It’s His will for you!

Father God, thank you for the reminder today to have a thankful spirit. Forgive me for allowing complaining and grumbling to surface in my heart. Help me today, by the power of Your Holy Spirit, to have a thankful heart. Open my eyes in new ways today to see the good things You have brought into my life. Help me to recognize the strength and guidance You bring into my day. Show me blessings I take for granted and help me to cultivate a thankful heart as I await Your direction in other areas of my life. Thank you for showing me Your will in this. In the strong name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

Questions: Are you thankful in all things?  How can one continue to be in a thankful spirit?

About the Author Gail Rodgers

I grew up as a pastor’s kid. I am also adopted.

My dad (the Pastor), was an incredible, loving, Godly, hardworking man. He held down a full time secular job because he believed in his heart it wasn’t appropriate to be paid for the ministry. I can’t say I agree with that, but Dad had a strong conviction that way and he was entitled to it.

Loving by example

My dad loved people – all ages, sizes, backgrounds – it never mattered to him if they were rich, poor, smelled bad, looked good, whatever. He had a heart for people. My dad’s name was Abraham which is kind of funny and ironic. My dad became a spiritual father and role model to so many people over the years — not only at church but at work as well. He gladly shared his faith in God in gentle ways and was constantly showing God’s love to people whenever he could.  Let me share a few examples:

One time, a young woman came into our church looking for money. Now we all know how risky that can be. Dad drove this young woman and myself to a supermarket nearby and handed me money.  He said, “Please go in and make sure that she buys food for her family. I will wait here.” She shopped, we drove her home, and that was it.

One Christmas when I was around 10 years old, I had far more than enough toys.  There were so many in fact that there were boxes of them in the basement. In our church there was a family of 5 girls all under the age of 10 who were very needy and my dad wanted to make sure that they Christmas gifts. We went through all of my toys, cleaned them up, fixed them up, wrapped them up and delivered them to this family. They were thrilled to received the toys and the mother was in tears at Dad’s efforts to help them have a good Christmas.

Our church was in the inner city. It wasn’t an uncommon scenario for parents to send their children to church while they went out drinking on a Friday night. Since we had programs for children, youth and adults on Friday nights, we almost always had a decent number in attendance. Dad insisted that we always have a station wagon so we could transport children and adults to church whenever the doors were open. This would sometimes mean two or three trips to and from church.

One family in particular had an abusive alcoholic father.  This particular Friday night, my dad brought the children home after the usual Friday night service and as he pulled into the driveway, he heard yelling and screaming. The second oldest girl said, “Mamma and Daddy were drinkin’. They’re fighting again.” Her siblings started to cry. Dad pulled out of the driveway, took the kids for ice cream and then went back once the dust had settled. That night, he was a refuge for them.

Depending on God for everything

In my own life my father taught me how to depend on God for everything. As a child I used to have nightmares.  My dad told me to sing a praise and worship song in my head any time that happened and it worked! He also instilled in me the verse that says, “In EVERYTHING you do, do it as unto the Lord.” It has been my motto in everything I do.

He showed me diplomacy and patience in dealing with people in the congregation. My dad was long suffering and I thought he was crazy until I was in full time ministry as the Operations Manager and found myself learning how to be patient and long suffering. I learned how to be tactful but firm when needed with those in the congregation and how to show love and grace above all things. I’ve learned to be compassionate to those in need.

Carrying on a legacy

My dad passed away from a massive heart attack in July of 1996. My life felt like it had stopped. The pain of losing him was horrendous. As I stood in front of his casket during calling hours at the funeral, there was a line that  continued out of the back of the room and into the hallway for the longest time. People I didn’t know shared with me how my dad was instrumental in leading them to the Lord. One man jokingly said he used to call my dad, “Father Abraham”.

Well, I decided that the best way I could honor my father’s legacy was to continue it. In my lifetime so far I’ve helped poor inner city single moms with getting the things they need for their families. I’ve taught Sunday School classes and organized Community Christmas parties for children. I give piano and voice lessons in children’s homes and I taught in a Christian school part time.

I loved being able to share with my students the songs my dad used to teach everyone in Sunday School and sharing with them the things he taught me as a child. I make it a point to look for an open opportunity to gently share my faith and encourage my students or their parents.

You can make a difference as a “Father Abraham” no matter where you are. You don’t have to have a lot of resources. We lived normal middle class existence in a normal middle class neighborhood. Dad used his heart and most of all, listened to the voice of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit in everything he did. Because of that, his love for God lives on even today.

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A bomb is meant to kill.  To destroy.

Bombs of various shapes and functions are killing innocents in Africa, damaging oil pipelines in British Columbia, delivering mayhem to cities across the planet.  There’s little room for wavering about the function of a bomb: it is meant to conduct violent destruction to its surroundings.

I’ve had the experience of a bomb going off in close proximity twice in my life.  It disturbs the normal function and routines of daily life.  One moment the world is normal – plans can be made and the expectation is that those plans will be fulfilled.  The next moment, it’s difficult to get on a subway or a bus without looking for something that shouldn’t be there.  A small package.  A backpack.  Anything that is out of place becomes malicious and threatening.  Yet I’ve never had the experience of a bomb going off in my immediate proximity (nor do I care to have this experience).

That’s why this article from the Langley Times challenges me.  As a citizen, my immediate reaction is to cry out for justice.  Find the criminal, hunt him or her down.  By any means necessary, justice must be swift and ferocious.  In my perfect world, the criminal will be caught, publicly apologize with profuse crying and groveling, and then sent away to the Island of No-Return.  Forgiveness?  What a ridiculous idea!

And yet the victims of this senseless attack choose this unexpected path – forgiveness.  Where is the retribution?  Where is the hatred?  Whether it’s a physical bomb, or an emotional one given to us by a coworker or a friend or a family member, each of us have the potential of inflicting pain on those around us that can be long-lasting and deep.  And when it happens to us, our default response is to desire – or demand! – some sort of justice.  “I need to have my hurts recognized,” we cry out.  “I need to make sure that the offending party knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that they have been wrong.”  It doesn’t matter if the hurt is catastrophic or is as insignificant as someone cutting me off in traffic.  I demand justice!  I will roar up on the person in front of me, just so they know that they have done me a terrible injustice, and there!  Now you know that you have wronged me because I am currently riding one foot from your bumper!  Or, “oh family member, you must know how hurt I am!  So I am going to remove my relationship from your life for the next few months/years so you can feel the pain you have brought about!”  There, justice!  It feels so good!  It feels so right!

It feels so empty.

The ridiculousness of God’s idea of forgiveness is that it not only frees me from the shackles of vengeance but it directs its attention outward as an extension of grace.  I love the response from Gary Stevenson, “We have no bitterness, but my heart breaks for this person because they are hurting.”   What began as an act of violence had the potential to create a downward spiral of hatred and retribution for the Stevenson family.  Instead, this family has chosen a posture of forgiveness, opening doors to demonstrate this incredible idea to their community.  And perhaps that’s something that I need more of in my own life.  From the family member who utters an unkind word, to the coworker who causes tension, to the passing stranger who shatters the ideal plan for my upcoming day, God’s intention is that I would live under the idea of grace and forgiveness.  After all, I’m not perfect either.

The real truth is that the act of forgiveness is meant to heal.  It is never meant to harm or kill or bring about revenge.

Forgiveness is meant to restore.  To bring life.

I’m challenged by God’s belief in the ridiculous.

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“Thou wilt show me the path of life; in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” Psalm 16:11, KJV

“If you have lost the joy of the Lord in your life,” someone once observed, “who moved, you or God? For in His presence is fullness of joy.”

That saint and prophet of earlier years, A. W. Tozer, suggested several ways for the believer to achieve real joy:

1. Cultivate a genuine friendship with God. He is a Friend who sticks closer than a brother.

2. Take time to exercise yourself daily unto godliness. Vow never to be dishonest about sin in your life, never to defend yourself, never to own anything (or let anything own you), never to pass on anything hurtful about others, never to take any glory to yourself.

3. No known sin must be allowed to remain in your life. “Keep short accounts with God” – never allow unconfessed sins to pile up in your life.

4. Set out to build your own value system based on the Word of God. Meditate on the Word; practice the presence of God. Set priorities as you realize what is truly important. It will be reflected in the standard of values you set for yourself.

5. Share your spiritual discoveries with others.

Bible Reading: John 15:7-11

Today’s Action Point: Knowing that the best witness in the world is a joyful, radiant Christian, I will try to be that kind of believer, trusting the indwelling Holy Spirit to thus empower me and radiate His love and joy through me. I will share my spiritual discoveries with others.

About this Author: Bill Bright

The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. (Westminster Catechism)

Do you realize that if you stop right now and worship God — think about Him, marvel at His attributes, call His name holy, let your heart burst into song, lift your hands, dance … whatever you want — you will be fulfilling the prime reason for your existence? What could be better (or easier)? And on top of that, you have the assurance that your offering is joyfully received.

We were created to worship — to notice the song of the birds, to catch the shape of the clouds, to feel the penetrating heat of the day, to observe the twist of the lips that makes one smile different from another, to catch a drop of rain on the tongue, to hear a humming bird hum, to taste the sweetness of an orange and notice its color — these are far and away the most important observations we can make. And look at how accessible these are!

What we’re talking about here is living with an attitude of praise. Anyone can do it — rich or poor, new Christian or old, healthy or sick — we can all unclutter our lives by arranging everything around God and the celebration of why we are here. Nature is doing it unconsciously. Children do it most easily. We need a little instruction — a little prodding — only because we get distracted and we forget.

Outside my window right now is a tree unlike any I have ever seen. It grows out as much as it grows up. Its branches defy gravity, growing horizontally for 20 feet or more before shooting up with heavy branches, as if held up by an invisible hand. This one tree provides shade for five houses. Cut it back and it keeps growing. New shoots are everywhere. What is this tree doing right now? Praising God. It can’t help it. It is old and wise and sturdy, yet still putting out new life. It is a living monument to its Creator. God thought this tree into existence and put it here, years ago, for his pleasure and mine. He and I share this tree together. And when it flowers, the buzzing of a thousand bees can be heard in the early morning quietness. It’s our tree throbbing with audible praise.

We can do it too. And even more so, because we have mind and heart and body, soul and spirit. We can hum our thanks to our creator with words and meaning, for we were made for this, and we are restless souls without it. Let everything that has breath (and even that which does not) praise the Lord! Praise ye the Lord!

Question: What is your favorite way to give the Lord praise?

About this Author: John Fischer