A few summers ago we got a brand new chicken coop with four new chickens. Now, we already had a coop on the farm with ten chickens and a rooster, but we needed an upgraded space so we bought the new coop. While the old coop was serviceable, it was very small and lacked the proper ventilation. The new coop is much larger and has a lot more windows for proper ventilation. All in all it is a much more comfortable home…if you are a chicken.

       The first day we let all of the chickens out of their coop, the old ten out of their small coop and the new four out of their luxurious coop, we couldn’t wait until nightfall to see where all the chickens would go. Not a single old chicken would step foot in the new coop. Every single one bedded down in the old coop and the new chickens went to the new coop.
 
         As my husband was commenting on how funny it was that the old chickens turned down the better coop for the comfortable familiarity of their old home, this verse came to mind. Jeremiah 29:11 says-“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” When change comes in life our carnal reaction is to cling to what we know. It is safe. It is familiar. It is home. Yet, all the while God is standing next to the something better He wants to give us, encouraging us to let go of the familiar and reach out to the upgrade He has waiting for us.

Are you missing out on a blessing by being like the chickens?
Are you holding on to what’s familiar and missing out on something better?

Trust God. His ways aren’t our ways. They are so much better and will bring us so much more! Don’t be a chicken. God’s way is always better.

Early one Wednesday morning I woke up and  found myself taking a deep breath in preparation for what would certainly be a long day. Waking up at 5:00 am for work and getting into bed around 11:00 pm after church…a long day. Yet, as I sat in church, I realized I wouldn’t change a thing.

Is it inconvenient to spend an hour driving to church and another hour driving home?
Yes.

Does the drive and service take my entire evening?
Yep again.

     Is there anything else I could do that would bring me as much hope, joy, and peace? No.
In Psalm 84:10-11-the psalmist says“For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.”

    No matter how much of an inconvenience it is. No matter how much of my time it takes. No matter what other things come along that could take its place…when the doors of the church are open I plan to be there. What are you missing out on by staying away from the house of God? Is it worth all the blessings you are missing?

       Have you ever experienced a sickness in your body and struggled to perform the daily things that are typically a breeze? Things like getting out of bed, eating a meal, or walking across the room seem like almost more than you can take. Most of us, when we reach this stage of “I just can’t”, due to our illness, finally take a trip to the doctor. Once there, if we are lucky, we get the answers and resources we need to get on the road to recovery. 
   
This very same scenario can play out in our spiritual walk as well. We can become spiritually sick and the things that are typically a breeze suddenly become difficult. Things like getting along with our spiritual family, reading our Word, and saying our prayers. However, unlike the first scenario many of us reach the “I just can’t” stage in our spiritual walk and decide it’s the church’s fault, or our brothers and sisters fault or maybe even God’s fault and, instead of turning to the great physician to get our healing, we turn our backs on God. We give up our spiritual wellness and trade it in for all the sickness this world has to offer.

     Why is it that we don’t treat spiritual illness with the same urgency and care as physical ailments? Pride. We don’t want to admit we aren’t spiritual enough to fight the battle we are facing. But God came, as a sacrifice for not only our sin, but also as a healer of ALL our diseases: physical, mental, and spiritual. We discover this truth in Matthew 8:16-17 which says-“When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.”

     Don’t spend another day unable to be the Christian God has called you to be because you refuse to admit your are spiritually unwell. Talk to the great physician. Tell Him about your pain. He knows just how to heal you.

I Peter 2:20 says- “For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.” As I read this verse the other day I was reminded that sometimes life is just hard. Sometimes we can do every. single. thing. right and still be found at fault by someone.

    If you find yourself in this place don’t get upset…you have simply found yourself smack dab in the middle of an opportunity to exercise Biblical truth. Take comfort in knowing you now have the opportunity to shine a light for Jesus. Analyze your situation carefully and prayerfully and, if you’re truly not at fault,  acknowledge their rebuke with the assurance that you did the best you could. Pray for them. Pray for your reactions and move forward remembering “if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, that is acceptable with God.”

How easy it is, when we go through struggles, to assume that the Lord has forgotten us. Trials hit and our answers don’t come immediately or the answer we get is not the one we wanted and all the sudden we assume the Lord no longer has His hand over our lives. 
     
However, this is simply not true. Proverbs 10:3 says-“The Lord will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.” In this verse we see that God cares for those who care for the things that He cares about. Note though, that it doesn’t say those who are righteous will have everything they want and the wicked will get nothing. It says that those who are righteous will not famish which, by definition, means starve.

         It doesn’t say we won’t have lean days. We will. It doesn’t say we won’t have times where we get a little hungry and wonder where that next blessing will come from. We will. It doesn’t mean that we won’t have days where we are given what we need instead of what we want, we will. What it does say is that, as long as we concern ourselves with the things of God, He will preserve us. Don’t think today, because you don’t have all you’ve ever wanted, that God isn’t for you. He is. This just may be a lean season, but better days are coming. God will never leave you with nothing.

2 Chronicles 20:17 says-“Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the Lord with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrow go out against them: for the Lord will be with you.” 

In this verse we see God telling His people not to fear the upcoming battle because He will be fighting it for them. He then tells them to “set themselves and stand ye still” so they can see the salvation of the Lord.

       As I read this, I thought about the many times we fight battles we were never intended to fight. We rush headlong into the fray without waiting for, or speaking to the Lord. Then we act shocked when we lose the battle. Sometimes the battles we face must be fought, but sometimes God is just waiting for us to turn to Him so He can fight the battle for us.
       
Are you fighting a battle today that you were never intended to fight? Are you battling uphill alone while God is waiting for your surrender so He can win the war? You have been fighting alone long enough. It’s time to hand it to God. He’s never lost a battle and you can be certain He never will. Trust in the Lord. Stand still. He will fight for you.

One day, while singing at church, I accidentally sang one of the choruses  wrong. Instead of singing “nothing can change the way you love me” I accidentally sang “nothing can change the way I love you.” As soon as I sang those lyrics I was convicted in my heart because I realized that while the correct version “nothing can change the way you (God) love me, " was true, my incorrectly sung version is often untrue. Sadly, my love for God has often been conditional. I loved Him when all was going right, but was angry and frustrated with Him when it wasn’t.

     Unfortunately, as part of the curse of being carnal, human love is fickle at times. We’ve all seen it. Those couples who are so in love it’s sickening one week and then can’t stand each other the next. That is how human love often is. Because of this, we struggle to understand the depths to which God’s love for us goes. It isn’t determined by how we look, what we accomplish, what we do for Him, or how much we love Him back. God loves us unconditionally and His love never changes or fails.
 
       Romans 8:37-39 says-“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I encourage you to truly give God your whole heart. Stop holding back for fear that something will change his feelings toward you. God loves you unconditionally, unfailingly and without end. Give your heart to Him. Nothing can change the way He loves you.

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     “I’m going to eat better!...on Monday. How many times I have uttered that phrase and how many times I have had to do the hard work of getting back into a routine to live my life a better, healthier way because I chose to allow the appeal of easy, fast, unhealthy food and lazy days to win out over healthy choices and a commitment to exercise. Because of this, many days, instead of progressing in my health, I have simply made the same small gains again. Pushed myself to walk that mile...for the 100th time or lost that same 2 lbs again and again.

       This is how many of us choose to live our life for God. Hebrews 6:1 says-“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” This verse reminds us that yo-yo Christianity is every bit as real as yo-yo dieting. We live our life right one day, yet allow the appeal of the easier way to cause us to stray from the path the next day. Then, before we know it, we have spent years making those same small steps towards the right way again and again and never seeing true progress because we keep having to return to our first works.

       Where might you be in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years, or even 10 years if today you committed to not doing the same works time and again?  Where might you be if you truly put forth the effort to be consistent and faithful? There is no limit to what you can do if you learn to live a consistent and always progressing life for Christ. Can you commit today to not needing to repeat those first works?

This morning, as I fed the animals, I began to think about instincts which, by definition, are basically our tendency to default to certain behaviors that were either born into or fixed in our nature at an early age. Chickens, for example, instinctively return to their coop at the first signs of dusk. Kittens, instinctively wrestle and playfully fight with one another to build their prowess as a hunter. Goats instinctively run to the first sign of food they see. All of these instincts serve a purpose, to keep the animals alive and thriving.

As humans, we have instincts as well. Unfortunately, however, sometimes those instincts, especially those that were picked up due to things like trauma and poor choices, cause us to react in ways that are not Christlike. What can we do? Are we doomed to continually react in unfavorable ways? Absolutely not! We are reminded in Romans 12:2 “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The world and your actions may have placed some instincts in your life that are difficult to let go. However, the Bible reminds us time and again that God is stronger than any enemy we will ever face, even if that enemy lies within our own psyche. Don’t let instinct win when God’s way is better. Retrain your brain by filling it with God’s Word and consistent efforts to react the right way rather than the instinctual way. Strive in all areas to instinctively react with the heart, mind and reactions of God.

A long time ago I watched a show called “what would you do?” The premise of the show was that paid actors would act out a scenario in which one or more of the actors would horribly mistreat the other actor or actors. Those who were sitting or standing around as the other person was being mistreated were filmed. It was a social experiment of sorts to see if people would react and help others who were being treated poorly. As I watched the show I would get so angry at the people who stood by and did nothing because I couldn’t understand how someone could just stand by and let someone else be mistreated so horribly.

For some reason this show came to my mind the other day along with the thought that if someone was being mistreated in my presence…I would do something!! However, right after that thought came another: How many people do I allow to be lied to, mistreated by, and roughed up by the devil and I do nothing?

• How many times do I hear someone sharing their troubles, someone who could use a Godly word, and I walk on by because I’m too busy to stop. 
• How many times do I choose not to follow through on a kind gesture that comes to mind because my to-do list trumps their needs? 
• How many times do I feel led to stand up, step out, and make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate and I hesitate and ultimately sit down because the effort seems like too much to bear.

I think most of us would like to see ourselves as a champion to the downtrodden, broken, and hurting, but if we are disregarding spiritual needs, which are even more crucial than physical needs, are we really?

James 2:15-17 says-“If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

Are you a champion for the spiritually broken and hurting? Are you willing to set aside your schedule, your desires, and your  comforts in order to ensure that the devil doesn’t claim another victim today? Finally, are you being honest with yourself in your previous responses? If not, it’s time to pray and start working towards BEING the person God called you to be. I know I could do better…How about you?

After one quick scroll on social media or after listening to one newscast you will be as convinced as I am that the world wants to be noticed. From scantily clad images, to crazy stunts, from life risking photos to excessive displays of wealth and pretty much everything else in between the world is, in some cases, literally dying to be seen. Yet, the church remains silent and still.

It’s time we stand up, step out, and share the good news we have been given. Romans 10:13-15 says-“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved". How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!”

The world wants to be noticed. Be the one who notices and praises the good in your fellow man. Be the one who shares the good news someone shared with you one day.  Be the one to remind them that they don’t need a worldly audience because even the very hairs on their head are numbered (Matthew 10:30) by a God who loves them more than all the followers in the world ever could.