Life's Simple Pleasures

Many people question my sanity. I am weird by their way of thinking. I have two pair of shoes - one for home and one for dress. I buy all my clothes at the thrift store or clearance racks. I make my own jewelry, unless it is a gift. I clean my own home and cook most of our meals myself from scratch.

My husband has this same mindset. We have basic cable; we live in a trailer without a mortgage, instead of an expensive house; and we do not pay exorbitant amounts of money for entertainment. He even makes his own Folgers coffee at home.

We have no expensive "toys", but spend our free time walking in nature and rocking on the front porch. We have one car and paid no interest on it. We also take staycations instead of lavish trips - of course, it helps that we already live in Florida.

We live below our means, tithe even on financial gifts and bonuses, and share our savings with missionaries and the needy in our community and around the world. Why do we do this? Do we have a spirit of poverty or a martyr complex?

We simply came to the realization that we are not of this world (1 John 2:15-17; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23). We find joy in life's simple pleasures and would prefer to spend time with people than things. We have no desire to partake in the allurement of this world; it does not interest us at all.

We find more joy in listening to worship music, writing our devotional blogs, discussing God's Word, ministering in our local church and being involved in our community, so that God can open doors for us for His divine appointments.

We are Saints, not because of our habits, attitude and focus, but due to what Christ did for us on Calvary's cross. Our chosen lifestyle is a result of His character and nature within us. He gave us the mind of Christ, and we love what He loves and are not interested in the excesses of this life.

Prayer: Father God, whatever we do, it is for Your glory, even something as mundane as eating and drinking (1 Corinthians 10:31). You do care about what we eat and drink, because You want us to care for our body, which is Your temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). You bring health to our bones (Proverbs 3:8).

In the beginning, we loved You because You first loved us (1 John 4:19). Then, we gradually grew deeper in love with You until we can honestly say, "Though You slay me; yet, I will serve You" (Job 13:15). This is when we knew that we are living in union with You alone (1 Corinthians 10:31). We enjoy serving You, our Savior, who are also our help and deliverer.

Thought for the Day:

The good things in life often become the enemy of the best things; let those who love God's salvation magnify Him with our body, spirit and soul - thoughts, choices and emotions - so that we do not partake in the excesses of this world. 

- Psalm 70

The Problem with Revival

 

Ever since Adam's failure to walk according to God's precepts in the garden, God's whole creation longs for the freedom, which God's presence brings to our life (Romans 5:12, 8:19-23).

We all desire revival to bring us closer to God. Revival is a time of intense concentration on God's truth and His Spirit. We sit still for several days cloistered with Christ's Body.

God immerses us in His presence, because we take the time to rest at His feet. The music and the preaching of God's Word brings life to the spirit and the soul - our mind, will and emotions.

The problem with revivals is that as the memories of the revival fade, the soul no longer feels the euphoria, which was present during the revival; therefore, our soul will look to the world for new feelings of elation, rather than to the Lord.

Israel is a perfect example of this issue. In their entire history as a nation, they always fell back into the world after every revival (Hosea 14:1; Psalm 78:10-11, 40-42, 56-57). The casual church member is no different in their behavior.

Only a remnant of Believers respond to revival in their spirit, as well as their soul. Our spirit experiences a deep immersion into the presence of God. His peace influences our attitude and outlook.

Authentic Believers gradually realize that our soul is even more satisfied as we spend more time with God than with the world. We find the joy of the Lord as our strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

We wake every morning and luxuriate in the presence of God all through the day. Even at night, our spirit rejoices as we sleep; and when we wake, there is a song of praise flowing through our mind.

In times of trial, we maintain the peace and joy of the Lord, realizing that there is a seed for a miracle in every negative experience we encounter. We enjoy fellowship with our brother, Jesus Christ, by His Spirit who dwells within us.

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for keeping us as the apple of Your eye, and sheltering us under the shadow of Your wings (Psalm 17:8). When we encounter trouble, we are always safe in Your dwelling place, as You hide us in the shelter of Your sacred tent and put us high upon a rock (Psalm 27:5, 32:7).

Teach us that revival is an attitude of our heart, not a week of meetings or a group experience. We can dwell in a time of revival each day of our life, as You renew a right spirit in us and make us ever mindful of Your presence our life (Psalm 51:10).

Thought for the Day:
We have an advantage in our life over the Saints who lived prior to Christ, because we actually have the presence of God's Holy Spirit dwelling within us; and He is continually reviving, comforting, correcting and drawing us closer to a deeper relationship with our Heavenly Father.

Pleasing Our Father

As parents we often have unrealistic goals for all of our children. We want each one of them to succeed in scholarship, sports, social status and personal relationships.

We may want them to succeed in an area in which we failed or were not allowed to participate. This activity may not even interest them by any stretch of the imagination; however, we push them to excel where we could not.

However, no two people are ever alike. God created each of us with our own bent toward the gifts and talents, which He equipped us with in order to walk in His will (Ephesians 2:10).

To force our child to play ball rather than to follow the desire to read, to read and listen to classical music in place of playing in a rock band, or to sculpt and draw instead of butting heads with a quarterback is thwarting God's purpose for their life.

We may have an ancestral home or family business that we cannot wait to share with our progeny, when in reality God is calling them to the far reaches of the world as missionaries.

Our dream may include our child studying as a doctor or lawyer, in order to have the financial means for their family that we were not able to provide for ours.

However, our children are just on loan to us from our Heavenly Father and His will for them is much better than our desires for them will ever be.

God does call us as faithful stewards over our children's lives, to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4), to give them a solid foundation in God's Word (Deuteronomy 11:19) and to teach them by our example to walk in God's Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).

Prayer:

Father God, You do not care about how much we do for You, because You desire that we walk in Your Spirit. You do not want us to depend on our good works to earn a place in heaven, because You already reserved a place for us through Christ's sacrifice.

In order to please You, all we need to do is have faith in Your faithfulness (Hebrews 11:6). You created us with a purpose and desire for nothing more from us or our children than to walk in Your will for our life.

Thought for the Day:

As children of our Father God, we please Him by obeying His Word in total surrender to His will for our life.