He must increase, but I must decrease

Devotion

2-19-10

Decreasing Daily

John 3:30

“He must increase, but I must decrease”

 

Every Sunday morning was the same, Joyce would get up early to take her shower and get ready for church before the baby woke up.  She would fix a good breakfast for her husband and children, clean up the kitchen, get all the kids ready for church, pack the diaper bag, load the car and then listen to her husband fuss because she was going to church again.  Michael was an unbeliever and had no desire to go to church with Joyce and the kids.  He thought it was a waste of their time and that they were just using her because she so freely helped out wherever they needed her.  He hated the fact that the church / God took her away every Sunday morning, the only day he had off, and he was left alone in the house for most of the day.  Joyce loaded the kids in the car and quietly cried inside her heart because she was going to worship alone.  Joyce hated watching all the husbands and wives that came to church together and it made her heart ache with a deep longing desire to have Michael sit beside her, his arm around her to worship and praise the Lord together.  It often felt as if her prayers for his salvation would never be answered. 

 

Each time Joyce returned home from church her husband would just sit in silence.  She would try to share stories with him about what the pastor said or the wonderful way the kids were singing in the children’s choir, but he had no interest in any of it.  Every morning Joyce would make sure she was up early, dressed, make up on, and a hot breakfast cooking for Michael before work.  She also made sure her Bible lay open on the table so her hubby would see it.  She prayed before the meals with words that sounded real churchy and made a point to always use God’s name in almost every conversation she had with Michael.  Day after day she would get on her face and pray, crying and asking God to please, please save her husband.  But then, one day while she was on her face before the Lord, crying again about Michael’s need for salvation, she heard a still small voice speak to her heart, it said. “Joyce, get up and stop crying for Michael.  Stop asking me for his salvation.  For now on I want you to thank me for his salvation. I have heard your cry and I want you to believe in my promise to you.”  Joyce’s head popped up quickly as if she had heard the voice right behind her.  Yet, there was no one there.  She reached for her Bible and opened up to John.  As she read it her eyes landed on verse 30 or chapter 3, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” She read it over and over again as if the Lord kept saying, “Read it again, read it again.”

 

Suddenly, it was clear and she saw what she had been doing.  Every time she was trying to make her husband see God through her Bible reading, by her words she would speak, in her attitude of self-righteousness, in her going to church every time the doors are open, she was increasing her own praise and not allowing God to receive the praise.  She wanted her husband to see her as this amazing godly woman, but all for the wrong reasons.  She wanted to look good.  Oh sure she truly loved the Lord and wanted her husband to love Him too, but the process she was using to reveal the Lord to him only  pushed him away.  All it did was to divide them even further apart.  So now she was ready to do what the word of God told her to do.  She was going to decrease so the Lord could increase before Michael.  Joyce stopped preaching at her hubby, stopped reading her Bible just so he could see her, stopped bringing up God’s name in every conversation they had and most of all, she began praying a prayer of thanksgiving for Michael’s salvation. Sure her old flesh wanted to do more than pray, it wanted to try to make Michael change, but she knew her fleshly ideas were getting in the way.  She had to decrease so that the Lord could increase.  By getting out of God’s way, setting aside her own logical ideas, praying with faith and allowing God to speak to Michael and not her, she was decreasing self and increasing God’s Spirit to take control.  And control He most definitely took.

After years of fussing and crying about her husband, Joyce now quietly prayed with a strong believing faith that her husband would, without doubt, come to the Lord. For almost two years she prayed this way and then it happened.  Michael got on his hands and knees and prayed to receive Jesus as his Savior.  As Joyce decreased her self ideas and trusted God, the power of the Lord increased not only in her husband’s life bring him to salvation, but in her own life to grow her faith and give her a heart of grace, mercy and peace. 

 

 

Let’s go back now and re-read John 3:25-30

 

Now, stop and pray and ask the Lord to speak to your heart today.  Ask Him to reveal any sin you need to lay at His feet and ask for forgiveness.  Then you will be clean and ready to receive His words, then my dearly beloved you will be able to accept His truths.  When you have finished praying continue with this devotion lesson.

 

Write John 3:30

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Now let me ask you, is there any part of the story you read today that reflects how you are living as a Christian? 

 

Are you busy trying to prove God?

Are you busy trying to prove to others that you know what God wants?

Are you so sure of yourself that you are forgetting to ask God is you are right?

Is your pride getting in the way of listening to God’s voice?

Do you struggle with becoming frustrated with others who do not seem to get it and can’t seem to see what the Bible is saying?

Are you tired of how others are acting and so you want to stop trying to help them or teach them?

Do you have a loved one that needs the Savior and you keep trying to witness to them but they just won’t listen?

Are you wondering if all you are doing “for the Lord” is not making a lick of difference?

 

Well, dearly beloved if you answered yes to even one of these questions, than you are just like Joyce in the story.  You are in God’s way.  You are increasing you and decreasing God.  Therefore, it is time to make a change. 

Let go!  Stop! Be still!  Cry out to the Lord for forgiveness, for putting yourself, your own ideas, and your own pride ahead of Him.  Let the Father know you truly desire His will in your life and in the lives of your loved ones.  Tell Him you are ready to set “you” aside and allow Him to lead.  It is not up to you to make someone understand, nor are you to try and become their Holy Spirit telling them they are not doing it right.  Step aside and allow the Lord to speak without your help. Pray, without doubt that God is going to take care of everything.  Believe He will. Then in every positive change you begin to see take place, praise Him. Daily decrease yourself and watch Him increase in you and in those around you. To God be the glory forever and ever, Amen.

Decrease to Increase

Devotion

Decrease to Increase

John 3:30

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”

 

Have you ever wondered what it means to decrease so that He can increase in your life? Do you understand the importance of decreasing self to increase Christ?

 

I have thought and prayed about how to really explain this very important principle in our Christian walk and the only thing that has come to my mind is to simply share some examples. So let’s take a journey down the decrease road together and find out just what it means and what it looks like.

 

First of all let me ask you some questions. 

 

If you could be any thing you wanted, what would it be? ________________________________________________________________________

 

Who would you really like to spend time with? _________________________________________________________________________

 

If you could have any thing in the world without worry about cost, what would it be? _________________________________________________________________________

 

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be? __________________________________________________________________________

 

If you could do any thing you wanted, what would it be? ___________________________________________________________________________

 

If you could be the best in the world at something, what would that something be? ____________________________________________________________________________

 

Now, would you give all that up to serve the Lord for nothing? _________________________

 

That is a huge question so be careful with the answer.  Let’s check to see if you mean what you say.  I am going to give you a situation and you need to share how you would respond to it.

 

You are driving down the street, on your way to work, you are running late and there are cars in both lanes driving the speed limit, but it feels as if they are crawling.  What is your reaction? Be honest with yourself and God in your answer. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Next: You are talking with your spouse, they are tired from a long hard day at work, yet you worked all day too, but your spouse is fussy and rude.  How do you respond? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You have worked very hard on a project with a friend and it is due on Friday.  Your friend has spent little time really helping but loves what you are doing.  Come Friday, you are suddenly taken ill and cannot attend class so your friend presents the project without you.  No big deal you think, yet when you return to class the next day you learn the so called “friend” has taken all the credit for the project.  How do you respond?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It is income tax time and you are gathering all your papers to turn in to the tax man.  You have already paid in lots of money to the government and feel as if they are stealing from you.  The tax man makes a suggestion for you to claim things that you really shouldn’t so you can get more money back, how do you respond? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You are moving into a new home. You and your spouse are excited but soon that excitement is challenged when the two of you cannot agree as to where the office should be, up stairs or down stairs.  How do you respond? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally, your youngest child is having way too much fun in school.  She just is not paying attention and loves talking to her peers.  She comes home from school with a note about her grades falling.  She seems sad and almost angry all the time.  You have tried to talk to her but she doesn’t have the time of day for you.  Frustration begins to build as she almost demands to get her way from her father.  How do you respond? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Ok, how did you do?  Did you respond truthfully?  Do your answers reveal anything about who is important to you?

John 3:30 says we must decrease and He must increase.  We do this by the way we respond to life’s situations.  When we stop and think about the Lord and what He wants, we will more likely make decisions that will honor Him.  It is easy for this old flesh to be consumed with our own desires, to have our needs met, to get our way, to make it to the top, to make someone listen to us, etc.  But the Lord wants us to stop and think about what He wants, about what His word says before we respond.  He wants us to think about whose we are, we are His, and we are children of the all mighty King of kings.  We are royalty and we should act like royalty.  We need to be so focused on Christ that we do not desire any praise for ourselves whatsoever. 

When praise is due to us for a job well done, we need to pass the praise on to Him.

When someone hurts us and we have a right to be angry, we need to lay that anger at the foot of the cross and remember the hurt He went through for us and respond the way He did, forgiving those who hung Him there. When there is something we really want, or a place we really want to go, yet there is someone we know who has a real need, we need to stop and think about the one who has less and share what we have, even if it means we are unable to get what we want because of it.  When your money is low and you need to give to the Lord, don’t hold back, give without fear or worry, believing He will provide. This is surrender; this is decreasing and Him increasing by faithfully trusting Him. All in the name of Jesus, this is how we decrease and He increases.

Remember, true increase comes into your life when you learn to decrease self and increase Jesus.

Son Shine Chair

Devotion

2-17-2010

Son Shine Chair

Psalm 119:9a

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”

 

Johnny had a very delicate skin condition that kept him from enjoying a warm summer afternoon.  The pigment of his sin was all but gone which made him highly vulnerable to skin cancer when exposed to direct sun light. So he spent most of his time inside dreaming of being able to enjoy the warmth of the sun like all his friends did. 

 

Some days, when the sun was bright and the rays would beam in through the bay window in his kitchen, it would capture Johnny’s attention and he would stare from a distance at its beauty. 

 

One afternoon while Johnny was away visiting his grandparents, his mom went to work on solving his problem.  She wanted to make sure the next time Johnny returned home he would have a special surprise waiting for him. The crew got to work quickly and before she knew it the work was done. She could hardly wait for her son to come home. The next day as Johnny came through the door his mom rushed to embrace him and lead him to the kitchen bay window.  There beside the window was a special chair just for him.  The rays of the sun that came through the window left a soft glow upon the chair that lit up the note pinned to it. It was a big note that read: Johnny’s Sunshine Chair.  Mom walked him to the chair and sat him in it, “There you go sweetheart, a chair in the sunshine just for you. Sit down and feel the warmth of the sun on your face. Isn’t it wonderful?”  “But how can I sit here mom, won’t it hurt my skin to sit in the sun like this?” Mom smiled as she explained. “You see Johnny; while you were gone I had a special treatment placed on the window. I had it frosted.  Now it will capture the sun light and defuse it, or take away the danger of its rays and will allow you to receive pure light that is not harmful to your life.”

 

Like the story, we frost the windows of our hearts with the truth of God’s word and therefore defuse sin, protecting us from its harmful effects in our lives and to our witness.  We become translucent (pure) before God and ready to do His will. Then we will sit safety in His Son shine chair of love and His light will glow upon us.

The Truth of the Lie

Devotion

2-16-10

The Truth of the Lie

John 3:19-21

 

Marcy sat quietly in the stillness of the evening. She felt almost numb and emotionless, simple thoughts were not even coming to her mind. What had she done? It all started two days earlier when she had been talking to a friend. As they stood chatting about work, church, and their families questions began to pop up that she really didn’t want to answer.  In fact to avoid the truth she made up an answer, basically she lied. Oh but it was just a little white lie, no one would know and so she went without giving it another thought.

 

The next day while at work she had been sharing with a co-worker about a devotion she had read, it was in the book of John and it was about telling the truth.  As she spoke her own heart began to be convicted about the lie she had told her friend.  Over and over again it ran back into her memory and how she had not been completely honest, not only with her friend but with herself or with God.  Later that afternoon, when she returned home she opened her Bible and began to read.  As she read John chapter three, verses 19-21 jumped out at her and caused her to fall upon her face before the Lord.  “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”  Over and over again Marcy read these verses and felt a heavy pain upon her heart.  She knew what she would have to do next and she didn’t look forward to it.

 

For the rest of the evening, Marcy, prayed to the Father for forgiveness and restoration.  Sure it was just a little lie, but Marcy loved the Lord, the Light, and didn’t even want a little hint of darkness in her life.  She knew that one lie always leads to another and that it breaks the Father’s heart to see her walk in fear of the truth.  Truth had to be her way of life if she was truly going to be a witness for Christ.  So as she sat quiet she began to hear the voice of the Lord speak to her spirit telling her what she needed to do. In the stillness of that night the Lord’s light shined upon her and she felt His love embrace her.  So the next day Marcy did what He wanted her to do. She wrote a letter to her friend and took it to her.  Her heart was broken for lying to such a special person in her life, for bringing shame to herself, and most of all for dishonoring her Lord with her words. Yet her obedience to come clean with the truth would only make her stronger.

 

The beautiful thing about this story is that Marcy’s friend displayed a heart of forgiveness and mercy for her, just like the Lord did. Marcy knew that as a believer she was not condemned nor was she going to lose her salvation because of the lie she had told, but she also knew that as a believer she was to always walk in truth and allow the Light to shine through her.  God’s mercy and love are unconditional and His arms are always wide open to receive us no matter what we have done.  But we as believers must remember not to misuse His mercy; we must honor His love by walking in the Light of His truth.  Marcy learned a valuable lesson from one small lie she told.  That little lie grieved her spirit and convicted her heart to repent, tell the truth, and restore her witness.  Now she would practice living in the truth through the Light so that her deeds would be manifested as having been wrought in God. The truth of the lie was exposed by the Spirit that lived within her and His love embraced her and taught her to be more concerned with truth than with her own feelings of fear. Praise the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness.

 

Let’s look at John 3:19-21 Read it out loud and underline anything that really stands out to you.

 

Does Marcy’s story reveal anything in your own life that needs to be exposed by the Light?

____________________________________________________________________________

 

Marcy’s story is much like all of our lives at some point in time.  We’ve all done something that we truly regretted and wished we could go back and change.  Though we cannot change the past we can use it.

How can something in our past be used for the good? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

What is in your life that was a negative, perhaps a lie like Marcy told, or maybe you took something that didn’t belong to you, maybe you spent money your spouse didn’t know about and you don’t want them to know because they would be mad, maybe you told your child a lie to get them to be quiet, or maybe you made up a story so you could get out of work or a job that needed to be done.  It doesn’t matter what it was, how small or how big it may seem, a lie is a lie and the Lord says those who practice lying do not live in the Light.

 

Notice that in these verses the word light is capitalized.  Light here is referring to Jesus.

Now read it again and insert the name Jesus.

 

Ok, how does knowing that practicing lying, or not walking in the truth, make you feel about your relationship with Jesus? __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Remember, as a believer you are not condemned but you are convicted to tell the truth.  As a believer it should hurt your heart and spirit if you are not living in the truth.  So allow the Lord to search your heart today.  Let the Light reveal any darkness that may be in you keeping you from a full and rich walk with the Lord. Believers do not practice the sin of lying so let’s walk in truth today.  I know for myself I must confess to someone.  This lesson has touched my heart and convicted my spirit.  I want to live only in the Light, to walk only in the Truth, and to reveal only His love through my deeds, my words, and my thoughts.

 

What about you? I pray that if there is anything at all in your life that needs to be taken to the Father and repented of, that you will do it this very moment.  Allow His Light to take away darkness and embrace you with His forgiveness and love.  Then go to the one you have hurt with your lie and seek their forgiveness as well, even if they don’t know you have lied to them.  For in your humility you will be raised up so that what was done wrong will become a testimony of His mercy that you can share with others as a witness of His forgiveness and restoration.

 

I know because Marcy’s story is mine.

Called

Devotion

2-15-10

Called

Mark 16:15

“And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’”

 

Go into all the world! What does that look like? Who is He telling to go and where is he to go?  Into ALL the world God says. We often think this is a command only for our “Missionaries” that serve overseas. Yet, the Lord isn’t talking to just a part of His children, He is talking to all of us, you and me. We are His called missionaries to the world right where we live. We each have a mission field we are living, working, playing, and serving in. Where is yours? Do you face each day with the perspective that you are on a mission field? Do you forget who you are and whose you are in your every day busy lives? Well, you are not alone. It is the weakness of God’s children to forget who they are and to whom they belong and for the purpose in which they have been called.  Yet, let me encourage you with this prayer. It is a prayer to cover each and every one of us with an ever awareness of our salvation. A prayer to empower us with His might and truth each and every day in the midst of a dark and wicked world, we can and are His light that reveals His hope and love. So let our lights shine. So let us not be afraid of man, for what can they do to us. We are children of the King, we are of a royal bloodline and no one can take that away from us. No one can defeat us. No one can break us or take from us the hope of our salvation. We are God’s children and we must live in such a way that says, “I am proud to be a child of the King and I am protected, defended, filled and equipped to do anything He wants me to do. Our loving Lord who gave His life for us asks us to do this one thing, go into all the world and tell the people of His good news, His unconditional love, His saving grace for each of them. We are the lifeline to the lost souls around us. Now is the time to throw the line to them and let the Lord rescue them from death.

Today is the day of salvation. You and I are called to share the gospel. Are you a teacher, student, janitor, banker, lawyer, judge, nurse, doctor, CMA, office worker, mail carrier, policeman, fireman, military man or woman, politician, cook, homemaker, car dealer, truck driver, construction worker, cable installer, photographer, professional sportsman, singer, dancer, actor, craftsman, patient in the hospital, information desk worker, mortician, bus driver, cross walk attendant, hairdresser, cashier, business owner, employee, black, white, young, old, married, single, fat, skinny, strong, weak, abused, misunderstood, abandon, rejected, lonely, without a job or hurting, etc, etc? Where do you live, work, play, or shop? We are all called no matter what jobs we have or don’t have, no matter what emotions we are feeling, no matter our age, color, sex, or nationality and no matter if we have been hurt or if we have hurt someone. Whether or not we believe in the call or answer the call, the call is still the same. We are called, commanded by our Lord to go.  Go and be the light to the world. Go and share the love of Christ. Go and tell the world, our world where we live, work and play; tell them of God’s salvation that He has for them. We can and we must obey, because it is our obedience that will lead lost and dying souls to Christ.  Someone is praying that their husband, son, daughter, wife, mother, sister, brother, uncle, ante, grandmother, grandfather, friend, or neighbor will come into contact with a godly person who will be obedient to share Christ’s love with them, to be a godly influence in their lives. (We may be praying ourselves for someone we love to have a person like this in their lives.)You and I may be that one person who will be able to touch their lives and lead them to the Lord. None of us are where we are without a godly purpose. You have been hand picked by God to work, live, play, where you are to be His voice, hands, feet and heart to another.

 

Dear Father, I pray that each one reading this right now will receive a burden in their hearts and spirits to see their lives as a mission field filled with lost souls all around them that need to hear Your message of hope and salvation.  Equip each of us with Your wisdom and understanding. Give us a heart of passion for the lost.  Take away fear and doubt. Let us not be concerned about what the world thinks or says, but with boldness and love speak Your truth and live within Your truth. I pray that every day we will be Your light shining in this dark world. Remind us throughout our busy days at work, school, while we play and while we are in the privacy of our homes. May we honor You at all times, while we are with others and while we are alone. May our hearts beat with Yours and walk with confidence in all we do, bringing You the honor, glory and praise. Go before us Lord preparing the way and be our rear guard watching our backs with Your arms of protection as we speak the truth to all who will listen.

We love You, we obey Your call and we go into the world You have placed us in to tell all You have put in our path about Your gift of everlasting life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In Jesus name we pray, Amen