I can do this!

I have been learning some amazing things in my quiet time this week.  As you may remember I am working through a book by Debbie Alsdorf.  The book is titled He Is My Freedom.

This devotional uses scriptures I know and concepts I already get to reach deeper into my soul and imprint them there.  God wants me to do more than just know what His word says ... He wants me to feel it and live it.  (That is something I struggle with - do you?)

This morning I studied a small section from the story of Moses and Joshua.  The focus was the mesage God gave to each of them on separate occasions.  It is the continuation of a promise.

"I will be with you.  And this will serve as proof ..."  Exodus 3:12 

"For I will be with you as I was with Moses.  I will not fail you or abandon you."  Joshua 1:5   

I am reassured that this promise continues on to this day.  For I feel like Moses did (afraid, doubtful and unworthy) sometimes.  I also need the message God gave to Joshua (be strong and courageous) from time to time.  Both of these ordinary men felt inadequate for the job they had been assigned by the Most High.

THEY WERE INADEQUATE.  And so am I.

Debbie Alsdorf says, "But God did not ask them to work alone or in their own strength.  Just as God gave them power, so He gives us power to do His work." (page 115)

"I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need."  Phil 4:13

The key to make this an everyday reality is to rest in God.  To abide in Him.  To listen for Him.  To follow His leading.  The rest of the work is HIS!  "The outcome totally rests on God's power, not on my performance." (page 116)  Look up the Philippians 4:13 verse in the message.  Then memorize it ... it is powerful.

Did you need to hear that today ... just like me and my friends, Moses and Joshua?

Junk or treasure?

Hopefully you had a little chuckle over the RECALL notice posted a few days ago.  It takes the truth of the Gospel and puts into words we can relate to I think.

Today we are going to take that one step farther.  Here is a visual to help you process that Jesus wants to take you on with His recall.

I have been studing a devotional on Freedom in Christ lately.  This is an area I have struggled with for years.  I am enjoying my workbook and I hope to have gained a lot by the time it is complete.  In the second lesson in the book the author gave a visual that has stuck with me all along.  It is dealing with the concept of REDEMPTION.  The work on the cross - what exactly did it accomplish?

It starts with the author finding an old, beat up and rickety looking chair at a garage sale.  It was in such bad shape to most people it looked more like garbage than a treasure to find.  "Despite its obvious flaws, I knew this chair was going to be beautiful once I worked my crafter's magic on it", says the author.

"Beneath the layered paint was a beautiful grain of oak.  Why would anyone want to cover it up with gloppy old paint?  Slowly and steadily, as I worked on it, the chair took on a new identity.  What had been just a piece of junk was now becoming a beautiful little side chair, soon to take its place in a room filled with country furnishings.  Once it was finished I was amazed at how beautiful, functional and special this chair had become to me.

"Just like this little chair, worn out and broken from use, we too need someone to recover us from the heap of life's pieces and make us new.  Our paint is chipped and shows signs of distress.  Our legs that keep us upright and functioning will need some extra-strength glue to carry us through the journey.  We need to be pulled out of the trash heap and reclaimed for the beautiful. functional, and special creations God has created us to be."  Italics added are mine.

God has a plan for you - no matter how broken down you feel or look.  You are a treasure.  He has bought you - paid for you in FULL.  Now He has plans to strip you of your old paint, sand down your rough edges and make you useful and functional for Him. Remember Jeremiah 29:11?

Now doesn't that feel good?  To be wanted.  To be useful.  To be beautiful in His eyes, despite our worn and tattered shell.


If that is exactly the message you needed to hear and you are a woman - check out Debbie Alsdorf's website and blog.  She is passionate about inspiring women to live "changed".  The bible study I am currently doing is He Is My Freedom: Living the Promise of a Changed Life.