MY LIFE IS LIKE A TELEVISION, MY HEART THE REMOTE CONTROL

Mateo decide today that he wanted me to tell him how my life can be like a television.   I began to ponder the thought and was pretty clueless at first.  Suddenly I realized that my life is definitely like a television.  My heart is the remote control.

And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD,

choose you this day whom ye will serve;

whether the gods which your fathers served

that were on the other side of the flood,

or the gods of the Amorites,

in whose land ye dwell:
but as for me and my house,

 we will serve the LORD.

Joshua 24:15

Each day that I go through life I have a choice of which channel I will set my life on.  My heart being the remote control and me being the only one that can change the channel I realized just how great of a responsibility that I have to the world around me. 

But seek ye first the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;

and all these things shall be added unto you.

Matthew 6:33

 

The very first station we should turn on in the morning is the Lord.   We are the ones in control of the remote so when others come into our lives during the day and try to change our attitude by planting anger, fear, doubt, and worry we are given a choice.  I can leave my heart on the channel I set it on to begin my day or I can change the channel.  I might say, "at work today Johnny made me so angry."  This really isn't a correct statement.  What really took place is at work Johnny said something and my mind began to process the thought but Johnny wasn't the one that changed my channel.  I was given a choice and if I allow anger to creep into my heart then I wes the one that changed the channel.   I need to take responsiblity because I was the one that brought the anger on myself. 

 

At the very moment that Johnny said something I began to process the thought.  I could choose to be angry with Johnny or to forgive Johnny.  I also could talk to Johnny and see if I misunderstood what he was actually saying.  If I choose to change the channel and let anger be what shows on my television then that is what the world we see.  As I begin to process what Johnny is saying I can leave the channel on the one that I set the remote on early that morning or I can change it.  If I decide to change the channel then I need to choose another Godly channel such as Philippians 4:8 states.

 

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true,

whatsoever things are honest,

 whatsoever things are just,

whatsoever things are pure,

whatsoever things are lovely,

whatsoever things are of good report;

if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,

think on these things.

Those things, which ye have both learned,

and received, and heard, and seen in me, do:

and the God of peace shall be with you.

Philippians 4:8

SOLAR LIGHTS SHOW HOW MUCH WE NEED THE SON

I have a lot of solar lights in my front yard and also around the top, of my above the ground swimming pool. I am able to go out at dark and swim and see very well because of all the solar lights.

One thing I learned about solar lights is if they don't receive the sun rays, they will not shine at night. Our lives are the same as the solar lights. We can live our lives without believing in God and studying his word, without praying and attending church. When the dark times come into our lives, the light of Christ will not be there to guide us through the trials.

We also have friends and families that might be going through a very hard time. We might pick up our light and run to them and want to help them through their trials. Once again if we get there and our light isn't shinning, what have we accomplished?

In order to fully help those in need we need to allow ourselves to sit under the son and absorb his love and compassion. When we get ready to help others they will be able to see the light of Jesus shining through us. Praying diligently we may be able to share Jesus and help them through hard times.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 5:16)

A DAISY CAN HELP YOU MAKE GOOD DECISIONS

Walking down the road with two children that I was keeping for the day, one of the girls asked me to do a devotion on a daisy. I began to tell here a daisy is a beautiful flower that has a deep brown center and the yellow petal. This flower grows wild all around our alley and when we go walking on the back road it is covered in these beautiful daisies.

Each daisy has a small button in the middle called a stigma and we decided that the small button would represent Jesus Christ. As we hold a daisy in our hands there is a stem with which the flower receives nourishment and the stem represents God. Without God in our lives we wouldn't have nourishment. We wouldn't be able to hold our head up tall and face life. The button or stigma which represents Jesus Christ is on every one of these flowers. If you were to take this little button out of the middle of the daisy then our lives would fall apart just as the petals did when we pulled the center out.

One of the children ask me, "How do you know when you are choosing right and when you a making the wrong decision? It's very simple. If someone is leading you toward Christ you know the center of your life is stable and will continue to hold together. But if someone such as our friends, cousins, teachers, television show, video games or anyone or anything else starts leading us away from Jesus Christ then they will cause the center of the flower to be removed. When Jesus is no longer the center of our lives then we will find the petals start blowing away in the wind.

One day you will find yourself empty and in need of Jesus Christ in your life because of allowing the world to convince you that you no longer need Jesus.

Many times we don't understand enough to cry out to God and ask for him to heal us and take care of us and to restore those petals and we try to keep living our lives without the Lord.

What happens if other things become the center of your life? If it's money and the money system fails, then you will have nothing to stand on. 

 If it's your mother or father and they pass away, you will find yourself lost and empty. Let Jesus be the center of your flower so all the other areas of your life with stay in place just as the petals on this beautiful daisy. The only way the daisy can stay healthy is because it is being fed by the heavenly father.

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. (Colossians 3:17)

CHILDREN ARE MUCH LIKE GRASS

Since this is the second devotion I was challenged within one day, it may be a bit shorter than normal. Our yard is filled with nice green grass due to the wonderful rain we received not too long ago, and much watering. There are many types of grass in our neighborhood. Some people have Bermuda, and others have fescue. There is a difference in both of these types of grass. Each types of grass require water and without it, the grass would not survive. About every six weeks we must put fertilizer on the grass. If we fail to care for the grass properly it will die.


Children are much like the grass in our yard. If they are left to themselves, they will not survive. Children must be cared for daily in order to grow properly. Children must be shaped and trimmed on a regular basis. The shaping and trimming will enhance proper growth to the grass. The grass requires a good root system, as our children require this also. The most important thing is the watering system. Jesus Christ is the Living Water and our children needs to have a steady watering daily of the Word of God.

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge

of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

To him be glory both now and for ever.

Amen.

II Peter 3:18

THE OAK TREE

Today Iridian started out as soon as she arrived at my house. She said, "today the devotion is on the oak tree in my yard."   She pondered and thought a little while and said, “actually I think today is the day you will start doing two devotions a day.” Now if it was the Lord telling me that I’d be saying, “seriously Lord I can’t do that, I barely could do one a week before last week and now I’m doing one a day”. How could I possibly get two a day completed. I found it’s much easier to verbally come up with a devotion and tell it to a small child than it is to sit down here and type one up before telling it out loud. Out of the mouths of babes the Lord speaketh. There is no doubt because I just can’t tell this precious child no. She informed me that she would pick the second object after I finished the first.

The old oak tree stands in my yard summer, winter, spring and fall. No matter what is taking place with the weather it continues to stand. Although this oak tree doesn’t always look the same. There are many times that people drive by and see the oak tree and its leaves are green and vibrant. They are blowing in the wind and everyone is amazed by its beauty. During this time the tree represents the summer. Everything is going great and we are showing our true color.

But as we all have trials in our lives and there are always storms that blow against us, the same is true for the oak tree. When the cooler weather comes and the storms beat against the tree its leaves turn yellow and then brown and start to drop to the ground. The tree is still an oak tree but when you look at it, it’s not quite as beautiful as before, due to all the bad elements hitting against it.

Then even colder weather comes and the storms blow the freezing rain against the oak tree. All the leaves have fallen to the ground and this tree just stands there totally bare. There is really no beauty left in the oak tree. When you look at the tree you can remember the day that it was strong and filled with joy and happiness and its leaves with vibrant and green blowing in the wind. Those times have passed and now the tree is sad and looks so lonely and bare. It still has the same limbs and the same roots the same as we still have Jesus living inside of us but for this season the bad things have affected our lives.

Then the warmer weather comes and the oak tree starts feeling much better. He begins to smile and thank the Lord that he made it through all the storms and the bad times. He begins to feel vibrant and feel that before long the Lord will allow people to have picnics under his branches once again. The children will run and play and the sun will smile down upon it. It will start to sprout out new leaves and they will grow and look so beautiful. It feels so wonderful to once again have leaves growing and blowing in the wind.

Our lives are like the oak tree. We will all go through the seasons and people will look at us and at times they will see we look sad and almost gone. There will be other times that we look vibrant and beautiful. We must always remember that if we are in the winter, the spring is coming and then the summer. We don’t have to stay in the fall and winter months. We have something to look forward to.

Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly,

nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in
n the seat of the scornful But his delight is in the law of the LORD;

and in his law doth he meditate day and night.

\And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,

that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shll not wither;

and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. The ungodly are not so:

but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous:

but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalms Chapter 1

MY HEART IS LIKE A HOUSE

If Jesus came to visit in your home today what would you think?  When others look at your life and see you, do they say, "wow she/he keeps her/his life amazingly clean?  Jesus searches even the smallest area's of our heart and ask us to make sure it is clean. 

When Jesus came for a visit as he walks into the living room he sees that everything is in perfect order.  Ah the place where you have invited guest to join you and you have shared the Word of God together.  Yes, this room has been taken very good care of.  Lots of attention and detail has gone into this room to make sure it is clean. 

Then he walks into the kitchen.  This room also has been cleaned and everything is in place.  The area where you have served the Lord by giving food, drinks and sharing the Love of Christ with others.  Yet even doing all of that Jesus notices how remarkably clean this area of your heart is.

He enters into one bedroom and then the other bedroom.  The place where you can stash and hide things from your mom, dad, sister, brother or if you are married, maybe your husband or wife.  The place you go to rest and get away from all the chaos of life.  Once again Jesus states how clean you have been able to keep these two rooms.  Even under the beds and the closets are clean.  Not one dirty sock under the bed or in the closet. 

The bathroom is next with all the mirrors and glass that is so hard to keep clean.  All of the scale from the hard water starts to collect on the vanity but Jesus notices that you have went into every room including the bathroom and cleaned each room until they sparkled. 

As Jesus is about to leave your house and tell you how great of a job you have done at keeping it clean he notices a door.  Jesus has been inside of your home on a regular basis and each time you show him every room except for whatever is behind that door.  Now why would someone show Jesus their whole house and not show him what is inside of that one room. 

Jesus gently looks at you and says,   "__________, let's open the door to this room.  Your heart rate immediately goes high.  You start to panic.  Jesus has never asked to enter inside of this room before.  You say, "Jesus, this door is locked and I don't ever unlock it."  Jesus says, "__________ today we need to go inside of this room."  Nausea sets in.  This is the room that you haven't even walked into for many years yourself.  This is the room that you hid all that stuff in that you didn't ever want anyone to see much less the Lord Jesus Christ.  Once again the Lord says, "_______________ hand me the key so we can open this door.  We will go inside together.  "You see, my child we are going to clean this room."  It is very hard to open your hand and place the key inside of Jesus' hand and allow him to open the door.  But to have a clean heart it's the same as having a clean house.  If every room is clean except for one, your house isn't totally clean.  Jesus wants you to hand him the key so he can help you, not so he can hurt you.  He truly wants to set you free and make you completely clean. 

Psalms 51: 1-4

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:

according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies

blot out my transgressions.

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,

and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions:

and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD

The Lord made himself real and put the most awesome bible lesson right before our eyes.   Today was going to be a day of shopping for school clothes. Each year our church usually finds someone to reach out and help with school supplies or clothing. There were several children that we would be purchasing school clothes for this year. I prayed the Lord would lead us and guide us. That he would not allow us to go where we wanted to but that we would go where he knew we could get the best prices for the money we had brought. When I arrived at my friends house I was suprised.  She had a stack of coupons and said let's start at Kohl's.  I was all for it because I had specifically asked the Lord to guide us. 

After over an hour of shopping for all the kids, it was time to check out. We headed for the cash register. Standing in line the ladies that went with me realized there was another register with a shorter line so we decided to switch. The manager had previously given my friend six $10.00 off coupons for us to use.  The lady started running up the totals and it was around $250.00. We had brought several coupons other than the ones the manager had given to us.  The lady started taking them and scanning them. Then she picked up a couple that were outdated and we let her know they were outdated. She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well".  After all was said and done, she gave us the total. The whole amount should have been $658.00 before the sales, coupons and discount cards. We looked at the register and it said $110.00. I asked the lady, "Ma'am will you not get into trouble for what you just did". She shrugged her shoulders and said, "Oh well, I'm not going to be working here much longer". Shocked by her response I paid out. My friend and I walked outside and both agreed that we really have a bad feeling about leaving the store knowing that we had just received $658.00 work of clothes for a little more than $100.00.  I took all the bags to the vehicle and my friend headed back inside and showed the manager. She told him we can bring the stuff back inside and see what we really owe the store as we knew it was round $200.00. She explained that we didn't want to this young girl in trouble but we really feel badly about the whole thing. Then manager said ,"just one moment and walked to the register and wrote something down and said, "ok". My friend thinks, "ok what?". He said, "ok that's all". Seriously it's ok?   When you know that you know that the Lord just took something and multiplied it that much you realize he can do that at any given moment.  Will he do it on our command?  No, but when he chooses to, don't you want to be the one to get to experience it?

We had prayed and he had answered but honestly our mouths were open in awe that he answered in such an amazing way. God still can take five loaves and two fish and feed the multitude. Because of what he did in that store it allowed us to go to another store and purchase six pairs of shoes also. One of the reasons we don’t see God move in a mighty way sometimes is because we don’t walk in faith trusting him to meet the needs of others. Many times we are being selfish and asking God to meet our needs. Step out in faith and go the extra mile for someone else and see how God blesses you. He is God, he can do those things.

MATTHEW 14: 14-20

14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude,

and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.

15 And when it was evening, his disciples came to him,

saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past;

send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages,

and buy themselves victuals.

16 But Jesus said unto them, They need not depart;

give ye them to eat.

17 And they say unto him, We have here but five loaves,

 and two fishes.

18 He said, Bring them hither to me.

19 And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass,

and took the five loaves, and the two fishes,

 and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake,

and gave the loaves to his disciples,

and the disciples to the multitude.

20 And they did all eat, and were filled:

and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.