What Were You Created For?

I heard an animal lover say one day that DOG was GOD spelled backward.

While I would never imply that the Creator of the universe and our four-footed furry friends are on equal terms, I understand the heart behind his statement. The man was saying that God endowed our beloved animals with many of His own characteristics: unconditional love, kindness, sensitivity, loyalty, compassion, intelligence, and playfulness, to name a few.

 One of my favorite bumper stickers testifies to a dog's unconditional love. It says "I Hope One Day to Be Half the Man My Dog Thinks I Am."

I was reminded recently of all the reasons I love my dog as I talked with a dear friend. Only ten days ago her beloved Rhodesian Ridgeback, Romeo, was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma is an aggressive form of cancer that usually spreads throughout a dog's body before it presents any external symptoms. Her first cause for concern was a tender, swollen lump on Romeo's leg.

Sent home with an initial diagnosis and instructions to keep him comfortable and pain-free, my friend and her family hoped to have several months with Romeo before the disease claimed his life. Last Wednesday, only ten days later, she and her family bid Romeo a sad farewell.

I had the privilege of knowing Romeo from the time he was a puppy. Reminiscing with my friend over those early days, she told me, "I knew Rhodesian Ridgebacks bond to a whole family, but more than anything, I wanted Romeo to be my dog." To help him bond to her, she would hold him on her lap while she worked at her desk. Needless to say, he was quite content to sit there, curled up into a ball, ready to receive a pat on the head or a kind word.

We chuckled over how effective her bonding strategy was. Before long Romeo was her constant companion as well as her defender and protector. If she sat at her desk, he settled at her feet. If she moved from one room to another, he moved with her. Sometimes he even anticipated her movements, and she would find him ahead of her, blocking her way. If she left the house, he waited for her and met her at the door when she returned. Romeo didn't like men, but Romeo loved his mommy.

We talked about Romeo's last few days. "He was in so much pain, despite double doses of medication," my friend told me. "Every step he took was an effort." Knowing they were going to have to put him down, she and her family spent his last day focused on him. True to form, "every time I moved," she said, "Romeo moved. Even though it was a struggle for him even to stand, if I moved, he moved. Every step was painful, but even more than he wanted to be pain free, he wanted to be with me. He loved me more than he loved himself."

We concluded that Romeo had fulfilled his purpose -- all the way to the end. He was created to be my friend's constant companion, and he fulfilled that destiny despite tremendous cost.

His loyalty and love made me think of my own destiny. You see, just like God created Romeo to bring joy and companionship to my friend and her family, God created me for a purpose too.


Ephesians 1:11-12 describes my destiny. "In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

My destiny is to live my life in such a way that I bring glory to God.

Matthew 5:16 tells me how.

"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

Sometimes glorifying God comes at great personal cost. Like Romeo followed my friend everywhere even though it caused him great pain, I, too, must choose to follow Christ even when it's painful. Even when it costs something. Even when I don't know where the path leads. I must ask myself, do I love God more than I love myself?

My calling is to follow the One Who loves me best.

It is my destiny.

ROMEO -- December 5, 2003 - January 25, 2012 

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Do You Need a Bath?

Note: This is not Winston. He is much too modest to allow me to publish a picture of him bathing!

It was time.

We had postponed it long enough, and now it was inevitable. The deciding factor was the worm he had rolled on, in joyful doggy abandon, in the backyard. Prior to that, several happy romps in the rain, frequent and furious games of fetch, and the day-to-day experiences of living a foot off the ground in a fur coat had produced, to put it delicately, a distinctly organic aroma.

Thankfully, unlike my previous dog, who would head to the farthest corner of the house to hide under a dresser whenever I ran bathwater, Winston is generally cooperative. I accomplished his bath with a minimum amount of trauma to both of us.  Though he was soaking wet, I was only slightly damp. A definite success.

After his emancipation from the bathroom, he romped through the house at full speed. Tongue lolling and ears flapping, he careened around corners, bounced across beds, and raced down the hallway at breakneck speed.  Though he couldn't admit it, it was obvious from his antics that he felt GOOD after his bath.

After witnessing Winston's bath experience, I realized the parallel between him in all his doggieness and us as believers. 

We get dirty as we walk through this world. Living in a sinful world causes us to come in contact with debris that make us dingy. Unkind thoughts cling to us as we struggle in personal relationships. Anger stains the edges of our heart as we live with difficult circumstances. Lust splashes onto us as we gaze too long at a movie, television, or book we'd be better off without.

Hopefully these sins don't characterize us, but they do affect us. They don't change our position as God's children, but they do cast a haze over the windows of our soul as we seek to reflect the Christ who lives in our hearts.

Jesus spoke to his disciples about this problem in John 13. Stooping down to wash their feet, he explained that as they walked through the world, they would become tainted by sin. He reassured Peter that while sin in a believer's life doesn't negate his salvation, it does harm his fellowship with God and others. Because of this, a believer needs to "bathe" regularly. Jesus used the physical example of washing Peter's feet to show him his need for regular spiritual cleansing.

God's word encourages us to "bathe" our spirits regularly in order to maintain a clean and happy heart, a powerful testimony, and an effective prayer life. Here are three suggestions to help us stay clean in a dirty world:

1.  Invite God to search our hearts and reveal any conscious or unconscious sin. "Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23).

2.  Confess our sin in honesty and repentance. "If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

3.  Accept God's forgiveness and commit, with His help, to change. "And Jesus said to her (the woman caught in adultery), "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."

4. Walk in the joy that comes from a clean heart, knowing that when when we are clean, we are most like our Savior.  "And to her (the church) it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. . . . And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him (Jesus) on white horses" (Revelation 19: 8, 14).

May God richly bless you as you seek to glorify Him.

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Can a Christian Starve to Death?

My daughter lovingly calls me "the toddler," because of my need to eat "every two hours," or so she says. She draws a parallel between the round little puppy in Disney's 101 Dalmatians and me, though not because I share his body shape. During one scene in the movie, the little fellow approaches his mother beseechingly and states, "I'm hungry, Mother, really I am!" I borrow this line often to express my need for a bite to eat.

I've found if too much time elapses between meals, I get shaky, weak, sweaty, and nauseous. Hypoglycemia sets in as my body runs out of fuel. Since I work as a dental hygienist and use sharp tools in patients' mouths, it is in everyone's best interest to keep the shakes to a minimum. Nervous to begin with, a patient's anxiety level significantly increases if I approach them with pointy instruments and trembling hands. And so I try to eat regularly, especially when I am hungry.

This evening I felt that familiar empty ache beginning. Instead of coming from my stomach, however, it came from higher up in my chest cavity. Instead of feeling drawn to my refrigerator or cupboard, I felt myself yearning for sustenance of a different type. After a bit of introspection, I realized that I wasn't craving physical food like an apple or a cookie; I was craving spiritual food.

This morning, after a late night, I chose to sleep in. Instead of making time for my usual Bible reading and prayer time before I got out of bed, I hit the ground running.  Shower, breakfast, laundry, computer work. I packed my youngest off to college, prepared for a literature class I was teaching that afternoon, took a walk with Winston, and soon it was time for my husband to come home.  Dinner preparations, kitchen clean up, a few more emails to answer, and bedtime was fast approaching.

It was then that I realized, despite the substantial dinner I had enjoyed, that I was hungry-- spiritually hungry. Because I eat physical meals on a regular basis, I begin to crave food when I miss a meal. Similarly, because I eat spiritual meals on a regular basis (Bible reading, prayer time, Sunday and Wednesday worship), I begin to crave spiritual food when I miss a "meal." Eating physical food satisfies my body's need for nourishment, and consuming spiritual food meets my soul's need for nourishment.  When I skip a meal, my soul hungers.

And so I turned beseeching eyes to my Father and said, "I'm hungry, Father, really I am."

"Open  your mouth wide," said the Lord, "and I will fill it" (Psalm 81:10).

Joining him at his spiritual banquet table, I feasted with my Father.

Why, I wondered later, do we starve ourselves when there is a bountiful table spread before us?

If I had ignored the rumbling emptiness of my soul today, it would have been easier to ignore the spiritual hunger pains tomorrow. If I continued to plow through my days without taking time to eat from my Father's table, the hunger pains would have grown more and more faint, and eventually stopped all together.

After many days of starvation, prisoners in German concentration camps during World War II testified that they no longer experienced hunger. Once they were freed and began to receive medical care, most patients had to be forced to eat because they no longer had the natural desire for food. Similarly, I wonder how often we ignore our spiritual hunger pains to the point of starvation?

If you've been too busy to "eat," lately, would you join me in gathering around our Father's table and enjoying the feast He has prepared for us?

"And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst'" (John 6:35).

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Do You Kiss Your Dog?

I kiss my dog Winston all the time. 

Sometimes my husband complains that I kiss Winston more than I kiss him, but I maintain that this is true simply because my husband works away from home, and Winston is here 24/7.

Winston has a marvelous white stripe running right down the middle of his forehead, which is a wonderful bull's eye for where to plant a kiss as I walk by. Since he's my constant companion, there are lots of opportunities.

One day I was flitting through the house bestowing kisses on all my loved ones. Winston was first, because of his proximity as my closest companion. Next I approached one of my daughters. She must have read my intention by the look in my eye, because she backed up immediately, threw both hands up in the air and said, "Oh no, you are not kissing me with the same mouth you kissed Winston!"

I thought about that comment this morning when I read James 3:8-10,

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be this way."

I wonder if God ever says, "Oh no, you're not talking to me with the same mouth you curse your brothers!"

I know that most of us don't actually curse our fellow man, although some of us might. Sometimes, however, we choose to damage each other with our words. We speak words that are unkind, thoughtless, and hurtful. We use our words to tear down rather than build up, to discourage instead of encourage. Sometimes we leave our prayer time where we have lifted our voices in praise to our Father and slide right into a nasty argument with one of our children. 

My brothers and sisters, these things ought not be. . . We can't "kiss" our Father with the same mouth we "curse" our fellow men.

Instead, let us pray with the Psalmist, "May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, oh Lord," (Psalm 19:14) And then may we make a deliberate and conscious choice to exchange our words of "cursing" for words of blessing.

Imagine what a sweeter world it would be if we each took this principle seriously.

 I know God would be pleased :)

May God bless you as you seek to honor Him!

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The Prodigal and the Penguin

The world has been captivated by Happy Feet, a young emperor penguin who washed up on New Zealand's Peka Peka beach some 2,000 miles from his native Antarctica.  Only the second emperor penguin ever to land in New Zealand, Happy Feet appeared healthy when beach goers first spotted him in the surf.   His condition rapidly deteriorated after he began eating sand, sticks, and rocks from the beach.  Emperor penguins normally hydrate themselves by eating snow in Antarctica. Happy Feet apparently mistook New Zealand's sand for snow, consuming over twelve pounds of it before zoo officials intervened.

I wonder how Happy Feet got so terribly lost?  Perhaps a giant wave came to his happy home and swept him quickly away from his family and his friends.  Maybe a predator threatened the penguin colony, and they split up and scattered in order to flee.  Perhaps Happy Feet had been playing hide and go seek with the other penguins and simply went too far, lost his bearings, and never heard his friends call "Ollie Ollie Oxen Free!" 

Or he could have deliberately gone off in an adolescent pout because his brother got more fish for dinner than he did.

However Happy Feet became separated from his home and family, one thing is reasonably certain.

There's probably someone back home who really misses him.  I suspect Happy Feet feels a little homesick too.

Happy Feet reminds me of myself sometimes.  In my life, New Zealand represents the place I find myself when I am far from God.  Sometimes, like Happy Feet, I don't deliberately plan to wander away, it just happens, little by little.  Sometimes I get so busy with good activities, friends, and doing life that I don't even realize I've wandered away until I find that I can't even remember when I last read my Bible, prayed, or talked with someone about the Lord.

Sometimes, maybe like Happy Feet, a giant wave crashes over me and pushes me far from home.  Sickness, death, a wayward child or other faith challenge should draw us closer to the Lord, but sometimes we get angry, or hurt, or scared, and we run away.

Sometimes I find myself far from my spiritual home when I rebel against what I know God is calling me to do.  Maybe He has prompted me to extend forgiveness to someone I'd much rather nurse a grudge against.  Perhaps He has called me to give sacrificially, move to another place, or serve in a ministry.  Instead of saying yes, I cross my arms like a two year old and stomp "NO!" as I head in the other direction.  Maybe God has prompted me to share the gospel with someone, or speak God's truth in love, and I resist. Jonah found himself far from home in an unfriendly sea when He refused to obey God and go to Ninevah to tell them about God's love and forgiveness. 

 Happy Feet reminds me of the prodigal son, too.  Far from home, rebelling against a father and a family who loved him, the prodigal son was so hungry that he longed to fill his belly with pods the swine were eating. Realizing his desperate state, the Bible says he "came to himself and said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son."'" (Luke 15:17-19)

If you, like Happy Feet, find yourself in a place you never intended to be, today is the day to begin the journey home.  Whether it's two miles or 2,000, every journey begins with the first step.  If you've allowed busyness, activities, and friends to cause you to wander away from God, go back to where you were when you last experienced His closeness.  Begin again to practice the disciplines of Bible reading, church attendance, and Christian friendship.  You will be surprised to find God right where you left Him. 

If you find yourself far from God because of a tragedy, a loss, or a disappointment, follow the words of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

And if you are far from God because of sin and rebellion, speak the words of the prodigal.  "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. . ."  You will immediately experience what the prodigal experienced: 

"But when he (the son) was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. . .  he said, 'Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.  And bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found!'" (Luke 20-24)


Happy Feet may never make it back home again.  You and I, however, can always go back to a Father who longs to welcome us home.  The journey begins with the first step.  Will you take it?




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Open Your Mouth Wide. . .

"Open your mouth wide," says the Lord, "and I will fill it!" (Psalm 81:10)

It was an unlikely place to witness God's care for the world, but there it was, indisputable proof right before my very eyes.  Like the irony of the Savior of the world being born in a smelly animal stable, this mini-drama took place among oil spots and gasoline fumes, traffic noises and a bustling world.

I heard them before I saw them. It was their shrill cries that prompted me to look for the source of the noise.  At first I thought the sound was coming from the sparrow that was feasting on dog kibble that had fallen out of someone's car when they stopped to gas up.  But if it was the bird who was eating the dog food that was making the noise, why was she squawking?

As I watched her pick up the dog food in her beak, instead of swallowing it, she took it and ran with it. I traced her hops to the source of the birdie cacophony -- two fledgling babies that were big enough to fly, but still needed help filling their bellies.

Mama bird made innumerable trips back and forth from the dog food to the babies while I watched.  She didn't pick up the round whole pieces of food, but chose instead those pieces that had been crushed to a fine powder by the steady stream of cars that had come and gone from the gas station that morning, Tirelessly she fed first one pleading mouth then the other, never stopping, never out of order.  As soon as a baby swallowed its portion, it would begin to squawk again, its strident tone ignoring the mama bird's obvious commitment to persist until its belly was full.

I heard the voice of the Lord whisper His truth into my ear as I watched the sparrows that day.  He reminded me of the words of Matthew 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"

I saw the Father-heart of God in the mama sparrow -- faithful, tireless, committed to provide for my needs.  He wants to give me not just something to fill my needs, but carefully selected provision that is just right for me.

I also saw the faithless-heart of myself in the baby birds -- panicked, strident, and demanding.  Despite being the recipient of almost half a century of God's provision, sometimes I still panic and act like God has never done a single thing for me.

Fellow traveler, will you join me in trusting our bountiful, generous, loving Father God to give us just what we need just when we need it?  Let us open our mouths wide so He can fill them!

What Are Your "Good and Perfect Gifts?"

I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. . .

Sometimes my heart swells with God's goodness to me, and quick tears of gratitude cloud my vision. 

I am humbled not only by the big gifts, but especially by the small ones -- the ones God created just for me, or so it seems. 

The ones He sends to me in such a way that I know they are from Him alone -- like a secret admirer --  evidences of His smile upon me. 

"Just because I love you" gifts. 

They tender my heart and cause it to overflow, quiet joy leaking out of every ventricle. 

  Every good gift and every perfect gift comes is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.


Here are some of my good and perfect gifts:

Fat puppies' warm bellies.

The sweet spot at the back of a baby's neck.

An ice cold diet Coke with pizza.

The scent of the Rhode Island peonie that only blooms after a very cold winter.

A sleeping baby on my chest.

The rush of tears that fall in the wake of the Holy Spirit's footsteps.

Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs.
.
A hot shower in the winter.

Hearing "well done," in my heart after I have obeyed.

Warm berries right off the bushes.

An answer to prayer.

A warm bed on a cold Saturday morning.

An unprompted, "I love you, Mom."

The scent of honeysuckle.

A thank you.

Now it's your turn.  Click the link below to leave a comment with some of your "good and perfect gifts," and we will be thankful together.

Sea Monkeys and the Savior -- Was Jesus a Bait and Switch Artist?

Bait and Switch – you know the technique.  A company or a salesman promises one thing and after you’ve signed on the dotted line, substitutes an inferior product .  When I was ten years old, I fell victim to a bait and switch scam.  I saw an ad for Sea Monkeys in the back of a children’s magazine.  “Wonders of the Sea!”  “Fascinating to Watch,” and “Hatch Before Your Very Eyes!” were some of the phrases used to describe this “New Pet of the 20^th Century.”  I had to have a family of Sea Monkeys for myself.  The “Just Add Water” part should have clued me in that all was not as it seemed, but I was young and naïve.  And I had an allowance burning a hole in my pocket.

So I ordered my family of Sea Monkeys.  Back in the day, there was no such thing as overnight shipping.  I had to wait the required 6-8 weeks for delivery.  I began checking the mailbox daily after four weeks. It wouldn’t do to have my Sea Monkeys sitting in a cold Rhode Island mailbox any longer than necessary.

You can imagine the rest of the story.  When the Sea Monkeys finally came, I carefully followed the instructions for how to begin their long and happy life.  The end result was that I had reconstituted a bunch of microscopic shrimp eggs that grew into “monkeys” so small I needed a magnifying glass to see them.  They bore no resemblance to the monkeys shown in the advertisement.  I learned my first Economics lesson – Caveat Emptor -- “Let the Buyer Beware.”  I was the victim of a Bait and Switch scheme.

The Jews of Jesus’ day felt that they had fallen victim to a Bait and Switch Scheme.  Two thousand years of prophecy had promised a Messiah, and it appeared He had come at last.  The initial reports sounded promising.  The word of mouth advertising seemed to back them up.  “Heals Hundreds!” “Raises Man from the Dead, ”Puts Local Authorities in Their Places,” and “Feeds 5,000 at One Sitting!” 

At long last, the promised deliverer had come.  Thousands eagerly signed on and welcomed their soon-to-be conquering King into the city with shouts of “Hosanna!  Hosanna!  Blessed is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord!”

Five days later the same voices who hailed Christ as their long-awaited deliverer were raising their voices again – this time with shouts of “Crucify Him!  Crucify Him!”

What caused this fickle crowd to turn on Christ in the days between the Passover celebration and the day we now know as Good Friday?  They felt like they had fallen victim to a Bait and Switch scheme.  When God promised them He would send a Deliverer to save His people, they assumed he meant a military deliverer. One who would emancipate them, once and for all, from the oppression they suffered as a captive nation.  Their bonds would be broken; they would  finally be free.

And then Jesus was crucified.

Bait and Switch.

No Deliverer.

No Emancipator.

No King.

As believers in Christ, we know the rest of the story.  We know about the resurrection.  We know that Christ WAS our deliverer.  He was our emancipator.  He is our King.  Not in the temporary, military sense, but in the eternal, forever sense.

But sometimes we, too, are guilty of suspecting a Bait and Switch scheme.  When Jesus promises “I am come that you might have abundant life,” we never expect that abundant life might include cancer.  Or a difficult marriage.  Or financial troubles.  Or a wayward child. 

We skip over the verse that says “In this world, you will have tribulation.”  It doesn’t fit our model of Jesus as our Deliverer.  When difficulties come, and they will, for God’s word is true even if we skip over the parts we don’t like, we feel misled.  Disappointed.  Cheated.  Oh, we may not yell “Crucify Him,” with the crowds in Jerusalem, but we wonder just the same.  Did I misunderstand Jesus?

It is then that the truths of scripture can speak loudest to our hearts if we have ears to hear.  “In this world you WILL have tribulation . . . . . but be of good cheer, for I have OVERCOME THE WORLD.”   

He didn’t come to make us comfortable.

He came to make us holy.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us. . . “(Romans 8:18)

This world is not all that there is, and God’s promises ARE true. 

He IS our Deliverer.

He IS our Emancipator.

He IS our King.

“Hosanna!  Blessed is the King Who comes in the name of the Lord!”

The Parable of the Cantaloupe

I was biting into a sweet, juicy piece of cantaloupe one morning when it slipped off my fork and landed with a splat on the kitchen floor.  

Knowing that Winston, our puppy, was lying under the table near my feet, I dove for the dropped piece before he could snag it.  (No people food for puppies is the rule at our house.)  As I dove under the table, he looked up at me with startled eyes.  He hadn't moved a muscle.  In fact, he hadn't even noticed the melon that had dropped on the floor.  

As I pondered this minor miracle, God, as he so often did during his years on earth, spoke to my heart in a parable.  I call it the Parable of the Cantaloupe.

Winston didn't lunge for the dropped cantaloupe, because that isn’t how he is accustomed to being fed.  He doesn't scrounge for crumbs and scraps of food inadvertently left behind and hope to make a meal out of them.  He is fed from a benevolent loving hand that scoops abundantly from a food supply designed just for him.  He never goes hungry or has to beg for the smallest handout.  His owners love to feed him regularly and generously.

As I pondered Winston I saw myself.  Unfortunately, unlike Winston, I am not always so certain of my Master’s provision and daily sustenance.  Sometimes I see God not as a generous God who "loves to give good gifts to his children," (Matthew 7:11) but as a minimalist God who, like the miserly Scrooge, doles out the smallest portion he can get away with in order to satisfy his responsibility.  

This faulty perception affects my prayers.  Instead of praying BIG, I pray small, like a pauper trying to beg a scrap or a small coin from a reluctant passerby.  I pray hesitantly, almost apologetically, when I have to ask, and then only for needs, never wants or "extras," because after all, God only promises to supply my NEEDS, right? 

But WHY do I think, like the Samaritan "dogs" of Jesus' healing parable, that I have to "eat the scraps that fall from the  Master's table" instead of expecting God to "prepare a table before me"? (Psalm 23:5)  In His Word, God tells us to "Open your mouth WIDE, and I will fill it!"  (Psalm 81:10).  

He tells us that "He satisfies the desires of every living thing," (Psalm 145:15), does "exceedingly, abundantly, above all that we could ever ask or imagine," (Ephesians 3:20  ) and supplies “all our need according to His riches and glory."  (Philippians 4:19)  

Our God is NOT a minimalist God.  He wants to "pour out a blessing so great that you will not have room to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)

Next time I pray, I plan to sit at Jesus' feet expectantly and with trust to see what great abundance will flow from His hand to my heart.  "Early in the morning, I lay my request before you and wait in expectation!" (Psalm 5:3)

My Dog Praises the Lord!

Ever wonder why God commands everything that has breath to praise Him? And not just people, either. Everything. I actually think I've seen my dog, Winston, praise the Lord. It happens on days when he races around the yard  in wide circles, ears flapping madly, tongue hanging out in a great big doggie grin. He is joyful to be alive, and runs in a fur-covered testimony of God's goodness.

I've seen (or heard) Juliebird the Lovebird praise the Lord. It is the only explanation for the days when she is all alone in the room, sun streaming into her cage, chirping her little heart out. There are no other birds, or humans for that matter, to be her audience, but perhaps she sings for her Maker. He made her to chirp and do other birdie things, and she does them as a testimony of His creative genius.

The Pharisees, in Luke 40, were offended by the praise of Jesus' disciples at his triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They challenged Him to rebuke his followers for voicing their praise. Jesus' answer tells us what He thinks of enthusiastic, heartfelt appreciation of Himself. "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out."  

I believe that the command to praise is a discipline that God uses to help us remind ourselves of Whom it is that we serve.  If we call out God's attributes, not only does He hear, but we also hear. Hearing how great, mighty, loving, merciful, just, wise, and good God is helps us put our circumstances in their proper perspective.  Just because my circumstances are bad doesn't mean that God is bad.  Praise reminds us of God's attributes regardless of my circumstances. 

     Ruth Myers, in her book Thirty-One Days of Praise, reminded me this morning to praise Him. Listen to her words:  "I praise you for Your sovereignty over the broad events of my life and over the details.With You, nothing is accidental, nothing is incidental, and no experience is wasted. You hold in Your own power my breath of life and all my destiny. And every trial that You allow to happen is a platform on which You reveal Yourself, showing Your love and power both to me and to others looking on.Thank you that I can move into the future non-defensively, with hands outstretched to whatever lies ahead, for You hold the future and You will always be with me, even to my old age. . . and through all eternity" (49).

     Will you join me today in praising God?