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Joshua 1:8 This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have SUCCESS. (Emphasis mine.)
God made this promise to Joshua many, many years ago, but still this principle remains true and is available to us today. So, what is success?
SUCCESS:
Webster’s says success is the gaining of wealth and fame.
The Hebrew word for success is sakal which means to have insight, wisdom, and understanding; the potent capacity to understand and so exercise skill in life, a state caused by proper training and teaching, enhanced by careful observation. (Wow! Cool! You should read that again.)
Two very different definitions if you ask me. I think we can all see by looking at the lives of “successful” Hollywood stars that you can gain plenty of wealth and fame without wisdom, understanding, and certainly without exercising skill in life. I believe success is truly more like the ancient definition than the modern. I believe that you can be successful without having riches. I believe that you can have riches and not feel successful at life at all. So, let’s for now completely erase Webster’s misguided and worldly definition and search for what God truly meant in this promise.
Does God want you to succeed? A million times, yes!! He desires for you to live a life of fulfillment and one which you can look back and say, “I did all that I was called to do and succeeded at everything God gave me.” Are you successful? I believe you are! I believe we all are. Any moment that we have shown the love of God, any time we gave of ourselves, any time we stood when others would have faltered, any time we had faith, etc. we were successful! Any time that you have applied God’s word to your life or listened and obeyed the Holy Spirit’s prompting, you were a success! Even in those times when the world called you a failure for what you did. So, go ahead and say it, “I AM a success! I AM successful!”
Now that we have that down…, I believe, though, that this promise offers more than just temporary or momentary success. I believe that God wants for us to be successful in ALL things at ALL times. Unfortunately, this promise works more on a principle and it’s not a get-rich-quick scheme. No guarantee that we will become millionaires in 30 days. (Bummer!) So what is the principle? I’ll tell you now: it’s simple but not easy.
I used to paint with my dad. I love to paint. I love that you can see your progress as you go. I love that, as long as you’re painting with a beautiful color, the transformation is AMAZING! The part that I don’t like, as my dad would put it, is the 3 Ps of painting: Preparation, preparation and preparation. This is the part where you have to do all the taping, the sanding, the repair (which can be a whole lot if the carpenter wasn’t any good), the caulking, removing any hardware that should be removed, etc. I do not like the prep work because it normally takes just as long as the painting! But, if you skip the prep, your paint job will show it. Trust me, I’ve tried to take shortcuts when painting cabinets before, and the result is disastrously ugly! But, if you put in the work and time beforehand…Beautiful SUCCESS!!
Why am I talking to you about painting? Because when I saw the steps in this principle of success I felt the same thing I did whenever my dad asked me to start taping up the windows, or pull out the sandpaper. Groan… You will see these steps outlined in the very scripture that this promise originates.
Step 1: Study God’s Word constantly.
NLT of Joshua 1:8 begins with “Study this book of the law continually…” Success at anything starts with a desire for knowledge.
Step 2: Ponder God’s Word continually.
“…you shall meditate on it day and night…” Success at anything involves understanding.
Step 3: Apply God’s Word completely.
“…so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it…” Success at anything requires precise repetition.
If you master these steps each day you are a much more successful person than I am. Even if I get through Step 1, it’s a miracle if I make it all the way to Step 3 when I’m in the middle of a potty battle with my two year old, or walking through the destructive path my four year old left behind. But, I believe that it’s within reach. And I believe that God is proud of me each time I succeed at these three steps, even if it is days, weeks or months between successes.
Let’s take this one step further. In looking at “success” I found a few definitions for SUCCEED that I found interesting.
SUCCEED:
Hebrew word qum means to get up, arise, stand, establish; confirm, restore; to be set up, be raised up.
Webster’s definition is to follow next in order or next after another; especially to inherit sovereignty, rank, title, or property.
Whoa!! So here is the revelation that I have received in this short study of God’s promise for success:
When I take the time to study and understand God’s word enough to apply the wisdom found there to my everyday life in a skillful manner, keeping my eyes and ears attuned to the Holy Spirit who is my heaven-sent teacher, God will establish me as Christ’s successor, in line to inherit all He has!
I don’t believe that anyone could possibly see that as anything but success! So, be it difficult, tedious, even boring at times, I am going to work as hard as I can to take hold of this promise!
Staci Pace
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
5-25-09 Self-Discipline
Self-Discipline
Oh, how that is my favorite trait. Right? …lol. Some people say it is the character trait that everyone hates. However, did you know it is a quality that God wants for you?
So how’s your self-discipline today? Did you stick to all you needed to get done today? I know I didn’t. Did you have something come up & interrupt your day?
I did. Did you get your devotion time in? I’m still working on it. Your exercise time? Nope. Time with your family? Kind of.
As I ponder on "self- discipline", I discover it is a key trait. For without self -discipline you will not have the ability to have self control, patience, love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, or faith. The very things we want in our lives depend on our self-discipline. For example, if we are not disciplined in our anger, we won’t have peace. For me, two of the hardest areas in my life to stay disciplined in is quality time with the Lord and exercise.
In II Peter 1:5-8 it says, "It is a quality you want to have, a quality that will make you useful and fruitful in the kingdom of God.” Of course this is not a quality Satan wants us to control.
In this world and in our lives we will have trials, heartaches, and interruptions. It is not only in these times we lose self-discipline, it is also in times of blessings. Yes, even in the good times. We get so caught up in the events of things going well, we can get too relaxed or too busy, sometimes even lazy. You can lose self-discipline in both areas, good or bad. It is a constant task to keep self-discipline.
I am reminded and encouraged of Paul when he said, "Why do I do the things I don’t want to do and the things I want to do, I don’t do”. I have always taken great comfort in Paul’s honesty in this statement. How he also struggled in continuing to achieve this quality.
So what can cause this? It can be as simple as everyday requirements of life of our work, family, and school among other things. In II Timothy 1:7 the word says, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." He has given us the ability to have discipline. I have had to call on His help lately myself. Right now in my life, I have had a hard time balancing:
Another example: Have you ever lost your control and snapped at your kids? I know I have. Thank the Lord there is no condemnation in those who are in Christ Jesus, that He is still perfecting us. This is an area for patience and peace and we all know it takes self-discipline to have patience.
When we have a soundness of mind, we will have joy, peace, love, kindness. We will be able to achieve the goals God has for us and to walk the path Christ has laid before us. I was reminded tonight of Abraham & Isaac, how through his faith and self-discipline he offered his most precious gift to God, his son. That took a lot of self-discipline and how God rewarded and blessed Abraham through this! It was through Abraham's devotion to the scriptures, setting his mind on God, and making his body obedient to do the will of God that he became the Father of many nations. Unlike another man named Samson who had lack of self-discipline and it cost him dearly. He had been a strong and mighty man, but lost it when he had lack of self-discipline and was foolish. However, in the end even Samson obtains self-discipline.
So my charge to you is to embrace self-discipline and run the good race! You won’t be disappointed.
Blessing to you,
Susie K
Oh, how that is my favorite trait. Right? …lol. Some people say it is the character trait that everyone hates. However, did you know it is a quality that God wants for you?
So how’s your self-discipline today? Did you stick to all you needed to get done today? I know I didn’t. Did you have something come up & interrupt your day?
I did. Did you get your devotion time in? I’m still working on it. Your exercise time? Nope. Time with your family? Kind of.
As I ponder on "self- discipline", I discover it is a key trait. For without self -discipline you will not have the ability to have self control, patience, love, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, or faith. The very things we want in our lives depend on our self-discipline. For example, if we are not disciplined in our anger, we won’t have peace. For me, two of the hardest areas in my life to stay disciplined in is quality time with the Lord and exercise.
In II Peter 1:5-8 it says, "It is a quality you want to have, a quality that will make you useful and fruitful in the kingdom of God.” Of course this is not a quality Satan wants us to control.
In this world and in our lives we will have trials, heartaches, and interruptions. It is not only in these times we lose self-discipline, it is also in times of blessings. Yes, even in the good times. We get so caught up in the events of things going well, we can get too relaxed or too busy, sometimes even lazy. You can lose self-discipline in both areas, good or bad. It is a constant task to keep self-discipline.
I am reminded and encouraged of Paul when he said, "Why do I do the things I don’t want to do and the things I want to do, I don’t do”. I have always taken great comfort in Paul’s honesty in this statement. How he also struggled in continuing to achieve this quality.
So what can cause this? It can be as simple as everyday requirements of life of our work, family, and school among other things. In II Timothy 1:7 the word says, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline." He has given us the ability to have discipline. I have had to call on His help lately myself. Right now in my life, I have had a hard time balancing:
- Time with God, carpool, school ,homework (my son), family, church, exercising, wedding planning and the list goes on.
When you get overloaded you can loose your self- discipline. Let’s look at what self discipline is. It means, “a calling to a soundness of mind or to self -control."
So how do we obtain this? First and foremost we are to commune with the Lord and seek him in every area. I even have the Lord helping me to learn to run. I know that sounds strange but I can’t run very far, yet. So, he has me run short distances and walk in-between. It is hard to be disciplined in new areas of your life! Stick to it, the reward is great!Another example: Have you ever lost your control and snapped at your kids? I know I have. Thank the Lord there is no condemnation in those who are in Christ Jesus, that He is still perfecting us. This is an area for patience and peace and we all know it takes self-discipline to have patience.
When we have a soundness of mind, we will have joy, peace, love, kindness. We will be able to achieve the goals God has for us and to walk the path Christ has laid before us. I was reminded tonight of Abraham & Isaac, how through his faith and self-discipline he offered his most precious gift to God, his son. That took a lot of self-discipline and how God rewarded and blessed Abraham through this! It was through Abraham's devotion to the scriptures, setting his mind on God, and making his body obedient to do the will of God that he became the Father of many nations. Unlike another man named Samson who had lack of self-discipline and it cost him dearly. He had been a strong and mighty man, but lost it when he had lack of self-discipline and was foolish. However, in the end even Samson obtains self-discipline.
So my charge to you is to embrace self-discipline and run the good race! You won’t be disappointed.
Blessing to you,
Susie K
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Devotional 5-11-09
Standing on His Promises
This week, as I was thinking about what to write and knowing that we were going to be looking at the promises of God. This song came back to mind that I sang a lot in church growing up. I have to say it has much more meaning to me now than it did then. I sang it because it was the song they picked for the day to sing not because I was truly standing on God’s promises. I sang it without meaning.
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.
Refrain:
Standing, standing,
standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love's strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit's call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
I have to say that I am learning more each and every day about truly standing on the promises God gives us. There are many of them in His word. I am thankful for a Pastor and leaders of our church that have encouraged us to declare the promises in our lives. It is a daily declaration in one way or another. The enemy does not want any of us to serve the Lord and he will bring circumstances and temptations that can cause us to not look to God our Savior.
I have been faced with some things over the last few months that I cannot go into detail about. I can tell you God has been faithful in fulfilling His promises. Just declaring them when the days were tough brings new light and perspective to the circumstances. It brings strength and peace in the midst of the storms. I know in my own life fear has been a big issue. It has held me back at times. This is an area that the enemy knows and tries to bring back all the time. I have learned not to let fear come in because I know what God’s word says about it. There are many verses in the Bible about fear but my favorite one is Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
Wow, there are many promises in that verse.
One of the definitions of promise is:
an express assurance on which expectation is to be based: promises that an enemy will not win.
Every promise has a foundation, even God’s promises. He is the foundation.
In a book I read recently the author stated “Every divine promise is built upon four pillars.”
God’s holiness, will not allow Him to deceive:
His goodness, will not allow Him to forget:
His truth, will not allow Him to change;
His power, will make Him able to accomplish!
Can you sing the song with meaning? If not I urge you to learn the promises of God and then begin to declare them in your life. It will set you free. Freedom from this world is what God wants for all of us.
It begins with “Are you willing to stand on His promises?” It begins with us doing our part.
- a willingness to follow God even though at times you stumble and fall (Philippians 3:14)
- a willingness to ask for forgiveness when you falter (John 1:9)
- a willingness to stay in the battle of becoming a man or a woman after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22)
I believe the author of the song above had learned the meaning of standing on God’s promises. He learned that God’s promises cannot fail, God's word will prevail. In the last verse he refers to standing on God’s promises -“I cannot fall”. Why, because by standing in God’s promises we are resting in our Savior. I do sing this song now with meaning and praises to the one who gives me strength to stand.
Love in Christ,
Sandy Heberlein
This week, as I was thinking about what to write and knowing that we were going to be looking at the promises of God. This song came back to mind that I sang a lot in church growing up. I have to say it has much more meaning to me now than it did then. I sang it because it was the song they picked for the day to sing not because I was truly standing on God’s promises. I sang it without meaning.
Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.
Refrain:
Standing, standing,
standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
standing, standing,
I'm standing on the promises of God.
Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love's strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit's call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God.
(Refrain)
I have to say that I am learning more each and every day about truly standing on the promises God gives us. There are many of them in His word. I am thankful for a Pastor and leaders of our church that have encouraged us to declare the promises in our lives. It is a daily declaration in one way or another. The enemy does not want any of us to serve the Lord and he will bring circumstances and temptations that can cause us to not look to God our Savior.
I have been faced with some things over the last few months that I cannot go into detail about. I can tell you God has been faithful in fulfilling His promises. Just declaring them when the days were tough brings new light and perspective to the circumstances. It brings strength and peace in the midst of the storms. I know in my own life fear has been a big issue. It has held me back at times. This is an area that the enemy knows and tries to bring back all the time. I have learned not to let fear come in because I know what God’s word says about it. There are many verses in the Bible about fear but my favorite one is Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand."
Wow, there are many promises in that verse.
One of the definitions of promise is:
an express assurance on which expectation is to be based: promises that an enemy will not win.
Every promise has a foundation, even God’s promises. He is the foundation.
In a book I read recently the author stated “Every divine promise is built upon four pillars.”
God’s holiness, will not allow Him to deceive:
His goodness, will not allow Him to forget:
His truth, will not allow Him to change;
His power, will make Him able to accomplish!
Can you sing the song with meaning? If not I urge you to learn the promises of God and then begin to declare them in your life. It will set you free. Freedom from this world is what God wants for all of us.
It begins with “Are you willing to stand on His promises?” It begins with us doing our part.
- a willingness to follow God even though at times you stumble and fall (Philippians 3:14)
- a willingness to ask for forgiveness when you falter (John 1:9)
- a willingness to stay in the battle of becoming a man or a woman after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22)
I believe the author of the song above had learned the meaning of standing on God’s promises. He learned that God’s promises cannot fail, God's word will prevail. In the last verse he refers to standing on God’s promises -“I cannot fall”. Why, because by standing in God’s promises we are resting in our Savior. I do sing this song now with meaning and praises to the one who gives me strength to stand.
Love in Christ,
Sandy Heberlein
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