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Daily Devotion

3/27/2017

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Proverbs 31 Ministries
Nicole J. Phillips

“Fight About It Tomorrow”

“When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace.”
Mark 11:15-16 (NLT)

I was 41 years old and fighting with my dad like I was 14.

My father wasn’t feeling well and (in my opinion) was a little crabby. I was sore and tired from a 10-hour car ride with three children, so I suppose it’s possible I was a little crabby, too.

We were in the kitchen having breakfast and looking through vacation photos when he started complaining about how he hates looking at photos on phones. “Why can’t people just print off pictures like they used to?”

I reminded him we still live in a world of color printers: “If you want, I’d be happy to make real, live copies for you to hold in your hands.”

Now, that would have been fine. I could’ve stopped there. But no. Since my mouth was already open, I decided to carry on and tell him how terribly negative I thought he’d been for the past week. “Why are you so focused on the bad things, Dad? It’s exhausting. How about trying to comment on the good for a change?”

I continued, and so did my dad. The decibel level got so loud that my husband walked into the room. After about five minutes, I “won.” He apologized and said he would try to be more positive.

But I didn’t win. Because two days later, my dad had a major stroke. He spent a week lying in a hospital bed, then months in a nursing home, unable to move one side of his body or name most of the people who walked into the room.

The guilt was overwhelming. Why didn’t I lead with kindness?

I took my grief to God and opened to a Bible passage I had never noticed before. I realized God was about to teach me through this trial.

Mark 11:11 says, “So Jesus came to Jerusalem and went into the Temple. After looking around carefully at everything, he left …” (NLT)

Four verses later, otherwise known as the next morning, the story continues: “When they arrived back in Jerusalem, Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people buying and selling animals for sacrifices. He knocked over the table of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves, and he stopped everyone from using the Temple as a marketplace” (Mark 11:15-16).

Did you catch that? Jesus didn’t unleash his fury the first time he saw the Temple. He scoped out the situation, slept on it and then went in the next day with the roundhouse kick.

Raising our voices isn’t out of line. The problem is often our timing. We need to take time to search for the right words so the wrong words — in the wrong decibel — don’t sneak up on us. I don’t know about you, but my relationships would be a whole lot sweeter if I would assess each situation and take the time to decide if it’s worth fighting about. If it is, it’ll still be there tomorrow.

God is good at teaching — and redeeming. My dad is once again well enough to share a meal, breathe words of wisdom into his daughter’s sometimes chaotic life, and even look at photos on a cellphone. Although he still prefers the printed version, we sure don’t fight about it anymore.

Heavenly Father, we are in awe of the way You can take every trial and turn it into a teaching opportunity. Lord, give us the wisdom to hold our words until we are certain we are in the center of Your will. Thank You for Your forgiveness when we fail or fall short. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

James 1:19-20, “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.” (NIV)

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Daily Devotion

3/15/2017

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Proverbs 31 Ministries
Becky Thompson

“How to Experience Unending Love”

“We love because he first loved us.”
1 John 4:19 (NIV)

My wedding day was far from perfect. It rained. Actually, it poured.

An intense Oklahoma thunderstorm caused the church to lose electricity and the indoor dance floor to flood. Our powerless chocolate fountain hardened, emergency lights lit the reception hall and the only music for our first dance came from two small laptop speakers. There were skies full of storms, but our hearts were full of love.

My husband and I were crazy about each other.

As a matter of fact, on my wedding day, no one had to tell me, “Just try to be nice to him. Smile when you see him. Pay attention when he talks. Maybe find time to hold his hand if you can.”

Can you imagine how a bride might respond if she were given that advice on her wedding day? She might wonder, Why wouldn’t I be nice or smile? Why wouldn’t I pay attention to him? Why wouldn’t I want to be affectionate? Those things often come naturally in the beginning of a relationship and require little effort.

The truth is, I might not have needed those words on my wedding day, but 10 years of marriage and three kids later, that counsel is often just what I need as a busy wife and mom.

Because so often we are running in different directions and focusing more on our children than our relationship, our marriage doesn’t always get the attention it deserves or needs to thrive. Sometimes we need reminders for simple things like paying attention and listening to each other.

Our love has changed since the beginning. Now we must be more intentional. We must keep the cycle of love active in our marriage. I must continue showing my husband love, so he can respond to me in love, and he must continue showing me love, so I can respond to him in love.

Despite our best efforts, some days we just don’t get it right. Some days I’m preoccupied with the kids. Some days he’s too busy with work. Some days our schedules just don’t line up, and we don’t even get to see each other at all. And often this creates space, breaking our cycle of love.

I believe our hearts are designed to love “back.” When someone loves us, we respond by showing them love in return. But on the days when we don’t necessarily feel loved by our spouses, how do we keep showing them love? How do we give love when we don’t necessarily feel loved? How do we love first? The simple answer is: We don’t.

Scripture says in 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”

It doesn’t say we love our husbands because our husbands first loved us. It doesn’t say we love our friends because our friends first loved us. It doesn’t say we love our children, our families or our coworkers because they first loved us. It says we love because God first loved us. Even on the days I don’t necessarily feel loved by my spouse, I can love him in response to the love God shows us all. We can love others because He first loved us.

And what happens if we’re loving our spouse in response to God’s love that’s endless and unchanging and pure? Then no matter the distraction or the space or the schedule, and no matter if it has been five years or 15 years or 50 years, we can treat each day with our spouse as if it were the first. We can experience love unending in the middle of every storm.

Lord, thank You for loving us so well. Thank You for demonstrating endless and selfless love for us. I pray that You would strengthen our marriages. I pray that You would hold all of our relationships together in Your grace. Help us love one another in response to Your love for us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

John 13:34, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (NIV)

1 Corinthians 13:4-5, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” (NIV)

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Daily Devotion

3/14/2017

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Proverbs 31 Ministries
Barbara Rainey

“When Your Husband Isn’t Trusting God the Way You Think He Should”

“… being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 1:6 (NIV)

I know I can’t be the only wife who has ever questioned how her husband leads the family and the depth of his faith in God.

Early in our marriage, I expected Dennis to lead me in prayer times, Bible study and in making church a priority. Then when we had children, I expected he’d do the same with them. All the missionary biographies I’d read had children sitting quietly, listening to a wise father teach.

Idealism and expectations come from those comparisons. What wife hasn’t made hundreds of comparisons about her husband?

Are you doing what I did? Informing him how much work you are doing, how heavy your load is, as if he’s doing nothing? Perhaps he’s not doing what he could, but setting yourself up as superior is not the motivation he needs to change.

The truth for me might be the truth for you too. It’s not that my husband wasn’t leading our family; it’s that he wasn’t leading our family the way I thought he should. He wasn’t believing in God as I thought he should.

Since when did God ask me to set the standard for my husband?

Recently one of my daughters said to me, “I’m so glad I’ve learned that when my husband acts this way, I don’t have to let his attitude control me. I’m not responsible to make him happy or help him change his behavior.”

This is truth for every wife.

Many times our husbands could have acted differently, responded more lovingly, been more patient with your mother or with his mother. Other times, he may not be outright sinning, but his approach to life isn’t yet refined. His way of handling conflict, relationships, money, the children — or all of the above — are skills that must grow and develop.

Think about it. When you’re learning to ride a bike, what do you do? Fall … a lot!

Odds are good your husband has never been a husband to you before. You are unique and not like any other woman on the planet, right? He’s going to make lots of mistakes. Let him learn. Encourage him like you do your children’s faltering first steps or first wobbling pedals on a bike.

He’s still learning.

While I am acutely aware being a wife and mother is hard work, I often forget that being a husband and dad is hard, too. The God-given burden our husbands have for shepherding the entire family is a heavy one — whether they ever admit it or not.

So let’s start by acknowledging that he has a lot to live up to. There’s no way he could get it all right the first time around. He is practicing every day in his live, real-time interaction with you and your children.

When we see our husbands sin or make mistakes, it’s easy to forget that as a couple, we are both growing into the person God wants us to be. Let’s remember: God isn’t finished yet.

When I feel like my husband isn’t carrying his weight, I have a choice to make: I can complain about him and criticize him for his mistakes, or I can continue believing in the man I married.

I’ve learned that when I choose to believe in my husband, I’m really choosing to believe in God. Not because my husband is immortal, but I’m showing I believe in God’s sovereignty to change hearts, attitudes and behaviors.

Temporary disappointments and our failures show us how much we need the transforming work of God in our lives, every single day.

Are you willing to see the good in your man and believe God is greater than all our sin? Your husband needs your belief and encouragement as God refines his faith.

Dear God, thank You for continuing to refine me as You refine my husband. Show me how to respect and encourage him through the process. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 (NIV)

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Daily Devotion

3/1/2017

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Proverbs 31 Ministries
Suzie Eller

“Engaging In My Own Life”



“You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.”
Psalm 39:5 (NIV)

We snuck the old 8 mm movie cylinders out of the home. The box was broken down on one corner, and the blue cases inside were fragile.

I remember the first time I watched them. My mother-in-law took out the archaic projector. She flashed the films on the wall. Some of the films were fragile, and they’d break over and over as she tried to show them. Soon, technology changed so much we couldn’t watch them anymore. The box got dustier and pushed back further in the closet.

We took the box out secretly, because we didn’t want to get her hopes up. I went to a local vendor and asked if there was anything he could do. He took those precious memories out of my hands and promised to try.

A few days later he called me back. He did it!

When we gave my mother-in-law the DVDs that held over 50 years of her life on them, she wept.

So did I.

Way back then, when the flickering film was projected in her living room, I appreciated it, but I didn’t see it the way she did. Those films held pictures of her mom and dad. They showed how chaotic it was for her to be a young mama. She treasured them because life was changing. She was a grandma, and some of those precious people were no longer in her life.


As we watched the movies this time, my mother-in-law sat nearby. Her hands shook; she now uses a walker to get around.

Today, I’m the grandma. Many of the people who seemed so young back then are no longer
here.

In today’s passage, the psalmist describes life as a handbreadth, which is a measure of four fingers. It indicates how brief life is. While the writer of this psalm lamented that he put too much emphasis on wealth and things of the world, I’m reminded of other distractions.

I admit that sometimes I live as if my precious moments aren’t valuable. I take people for granted. I disengage as I scroll through social media, while real live people whom I love are nearby. I pile on work and activities, promising to spend time with those I love on another day.
It’s so tempting to value what has no lasting value at all and overlook what we’ll one day label a treasure.

That night, I looked around the room. I took in the faces one by one, appreciating something about each of them. I put my phone in my purse. It wasn’t nearly as important as talking to the one next to me. The room was crowded and noisy, and I realized that one day it would be quiet — for those little ones would be all grown up.

We shot our own videos that day with our phones and snazzy technology. One day, we’ll look back at those and laugh. We’ll weep at who is no longer with us. We’ll talk about how young we all were.

My hope is that I’ll watch it and know I didn’t live those moments disengaged or distracted. That I engaged in my own life in the handbreadth of time I was given, valuing all those I love.

Heavenly Father, despite what’s distracting me from the goodness right in front of me, show me the true value. I may not be able to put it aside fully, but show me how to give it the proper place in my heart and my life. Lord, help me treasure precious moments as memories in the making. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

TRUTH FOR TODAY:


Psalm 144:4, “They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow.” (NIV)

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