Santa Fe Devotional

Maria walked into the kitchen with her arms full of wrapped packages. As she struggled to lay down her load on the table all the packages tumbled to the floor. Tears sprang to her eyes as she looked at the mess lying at her feet. For the first time she noticed that the wrapping on the packages were tattered and worn. Upon further inspection she saw that the bows were missing and the paper had worn through exposing the underlying box. Curious, she sat down and slowly began to rip off the old paper. On the top of one of the boxes “DREAMS” had been written in bold black letters. She quickly uncovered another box! This one had the word, “PLANS” written in distinctive letters across the top! She tore off the 3rd wrapping and found the same bold writing with the word, “HOPE”!
She had forgotten what was under the layer of paper, but now with it fully exposed she thought back to the day when she had confidently put the lid on each box. She remembered being filled with dreams, plans and hope for the future. She had an assignment by God to do His work. She had been so filled with joy and anticipation for whatever lay ahead. She carried those boxes everywhere she went and shared them with whoever the Lord laid on her heart! Ministry had never been so much fun then when she shared the vision of what God had given her! The excitement bubbled over to others. Soon women could be seen carrying their own beautifully wrapped packages. Maria marveled at what God was doing in His people.
Looking at the paper that was in shreds all around her, she realized that she had carried those packages through many seasons. She took the top off of the first box and found another word scrawled across the inside! Her hand flew to her mouth as she read, DISCOURAGEMENT! Trembling she opened the second box and look inside. Glaring back at her was the word FRUSTRATION! Hesitantly she reached for the 3rd. Inside she found ANGER! A soft scream escaped her mouth while hot tears flowed freely down her cheeks. “Lord, Help!” was all that she was able to say. Through the silence that followed was a quiet voice that beckoned to her, “Maria, will you surrender your dreams, plans and hopes to me?” “Lord!” she replied, “Those are the things YOU gave me! I’ve been faithful to carry them with me all these years!” “Yes, child, I did give them to you and you have been a good and faithful servant of mine! Will you give me your dreams, your plans and your hopes?” Maria looked at all that surrounded her! Memories flooded her mind and emotions surged in her heart. She realized that what had started out as something beautiful had somehow, somewhere, lost its luster. The tools inside the boxes had dissolved and turned into things she no longer wanted in her hands! Quickly she put the tops back on the boxes, picked them up and put them on the table. “Lord, I give them to you! All of them! All of my dreams for this ministry, all of my plans for this ministry and all of my hopes for this ministry! You can have them all!!!!! I surrender!!!”
After several minutes she heard a knock at the front door. Moving from her spot she dried her eyes and ran a hand over her hair. She took a deep breath and pulled the door open. She could barely believe her eyes as she looked down at her feet and saw three newly wrapped packages with bright shiny bows! They were beautiful!!!! She gathered them up in her arms and brought them inside. No one needed to tell her what was written across the top of each box! She already knew!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Tips for Reflecting Jesus

I was recently asked to write a note of encouragement for my niece for her 13th birthday. As I sat down to type, I felt led to give her 13 "tips" for Reflecting Jesus. Each tip is based on Scripture.
How many can you find in Scripture without looking?

Here are the 13 tips on how to live your life so that you will always reflect Jesus!!!

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength!
2. Love your neighbor as yourself!
3. Trust in the Lord in all your ways!
4. Sing praise to the Lord....always!
5. Pray without ceasing!
6. Honor Mom and Dad!
7. Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry!
8. Throw off everything that hinders so you can run the race set before you!
9. Be thankful!
10. Fear not for HE is with you!
11. Be strong and courageous!
12. Live a life worthy of your calling!
13. Know that HE has a plan to prosper you and has an amazing future for you!

Land

Imagine a parcel of land before you! Allow yourself to really experience that land. You may need to shut your eyes for a few minutes! Take some time to look around you. What colors do you see? What type of land is it? What season is it? Are there trees or flowers or barns on your land? What other objects do you see on your land?
Now imagine that the land before you is YOU! It's your life!!! Your past, your present and your future! It's all there laid out before you! What does your land look like now? Has it changed? How has it changed? Spend some time looking it over!
If you have ever lived a life outside of Gods will for your life then I would guess that there may be some dark and scary places on that land that you would rather not look at or imagine! BUT those are the exact places I want you to walk over to. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior then take HIM by the hand and head on over to the first knarly area. If you have never asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior you can do so now and then take His hand and head over to your first stopping place.
As you walk with Jesus, listen to Him tell you about the land! IF you belong to HIM then the land is HIS! HE has authority over that land! HE has victory over that land! Allow Him to take you to the past where it is dark and unhappy memories live. Point out what happened there and confess your sin to Him. Or tell him your story! It's a very safe place to talk! No one else is on your land! Remember, He already knows what went on there! Once you confess or share about one dark spot, move to another one and confess/share that one as well. Continue on your journey with Jesus until all the yicky places have been identified and confessed or shared! (I know this may not be easy or quick! Take your time!)
Now imagine Him covering over each dark spot with a bright red cloth! It was washed in His blood that He shed for your specific sin or incident so that YOU can walk in freedom!!!
Take time to imagine Him covering each place that you visited together!
Now go back to where you started at the beginning of this excercise! Jesus is still with you! Look out at the terrain! There's NO darkness left! There's no shame! It's all been covered by the blood of Jesus and becomes part of your testimony! You can take others to your land and show them what Jesus covered OR you can keep it between the two of you. No one else will see it unless you point it out anyway!
YOU were purchased with a price! ONE BLOOD SACRIFICE! That's all it took to purchase your land!!! Nothing else can add to it! Nothing can take it away!! YOUr land is paid in full! YOU are free!!! The boundary markers are from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet! They are as wide as your memory and as far as your future! YOU have been completely covered!!!!
Right about now you may want to sit on your newly restored land and worship! OR you may want to dance! It's YOUR land! Jesus is right there with you!

Water and Fire

Imagine 2 things before you. On your right side is water and on your left is fire! Step into the water. All of a sudden the water begins to rise. It keeps rising! It doesn't stop! The water soon becomes a rushing river with a powerful current. You are filled with fear. You tremble and cry out! You try to find solid footing under the strong pull of the water. Just as you are about to get carried away, you feel someone grab hold of your arm. Peace floods your spirit! You experience calm in the midst of raging waters. You hear in your ear, *"Do not fear,for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you." Immediately you are pulled from the water and placed in front of the fire! You hear the same voice say, *"When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." There is no way out except to walk through the wall of flames. You are now face to face with a major crisis! You can choose to either believe the voice you heard and remember that it was that voice that pulled you out of the water just minutes before, OR you can choose to reject the voice and panic because the furnace is getting hotter every minute.

What are you going to choose?

Before you can speak, you hear one more thing whispered in your ear, *"For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior!"

What happens next is completely up to you!

*Passsages taken from Isaiah 43:1-3