09/24/11: Devo from the beach!

Morning Devo from Gulf Shores, AL!!!! Reading Romans 12 this morning, v. 2 RENEW YOUR MIND. Like your license you have to get a new picture, you need to 're-up' the picture in your mind of how God sees you! And how you should see others!!! v.3-8 does that!!! v.9 -21 is how we can act on that new picture!!!! Love Ya!!

Read It! Romans 12
-PK

05/07/11: WEENIE DOGS AND EXPECTANT HEARTS

HELLO EVERYONE!! I apologize profusely for not blogging lately. Between the Big Press, and preparation for the Baccalaureate, the time has escaped me. I was looking through some of the older blogs, and this one has always been one of my favorites. Please read today's blog and think on where your heart and your devotion is with God. I daresay we could all use some improvement, no matter what level we are at. Selah.

"Blessed are those servants whom the Master, when He comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that He will gird Himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them." - Luke 12:37

This verse makes me think of our weenie dog, Misty. When Kevin leaves, she never stops moving. She paces the floor, she goes to the front door and aggressively sniffs at it, she whimpers, she whines, she scratches the door, she does tricks. She would rip the door off it's hinges to follow him if she was physically capable. Her whole world is wrapped up in waiting for him. Her expectation is completely focused on his return and being excited and pleasing to him when he walks in the door.

Why the heck do we let a weenie dog outdo us?

We have such a better Master than a human one like Kevin. Jesus specifcally told us to be found watching for His return. Like Misty, we should be watching, waiting, expecting, and excited about our Master's return and be focused on Him and His Kingdom more than anything else. Our hearts should be so desperate to see Him again that we let it consume our lives and our thoughts. If we focus on the Father our attitudes and our hearts will begin to reflect His. We will begin to put His desires in front of our own and long to please Him with our lives. Seek the Master, watch for His return. Focus on His heart and pleasing Him above anyone else. Don't be outdone in devotion by a 8 lb. weenie dog! :-)

***Jess

04/22/11: HE IS RISEN!

Hello all! It's been waaay too long since I last blogged! That's what happens when you let busyness take over...not cool. So without further ado, here ya go:

"But the angel answered and said to the women, 'Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples the He is risen from the dead...'" - Matthew 28:5-7 (NKJ)

I've made an unofficial tradition of reading a the Crucifixion and Resurrection story the last couple of years on Good Friday. It's amazing, every year I see something else new that I haven't seen before. I want to encourage you, read this story of God's great love for us. It's recorded from four different perspectives, which gives such insight. Here's where you can find it in the Gospels:

Matthew chapters 26-28
Mark chapters 14-16
Luke chapters 22-24
John chapters 18-21

It's not a long read at all. It's so awesome to remind ourselves what Jesus did for us and how He willingly gave His life so that we would have relationship with God.

***Jess

04/11/11: ANYBODY GOT A SWORD??

"So it was, when the Philistine arose and came and drew near to meet David, that David hurried and ran toward the army to meet the Philistine. Then David put his hand in his bag and took out a stone; and he slung it and struck the Philistine in his forehead, so that the stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the earth. So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone, and struck the Philistine and killed him. But there was no sword in the hand of David. Therefore David ran and stood over the Philistine, took his sword and drew it out of its sheath and killed him, and cut off his head with it. " - 1 Samuel 17:48-51(NKJ)

As you all know, I love David. I love how bold he was! He knew that God was going to be faithful no matter what. In this story about of David killing Goliath, I noticed something I hadn't really noticed before. In verse 50 and 51, it says that David didn't have a sword so he used Goliath's sword to kill him and cut off his head. I think it's interesting that 1) David was so confident he took no back-up weapon. He fully believed that God had given him the victory and he didn't need to take anything else, and 2) He used Goliath's own weapon to both kill Goliath and chop off his head. I think this is especially significant, and it applies to the way God works. He takes what Satan means for harm and turns it around for our good and His glory!

Sometimes it's easier to look at that "giant" screaming out on the battlefield of life and and shrink away and let him take control. But what God wants us to do is see His faithfulness and to TRUST HIM like David did. Take your weapon of choice (the Word) to the battlefield and trust that no matter what, you've got all you need. Use the Word on that giant and when he falls, TAKE HIS SWORD and chop his head off! Don't shrink away, step up to the mic and tell that situation to SHUT UP! You have the most powerful weapons in the world. We've got the Word, and Jesus gave us His Name. NOTHING can stand against us because God is on our side! Be bold today!

***Jess

04/08/11: THE WORD SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

Good Morning! I love Psalms, and today I was reading and this one really stuck out to me:

"Praise the Lord! How joyful are those who fear the Lord and delight in obeying his commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will last forever. Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous. Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly. Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted." - Psalm 112 (NLT)

The only thing I can says is, God is so faithful!

***Jess

04/05/11: FACE DOWN

"Here I am, Your invited guest - it's incredible! I enter Your house; here I am, prostrate in your inner sanctum, waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines." - Psalm 5:7-8 (MSG)

I love this Scripture! Not only are we welcome in God's personal space, but He's invited us as His guest to come in and be with Him intimately. He WANTS to spend time with us so He can give us the directions how to do life and not only do life, but do it well. Even when we are surrounded by the enemy on all sides, the Father knows exactly what we need to do to get through safely and effectively.

You all know me. I LOVE to worship. But the time you see me worshipping at Church is just the tip of the iceberg. When I am alone with God, I get down on my face and get still before Him. That's what the word "prostrate" means; getting face down on the floor and humbling yourself in the presence of God. Do that this week. Take the time and effort to shut off the phone, turn off the tv, shut your door, put on some good praise and worship music, and get in the presence of God. I know if we all did this, the face of our XS church services would change as well as the whole dynamic of Church. If you want to see change in you from what you've developed yourself to be to who God has created you to be, the first thing you must do is go where you're invited, get in His space, and then wait for instructions from the Master.

***Jess

04/04/11: Sound Mind

Another Scripture snack for you guys! It's a good one! :)



***Jess

04/01/11: RUNNING, RUNNING, FAST AS WE CAN. DO YOU THINK WE'LL MAKE IT?

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" - Psalm 46:10

It seems like in this day and age we get busier and busier. Between running to band events, sporting events, school events, jobs, job events, Birthday parties, chef parties, jewelry parties, family reunions, friend get-togethers, and not to mention every Church related function known to man. Our society is so driven to do, do, do all the time that it's so easy to let life take over and forget to BE STILL occasionally. Let me ask you this: when is the last time you sat down and were still? Maybe just sat on the couch and read a book, or fell asleep in a hammock? Can't remember, can you? That's because its been entirely too long.

I was talking with a good friend the other day, and as I was talking and encouraging them, I totally felt the Holy Spirit take over. I would like to share a little of what I was talking about with you: We should be identified by who we ARE and not by what we DO. It all goes back to the story of Mary and Martha in the Bible. Jesus came to their house to visit, and Martha played the perfect role of hostess. She took care of dinner, she made sure that the Master's glass was never empty, she cleaned up after dinner, she took care of everything and everyone under her roof. Mary, on the other hand, sat at Jesus' feet and listened to everything He had to say. She was content just being with Him. Now, was Martha wrong for being the hostess with the mostest? Absolutely not. Where she went wrong is when she compared herself to Mary and tried to get Jesus to make Mary come help her work. Jesus corrected Martha and told her that Mary was in the right. What can we learn from this? That Jesus is more interested in a relationship with you than having a maid or a butler. He'd rather have your heart than your hands. Not that the ministry isn't work, but you've gotta check yourself. Make sure that you don't become all about the doing and forget the being. That's all He wants. Just for you to come spend time with Him and learn how to be the man or woman He created you to be.

The Message Bible puts Psalm 46:10 like this: "Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything." I couldn't have said it better myself. Always take the opportunity to step outside of the traffic of the rat race of life and look lovingly into the eyes of the Father. He wants nothing more than to be with you and have ALL of your attention. So STOP! Smell the roses! Enjoy the beautiful day, see God's Hand in everything around you and you will begin to see who you ARE.

***Jess

03/31/11: IN THIS I WILL BE CONFIDENT

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, they stumbled and fell. Though and army encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident." - Psalm 27:1-3

Ever felt like you were at war with the world? Ever felt like people were watching you, ready to pounce and take you down the minute you showed any weakness? Ever felt like you were alone? That's why this is one of my favorite Scriptures in the Bible. David was feeling all of those things and more. Saul was literally hunting David down to kill him because God had anointed David to be king of Israel, which meant that Saul no longer was anointed to be king and Saul knew it. He hated David and wanted him dead because David had what Saul didn't: God's blessing. When David wrote this Psalm, he was in the midst of being hunted. He knew that if Saul ever found him, he would kill him, yet David trusted God to protect him and keep His Word to make him king.

I know at school and even at work, there are people who love to make your life miserable. It's almost like they get enjoyment out of making you suffer or making you angry. But I venture to say that no one has ever been hunting you down to kill you... just a guess. We've got to learn from David's example. He trusted God in the middle of a life-threatening situation that probably weighed on him terribly. But David knew that if he put His trust in God, he could be confident that he had the victory. He always trusted God, all throughout the Bible and through some pretty stinking rough situations, and you know what? God ALWAYS honored David and never failed him. I want to challenge you. Make this Scripture your confession every day. Begin to see God as your confidence through anything, and I promise, He won't let you down.

***Jess

03/30/11: LOVE

No reading today. But please, enjoy a Scripture Snack courtesy of Beckah Shae!! Watch it all for the entire song!



***Jess

03/29/11: THE FLINTSTONES?

"The Almighty Lord helps me. That is why I will not be ashamed. I have set my face like a flint. I know that I will not be put to shame." - Isaiah 50:7 (The Message)

Talk about being hard-headed! This Scripture literally talks about not only making our head hard, but our face. The difference between being hard-headed and setting your face like flint is that one is out of selfish motives, and one is out of thinking of others. When we are hard-headed about something, we are saying our way or our opinion is the only right one. On the other hand, setting our face like flint is choosing to trust God and do what He wants no matter what anyone does or says. Jesus set His face like flint when He went to the Cross. He chose to do the right thing that would benefit us all more than choosing to do what would benefit Him personally, and NOTHING was going to stop him from accomplishing that goal for the good of us all.

We need to set our faces like flint in our own lives. Become so determined that you are going to live for God that nothing is going to stop you and no one is going to convince you otherwise. One of the cool things about flint is that if you strike it against another rock or against metal it will produce a spark. Back in the day it was used in starting fires. Think about that... if you set your face like flint, you are literally making yourself a fire-starter! I don't mean in the negative sense that you go around starting drama and setting fires between people. You're a fire-starter in the sense that you go around setting those ablaze with the passion and the love of God! You get to be the thing that sparks others into their walk with the Lord. What an opportunity we have!

So I want to encourage you, SET YOUR FACE LIKE FLINT. Be so determined to be exactly who God's created you to be that you set those around you on fire for Him. Today, be a fire-starter. :)

***Jess

03/28/2011: GUARD YOUR HEART (REPRISE)

I posted this one a little over a year ago and I felt like it bears repeating. Have a great day, and welcome back to the XS blog!:

"Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that's where life starts."
-Proverbs 4:23-26 (The Message)

To start, let's look at this scientifically. Your heart is such an important organ. Not only does it pump blood to every little nook and cranny of your body, but it works harder than you might think. Check this out:

*Your heart beats 100,000 times per day, 35 million times per year, & will beat over 2.5 billion times in your life!
*Your heart is so strong, that when it is AT REST (that means in between beats), it's muscles work twice as hard as someone's leg muscles in mid sprint!
*The Aorta which is the largest artery in your body is about the same diameter as a garden hose.
*The heart pumps about 1 million BARRELS of blood in an average lifetime. That's enough blood to fill 3 super tankers!

No wonder the Bible says, "that's where life starts"! Your heart is literally a machine, pumping blood throughout your body to keep you alive day in, day out, while you're sleeping, ALL the time. We are fearfully and wonderfully made! But even more than that, your heart is what drives you. Your heart is where your passion lies. Your heart is what tells you to keep going even when you don't feel like it. It's a VERY important part of you.

So why give it away to every schmo that walks down the pike? Why let every guy or girl you meet and think is cute, take your heart and abuse it however they want? Why do we let ourselves get so desperate that we give our heart away to whomever, wherever, whenever, for no real reason at all? GUARD YOUR HEART. The best One to watch over it for you is Jesus. He's got your heart's best interest in mind, and He will NEVER break your heart. Only He can hold it and not damage it. Only He can carry it through things that it could never live through on its own. Only He can keep it forever, and only HE can protect it from anyone who would try to break it. Above all else, guard your heart. Bury your heart so deeply in the heart of the Lord that the man or woman of God who is the right one for you will have to search the Lord's heart to find it. It's an important thing. GUARD YOUR HEART.


***Jess