Take away my foolish desires

 A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Psalm 119:37 CEV
Take away my foolish desires,
   and let me find life
   by walking with you.

Oswald Chambers writes. "The test of the life of a saint is not success, but faithfulness in human life as it actually is. We will set up success in Christian work as the aim; the aim is to manifest the glory of God in human life, to live the life hid with Christ in human conditions. Our human relationships are the actual conditions in which the ideal life of God is to be exhibited. "

Rich Mullins writes "I'd rather fight you for something I don't really want than take what you give that I need. And I beat my head against so many walls ....I'm falling on my knees.

In church on Sunday along with serving communion we had a basked filled with promises from the word of God. We believed that God could put in the had of each person the verse that they needed.
The verse I picked was Matthew 7:7-8 Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you: For every one that asks receives, and he that seeks find; and to him that knocks it shall be opened.

I find myself sometimes hesitant to ask because I'm not sure what God wants.  I'd like my life to feel like it fits me. I'm sure that makes no sense at all to anyone reading. Its an odd feeling like I am slogging along in clothes and shoes that are way too big for me. Maybe a bit like David felt trying to wear Saul's armor. He finally had to say I don't need this armor. I've got my sling and my stone and I believe that God will slay this Giant. Maybe I am trying to wear old clothes that are part of an older version of my life and I am realizing more and more that they don't fit and they continually trip me up and frustrate me. I think of Oswald Chambers words "The test of the life of a saint is not success, but faithfulness in human life as it is." Well my life as it is often tests me, I'm not sure I pass with flying colors in the faithfulness end of the spectrum. There's a lot of the time that I would just assume re-write the story. In my coaching there are activities to help you determine what is important to you. You think ahead 5 years and ask"What does my life look like? What's my office like, what am I doing in my life.It is really hard for me to think ahead like that - I seem to have a hard time dreaming. I think because I have had dreams that have de-railed. Dreams all to often are not just me - they include other people. Life happens and other people have their own will and dreams and things quite often don't turn out like we think they should have and we are left to deal with the outcome our our choices and those of others. Which is what trips me up on the dreaming side of things. I can deal with goals because they seem to me to be more built on things that I am able to control. Little steps taken today and over the next days and months and years build a path to reach the goal or a tangible dream.  I think about the back yard mosaic project of Sam Rodia.  He writes "I want my life to be full of light, color and flavor. I want to read, write and build for myself a world where anything and everything is possible." Here is a link to a film about this one man backyard project that takes him 30 years to complete.  I got to go visit the towers a couple of years ago. It was interesting because my dad had lived in California for years and had never seen the towers. As we drove through the very low income area it was hard to think we could possibly be in the right place or what it might be that we would find. We were all blown away by the size and the beauty of the towers and that one man would take and dedicate himself to building the towers.

The towers and Sam Rodia simple life speak to me in a profound way. That though it often seems like we are not getting anywere little by little, line upon line, step by step we can build a dream. With very little resources, mostly things he found cast off by others was used to create an artistic marvel.
Make my life a work of art Lord. May I write, sing, create, and speak into the lives of others, I echo Sam Rodia I'd like my life to be full of light, texture and color.

I wrote a song a while ago called Fractured. Here's a video I did of that song and it has photos from my trip to the Sam Rodia's amazing towers. There is a line in that song "Be my healer, mend my heart, take what's shattered and make a work of art" From that point in my life I have been little by little building a collection of mosaic art projects, recording little bits of music that inspires me, and writing stuff and ministering to hurting people. I look around and I see a big work in progress that sometimes looks to me like a bunch of pointless rubble. I don't make a lot of money from any of it. If that is the measure of success than I have not done so well. While there are days that I feel frustrated and out of sorts with my life (thankfully not too often) the vast majority of my days I am content and at peace with my own life as art project that I'm building.
I thought it was interesting that Sam Rodia after 30 years of building at the age of 75 he decided it was done. He deeded the property to a neighbor and walked away one day to go be near family.

So the verse I chose today says, "Take away my foolish desires, and let me find life by walking with you." I know I can come up with some crazy desires and things that I think I need to hold on to. On the same token I pray that God would help me to hold on to some of the things of glimmers of a vision that by faith he has put in my heart. Help me to be able to figure out which is the foolish stuff and which is the glimmers of vision.  Where the line is between the two is sometimes very hard to determine. I think like the wheat and the weeds in the parable Jesus told of the kingdom. Sometimes God leaves both to grow up together and sorts them out at the harvest.  I know that I approach the future and I keep it in mind in a loose way, that is not grasping or striving and I look around at what I have to work with today and I work on the things that are before me to do. Little by little it adds up. Little by little time spent in the word, or prayer or service to others adds up. Little by little this writing or thousands of bits of broken glass become things like the "Beloved" project.

So I ponder Ask and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you.... I am reminded of a story in 2 Chronicles 1: ⁷ That night God appeared to Solomon and said to him, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” ⁸ Solomon answered God, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. ⁹ Now, LORD God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. ¹⁰ Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”
 ¹¹ God said to Solomon, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honor, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, ¹² therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honor, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.”


I think about what I would most want and it is to know the Lord more deeply, more intimatly, to like Solomon to request wisdom to lead the people God has given me to lead and influence. I'd like to feel like my life is taylor fit to who and what God has created me to do and be for His glory.  I can't decide if I need to some how grow into them or if I need to ask God for something that fits me.

I am thankful that the Lord holds me capable of hearing His voice, and to be able to be led by His Spirit and that stuff that is confusing or overwhelming to me today will make more sense tomorrow and along the way there is Jesus who has promised that His yoke is easy and His burden is light and I am glad he walks beside me and carries the most of the weight.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Help us each to fit better into the life and the plans and purposes you have for us. Help us to know what to take off and what to put on. Be near us Jesus, fill us a fresh with your Holy Spirit and draw us to the throne room of the Father. Thank you for understanding and working on our behalf even when everything around us trys to say "where is God?" Lord I know you will never leave me or forsake me. 

Creating a Behavioral Covenant

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Matthew 22:34-40, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind....You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

 There are days when being in a family is difficult and takes purposeful effort to deal with things rather than just shove them under the rug. It is easy to think we can ignore our problems and they will go away. Generally that is not the case and they tend to fester and build up resentment till someone pops.

Today I had a really rough day emotionally. I realized that it was not just one thing but a whole bunch of little things that had added up to me feeling frustrated and discouraged.  I am thankful to have some people in my life that don't let me get away with stuffing and hiding and are quick to realize when I am not ok.  Those same people know that I am trying to be more transparent, honest and open and they prayed for me an held my feet to the fire.  They also held me capable of finding the solutions I needed with God's help.

So we had a family meeting and talked about Ephesians 4:15:32. As a family of believers we needed to agree to working thing out and to work to build stronger relationships with each other on the foundations of Christian principles and love.  Family takes work - and I realized that I had put off dealing with some attitudes and behaviors. That we had reached a place of needing to work things out.
So I give you Ephesians and Colossians 3:12-17 as the guides we used but there are many other verses that one might work from as well. It is a starting place.

We made a list of some of the things we value: Kindness, respect, honesty, love, forgiving, hard work, and doing things together. (I'm sure there are other things but these are what came to mind)

Then we made a list of behavior guidelines so that we can work through difficulties together.

• Listen to hear what the other is saying - don't be planning your defense.

• No name calling

• No foul or rude language

• Don't interrupt

• Don't Monopolize the conversation - give others a chance to respond and share their hearts.

• Be truthful in your appoligies

• Give others space to process.

• Allow for a timed cooling off or processing period with an agreement to come back and finish and resolve the issue.

• Respect others way of doing things.

• Watch sarcasm and being disrespectful.

• Review these things about once a month. As they may need some adjusting.
 
Ephesians 4:15-32(CEV)
15Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ, the head 16of the body. Christ holds it together and makes all of its parts work perfectly, as it grows and becomes strong because of love.
The Old Life and the New Life
 17As a follower of the Lord, I order you to stop living like stupid, godless people. 18Their minds are in the dark, and they are stubborn and ignorant and have missed out on the life that comes from God. They no longer have any feelings about what is right, 19and they are so greedy that they do all kinds of indecent things. 20-21But that isn't what you were taught about Jesus Christ. He is the truth, and you heard about him and learned about him. 22You were told that your foolish desires will destroy you and that you must give up your old way of life with all its bad habits. 23Let the Spirit change your way of thinking 24and make you into a new person. You were created to be like God, and so you must please him and be truly holy.
Rules for the New Life
 25We are part of the same body. Stop lying and start telling each other the truth. 26Don't get so angry that you sin. Don't go to bed angry 27and don't give the devil a chance.
28If you are a thief, quit stealing. Be honest and work hard, so you will have something to give to people in need.
29Stop all your dirty talk. Say the right thing at the right time and help others by what you say.
30Don't make God's Spirit sad. The Spirit makes you sure that someday you will be free from your sins.
31Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don't yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. 32Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.



Anyway we were able to work through some of the difficulties, frustrations and hurts that had built up. I guess my point of this is that sometimes to even be able to deal with stuff together we need to set some ground rules. For you it might be to remember the rules for fair fighting, or to create a list of things to agree all involved will all work to abide by so that we can deal with the issues at hand.

In my tendency towards being very private about the struggles I face in my life, I realize that there are others who would be helped if I am able to be open and honest.  Mostly its allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and finding the courage to deal with things not just wait for that straw that breaks the camels back and then try to pick up the pieces. I would encourage you to be pro-active.

Dear Lord,
Help us each to deal in a right way with the relationships in our lives and the dynamics of family and friendships that are at times hard to navigate through. Bring peace to the storms of our lives and help us to keep our eyes on you and to allow you to lead us to wise and right solutions for the things we are currently facing.

Spinning A New Story

Spinning A New Story
A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Click here for this calendar

Hosea 12:9-11 NIV 1984

 ⁹ “I am the LORD your God,
   who brought you out of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
   as in the days of your appointed feasts.
¹⁰ I spoke to the prophets,
   gave them many visions
   and told parables through them.”





I have been thinking about what someone said at the Navigate conference I recently attended about how Jesus created culture through the telling parables. In looking up parables in my concordance I have discovered that parable telling is not just a practice of the New Testament  but is also well established in the old.

Psalm 78: 2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old—


Proverbs 1:5-7

5 let the wise listen and add to their learning,
   and let the discerning get guidance—
6 for understanding proverbs and parables,
   the sayings and riddles of the wise.

 7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
   but fools despise wisdom and discipline.

Think about the many stories that are told through out the Bible. Little children learn about Cain and Able, and Noah and The Arc, David and Goliath and so many others. From those stories we begin to learn about God. We see how others encountered God and we learn not only from the stuff they did right but from the stuff they messed up. If God put my story in the Bible - what would that story be like? Would I be the victim or the hero, would I be the lead or the supporting character in someone else's story. I love how the stories I read in my bible the people are rarely perfect. You get their triumphs of faith along with their dismal failures.


I realize that the art of telling a story or even a joke is not my strong suit. I have been good at writing things that encourage people but not so good at spinning a story. I was reading in one of my life coaching books by Laurie Beth Jones in it she writes "Most types of therapy involve someone listening to an old story and helping the client find new meaning in it. Only when the person has transferred from believing the old story (I am a victim) to believing a new story (this event is only helping me to be a much stronger person) does real healing take place."


"She also writes that the words store and story are very similar for a reason. The mind remembers what it attaches emotion to, and by incorporating stories around facts or perceptions, the memory improves."



I have a very hard time talking about the past, be it good or bad. I realize that my tendency is to just keep moving forward. I have found that I have had to go back and look at some of the stories I did hold on to. I realize some of them I could only see from one angle that my perception was very limited. Jesus has had to help me to stepping back I realized there was more going on in those stories than I had previously realized. I have had to accept that in some cases I completely misunderstood the signals others around me were trying to communicate because I filtered them through my own hurts. I am realizing that it is only with Jesus' help that I can make sense of the past and not freak out about the future.



One option is to tell a story from the prospective of the person experiencing the event. One of the reasons that I love to read books is because it gives you a chance to really get into the mind of someone else. It allows me to see somethings from another perspective. I can from a safe place on my couch think about how I might have walked out that moment had I been part of the story. Another way to tell a story is from a all knowing and all seeing prospective. There are characters acting out a story and the one telling has the broad view of whats happening.



I think in telling our own story we need to not only tell it from our own experience but also step back and find that broader view. How does this thing I am going through play into the bigger story that Jesus is orchestrating.  In the November 9th page of Jesus Calling by Sarah Young she writes. "When a future-oriented worry assails you , capture and disarm it by suffusing the Light of My Presence into that mental image. Say to yourself, "Jesus will be with me then and there. With His help, I can cope!"

It is easy to try and deal with the past and the future on our own. We need to remember to take Jesus with us into both of those places. He will never leave or forsake you, so take him with you when you think about the past or the future. He alone can help you see them from the right perspective.


I think it is true not only of the future that we too often worry about but also the past. We need to invite Jesus to go back and revisit those old memories and stories. He has the advantage of being able to see the bigger picture even when we can't. Our focus can be so limited to what is right before our nose that we miss most of what is really going. How do we fit into the larger story of God's plans and purposes?


So I find myself thinking about a new story, a new script, new vision. What might it look like if I allowed myself to dream. I remember a friend who always had these elaborate dreams about what he wanted to do and be. That same person was great at dreaming amazing things but lacked the motivation, and the purpose to do much more than wish that those dreams would some how land in his lap. I realize I tend to be the polar opposite of that I don't like dreams unless I can figure out how to make them happen. In my mind dreams are wispy wishful things that most people only give lip service. Things like someday I want to direct and orchestra, or fly a plane or go to the moon. I hear many people share there wispy type dreams with a sense of longing and realization that its nice to think about but would require far more sacrifice and commitment then they ever really intend to apply. For me I hear those kind of dreams and I think why bother if you are not going to pursue them in some way. What's the point. I don't want to live my life vicariously by watching others live out their dreams on the TV. I prefer vision and goals over dreams. Its like my art I have a moment of inspiration where I can see the finished idea in my mind and I hold on to that and try to capture it in some rough form. I realize that to get to that finished idea that I will have to begin the often long journey of drawings, and experiments and then commit to the tedious long hours of laying glass.  It is true in life and in the stories we begin to tell ourselves that we need to step back to understand the bigger picture. I think for me I need to spend a little more time cultivating some of the wilder wispy dreams or glimmers of inspiration and by them to reach for bigger things than I often try to tackle.

John Eldredge writes "Our adversary also suduces us to abide in certain emotions that act as less-wild lovers, particularly shame, fear, lust, anger and false guilt. They are emotions that "protect" us from the more dangerous feelings of grief, abandonment, disappointment, loneliness, and even joy and longing, that threaten to roam free in the wilder environs of the heart. These are the feelings that frighten us, sometimes even long years into our Christian journey."


I know for myself that I have insulated myself from feeling or dealing with pain, grief and disappointment. Going back with Jesus means that I will need to face those great fears and allow myself to feel them at last and put them away repented of, and forgiven and clean.  For me to even begin to tell the stories I must first allow myself to feel them. I know that I still have a long journey ahead of me as I learn to tell my own stories and become more open and transparent.



Prayer

Dear Lord,

Help us to see how we fit into your bigger story. Help us go back with you to look at some of the old memories and stories and to begin to see them in the light of your purpose. How have the things we experienced molded and shaped us to be able to better deal with the things you have for us to do today. How can we look back and take up faith because we remember that you have seen us through difficulties time and time again. Lord, be our vision and help us to dream bigger but to also break the dream down in to manageable chunks or goals and help us to begin to take those small steps of faith to  move along in our journey from here to there.

Hold Me Jesus

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

That me in the middle taking notes during Navigate

This is our Pacific North West Navigate team of 3 churches

James 3:17 - 18  

“ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, 
then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, 
full of mercy and good fruits, with out variance, 
without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness 
is sown in peace for them that make peace.







I am running way behind today in getting something posted.  Last night tired caught up with me and I just had to say I'm done and go to bed. So for those of you who look forward to this early in the morning I apologize. I have a couple of things that I have been working on that are in the process of being ready to post. This is one I wrote while in route to Minnesota for the Navigate conference. Finding Gods peace in the midst of a busy day seems to be something I need today as well.


I am on the plane in route to Denver where we will have a quick layover on the way to Minnesota. I’m currently listening to Rich Mullins song Hold Me Jesus which seems a good spring board from which to write. So Hold me Jesus - cause I’m shaking like a leaf  - you have been King of my glory, won’t you be my prince of peace.



Seems the Lord is speaking to me a lot about peace lately. I was struck the other day by how many salutations and greeting in the New Testament letters are about peace. The writers seem to think is an important thing with which to open a letter and to pray over their readers. So I will follow that example and pray that God would bless you with a greater understanding of Him as your Prince of Peace.

James 3:17 - 18  Says “ But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, with out variance, without hypocrisy. 18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace for them that make peace.

Peace often requires standing up for what is right. It is often walking into a difficult situation and rather than escalating the situation helping to diffuse the anger of those present. We have ample opportunities to practice this in our work in the inner city with the homeless and poor. There are days when people come in very agitated. On those days our job as believers in the room is to help settle and calm the the tension in the room.

You may have opportunities to bring God’s peace into the situations that you find yourself in today. There may be very traumatized people that you encounter today that need not only your prayers but for you to bring peace, to remind them that they will be ok, that they need to breathe and trust and accept the help that is being afforded to them by your very presence.

I think we often wrongly think that peace is all about floating in our own personal peace bubble. Quite often it is more the ability to walk into a stress filled situation and bring peace to others. It is the mercy of God working through you to bring grace and peace into a situation in which little or none existed until you came on the scene to bring the fruit of peace that you have gained from the wisdom of spending time in the presence of the Lord. 

Prayer:
So Hold Me Jesus  - walk near me in difficult situations as I am dealing with troubled and difficult people. Help us to be a living bible - the only one they may read today. Help us to demonstrate the your peace in the midst of the storms we are personally facing and those of others whose lives we touch.  Lord I think of the line in Rich Mullin's sings that says “I’d rather fight you for what I don’t really want than take what you give that I need”. Help me to accept those things I need and to stop fighting you for those things that I don't need. Help me to have the wisdom to know the difference.
Help me to accept it when you say no, or not now, to maintain trust and hope that you are working and you know better than I what I truly need.

As for me and my household

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

IOU A Kiss & Hug Postage by MargotsDesigns
custom stamps usps made on zazzle.com

Joshua 24:15

“But if serving the LORD
seems undesirable to you, then choose
for yourselves this day whom you will serve,
whether the gods your forefathers served
beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites,
in whose land you are living.
But as for me and my household,
we will serve the LORD.””

Today was very long with church business and planning meetings. We got a lot accomplished but have found that we will need to add an additional meeting each month to get beyond the business at hand and on to things like vision and purpose. Even on days when I am tired from meetings I am thankful for the God that I serve and that I am given the privilege to be a part of building His kingdom. Much like Joshua we need to at times stand up and say if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you and you would prefer to return to your old life - so be it. Me and my family we are going to keep serving the Lord.

We saw a great video while at the Navigate conference about building an plane in the air.  In it they say "were not just building planes, we are building a dream". Sometimes it feels like the task at hand is impossible and we seem to be forever trudging up hill through mud. It is slow going and it is easy to wonder why God may have chose you for such a task. It may be a personal transformation that seems beyond you to overcome. You make two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes you look around and find that you are some how stuck in the same old ruts and ways and you wonder if you will ever manage to get free from the entanglements of the old life. What I love about the bilding a plane in the air video is that its kind of ridiculous it appeals to a heroic sense of adventure. "There's not a lot of thanks up here" - they say but its the smile on a child's face that is "all the thanks I need."

Why do we do the things we do? Why do we bother to try to tackle things that are hard. Why do things like go back to school, its hard, it takes away time from the family. Why do we work long hours, and volunteer at church or in our communities. Why do we go the extra mile for a friend in need? Why do we do those often thankless task that need to be done. Why do we make sacrifices for our family or friends?  It is important to remember why. It helps us keep going on the days that are hard.

It is easy when things get hard to forget the "why". Sometimes we need to re-evaluate because it can be easy to just succumb to the pressure of the urgent and to forget about the things that are important. In the case of my church leadership team we are having to add another meeting to tackle things like visions and direction, to be strategic about how to communicate culture. We have in our hearts a kind of church we want to see become strong and vibrant. We will need to be prayerful and purposeful to get from where we are today, small and struggling to thriving. We look around and see so much need but sympathy alone is not enough. How do we become more kingdom focused. The word says to seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added unto us. I wonder about that sometimes when I feel frustrated trying to make financial ends meet. Here I am serving you Lord and it seems like it is always a struggle financially. I wonder where is the part about all these things being added unto you.  So today I have gone back to see what all those things are.  I've pasted the passage from Matthew 6 below and I will mark all the things that the Lord promises to add to us if we seek first His kingdom.

Part of that seeking first his kingdom seems to be deciding not to worry.

Dang it I'm guilty of that one all too often.  Most of the time I can reel it in but some days it gets the best of me. Help me trust you more Jesus.



Do Not Worry

    25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink;

or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food,

and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow

or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[b]?

   28 “And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 

30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.



It looks like its about food and clothes and physical needs. We are not to worry about what we will eat or what we will wear. But don't miss where it says not to worry about your life, or tomorrow. Those two kind of cover a much bigger bunch of needs and concerns. Like how to pay the bills and all the things that concern us in our daily lives.
So today let us remember to seek first the kingdom, to choose not to worry and to remember as for me and my house we will serve the Lord. Its not always easy but its worth it.  I sound like the guy building the plane in the air but I can look back on the difficulties that I have faced in my life and see that they have indeed molded and shaped me for greater service.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
We choose to give you our concerns and our worries. We choose to trust you. Help us to not look back to the old life with yearning but to remember that we have chosen to follow you step by step, day by day. You know our needs and you are able to take care of the things that concern us.
 

Travelers

A Devotional By Margot Cioccio

Nicole, Margot and Tonia on the way to Navigate

Philemon 1: 20 
“Yea, brother, 
let me have the joy
of thee in the Lord: 
refresh my heart in Christ.”

So I am on the airplane and I am reminded of a song by Carolyn Arrends called Travelers. I heard her in concert, tell the story behind the song. She found herself stuck in an airport with all the other travelers. She talked about how it became harder to tell the Saints and the Sinners apart the longer people were made to wait.

So I’m on the airplane and my patience is being tried by a yippy little dog a few rows ahead. Someone  should have given the poor thing a benydril.
We are 15 minutes into the flight and it is still barking, poor thing. Thankfully I just remembered that because of my sons insistence that I took a bunch of my cd’s and put them on my computer in i-tunes. Whoo hoo I have headphones in my purse. Ta da no more little barking dog.

I think most trails are kind of like the barking dog I can focus on it or I can remember to connect to God. In this case I needed headphones and a little pre planning to have what I needed to pull this off. I think our daily quiet time spent with the Lord does little things in us to prepare us to cope with the trials that we face. I know mine is pretty lame today after all Paul was beaten and flogged within an inch of his life. I have little room to gripe. My quiet prayer time, may not seem terribly significant or eventful each and everyday. There are days where I spend most of my time reading His word and others where all I can manage is to sit and share my thoughts and listen for his voice speaking quietly to my heart.

So next to me my friends are busy with the things they brought to entertain themselves as we travel. One has her i-phone and is playing a word game. The other is re-taking a test we all took in preparation for the training conference we are on our way to attend.
I am of course working on writing. I have about 2000 words a day to reach my goal of 50,000 words by the end of November. So far at day number four I am on track. I am getting better at this daily writing thing. It was much harder at first and lately it is becoming something that I find myself looking forward to doing. Six months ago the thought of being able to keep up with this kind of writing schedule seemed impossible.
I could write long letter and notes to various friends with out too much difficulty.
So this writing journey has caused me to stretch and grow and what was hard in the past is becoming a habit.  I’m still not sure where it will take me exactly at this point my short term goal is the 50,000 words for November and then a little longer term goal is to complete 365 posts for this devotional. I’m not sure what is beyond that. I have heard that writers often struggle with developing the daily discipline of writing. I can see how this journey is helping to form and establish that discipline in my life.

Well they are now coming by with the drink cart. What refreshment do I want and need at this time. The song in my ears is talking about how we can become drunk on the things of this world. This world has all that I could want and nothing that I need. This world has nothing for me and this world has every thing.  Seem fitting, we are barraged by so much stuff from the world around us, offering to entertain us, numb our pain, to distract us with the urgent over the important.

I am enjoying the connivence of the concordance in my new i-phone. It as helped to make the job of writing much more efficient. So I took a moment to look up a wee bit of spiritual refreshment to go a long with my airplane refreshment. I found Philemon 1: 20 that says. “Yea, brother, let me have the joy of thee in the Lord: refresh my heart in Christ.” It is from a story about a slave named Onesimus. Paul meets this guy while in prison. He writes to the owners of this slave who are personal friends of his and he asks that they would receive this slave Onesimus back as a brother. He is hand carrying a letter from Paul in which he asks that they would treat him in the same way they would if it were Paul himself coming back to them. Paul say I am sending him back to you but it feels like I am cutting of my right arm in doing so. There are people in our lives who in their absence can feel like a missing right arm. Paul is a man of honor and does not want to do anything behind the backs of the owners of this slave and so he sends him back to make things right. The verse from Philemon 1:20 say Do me this big favor, friend. You’ll be doing it for Christ, but it will also do my heart good.   It reminds me how as a Christian we need to be reaching out to bring others up in the faith. Paul sets a wonderful example in this by taking this runaway slave and discipling him. He talks of him as if he is a son in the faith. I think there are people we need to sort of adopt into our life and they become close like family. In so doing we model hopefully how to walk day by day in the Lord. Helping them to become solid in the foundations of the faith and how to be led by the Holy Spirit in daily life. There are some folks like Onesimus that need to be encourage at some point to go back and make things right in various situations in their life.  We are to extend not only hospitality to travelers but also to help others much like Paul helps Onesimus. He disciples and trains him in the things of the Lord but he also speaks up on his behalf regarding the change that he has witnessed in this man’s life. He offers to even pay for the damages that Onesimus may have occurred in his previous state of unbelief.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Refresh us and help us to refresh other travelers who are on a journey to know you. Help us to open up our lives and let others in. Help us develop and grow so that we may in turn refresh and help others to grow. Remind us that we are all travelers on a journey to know you more.

The Kingdom of God is like...

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

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Luke 17:20-21
Once, having been asked by the Pharisees 
when the kingdom of God would come, 
Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God does
not come with your careful observation,  
²¹ nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or 
‘There it is,’ because the kingdom 
of God is within you.”


It was brought out in one of the sessions at the Navigate conference that I attended that Jesus was a master at shaping culture. He was on a mission to help us to better understand what life in The Kingdom looked like.

Almost every parable Jesus tells is shaping and reinforcing the values of the kingdom.
Matthew 13 is a good example of a variety of example stories given for kingdom living.

The Kingdom of God is like..... in the parables and stories that follow are examples of Jesus reinforcing the culture of the Kingdom. Pretty cool I had not really considered the great importance of the parables before this. I knew they had life lessons but I did not fully connect the dots that in telling those stories Jesus was communicating how he wanted us to begin to function and live as his followers and citizens of the Kingdom of God. 

So in Matthew 13
...like an man who sowed good seed but while he slept an enemy sowed weeds. - hows that handled?
...like a mustard seed - the smallest becomes the largest
...like the yeast or leaven in bread - a little permeates the whole loaf
...like a treasure that man finds hidden in a field - what does he do?
...like a merchant looking for choice pearls - when he finds one how does he respond?
...like a net, that was casts in to the sea, when pulled in the good and the bad is sorted
Matthew 18
...unless you become as little children ... you can’t enter the Kingdom of God

Luke 17 ...the kingdom of God is within you

John 18:36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world:

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 gives some good things to begin to live into.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but might before God to the casting down of strongholds) 5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every though into the captivity to the obedience of Christ.

All these things help us begin to realize that God does not do things the way we have always done them in our carnal life before accepting and believing in Jesus. He holds out to us the example of his own life. I see him reaching out to the broken, the outcast, the forgotten, the demon possessed, and a bunch of guys that needed purpose and a reason for getting up in the morning. I think it is interesting that all those guys were willing to die for what they believed. Almost all of them were killed and martyred. Presumably they were given the opportunity to deny him at that point and live but they are rock solid even in the face of torture and looming death.

Jesus poured into them his way of life and the principles of the kingdom in the Sermon on the mount and in the many stories he told and by how he lived and walked among them. He promised he would raise from the dead, he promised to send the Holy Spirit to lead and guide them and us into all truth. He delivered all he said he would do. They were secure in their belief, had it been mere folly these people would have chosen life over the cruel deaths most of them faced.

What does this all mean to you and I?
It means we need to begin to allow the Lord to transform our lives. 
Perhaps you will take the time to read through some of those The Kingdom is like... passages and consider how you might apply those truths to your life.

This is how we do life in the kingdom: In the kingdom of heaven we forgive, we go the extra mile, we race to the cross when we mess up, give sacrificially, we pray for others, we turn the other cheek. we die and we get life. Those are just some of the things that come to mind about how the culture of the kingdom works.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
Would you give us great insight as we seek you in your Word, help us to see some ways that we can become more allow the culture of your Kingdom way of living to be more evident in our lives. Thank you for your Holy Spirit leading and guiding us into all truth. We ask for your wisdom as we read these passages about the Kingdom. Help us to be doers of your word and not just those who hear but choose not to respond.

(PS. Sorry I'm running a bit late in getting this posted today. Thanks for your patience)