Proverbs 31:27-28
27 She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:

 
If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place, but have not Love, I am a housekeeper—not a homemaker.
If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements, but have not Love,
 my children learn cleanliness—not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child’s laugh. Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window. Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk. Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys. Love is present through the trials. Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive. Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler,
 runs with the child, then stands aside
 to let the youth walk into adulthood. Love is the key that opens salvation’s message to a child’s heart.

Before I became a mother I took glory in my house of perfection. Now I glory in God’s perfection of my child. As a mother, there is much I must teach my child, but the greatest of all is Love.  

Author Unknown

Revelation 5:5    
“Stop weeping; behold, the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah,
the Root of David, has overcome so as to open the book and its seven seals.”

$575 million! That’s how much money Disney’s new movie; The Avengers is slated to bring in by the end of this weekend. I am not sure if it was slick marketing or the worlds undeniable desire to have someone save the world, but whatever it was, an amazing crowd of people handed over anywhere from five to twenty dollars in cash to watch movie stars play comic book superheroes to save the world from a superficial enemy that can easily be defeated.

What is more tragic is the fact that we know a real savior who has saved humanity from eternal damnation and still changes lives today, yet often we are hesitant to put more than a dollar in the offering, we yawn through worship and have no interest in getting others to come and meet this savior. Tragic that are world is so upside down; that we would rather see actors play comic book superheroes than be in the presence of the Almighty God who has saved our souls and who can bless our lives beyond our wildest dreams. Looking for a savior today? Forget the Hulk and Captain America, look to someone who has conquered death, hell and the grave and who defeated his arch enemy Satan with his little finger.  Jesus! There is no one like Him.

Luke 6:48  
He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock;
and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built.

How are you built? Realize the larger the building, the deeper and stronger the foundations. Structures that will stand the test of time take time to build. Long before we ever see anything above the ground there can be months of preparation. When LC was being built it seemed as nothing was going on for months; ground was being moved, gravel poured and pipes put in place but to someone passing by it may have appeared nothing was happening, but in reality the success of the structure was being put in place. Success starts long before you see the completed structure rising to the sky.

Why do I mention this? Because I feel God is building some great structures at LC.  They may not look like much, but foundations are being prepared. Some are beginning to understand the importance of regular prayer, the necessity of daily Bible reading and the value of being faithful to church. Others are seeing the importance of living a repentant lifestyle, of having a clean heart and right spirit. Some are quick to criticize because they don’t see anything externally, but don’t be so quick to judge, just because it doesn’t look like much is happening on the outside doesn’t mean God isn’t up to something great. Caution! LC, a work in progress! Great things are on there way!

I’ve been doing some digging the past few weeks putting in new plants around the house and as I have, I’ve found that depending on where I dig, there are different kinds of soil. In some places the soil is soft and rich while in others places the soil is sandy or rocky. Something else that I’ve noticed, the better the dirt the better my grass grows and the faster my shrugs and trees grow. Good soil makes the difference.

Can you imagine how overwhelmed you would have been upon arriving at the tomb of Jesus expecting to see a stone covering the entrance and Roman Centurions guarding his body? What would your reaction be to a stone rolled away, Centurions nowhere to be found and an empty tomb. How would you have reacted? Fear, surprise, uncertainty, shock and awe are all words that could be used. Who can imagine what thoughts and feelings Mary, Simon Peter and John felt that day; we can only imagine.

The odds of winning were 176 million to one, yet over one hundred million people played the lottery this week hoping they might luck into the $640 million jackpot. Those who played had hopes that all their cares, worries and problems would be resolved by winning the jackpot. Tragically, winning a lottery has no guarantees of solving all the issues in a person’s life, in fact, some studies suggest just the opposite; that those who win lottery’s often find their lives turned for the worse. Greed, envy and jealousy grip the heart and suddenly all the dreams that they thought would experience come crashing down in disappointment.

If you want to invest in something that will bring true peace and joy, I suggest in building a relationship with Jesus.  Paul, in Romans calls living in God’s kingdom a place of peace and joy. Give me the choice between Mega-Millions and a genuine infilling of the Holy Spirit and which one am I going to choose? God’s Spirit in me every time; it brings me peace and joy as I live this life but something even greater once this life is over, it gives me eternal life. The way that I look at it, I’ve already won the lottery, peace down here, a mansion in heaven and eternity with Jesus. Jackpot!!!

Time, it marches on but as it does life changes. In the last 100 years we have seen some of the greatest changes the world has ever experienced because of technological advances and increase of knowledge. Mirroring the changes in society we are living in a very different Christian world. 

2 Chronicles 34:2
He did right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of his father David
and did not turn aside to the right or to the left.

This week while visiting a building where a business was moving I noticed a plaque in the boardroom that honored them as a fortune 500 company for three straight years beginning in 2005. It struck me strange because the company had already closed one division and was in the process of moving because their business was struggling so badly. In five short years the company had went from being the icon of success to a business of irrelevance.

As churches venture into the 21st century we must be careful that they don’t become irrelevant. Notice I said the churches and not the Gospel. The Gospel will never become irrelevant, never loose its power and never be in danger; it will always be the power to save and no man or government will ever bring the gospel to a place of irrelevance. What churches must do, in particular Life Connections, is make sure we stay relevant. How do we stay relevant? Actually it’s pretty simple. We must stay on our knees, stay in the Word, walk in faith, love God and godliness, love others and members must stay active and involved in their church. If we do, rest assure that LC will be a relevant and powerful force for years to come.

Genesis 17:7    
I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you
throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.

We pass down heirlooms, antiques and special mementos from days gone by. We save schoolwork from kids, newspapers from major events that happen and cards with special words of love and appreciation. While there are many things we can pass down one thing we cannot pass down to the next generation, is our salvation experience. Every generation must experience what those in Acts 2 experienced for themselves. Every person in a true book of Acts church is a first generation Christian. That is why today is important. This generation must experience the promise.

With every generation comes new music and new challenges, but what must never change is the Gospel. Every generation needs to hear the death, burial and resurrection. Every generation must experience a water and Spirit baptism. While the music will be different today, the message will be the same as it was 2000 years ago. Repent and be baptized every one of you and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Lets see another first generation of young people experience the great experience of the moving of the Holy Spirit.

Philippians 3:10    
that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being conformed to His death

Point one, as in 0.1. Call it a crack in the armor, a moment of weakness or maybe admittance that his theory was flawed. Whatever the reason, the world’s most famous atheist, Richard Dawkins said this week that he could not be sure that there was no God. He said that if it were on a scale of 7 that he was 6.9 sure that there was no God, but he couldn’t be sure. Whether it was the life of a saint, a verse in God’s Word or an aspect of nature, something has brought a question to Mr. Dawkins flawed theory.

While most of our world is not at the place that Mr. Dawkins is, many have eliminated or dismissed God from their lives. While they do not come out and say there is no God, their goals and lifestyles say it clearly. I don’t how you see God, but I see Him as my redeemer, ever-present help, counselor and the one who is acquainted with my grief and sorrow. He orders my steps and leads me in the paths of righteousness. I have no question as to if there is a God, I only long to know Him more.

1 Corinthians 15:55    
O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

The Washington Times: “In her last earthly act today, Whitney Houston took the world to church.” An estimated 10 million people watched as Whitney Houston was eulogized yesterday, and truly, the world went to church. For the first time ever many saw, felt and experienced God in a way that they had never experienced Him before. While some will focus on the poor choices of Whitney Houston or the over zealousness to call her God’s child, the true value gained from her service is that in the tragedy she brought so many to new revelation of how good it is to be in God’s presence. 

Whether it was an old spiritual from the choir, the consoling words of T.D. Jakes or the Winan family singing “Tomorrow,” the word that kept blaring was Jesus. One wonders what it was like in the two eternal realms. Satan thinking, foiled again, while Jesus was thinking, “oh death where is your victory.” What I know is that in some way and some how God can always take our tragedies and make treasure. Keep the faith!

Yesterday Mary sent me to the grocery store to buy icing bags and somehow I walked out with a new set of knives. The old adage never send a man to the grocery store without a list and specific instructions played itself again in the Hudson home. It’s amazing, as I walked into Kroger I never intended on buying knives but before I knew it I was watching a demonstration and was walking out the door with knives.

The same thing I experienced at the store can happen in our spiritual lives. How many times have you heard, “I never intended for it to go that far,” or “It wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.” David learned in his own life how quickly one could get mixed up when he decided to skip the battle and instead found himself on the roof watching Bathsheba. His words in Psalms 1 are a warning, notice the progression of the man; he walks, stands and then sits. Keep your focus as you walk through life, don’t let the adversary sell you something you really had no interest in buying in the first place.

Acts 22:61-62
The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.”
62 And he went out and wept bitterly.

It had been grinding, shuddering and shaking for over a month. My son, daughter and wife all were complaining, yet I procrastinated. People would call saying our garage door was up and I procrastinated still. Only when I pulled up and it would only go half way did I decide it was time to get a new garage door opener. Why was I so negligent? I knew it was broken and that it was causing grief in my family. All I had to do was go to the store and buy a new one. Finally this week I made the purchase, took a couple of hours to put it up and smiles were everywhere.

What I did with my garage door opener is what many of us do with problems in our lives. We know we have a problem, know its bringing stress to our family, yet rather than dealing with it, taking it to God, we procrastinate and deny there is any problem. Dealing with a problem in your life? Decide to deal with it today and see the peace that will come to your life. It sure did in mine.

 
Delays. No one enjoys having to wait. As I write I am on my third flight delay...waiting. While its one thing to wait on a flight or a meal, you know the plane will take off or the meal will come, it's quite another when God says wait. But waiting seems to be a part of God's divine plan. Joseph waited in a jail while God got everything ready for him to ascend to second in command and Moses waited in the wilderness while God prepared Egypt for Hebrews exodus.

While we don't always understand Gods ways or reasons, if you're waiting it's probably because He's up to something big. By the way, as I finish writing this devotion I'm now on the plane sitting where the stewardess offered me a wing seat with extra leg room....ahhhhh, it was worth the wait!