Sept 9 & 10, 2025 – To Do
When I opened my “To Do” notes page in my phone to add to my list for today, I started reading through all of my notes from the past year when I was caring for my father. I almost couldn’t believe all that I was handling and figuring out and now it’s just…over. The next season of my life has begun. In the middle of all of those notes, I saw something I’d written that has been a bit of a theme these last months, “Less about Bible knowledge and more about what God is doing in you.” That is part of what Lisa Harper talks about in her book, A Jesus-Shaped Life and her accompanying study book which my small group will begin studying tomorrow. Lisa wrote in chapter 1, “…information about God is a poor substitute for intimacy with Him.”
Power (9th) – Ps 143:4-5 – “Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me [wrapped in gloom]; my heart within my bosom grows numb. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your doings; I ponder the work of Your hands.” I’m glad I hadn’t erased the notes about my father’s care yet because it helps me realize how much You carried me these years and how You have blunted some of the tougher memories.
Like David, I was starting to lament over other things from the past (further back than the years of taking care of Daddy), but that verse made me stop and try to list what had been good about the times that I was remembering as sad which I was letting affect my mood today. Joyce encourages us with, “David focused his thoughts on something good, and it helped him overcome depression….Think thoughts that will add power to your life, not ones that drain your strength and energy.”
Power (10th) – 1Kings 19:11-12 talks about the “still, small voice” which takes me back to my experiences in the airport (and other times) when the Holy Spirit was whispering to and trying to direct me. I think the key to being sensitive to His voice is directly related to the amount of time we spend with Him. I’m not saying I’ve arrived by any means, but I’m saying that I can tell a difference now as opposed to the past and am learning to recognize His voice more (or to at least slow down and listen for it, as I would for a loved one’s voice in a crowd).
Joyce continues, “He rarely lets us in on His entire plan at the beginning. Obey what you sense in your heart that you are to do, and when He is ready He will show you the next thing….be thankful….you will find your sensitivity to God’s voice increasing….Just get quiet and listen, and expect Him to lead you….”
Prevail 253 – John 10:10 – “The thief does not come except to steal, and kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” This makes me think of the 25th when the enemy tried to bring strife into a happy situation. With the help of God, others, and their prayers, we told the enemy to go and he did. It was powerful to experience such relief after such desperation.
Larson continues, “Our enemy searches and looks for every opportunity to disrupt our lives….Thankfully, we can know that every time the devil makes a move, God already has a plan.” We just need to remember to call on Him, sooner than later. “If we allow enemy influence more than we contend for eternal blessings, we’ll miss the fullness Jesus offers here. The happiest people on the planet are those who wholeheartedly follow Jesus and live like His promises are true.”
Larson sends us to read John 10. Verse 38 makes me think of Harper’s study about theology and orthopraxy and living rightly: “But if I do [the works of my father], even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” That makes me think of that song we used to sing at youth events when I was young, “They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love….” Sorry to plant that ear worm for those who are now humming that song. John 13:34-35 tells us, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Our character and beliefs come out through our words and actions. Sometimes we are too fearful to speak up or take an action, but as we grow in our faith, I believe we step out more boldly out of instinct sort of like soldiers do in tense situations that their training prepares them for. Think back to the tense situations in recent years in the NY subway and the train in Europe when the soldiers acted immediately to protect the other passengers; and, now, to the light train in Europe when it seemed no one came, at least for a while, to the Ukrainian woman’s aid after she was stabbed. I understand the fear of getting involved. I’ve twice faced a person’s health crisis literally at my feet, both on a public street, but my reactions were slow for fear they were setups to attack me. I helped more quickly the second time though because of lament over being slower the first time. Joyce Meyer was on the cover of one of the Woman’s World magazines I bought in the DC airport Saturday and in it she’s quoted as saying, “Confidence doesn’t mean you never feel afraid – it means you trust God enough to do it afraid….Our true confidence comes from believing that if God called us to it, He’ll see us through it.”
Max (9th) – Psalm 145:18 – “The Lord is close to everyone who prays to Him.” That makes total sense. He is about relationship. Our relationships with others grow more when we communicate and spend time with each other. Prayer is our way of communicating and spending time with God. Max’s devotion is about more than relationship though. He points out that, through prayer, “Our heavenly Father has invited us to be his partner…” as we join Him in praying for others.
Max (10th) – Proverbs 25:11 – “The right word spoken at the right time is as beautiful as gold apples in a silver bowl.” I have my mother’s book Applies of Gold somewhere in my house which used to sit on the living room side table in my childhood home. This book, the Proverb, and Max’s words remind me that “positive emotions help us strengthen our relationships and even improve our physical health because they increase our energy.”
Speaking of physical health, in the section of the Joyce Meyer interview entitled “Exercise is spirit-lifting”, she said that 20 years ago God had been putting it on her heart to begin exercising or “you won’t be strong for the last third of your journey”. He’s been doing that with me lately too (well, longer than lately, but lately I’ve been paying more attention and maybe it’s because He’s been sending more messages since I haven’t acted on the earlier ones!) What got me was that the article said she is 82; so, she didn’t start really exercising until her 60s. There’s hope for me then; so, I’m off for my walk!
