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The writer of Psalm 119 knew well that bad company corrupts good character.  In verse 115, he told evildoers to get away so that he could keep God’s commands.

I got to thinking about how some of my activities pull me away from God’s commands.  Now, I’m not referring to what most of us would classify as “big” sins such as adultery, murder, or homosexuality.  I am thinking of seemingly innocent things like using the computer.  While the Internet can be a wonderful tool, how many times do we find ourselves spending more time there than necessary?  After all, we could be spending that time in the Word or in making the house look nice for when our husband comes home at the end of a long day.  We could have spent that time reading to our children or playing with them.  When we realize we have wasted too much time on the computer, our attitude usually changes for the worse.  We realize that we are suddenly pressed for time in getting the evening meal ready or whatever the case may be.  The result is often that we tend to get crabby.  Add a short fuse to our temper, and we can quickly infect those around us.  Before we realize it, the whole family is in a bad mood, thus slightest offense leading to much bickering.

I admit it – I am a FOX news junkie.  With all that is taking place in the world, I find it difficult to turn off the television.  Yet, when they begin to talk about Madonna, Miley Cyrus, or Lindsay Lohan, do I really need to hear it?  To put it bluntly, it is gossip, and God’s Word tells me to avoid it.  If I ignore His commands, I become spiritually infected.

A real wake-up call to me was one morning when I told my daughter that I had a nightmare about Muslims the previous night.  She had an astonished look on her face and replied, “So did I!”  My husband and I knew immediately that the excessive watching of the TV news was not only infecting us, it was also infecting her.

You see, when we allow spiritual infection into our lives, it doesn’t just affect us.  It affects others.  Just as the psalmist took a stand against spiritual infection, we also need to do the same.

Do you need to treat any “infection” in your life?

© 2008, Stacy R Miller

Many years ago, I kept having dreams that I was singing solos at church.  I would wake up and think, “That is weird!  I can’t sing!”  Well, I could sing, but it sounded more like a joyful noise!  Yet, as I continued to have those dreams, I started to hear the Lord telling me that one day I would be singing solos.  About nine months later, I went Christmas caroling with our nursing home ministry team.  I loved it!  I quickly signed up to join the team that went out each week to a local nursing home to do a Sunday service.  Wouldn’t you know it?  The very first Sunday I went, they handed me a microphone and said, “Sing!”  I honestly thought I could hear God laughing!

Now, when I started singing at the nursing home, it wasn’t as if God said, “Start out singing Sandi Patty songs.”  No, He only asked me to sing.  And He was wise enough to start me out in a small setting with people whose hearing wasn’t all that good.” 

Later, He led me to join the church choir.  As I began to strengthen my voice, He built my confidence.  A few years later, I did end up singing several Sandi Patty songs.  I offered to the Lord what little ability I had in those early days at the nursing home, and He took it and multiplied into something bigger.

In Mark 6:30-44, we find the story where Jesus fed the five thousand.  What I love about this story is that Jesus didn’t ask the disciples for what they didn’t have.  He only asked them for what they did have.  “How many loaves do you have?” (verse 38)  Then He blesses it, multiplies it, and uses it far beyond what we can imagine.

When the Lord first told me to start my Internet ministry, I had no expectations of what He was going to do.  I just knew that I had a passion to share with other ladies things I had learned over the years that made a huge impact on my life.  The Lord made it clear that He was going to gift me write in devotional format many lessons I’d learned over the years.  He wasn’t asking me to write a book.  He was only asking of me what I had – a love for writing.  My love for writing is similar to the five loaves and two fish in Mark 6 – that is what I had to offer.

Over the years, the Lord blessed my “loaves and fish.”  I am still amazed that people from every continent have signed up to receive my monthly devotions.  What amazes me even more is that some of my devotions are being translated into three different languages. Now, I don’t share these personal things with you to brag about myself.  Rather, I brag on the Lord because this is His doing! 

Often, I think we get overwhelmed when the Lord begins to show us a new place of ministry.  Dear one, don’t allow yourself to overly burdened with what the Lord reveals to you.  Offer Him what you have.  That is all He asks.  He will be the One to bless your efforts.  You don’t need to worry about whether this new place of ministry will succeed or not.  That is in the Lord’s hands.  Just give Him your “loaves and fish” and watch how He blesses and multiplies them!

© 2008, Stacy R Miller

Drained and Scarred

Several years ago, I began to donate plasma.  I wish I could say that I did it to save lives, for that sounds so noble.  In all honesty, I did it for the money.

After donating twice a week for over a year, there was a period of time where they were having trouble with my veins.  This resulted in being deferred from donating for thirty days so that my arms could have a chance to heal.

About two weeks later, I realized that I felt so much better!  I had much more energy.  In fact, I felt like a new person!  It dawned on me that donating plasma twice a week had subtly drained my energy level.  After discovering that donating had led me to feel like the “walking-dead,” I decided that the money just was not worth the price I was physically paying.  After all, you cannot put a price on your life! 

This experience got me to wondering how many times we allow ourselves to get involved in things which subtly zap us of energy.  We may be involved in activities that drain us instead of refreshing us.  These are often things which have become a drudgery instead of a delight.  Perhaps we have been involved in an area where God is telling us we need to step down, yet we have failed to yield to that call.

There may be things that take a lot of our time.  Time is a precious resource we need to guard wisely.  It is a good idea to evaluate how we are spending our time.  I recently had to do this in regard to an activity I was coordinating and leading.  After weighing the pros and cons, it was clear that I needed to step down.  Though this endeavor was a good one, it was requiring a lot of my time with very little results.

It has been a few years since I have donated plasma, yet I still have scars on both arms from where they inserted those large needles.  It is the same with us in a spiritual sense.  We can end up scarred when we keep giving of ourselves in areas where we have not been called.  When we fail to discern the Lord telling us it is time to leave a certain place of ministry, we can end up with huge spiritual scars because we have failed to obey Him.

For instance, maybe you feel called to help in the nursery.  After a few years, you have a baby.  It could be time to give up that “calling” for a season.  Later, when the baby is older, the Lord may draw you back to that place of ministry.

Spiritual scars can also develop through words spoken to us.  When we choose to harbor bitterness, rather than taking it to the Lord, we can end up scarred. 

We may neglect to spend time with the Lord, discerning His will for our lives.  This not only can lead to more scars on us, but it can also cause us to scar others. 

Do you need to reevaluate your daily commitments?  Are there any activities that drain your energy, your resources, and your time?  Are there things in your life that are causing spiritual scars?

© 2007, Stacy R. Miller

Staggering Drunk

It was a busy Friday night on the highway which runs through our city.  We were out on family excursion when I glanced in the rearview mirror and saw his red eyes, all glazed over.  Drunk….and he was swiftly approaching the rear end of my car.  Of all things, my precious daughter was sitting in the back seat.

I wish I could tell you that was the end of our encounter with the drunken man.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t.  He lives next door to us.  There have been numerous occasions when we have observed him staggering to the door.  We have even viewed him swaying as he walked down the street to the landlord’s house because, in his drunken stupor, he locked himself out of the house.

Ephesians 5:18-19 admonishes us not to get drunk on wine, but to constantly be filled with the Spirit.  John warns us not to love the world because he knew that getting too intimate with worldly things could cause us to develop a spiritual stagger that would lead us from the straight and narrow path. (First John 2:15)

When we are “drunk” on worldly passions, we lock ourselves out from the blessings of God, much like neighbor locked himself out of the house.

When we “drink” too much on earthly things, it is much harder to resist temptation.  When my neighbor couldn’t resist the lure of the bottle, he faced the humiliation of having his name appear in the paper after being arrested for drunk driving.  We may also end up in an embarrassing position when our sin finds us out. (Numbers 32:23) 

Let us be determined to continue walking a godly path so that when Jesus returns, we can stand before Him, confident and unashamed. (First John 2:28)

© 2008, Stacy R Miller

Finding Sanctuary

Have you found it a bit disheartening to see the economy plummeting, yet hear stories of how top executives are still going on lavish retreats?  We hear stories of those who run the mortgage companies and auto industries living the lifestyle of the rich and famous, while we struggle to put food on our table and pay our monthly utility bills.  It reminds me of what the psalmist was observing in Psalm 73.

He began to notice how the proud would prosper despite their wickedness.  They seemingly lived painless lives, with strong, healthy bodies.  They didn’t appear to be troubled like many who were daily plagued with one problem after another.  The wicked would even flaunt their pride – wearing it like a jeweled necklace.  It seemed as if they could boast and scoff against the Lord, yet face no punishment.

As the psalmist beheld these activities, he couldn’t help but have negative thoughts.  He even began to question God’s goodness.  He wondered if he had been serving the Lord in vain.  It is the same for us.  First, we begin to take our eyes off the Lord.  Next, we begin to magnify the circumstances we are in, as opposed to the God who rules those circumstances.  Our feet begin a slippery, downward slope; we find ourselves doubting the very God we have trusted for so many years. 

What are we to do?  The psalmist found a remedy in verse 17.  He went into the sanctuary.  Suddenly, his perspective began to change.  Instead of focusing on the seemingly prosperous lives of the wicked, he focused on their destiny.  He realized that while on the outside, it looked as if they were succeeding.  Yet, in reality, they were really heading over a cliff to destruction.  The dream they were currently living was going to come to an abrupt end.

Next, the psalmist realized that in spite of his foolish thinking, and his temporary doubts about God’s goodness, the Lord continued to hold his hand.  He realized that God had never left him.  God was still there, guiding him.  That realization leads him to declare, “Whom have I in heaven but You, Lord?” 

To adjust our focus, we also need to come to the sanctuary.  This “sanctuary” is more than just attending church.  It is living in God’s Word, for that is what will strengthen us.  Our health may fail us.  The shape of the economy may cause our spirit to falter and grow weak.  Yet God is strength of our heart.  He can only be the strength of our heart when we daily seek Him and diligently get into His Word to find the strength to sustain us in these uncertain times in which we live.

Go find your sanctuary in the Word of God today. 

© 2008, Stacy R Miller