Every few years, another round of the debate comes up between Creation and evolution. Ever since Darwin’s Origin of Species, Christians have been in the fight of their lives over whether or not God created the universe. The definitive answer takes faith no matter what side of the debate you are on.

I contend that it takes much more faith to believe in evolution than it does to believe in Creation. Evolution takes chance after chance after far-fetched chance to believe that the chain of events it claims actually happened that way. First of all, there’s this big bang, an incredible explosion of gasses that ends up forming galaxies, universes, the heavens, planets, stars, and a highly organized single-cell structure. That single cell eventually multiplies, forming a multi-celled organism that again begins to differentiate up the chain until you ultimately get to man. To believe this theory (and it is still called a theory today) is to truly have a great amount of faith in chance. If just one thing went wrong anywhere along the way of these supposed millions of years of changes, the whole theory would be shot. The mathematical probability is astronomical that every single change happened just that way to form the universe and the living creatures we know to exist today. Such faith!

On the other hand, a far simpler – and I dare say a much more logical – answer to the where-did-it-all-come-from question exists. Two Bible verses – one in the Old Testament and the other in the New – make it crystal clear. Genesis 1:1 says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (NKJ). And Hebrews 11:3 proclaims, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible” (NKJ).

God, the invisible One to us until Jesus’ incarnation, created the visible. There’s no believing in chance involved. All that’s necessary is belief and faith in God. Start there, and everything else – from how the world was created to knowing our purpose in it – falls in line. It’s a faith thing; have faith in God.

And by the way, if there was nothing to begin with, what exploded?

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

________________________________

Mission Trip Update! I think about Africa every day. I met a lady from South Africa today. She was a visitor at my church. Before I said hello, she grabbed my hand and said, “You look like Africa. Are you from there?” When I answered without an accent, she said she knew I was American, but she still insisted I looked like Africa. Then I told her I had just returned from the Motherland! Later, when I met her daughter, she proclaimed that I looked like I was either Kenyan or Nigerian. What’s happening? Too cool!

________________________________

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

Proverbs 28:20 says, “  A faithful man will abound with blessings, but he who hastens to be rich will not go unpunished” (NKJ). Proverbs get right to the point, and so will I.

•  Faithful: ’emuwnah (em-oo-naw’) in Hebrew means firmness, security; moral fidelity, stability, and truth.
• Man: ‘iysh (eesh) in Hebrew usually means a man as an individual or a male person, but is often used as an adjunct to a more definite term and can even mean champion and one who is worthy.
• Abound: rab (rab) in Hebrew means abundant in quantity, size, age, number, rank, or quality
• Blessing in Hebrew means benediction; by implication prosperity
• To Hasten: ‘uwts (oots) in Hebrew means to press; hurry, labor, and be narrow
• To be Rich: `ashar (aw-shar’) in Hebrew means to accumulate for yourself
• (will not go) Unpunished: naqah (naw-kaw’) in Hebrew means to be bare, i.e. extirpated (to pull out by the roots, destroy or remove completely, exterminate, abolish)

As we are faithful – firm, morally stable – we will stand as God’s champions, worthy of the abundant prosperity His hand will bestow. If we give up on God and take matters into our own hands, to succeed on our own terms, we will narrow our own prospects and take ourselves to our own utter destruction.

Faithfulness on our part requires our patience and trust in God’s faithfulness. Work steadily on, not pressing or hurrying; just keep putting one foot in front of the other. Do the next thing excellently and faithfully, and watch God’s abundant blessings come.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

________________________________

Mission Trip Update! I think about Africa every day. I met a lady from South Africa today. She was a visitor at my church. Before I said hello, she grabbed my hand and said, “You look like Africa. Are you from there?” When I answered without an accent, she said she knew I was American, but she still insisted I looked like Africa. Then I told her I had just returned from the Motherland! Later, when I met her daughter, she proclaimed that I looked like I was either Kenyan or Nigerian. What’s happening? Too cool!

________________________________

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

On one of our vacations, my husband and I decided to wing it with only a map and a full tank of gas. We were in the San Francisco area, and since I had never crossed the Golden Gate Bridge, we took off to make that happen. Traffic was horrendous, but we finally made it to the famous site. We drove across under a heavy fog that made it impossible to even see the tops of the bridge’s famous towers.

With that mission accomplished and more than half a day of sunlight left, we decided to drive through Sausalito, another place I hadn’t seen. We did so and then saw a sign pointing us temptingly toward Stinson Beach. Why not? We reasoned. Well, that two-way road to Stinson Beach wound us around and through mountains and valleys; it was much more of a drive than we had bargained for. Two hours later, we finally zig-zagged our way back through San Rafael, got ourselves back onto Highway 101, and headed back across the Golden Gate Bridge ($6 toll and all). What a ride!

Even though we had taken an unplanned turn, that drive was devastatingly beautiful. Around every bend was yet another amazing vista; visible only to eyes that took that out-of-the-way road. I kept thinking, Wow, God did all this work for us to enjoy today.

Psalm 92:4 perfectly sums up my feelings, “For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands” (NKJ). At first read, I wondered how I could be the one triumphing in the works of God’s hands. Then I got it. In the same way I used to yell, “That’s my kid,” when Mark scored a basket on the basketball court, I can triumph in the works of my God’s hands when I see them. I guess I’m yelling, “That’s my God at work!”

So the next time you see a gorgeous sunset, the waves rolling in, a mountain vista, or a starry night sky, be glad through God’s work, and triumph in the works of His hands. You may even want to shout out, “That’s my God at work!”

________________________________

Mission Trip Update! ZAMBIA AND OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONS, here I come! I started getting the necessary vaccinations for the trip and all that medication is really expensive. Our team will be purchasing our airfare soon. Then the next money due will be for our hotels, food, and visas. Finally, I want to take books for the women who attend the Power Suit Women’s Conferences. Please do not hesitate. I really need your financial donations now. Thank you in advance! Click this link:  https://sanewriter.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/33116-special-request/ to go to the full request. You can give three ways:

1. Via Paypal through my ministry website: www.lifethatmatters.net (Click “Donate”)
2. By check sent to my post office box: P.O. Box 1519, Inglewood, CA 90308
3. Via Paypal through the HSBN.tv website. (Be sure to let the network know your donation is for Rev. Sharon Elliott.)

________________________________

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

No, our salvation does not depend upon us. Jesus supplied the way for us to get to God without our doing anything to earn it. He did it all; however, like a beautifully gift-wrapped present, salvation will remain elusive to us unless we know about it and lay hold of it.

Laying hold of salvation has a lot to do with getting our minds straight. Read Romans 8:5-7:

• For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

In short, if we set our minds on the things of the Spirit, we will exist in life and peace. When our minds are on spiritual things, we are on God’s side. For most of us, this simply means we need to take our minds off of the things we like and place our thoughts on the things God likes. There’s really no way to butter this up. Here’s the choice: be carnally minded or be spiritually minded. In every area of life, to live for God, it’s time to change our minds.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

________________________________

Mission Trip Update! ZAMBIA AND OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONS, here I come! I started getting the necessary vaccinations for the trip and all that medication is really expensive. Our team will be purchasing our airfare soon. Then the next money due will be for our hotels, food, and visas. Finally, I want to take books for the women who attend the Power Suit Women’s Conferences. Please do not hesitate. I really need your financial donations now. Thank you in advance! Click this link:  https://sanewriter.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/33116-special-request/ to go to the full request. You can give three ways:

1. Via Paypal through my ministry website: www.lifethatmatters.net (Click “Donate”)
2. By check sent to my post office box: P.O. Box 1519, Inglewood, CA 90308
3. Via Paypal through the HSBN.tv website. (Be sure to let the network know your donation is for Rev. Sharon Elliott.)

________________________________

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

Have you ever heard people proclaim one thing and then watch them practice something totally different? For example, a person might proclaim that it’s utterly wrong to lie, yet at tax time, that same person’s practice is to hide income so as not to pay the government his/her fair share. A person might say she does not steal, yet she will purchase bootleg videotapes of movies, knowing full well that the actors, producers, and studio will not receive a dime of the money that is rightfully theirs from the sale of their stolen property.

How often do we proclaim something to be true about the Lord and then live out in practice that which is diametrically opposite?

In the book of Ezra, chapters seven and eight, King Artaxerxes allowed Ezra to head up a delegation to go back into Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Ezra responded, “Blessed be the LORD God of our fathers, who has put such a thing as this in the king’s heart, to beautify the house of the LORD which is in Jerusalem… So I was encouraged, as the hand of the LORD my God was upon me…” Ezra 7: 27-28 (NKJ).

After Ezra gathered the men together whom he needed to do the work, he proclaimed a fast to humble themselves before God, and to seek the right way they should do things. Then Ezra must have had a thought. What if their company was ambushed along their way to Jerusalem and all the treasures were stolen that they were carrying back to the temple? I am supposing this unwritten thought, because right after discussing the fast, Ezra said, “For I was ashamed to request of the king an escort of soldiers and horsemen to help us against the enemy on the road, because we had spoken to the king, saying, ‘The hand of our God is upon all those for good who seek Him, but His power and His wrath are against all those who forsake Him…’” Ezra 8:22 (NKJ). Ezra realized he had to practice or live out that to which he had testified. How could he say God’s hand was upon him and then ask a heathen king for protection?

What do we say God can do and then renege by not allowing God to do it? Let’s be mindful today to live by what we testify.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

________________________________

Mission Trip Update! ZAMBIA AND OTHER SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONS, here I come! I started getting the necessary vaccinations for the trip and all that medication is really expensive. Our team will be purchasing our airfare soon. Then the next money due will be for our hotels, food, and visas. Finally, I want to take books for the women who attend the Power Suit Women’s Conferences. Please do not hesitate. I really need your financial donations now. Thank you in advance! Click this link:  https://sanewriter.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/33116-special-request/ to go to the full request. You can give three ways:

1. Via Paypal through my ministry website: www.lifethatmatters.net (Click “Donate”)
2. By check sent to my post office box: P.O. Box 1519, Inglewood, CA 90308
3. Via Paypal through the HSBN.tv website. (Be sure to let the network know your donation to for Rev. Sharon Elliott.)

________________________________

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

When Paul returned to Jerusalem in Acts chapter 21, “…all the elders were present. When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality” Acts 21:18-25 (NKJ)

Paul had been accused by the hard-line, old-school Jews of teaching some scandalous stuff that disrespected the Law and the temple. Of course, none of that was true. The Jerusalem elders sat and listened to Paul as he told them “in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.” The elders glorified God when they heard it and they wanted to prove to the naysayers that Paul was okay and was not roaming around like a loose canon teaching things contrary to the Gospel.

As we keep reading in this chapter, we find that everything was going well until some Jews from another region came to town. Even though the elders had backed Paul up, these outsiders stirred the people of Jerusalem into such a frenzy that they almost beat Paul to death because of their false accusations.

What’s my point? No matter what we do, or who is on our side, there are still going to be some times when we are going to have to be able to answer for ourselves concerning what we believe and teach. Some will listen; some won’t. Some will agree; some won’t. First Peter 3:15-17 says, “ But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil” (NKJ).

Our only responsibility is to be able to clearly communicate the Gospel and let the chips fall where they may.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

________________________________

Mission Trip Update! ZAMBIA AND KENYA, here I come! I started getting the necessary vaccinations for the trip and all that medication is really expensive. Our team will be purchasing our airfare soon. Then the next money due will be for our hotels, food, and visas. Finally, I want to take books for the women who attend the Power Suit Women’s Conferences. Please do not hesitate. I really need your financial donations now. Thank you in advance! Click this link:  https://sanewriter.wordpress.com/2016/03/31/33116-special-request/ to go to the full request. You can give three ways:

1. Via Paypal through my ministry website: www.lifethatmatters.net (Click “Donate”)
2. By check sent to my post office box: P.O. Box 1519, Inglewood, CA 90308
3. Via Paypal through the HSBN.tv website. (Be sure to let the network know your donation to for Rev. Sharon Elliott.)

________________________________

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

What’s your first reaction when a problem arises? Some of us call somebody – a friend, the pastor, our mother – to talk things through, bounce off ideas, or know someone is on our side. Others turn inward to isolate themselves from the world until the pain or the issue eases up a bit. Some lash out, immediately retorting back whatever that first feeling pulls up from within. Or maybe you handle the dilemma by eating, cursing, shopping, drinking, going to a movie, or taking a long drive. While all of these are mechanisms to let off steam, few if any (especially not the cursing, drinking, and lashing out) solve the problem.

A man we hear about in Matthew chapter 17 faced a problem with his child. He approached Jesus and said, “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him” Matthew 17:15 (NKJ). After chastising the disciples for their unbelief, Jesus instructed the man saying, “Bring him here to Me” (verse 17b) and he rebuked the demon so that the child was cured. Jesus went on to say that this type would come out only by prayer and fasting (verse 21).

It hit me that this man’s first reaction was to take his son to the disciples rather than to Jesus. All through the Gospels, we read of the flocking multitudes taking their sick to Jesus, but this guy took his son to the disciples first. We do know that the disciples healed people and cast out demons to their own surprise when Jesus sent them out to do so (see Luke 10:17), and that’s the point. While Jesus was with them, the focus was on Him, not on them. The disciples could do nothing without directly being sent by Jesus to do so, and whatever miraculous things they did always turned the attention back to Jesus, the source of the miraculous.

Our first reaction in any difficulty, crisis, or predicament needs to be to look to Jesus. He personally invites us to do just that. “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” Matthew 11:28-30 (NKJ).

I personally invite you to try it the next time you face a problem. You can always go back to your other reactions if turning to Jesus first doesn’t work. What have you got to lose? But I’m confident you’ll find that taking your burdens to the Lord will be the best decision you ever could have made.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

Certain events happen in our lives by which we mark time. In other words, our present daily lives begin to pivot around that particular happening from the past. This naturally should be the case concerning landmark days such as our wedding and the birth of a child. However, traumatic experiences can have the same result.

Such was my understanding enlightened when I visited New Orleans, Louisiana, for the first time. Four and a half years had passed since Hurricane Katrina devastated that city, but her mark had been as indelibly placed on the people’s hearts as were those painted X’s on the flooded-out homes. The people I met were the kindest I’d ever encountered, yet their conversation was noticeably punctuated by the prepositional phrases “since the storm,” “in the storm,” “before the storm,” or “after the storm.”

I gained a brand new sensitivity for the people of New Orleans because despite the deep pain many still carried, they were rising above and doing their best to move beyond it. They reached out to embrace me. Their graciousness and outpouring of friendliness made me feel just like family. If I had felt sorry for them before, I now felt “with” them because they let me in to their pain and allowed me to become a part of them.

I have a little more understanding of what Jesus Christ was feeling when the Bible tells us, “And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick” Matthew 14:14 (NKJ).

Compassion is a function of pain. One cannot have compassion on another unless that other has experienced some kind of pain, because to have compassion means we put ourselves in the other person’s shoes and feel the hurt they feel. Only the compassionate really “get it.” The love emanating from my new friends in New Orleans taught me how crucial it is to obey the truth of 1 Peter 3:8: “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous” (NKJ).

Let’s start today to reach out with compassionate hearts, hands, and words for those still hurting long after the storms in their lives have passed.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

In Genesis chapter 43, Joseph’s brothers found themselves in a bind. The land was still experiencing a grave famine and they had run out of the food they’d bought from Egypt on their first trip. When their father told them to go back to buy more, they reminded him that they couldn’t go without taking Benjamin, their youngest brother, with them. Although Jacob protested, there was no other option.

With Judah solemnly making himself the pledge for the boy, Jacob sent all the sons away, but not without a little something extra. “And their father Israel said to them, ‘If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best fruits of the land in your vessels and carry down a present for the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachio nuts and almonds’” Genesis 43:11 (NKJ).

Wait a minute. I thought there was a severe famine in the land. How is it that Jacob and his family had balm, honey, spices, myrrh, pistachio nuts, and almonds? I don’t know the answer to that, but what I do know is what they had is not what they needed. Regardless of the value of the stuff they had, without what they needed – bread, one of the basic necessities of life – they still would have died. So despite Jacob’s reluctance to send Benjamin to Egypt with his brothers, he had no other choice if he wanted to live.

Is what we have, what we need? What precious thing or person are we holding onto today that could very well be keeping us from what we need? Are we keeping our hands so full of what’s good that we fail the ability to grasp what’s best? “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; but we will remember the name of the LORD our God”
Psalm 20:6-8 (NKJ). “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses” Luke 12:15 (NKJ).

Today, let’s choose to live not merely surviving with what we have, but thriving because we allow God to give us what we need.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available:

Here in America, we don’t often hear stories about demon possession or oppression unless we’re watching a Hollywood production. We have relegated demons to the silver screen. Actually, we somewhat enjoy being spooked for an hour and a half as the actors think it’s a good idea to spend the night in a deserted house in the middle of a forest on a moonless night. We allow the shadowy images to invade our psyches and are relieved when at least one hero or heroine emerges unscathed in the end. We exit the theaters leaving both our popcorn boxes and our fear of demons behind.

The demons might not care so much about the popcorn box, but they are certainly glad we left our attention to them behind. The principalities and powers of darkness want nothing more than for us to think they are no danger, and better yet, that they don’t really exist. They know that we neither fear nor respect that which we deem nonexistent; we are not on our guard against it either.

Jesus did not wonder about the existence of the demonic and neither did the people of his day. When demon-possessed people were brought to Him, Jesus didn’t say, “Oh my friend, you are misguided in your diagnosis. This man is merely troubled.” No, Jesus cast the demons out. In order to cast demons out, He had to recognize they were real.

Christians cannot be possessed by demons because the Holy Spirit has taken up residence within us. However, demons do their best to oppress believers. They will counterfeit within us some of the same troubles they bring upon the possessed. I believe two of their main weapons are blinders and muzzles.

Matthew 12:22 reads, “Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw.” (NKJ). Just as this man was blind and mute because of demon-possession, some of us Christians don’t see what we should see or say what we should say because we’re allowing the forces from hell to cover our eyes and shut our mouths. We refuse to recognize sin as sin and speak out about it.

It is our job to bring light, to be light, and to sound forth as the voice of deliverance in our world. Stop letting demons oppress you. Remove the blinders and muzzles. “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden” Matthew 5:14 (NKJ).

Receive your sight. Receive your voice.

___________________________

©2016 Sharon Norris Elliott. Feel free to forward this devotion in its entirety, including this copyright line. Leave comments, ask questions, read past devotions, or subscribe to receive these devotions daily in your e-mail at www.sanewriter.wordpress.com. Also, periodically check in at www.LifeThatMatters.net to see what’s going on in the ministry.

Links you won’t want to miss: 

• Watch Sharon in two shows on The Holy Spirit Broadcasting Network: 
  • Life That Matters with Sharon Norris Elliott, and
  • A View from the Upper Room

from any internet-connected device at www.HSBN.tv. 

(Stream current show or view past episodes anytime!)

• Pick up a copies of Sharon’s books for yourself and as gifts for your family members and friends!

• Why I Get Into Trouble link to our eStore: https://www.createspace.com/5131814

• Boomerangs to Arrows: A Godly Guide for Launching Young Adult Children available from Judson Press (http://www.judsonpress.com/product.cfm?product_id=17387),

Boomerangs Videolink: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2JH_gbinMk

• Power Suit: The Armor of God Fit for the Feminine Frame from New Hope Publishers (http://www.newhopedigital.com/2010/08/power-suit/)

Sharon’s other books still available: