Journey Devotional - spring 2012 sample (March)
Journey ®
Serving Sisters in Need
Ditch the Baggage
WWW.LIFEWAY.COM
Living Victoriously
MARCH 2012
U.S.A. $3.95
A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO INTIMACY WITH
GOD
Journey
®
Contents
V O L U M E 1 9 , N U M B ER 3 MARCH 2012
Editor’s Notes
Journey devotional magazine equips women to develop a daily walk with God and to serve Him in their homes, churches, and communities.
Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/journeymagazine. Production & Ministry Team Pamela Nixon Lead Editor Tammy Drolsum Paula A. Kirk Susan Nelson Donna Pennell Editors Chris Adams Lorie L. Keene Jennifer McCaman Contributing Editors Michelle Strickland Art Director Julie Tozer Aldrich Operations Manager for Publishing Chandra Bennett Editorial Project Leader Pam Case Director of LifeWay Women Chris Adams Senior Lead Women’s Ministry Specialist
JOURNEY: A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO INTIMACY WITH GOD (ISSN 1073-4473; Item 005075231) is a Christian women’s devotional magazine published monthly by LifeWay Press®, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President, LifeWay Christian Resources. Copyright © 2011 by LifeWay Press®. How to Order Journey If you need help with an order, WRITE LifeWay Church Resources, Customer Service Center, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions, FAX (615) 251-5818 or E-MAIL [email protected]. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, FAX (615) 251-5933 or E-MAIL [email protected]. Order ONLINE at www.lifeway.com/journey. Mail address changes to Journey, same address. Subscription Pricing Annual individual subscription, $24.95 for one year (12 issues); $43.95 for two years (24 issues); $59.95 for three years (36 issues). Please allow 6-8 weeks for arrival of first issue. Bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address when ordered with other literature, $1.60 each issue plus shipping. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Content is copyright © 2011 by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Inc. Contents may not be reproduced in any form unless authorized in writing. Printed in U.S.A. To investigate the possibility of advertising in Journey, e-mail [email protected]. Send questions/comments to: Editor, Journey • One LifeWay Plaza • Nashville, TN 37234-0175. Or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com. Cover photography © iStockphoto. Devotional page art by iStockphoto. Backgrounds by Shutterstock and iStockphoto.
5 8 16 30 36
Devotionals Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five
4
etc.
7
Going Beyond
Trouble Sleeping? Ditch the Baggage
13 Great Prayers of the Bible Moses’ Prayer for God’s Presence
14 The Sinner and the Seeker
God’s Love Is Relentless
20 Girl Talk
Like Daughter, Like Mother
22 Send Her Packing
Living Under God’s Grace
26 Café Connection Self-Seeking Versus Servant-Minded
29 Frazzled Female
God Speaks Your Love Language
35 Serving Sisters in Need
Blessed to Be a Blessing
41 St. Louis to Salt Lake City
{
Journey from Despair to Delight
For individual or gift subscriptions or church bulk orders, go to: www.lifeway. com/journey
March 3 & 4
G o i n g
B e y o n d
Ditch the Baggage by Priscilla Shirer
When I was in high school, I was part of the track- Deeper Walk
and-field team. Before a race, all of us would run Saturday: a warm-up lap around the arena. We would have 2 Corinthians 6 on our heavy sweats and tennis shoes because we Sunday: wanted to make sure that our muscles were warmed 1 Corinthians up for the race. But when we got ready to race, we 9:24-27 took off those sweats and put on some lightweight shoes called spikes. We got rid of the excess baggage because we wanted to win races. To win the race of the Christian life, we have to get serious about holiness, and that means getting rid of the baggage. For me this means not watching certain television shows and not reading certain books. It means getting out of certain relationships. Some friendships with good people have had to go because they weren’t moving me toward the finish line by spurring me on in my relationship with Christ. When you’re just warming up or having fun, you can take the baggage. But when you’re running for a prize, when you want to cross that finish line and hear “well done,” you simply
have to get rid of everything that weighs you down.
In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul tells us why we should pursue a lifestyle of sanctification. In the following chapter he tells us how. He tells us to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit” (7:1 NIV). The Message translates this verse: “Make a clean break with everything that . . . distracts us.” I love that. Satan knows that once you’re a believer, he can’t destroy you, so he’s just out to distract you. He knows he can’t get you for eternity, so he just wants to make sure you’re no good for the kingdom of God while you’re here on earth. He knows he can’t keep you out of the race, but he’ll do whatever it takes to see that you don’t get the prize. Coach Paul, however, cheers you on from the sidelines: “Run in such a way to win the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
From He Speaks to Me, © 2006 by Priscilla Shirer. Published by Moody Publishers. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Priscilla Shirer is a Bible teacher, speaker, and author of many books and Bible studies. Her ministry, Going Beyond, was founded by Priscilla and her husband, Jerry. She has three sons and lives in Dallas, Texas. Priscilla is the daughter of pastor, speaker, and well-known author Dr. Tony Evans. For information about Priscilla’s Bible studies, as well as LifeWay Women’s Going Beyond and Deeper Still events, visit www.lifeway.com/women
Running away and hiding is noth-
ing new. There are times we run from God and His truth, and there are times we run away from people or situations where we know we have been wrong. Regardless of how far or fast we run, however, sooner or later we are found. The key is to recognize our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and move forward. I have a powerful childhood memory that I have carried with me into adulthood. I had made a mistake, and I had tried to run and hide.
14
© ISTOCKPHOTO
The Sinner & the Seeker
by Kathy Pride
However, hiding hadn’t worked then, and I need to remember that it still won’t work now that I am an adult. My dad, an artist, had a wooden model of a hand with moveable fingers that he used in his studio whenever he needed to draw hands. The hand could be positioned into a variety of poses, fingers gracefully extended or cupped to hold an object. Often there would be rings on the fingers or the hand would be holding a flower.
I enjoyed changing the position of the hand and picked it up one day to move the fingers around. I bent the fingers back and forth, experimenting with what must be like to be double-jointed, when the tip of the index finger broke off in my hand. I panicked and didn’t know what to do. So I did what any reasonable 7 year old (or so) would do. I picked up the broken hand and hid it. I stuffed it inside a pillowcase
It was time to suffer the consequences of my poor choices. Not only had I hidden, but I had also lied. and then shoved it under some covers on the guest bed. Then I went to play with my Barbies, hoping my dad wouldn’t notice the hand was missing. But he did. “Kathy!” I heard my name being called in a tone that meant business. The same hands that had caused the broken fingertip and then had tried to hide all the evidence started to shake. “What? I answered, trying to prevent my voice from squeaking. “Do you know where my wooden hand is?” “What hand?” I asked. I abandoned my Barbies and scrambled to take cover. I crawled underneath a table with a tablecloth that concealed
me perfectly. I hid there the entire time both my parents searched high and low (for me and the hand, I suspect); the tone in their voices communicated their disappointment and frustration. My plan for concealment ultimately didn’t work, and not too much more time elapsed before my dad finally lifted up the tablecloth and discovered me cowering under the table. My lying and my location had both been discovered. “Young lady, come out from underneath there!” he commanded. The fact that I had been addressed as “young lady” wasn’t very promising. I had been discovered, and it was time to suffer the consequences of my poor choices. Not only had I hidden, but I had also lied. I can still remember this event as if it had happened yesterday. I did learn a valuable lesson, though: Lying and hiding, whether from God or others, doesn’t work. And, like God, my parents searched for me until they found me; they wanted me to recognize my mistake just as God wants us to absorb that same truth when we run from Him. God’s love is relentless, and even when we make mistakes and try to hide, He will search for us to bring us back and restore the relationships in His family. From What the Bible Is All About for Moms, © 2010 by Kathy Pride. Published by Regal Books, www.regalbooks.com. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
15
Serving Sisters in Need
Ditch the Baggage
WWW.LIFEWAY.COM
Living Victoriously
MARCH 2012
U.S.A. $3.95
A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO INTIMACY WITH
GOD
Journey
®
Contents
V O L U M E 1 9 , N U M B ER 3 MARCH 2012
Editor’s Notes
Journey devotional magazine equips women to develop a daily walk with God and to serve Him in their homes, churches, and communities.
Check us out on Facebook at facebook.com/journeymagazine. Production & Ministry Team Pamela Nixon Lead Editor Tammy Drolsum Paula A. Kirk Susan Nelson Donna Pennell Editors Chris Adams Lorie L. Keene Jennifer McCaman Contributing Editors Michelle Strickland Art Director Julie Tozer Aldrich Operations Manager for Publishing Chandra Bennett Editorial Project Leader Pam Case Director of LifeWay Women Chris Adams Senior Lead Women’s Ministry Specialist
JOURNEY: A WOMAN’S GUIDE TO INTIMACY WITH GOD (ISSN 1073-4473; Item 005075231) is a Christian women’s devotional magazine published monthly by LifeWay Press®, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234, Thom S. Rainer, President, LifeWay Christian Resources. Copyright © 2011 by LifeWay Press®. How to Order Journey If you need help with an order, WRITE LifeWay Church Resources, Customer Service Center, One LifeWay Plaza, Nashville, TN 37234-0113. For subscriptions, FAX (615) 251-5818 or E-MAIL [email protected]. For bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address, FAX (615) 251-5933 or E-MAIL [email protected]. Order ONLINE at www.lifeway.com/journey. Mail address changes to Journey, same address. Subscription Pricing Annual individual subscription, $24.95 for one year (12 issues); $43.95 for two years (24 issues); $59.95 for three years (36 issues). Please allow 6-8 weeks for arrival of first issue. Bulk shipments mailed quarterly to one address when ordered with other literature, $1.60 each issue plus shipping. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Content is copyright © 2011 by Walk Thru the Bible Ministries, Inc. Contents may not be reproduced in any form unless authorized in writing. Printed in U.S.A. To investigate the possibility of advertising in Journey, e-mail [email protected]. Send questions/comments to: Editor, Journey • One LifeWay Plaza • Nashville, TN 37234-0175. Or make comments on the Web at www.lifeway.com. Cover photography © iStockphoto. Devotional page art by iStockphoto. Backgrounds by Shutterstock and iStockphoto.
5 8 16 30 36
Devotionals Week One Week Two Week Three Week Four Week Five
4
etc.
7
Going Beyond
Trouble Sleeping? Ditch the Baggage
13 Great Prayers of the Bible Moses’ Prayer for God’s Presence
14 The Sinner and the Seeker
God’s Love Is Relentless
20 Girl Talk
Like Daughter, Like Mother
22 Send Her Packing
Living Under God’s Grace
26 Café Connection Self-Seeking Versus Servant-Minded
29 Frazzled Female
God Speaks Your Love Language
35 Serving Sisters in Need
Blessed to Be a Blessing
41 St. Louis to Salt Lake City
{
Journey from Despair to Delight
For individual or gift subscriptions or church bulk orders, go to: www.lifeway. com/journey
March 3 & 4
G o i n g
B e y o n d
Ditch the Baggage by Priscilla Shirer
When I was in high school, I was part of the track- Deeper Walk
and-field team. Before a race, all of us would run Saturday: a warm-up lap around the arena. We would have 2 Corinthians 6 on our heavy sweats and tennis shoes because we Sunday: wanted to make sure that our muscles were warmed 1 Corinthians up for the race. But when we got ready to race, we 9:24-27 took off those sweats and put on some lightweight shoes called spikes. We got rid of the excess baggage because we wanted to win races. To win the race of the Christian life, we have to get serious about holiness, and that means getting rid of the baggage. For me this means not watching certain television shows and not reading certain books. It means getting out of certain relationships. Some friendships with good people have had to go because they weren’t moving me toward the finish line by spurring me on in my relationship with Christ. When you’re just warming up or having fun, you can take the baggage. But when you’re running for a prize, when you want to cross that finish line and hear “well done,” you simply
have to get rid of everything that weighs you down.
In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul tells us why we should pursue a lifestyle of sanctification. In the following chapter he tells us how. He tells us to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit” (7:1 NIV). The Message translates this verse: “Make a clean break with everything that . . . distracts us.” I love that. Satan knows that once you’re a believer, he can’t destroy you, so he’s just out to distract you. He knows he can’t get you for eternity, so he just wants to make sure you’re no good for the kingdom of God while you’re here on earth. He knows he can’t keep you out of the race, but he’ll do whatever it takes to see that you don’t get the prize. Coach Paul, however, cheers you on from the sidelines: “Run in such a way to win the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
From He Speaks to Me, © 2006 by Priscilla Shirer. Published by Moody Publishers. All rights reserved. Used with permission. Priscilla Shirer is a Bible teacher, speaker, and author of many books and Bible studies. Her ministry, Going Beyond, was founded by Priscilla and her husband, Jerry. She has three sons and lives in Dallas, Texas. Priscilla is the daughter of pastor, speaker, and well-known author Dr. Tony Evans. For information about Priscilla’s Bible studies, as well as LifeWay Women’s Going Beyond and Deeper Still events, visit www.lifeway.com/women
Running away and hiding is noth-
ing new. There are times we run from God and His truth, and there are times we run away from people or situations where we know we have been wrong. Regardless of how far or fast we run, however, sooner or later we are found. The key is to recognize our mistakes, ask for forgiveness, and move forward. I have a powerful childhood memory that I have carried with me into adulthood. I had made a mistake, and I had tried to run and hide.
14
© ISTOCKPHOTO
The Sinner & the Seeker
by Kathy Pride
However, hiding hadn’t worked then, and I need to remember that it still won’t work now that I am an adult. My dad, an artist, had a wooden model of a hand with moveable fingers that he used in his studio whenever he needed to draw hands. The hand could be positioned into a variety of poses, fingers gracefully extended or cupped to hold an object. Often there would be rings on the fingers or the hand would be holding a flower.
I enjoyed changing the position of the hand and picked it up one day to move the fingers around. I bent the fingers back and forth, experimenting with what must be like to be double-jointed, when the tip of the index finger broke off in my hand. I panicked and didn’t know what to do. So I did what any reasonable 7 year old (or so) would do. I picked up the broken hand and hid it. I stuffed it inside a pillowcase
It was time to suffer the consequences of my poor choices. Not only had I hidden, but I had also lied. and then shoved it under some covers on the guest bed. Then I went to play with my Barbies, hoping my dad wouldn’t notice the hand was missing. But he did. “Kathy!” I heard my name being called in a tone that meant business. The same hands that had caused the broken fingertip and then had tried to hide all the evidence started to shake. “What? I answered, trying to prevent my voice from squeaking. “Do you know where my wooden hand is?” “What hand?” I asked. I abandoned my Barbies and scrambled to take cover. I crawled underneath a table with a tablecloth that concealed
me perfectly. I hid there the entire time both my parents searched high and low (for me and the hand, I suspect); the tone in their voices communicated their disappointment and frustration. My plan for concealment ultimately didn’t work, and not too much more time elapsed before my dad finally lifted up the tablecloth and discovered me cowering under the table. My lying and my location had both been discovered. “Young lady, come out from underneath there!” he commanded. The fact that I had been addressed as “young lady” wasn’t very promising. I had been discovered, and it was time to suffer the consequences of my poor choices. Not only had I hidden, but I had also lied. I can still remember this event as if it had happened yesterday. I did learn a valuable lesson, though: Lying and hiding, whether from God or others, doesn’t work. And, like God, my parents searched for me until they found me; they wanted me to recognize my mistake just as God wants us to absorb that same truth when we run from Him. God’s love is relentless, and even when we make mistakes and try to hide, He will search for us to bring us back and restore the relationships in His family. From What the Bible Is All About for Moms, © 2010 by Kathy Pride. Published by Regal Books, www.regalbooks.com. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
15
