�Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following�Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, �But Lord, what about this man?� Jesus said to him, �If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.�� John 21: 20-22

This verse makes me chuckle and reminds me of children�.and us. Can you just hear Peter saying, �What about him?� Can you just see your child pointing at a sibling and saying �What about her, she�s not doing her chores?� What is it that makes us think our obedience is somehow connected to others?
As a counselor I can�t count the number of times I�ve been told that the reason the person in my office is doing what they are is because they are just responding to what someone else in their life is doing. I think you know what I mean. Perhaps it�s your friend telling you that the reason she is so disrespectful to her husband is because he is not affectionate towards her. Maybe the person is you. Perhaps you are convincing yourself that it�s okay to come to work late, leave early or take a long lunch because that is what everyone in your office does and the boss has never complained.
I think Jesus� point is quite clear to Peter and to us. Regardless�you follow me. Regardless of what your husband does, you follow me. Regardless of how your boss behaves, you follow me. Regardless of how your children behave, you follow me. Regardless of the movies your friends watch, you follow me. Regardless of what is acceptable in other homes, you follow me. Regardless of how you feel, you follow me.
Jesus knows we are easily distracted from our course and He wants us to stay steadfast and immovable from following Him even when the world around us is not. We need to stop looking around at what others are doing for what is that to us. We need to follow Him one step at a time, moment by moment.

Your challenge for today is to ask God if there have been others that you�ve been pointing at and asking �What about her?� By a choice of your will, decide just to follow Him.

Diane

�The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, he shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the course of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that he Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is not unrighteousness in Him.� Psalm 92:12-15

This week we have been considering fruit-bearing through the seasons of life. Yesterday we sought to encourage mothers in the early season, the season of young children. Perhaps your children are grown and gone, or you are single or without children and you are wondering what does fruit look like in this later season.
Our verse today is a beautiful picture of a flourishing life in the later years. As long as you are on this earth you can be certain that God still has a plan and a purpose for your life, regardless of your age.
About 12-15 years ago, there were two women in our church that were in their 90�s. One was bedridden that other was more mobile. I made a point to visit both of them periodically. WOW!! What a ministry these ladies had in my life. I usually took my young children and they would make a fuss over them too. It never failed to encourage my heart when I visited them. Here I thought I was going to minister to them. HA! They would make my day, every single time. They would speak words of kindness, encouragement and ask how they could pray for me. They shared their life experiences and most of all their love for the Lord.
In March of this year, I was speaking at a women�s conference in Pennsylvania. There was an 89 year old woman there who sat right up front. At the end of our weekend she approached me, took my hand and with tears in her eyes said, �I have so much to learn.� In her simple words, she bore fruit in my life.
There is much wisdom bound up in those in the later seasons of life sitting in our pews. WE NEED YOU!!! Please share your lives with us. The fruit you bear into others lives may be multiplied many times over.

Diane

Psalm 127:3-4, �Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord; the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one�s youth.�

As we continue our series on fruit-bearing, today we are going to rally around and encourage mothers of young children. As I was preparing this series, I could hear the echoes of the discouraged voices of mothers I have spoken to over the years because they felt side-lined or benched for the season. These are the women who are not encouraged by our devotionals this week, but rather they feel guilty because they don�t feel like they are bearing fruit because there are so many other demands on their time. If you are one of these women, this devotional is for you.
Unfortunately, we live in a society that has lost its vision of what is valuable. I want to encourage you that if you are at home raising children or trying to balance a job and family, God will use you right where you are. As you live daily to God�s glory you will bear the fruit of righteousness. There is no greater calling than to raise up the next generation to love the Lord. That is your ministry. It is a tough ministry with great rewards.
You are a powerful influence for the kingdom of God. You are on the front lines of the battle. You are vastly significant in God�s plan and purpose for His people. God has intentionally placed you as the mother of your children. In fact, He has hand selected your children to be in your family because He knows this is where they will get His best for their life.
Stay focused, dear sister. This season will pass all too quickly. If you have suffered with a poor or sinful attitude, repent and move forward. You cannot reclaim a single moment that is past, but you can determine to stake a claim for the future by living moment-by-moment in God�s grace in the present. A good way to do this is to ask God the question throughout the day, �Lord, how can I glorify You right now?�
You will probably fail multiple times. Keep getting up. Keep getting up. Keep getting up.
If I could, I would wrap you in a hug, and let you know, God loves you even when you can�t get to Women�s Bible study, or make a casserole for the pot luck, or teach at the Vacation Bible School.
Your primary ministry is first to your husband and second to your children. It is in that context in which the fruit of your life will be nurtured and grow. Do not let anything or anyone rob you of that calling.

Your challenge for today is to ask God, �How can I glorify You right now?� throughout your day.

Diane

This week we are discussing the fruit of our lives. In all my years as a counselor, many women have come into my office and shared their frustration of not feeling like they are being fruitful.
A lesson I have had to learn myself is that there are seasons of life. We are not going to have the same freedom, flexibility and time from one season to the next. The fruit of each season may look different too. I think we start to get into real trouble when we compare our fruit to the fruit of others. We can always find others that are more fruitful than we are; and we can always find people less fruitful than we are. The fruit we bear in every season of life should be a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
�But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.� Galatians 5:22-23. Now, you may look at that verse and think it is �overused�. Sometimes those verses we are most familiar with tend to fall on deaf ears. Let me take a moment to make application to any woman in any season.
In the midst of your life, wherever you find yourself today changing diapers, working in an ungodly environment or feeding your elderly parents, are you loving? Are you joyful? Are you at peace? Is God working His long-suffering through you? Are you being kind? Are you good? Are you being faithful? Are you being gentle? Are you manifesting self-control?
The fruit you bear today will occur right in the midst of your life. It will have God�s fingerprints all over it and it will drip with the nectar of your uniqueness. Live daily to glorify God and you won�t be able to help but to bear fruit right in the midst of your circumstances.

Diane

�And seeing from afar a fig tree having leaves, He (Jesus) went to see if perhaps He would find something on it. When he came to it, He found nothing but leaves�� Mark 11: 13

Having read this section of Scripture numerous times in the 22 years as a Christian, I was caught short recently by the words �nothing but leaves�. Jesus was looking for fruit not leaves.
A tree can be beautiful and lush with an abundance of leaves but if it is not bearing fruit, it falls short of its god-given purpose. Oh, sure it looks good, and a person has to get close enough to notice there is no fruit. To the casual observer it would look �fruitful� but to the curious observer that took the time to look closely it would be recognized as �fruitless�.
When I read the words �nothing but leaves� it caused me to consider my own life. If Jesus were to examine me, would He find desirable fruit or nothing but leaves? I don�t want to fall into the trap of looking good on the outside but being barren on the inside. Ministry especially, can lull us into a counterfeit sense of relationship and service, when in reality we can be going through the motions fooling everyone else, even ourselves, but we don�t fool God.
Support groups can also result in �nothing but leaves� if the participants don�t make application of what they are learning. If the women that attend Higher Ground (America’s KESWICK women�s support group) come week after week but do not change, going home to their same patterns of behavior they arrived with, the result is �nothing but leaves�.
How are you doing? Is there evidence in your life of genuine fruit or are you hiding behind �nothing but leaves�?

Diane

Today, I find myself someplace I have never been before. I am the mother of two adult children. For some reason, I sort of figured parenting would be a whole lot easier at this stage of life. I�m not a worrier or a fretter. At least I didn�t think I was until I got to this phase. Many nights sleep is lost. I can�t seem to shut my brain down. It wanders around, collecting more thoughts than I can handle. An upset stomach is all I get for my aimless �what if� wandering, all those horrible life scenarios that my kids could wind up in�if. What it basically amounts to is not trusting God�again.

When my children were in the phase referred to as �the terrible twos�, I had a blast with them! Two year olds are the funniest people on the planet. They also don�t yet, know, that you are not all wise and powerful. Nor have they had years of exposure to all your mistakes, and foibles. You are the one, with the limitless hugs, the holding lap, the bobo fixer and kisser. You crack up at all their silly little jokes no matter how often they tell them. They know and believe you love them. You are �Mommy�!

Today my children are 20 and 18 and I am no longer Mommy, I�m Mom to one and Ma to the other. They�ve seen me mess up so often (sometimes at their expense) that they are convinced I need serious therapy. or I�m just crazy. The jury is still out on that one. My hugs are still given and received. My lap is still available for holding. I don�t laugh at all their jokes anymore, because I don�t get them. It takes so long for them to explain their joke that they�ve long since stopped telling them. I think they still know and believe I love them�at least I hope so. More important than that or anything else, I hope that my children know and believe that God loves them.

Anyway, today, I�m being refined by The Refiner�s Fire. He is teaching me, ever so painfully that I must let go; I must stop clinging and that other c word, controlling. I must step back and let Him lead. Over and over, Father is gently -sometimes not so gently- reminding me of the obvious. There is a God� and it aint me! The other words He lovingly, repeatedly speaks to me are, �Step aside my beloved one. Let me be the one who draws them and woos them. After all honey, it aint about you, now is it?

Stephanie P.

Jeremiah 4:29 �But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.�

With all your heart? With all your soul? I have read these words in Scripture many, many times over the years. However, it has only been in the last few years that I have begun to ponder them seriously. And it�s only been in the past few months that I have scratched the surface toward more deeply, more fully understanding the profound impact that �seeking with all your heart and all your soul� can and does have on my spirit. Without question I am closely acquainted with how thirsty and dry the spirit becomes when seeking is neglected. But what of this seeking and searching with the whole heart and soul? Who does that? How does one do that?!

I�ve heard the word soul defined as �mind, will and emotions.� Webster�s dictionary defines soul as, �the central or integral part; the vital core. From the same resource heart is defined as �the vital center and source of one’s being, emotions, and sensibilities. So, in essence, anyone, anywhere, anytime can and will find God! If, if, if we do what we are being encouraged to do over and over and over and over again in the Word of our Lord. If and when, I commit myself to -seeking, locating, obtaining or reaching- God, with all my mind, will and emotions; and with all that is the source of my being. I, we, are promised to find Him

My question for you today:
When is the last time you sought and found God? When was the last time that you knew, that you knew, that you knew, that God was present tense, with you?

�When you call on me, when you come and pray to me, I�ll listen. When you come looking for me, you�ll find me. Yes, when you get serious about finding me and want it more than anything else, I�ll make sure you won�t be disappointed.� Jeremiah 29:12-14
�The Message�

Stephanie

Yesterday I wrote about waiting on the Lord. Today I want to share two possible examples of waiting. They are certainly not exhaustive. One I�ll call fast food and the other gourmet. I choose this illustration because it quickly brings a picture to mind that makes a clear distinction between these two specific types of eating.

As a person who enjoys eating, I can tell you without hesitation that I get pleasure from both. However you don�t have to be a rocket scientist to know that one is definitely better than the other.
Fast food is just that, fast. We rush in; inhale it quickly to fill the void and we just as quickly get back to the busyness of our day. Our tummies are full, thus our appetites have been momentarily satiated and our desire for food is no longer pressing in on us.

Gourmet on the other hand requires time, lots of time. The ingredients must be gathered and prepped. Each and every course has its own steps and details that make for an experience your palate won�t soon forget. There is no rushing. Focused attention on each course is essential to the end result and the final presentation. Whether it is a five or seven course meal, you sit for the full length of time required and savor each delectable bite, allowing the senses to be aroused. And you rarely if ever, rush away from gourmet. First off you are usually so totally satisfied that all you want to do is sit still and marvel over how good the meal was. Then, when you do get up isn�t to rush away and get busy, but rather to sit in a comfortable chair and bask in the fullness.
Now take a leap and imagine the difference it would make in our every day lives, if our time with God was more often than not gourmet. Sisters believe me I all fully aware of the argument that can be made for time. Gourmet requires time. Fast food is still food and it does keep you from getting hungry. In other words, fast food meets the need. My question for you is simple, does it really meet the need your soul and your spirit have for the Father; the One who is the Lover of your soul?

I, for one, know from first had experience that in the natural and in the spiritual, fast food is not enough to keep you healthy and strong.

Your challenge for the day is to plan, prepare and enjoy a gourmet meal with Him who was and is and is to come. If you cook it, He will come.
Stephanie

Recently, I�ve experienced -what I would dub-the most stressful time in my life, in a very, very, very long time. My emotions have run the full gamut, covering deep sadness, happiness, major irritation, glee, concern, sorrow, compassion, resentment, etc., etc., etc. I�ve never longed so much for peace. Peace, simple quiet peace-in my space; in my mind; in my soul and in my spirit.

What is peace? Webster�s online dictionary, defines peace as �the absence of war or other hostilities; freedom from quarrels or disagreements; inner contentment; freedom from strife; the absence of mental stress or anxiety.� The list could continue, but I�m sure you get the point. When there is no peace, everything in you craves it, wants it, and earnestly desires it. I can tell you sister�s, I have never so urgently desired peace as I have these past weeks.

Some of you may be wondering what was producing such stress in my life. I can assure you it is of little importance in comparison to what our faithful, loving, longsuffering Father has exposed in my own heart and life.

On the surface, I�ve learned that I do not personally have to be at war with anyone for my own peace to be disrupted, destroyed or stolen. A simply glance through recent history bears this out. How many men, women and children are awakened in the middle of their slumbering by guerrilla warriors, who press in and take what does not belong to them? In an instant peace is gone, replaced by fear and trembling, and a plethora of many other untapped emotions. Similarly I do not need to be full of hostility or anger to have my peace disturbed. Any number of you reading this devotion may live with or know someone who seems to live in a constant state of angst and whether they�re coming or going, they have can an impact on you.

On a deeper level (which brings us to the bottom line) my own lack of peace existed for one primary reason. The answer was made plain to me in Isaiah 40:31, �But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.�

In �The Message Bible�, beginning with verse 28, Eugene Peterson paraphrases it like this, �Don�t you know anything? Haven�t you been listening? God doesn�t come and go. God lasts. He�s Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn�t get tired out, doesn�t pause to catch His breath. And He knows everything, inside and out. He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts�but those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don�t get tired, they walk and don�t lag behind.�

In conclusion dear ones, I spread my wings, I ran in my strength and I got tired! My strength was not sufficient to handle what was laid before me. I did not wait on God.
I praise God that He is enough and I am ever so thankful that He never ever sleeps or pauses to catch His breath.

My challenge for you is to make time with God an absolute priority. Even if you must secure it by force, do not neglect time with Him. He is the only Peace Giver and it is He alone who can calm the deepest longing our souls have.

Cling to Him sisters. Our lives depend on it.

Stephanie

I have spent the last few days discussing the differences between God�s voice and Satan�s voice. Once we have identified Satan�s voice and his tactics, we need to know how to fight him.
First we must ACKNOWLEDGE we are in constant spiritual warfare. �For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms� (Ephesians 6:12).
Then we can ACCESS God�s power. �Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you� (James 4:7).
Although my granddaughter Kate had a very traumatic birth, God dramatically rescued her, and the physical damage was minimal. However, when Kate was nine, she had to have extensive surgery on her leg and hip bones. I can remember pacing the hallway of the hospital. The surgery was taking much longer than we were expecting. I began to hear negative voices in my head: �There must have been serious trouble.� �They are going to tell you she didn�t make it.� �If she did make it, probably she won�t be able to walk.� These lies from Satan continued in my head until I just said out loud: �Get away from me, Satan. Lord, please give me new words and get Satan out of here.� The new words came: �You will see Kate walk down the aisle on her wedding day.� Kate survived the surgery; she walks beautifully. She is almost 18 and will be attending college this fall. Grammie is not rushing her toward the �walking down the aisle� part. I am quite willing to wait for that.
When we hear lies from Satan, we just need to stop and recognize we serve a God who has total power over Satan. We can ask for new thoughts and new words.
As we are engaged in spiritual warfare, we must APPROPRIATE scripture. In Matthew 4:10 we see that when Jesus was tempted by Satan, Jesus used nothing but scripture to fight against Satan. �Jesus said to him, �Away from me, Satan! For it is written:� Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only� (Matthew 4:10). Throughout the passage, you will see the words It is written.
We can ASSERT God�s authority over Satan. �But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, �The Lord rebuke you!�� (Jude1:9).
I believe this scripture teaches we should not attempt to fight Satan by ourselves. We should call on God to fight the battle for us. Remember that when we sense an attack by Satan, we should:

Acknowledge we are in constant spiritual warfare
Access God�s power
Appropriate scripture
Assert God�s authority over Satan.
And then the Victory will be ours.

MWH