GodandMe2theMax

When we know what we need, we'll know when we have enough.

When we know what we need, we'll know when we have enough.

I went to visit with a client a few weeks ago, and I had the privilege of sitting in on their staff chapel while I was there. The president's wife was sharing a devotional, and she said these words. "When we know what we need, we'll know when we have enough." When you think about it, those words are pretty profound, really.

This Christmas, like so many other families I know, we've had to come face-to-face with identifying needs and wants. Between extra medical bills this year, lack of income for the ministry, and one of Frank's clients having a large unpaid balance on an invoice, we've been faced with tough choices. Praise God that at the end of the day, all our bills have been paid, without one of them being late. But we can't take the credit for that, this is truly due to God's miraculous intervention on numerous times!

I'm so thankful that my children are not materialistic. They don't have long Christmas wish lists. Last year, Amber asked for one thing - the Indiana Jones trilogy. This year, just one thing again - a lock for her door. And Jacob, well, he just had his birthday party, so he doesn't have much on his list, either. A few months ago, I told my husband, "For Christmas, I would really like a pair of cowboy boots." He quickly replied, "I don't think that's going to happen. You don't really need cowboy boots." I really couldn't argue with him, knowing our financial situation; I knew he was right. But in my mind, I definitely thought "Doesn't every girl who lives in Texas need a good pair of cowboy boots?" :)

Philippians 4:19 says, "My God shall supply ALL your needs, according to His riches in glory..." So this morning as I contemplate those words my client said, what do we really need? Let me draw the circle around myself. What do I really need?

There's an old Gaither song that goes something like this: "Loving God. Loving each other. Making music with my friends..." It kind of answers the question. Sure, besides the obvious, we "need" food to sustain us (some of us less than others!) We "need" warmth and shelter to make it in the cold night. But what do I really need? No, it's not a pair of Cowboy boots. And to be honest, the list is not very long and can be simply put, God, family, and friends. But in reality, He could choose to take away even the family and friends part of the equation...leaving the one true need - HIM.

This last week I was humbled beyond imagine as I was leaving my worship team practice. As I was walking off the platform, my worship pastor stopped me and handed me a small red bag with a greeting and a hug, "We want you and your family to have a Merry Christmas." It was from the rest of the team.

I was floored and speechless, and I must be honest, I'm a much better "giver" than "receiver". "This can't be happening," I thought. "No, I'm the one who usually gives. Why did they do this?" I made a mad dash out of my church and cried all the way home, even before opening the card inside. I knew what was in it, and I knew the love and sacrifice behind it. I got home and opened it with my family and found a wad of cash and a beautiful ornament. I've wrestled with that "receiving" over and over. God knew our needs as a family, and He met them. But the giver in me said, "Isn't there someone else who needs this more than us?"

Either way, God's promise in Philippians was fulfilled once again, in a miraculous way, He met our needs. He doesn't promise to meet our wants...but in reality, He even does that so often!

Matthew 22:37-38 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

This holiday season, with today's cares and tomorrow's concerns, I remember God's wonders and faithfulness of the past. He sustains. Always. I'm figuring out the difference between my wants and my needs so I know when I have enough. But one thing I know, I never can have enough of God. The more I understand Him, the more I realize how much deeper into this relationship I need to go.

 

--Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

I've got this...

Psalm 42:8  "By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me -- a prayer to the God of my life."

OK, I don't know about you, but I've had a really rough and emotional week.  I'm not going to lie.  When you have a sick child with a yet undiagnosed illness, choosing joy in the rough times is easier said than done.  I've tried my best to be consistent in my quiet time, and let me tell you, I love how God works.  He always seems to direct my eyes to just what I need to see in His Word. 

The verse I chose to memorize for this week is one that was especially meaningful to me the last few days.  I've been reading through Psalms and Proverbs this month, and I actually read it a few weeks ago.  When I did, I highlighted it in my Bible, and kept on reading.  You see, that's the cool thing about God.  He reveals Himself to us through His written word, and God has a way of directing us to just what we need to read to hear His voice on just the day we need to hear it.  For some reason last week when I sat down to read, I felt God was directing me to go back and review some of the things I had highlighted in earlier days in the month.

Read Psalm 42.  In it, the psalmist talks about thirsting for God, being down in the dumps, choosing joy and trusting God.  It's the famous passage where the author says, "Why are you so sad?  Put your trust in God!"  But I love how God works.  This time, it wasn't that well known verse that stuck out to me; however, He did use another verse in this chapter to really encourage me. 

Take a look at verse eight.  "By day the Lord directs His love, at night His song is with me -- a prayer to the God of my life."  During the day time, when I'm awake, God tells me, "I love you.  Don't worry, I've got this."  And at night, He holds me tightly, sings me a lullaby and rocks me to sleep.  That's the visual image I have with the second part of this verse.  At night, when all is quiet and my mind easily wanders into the different scenarios and plays the "what if" game, God my Father, my daddy, holds me so tightly that His love erases all other emotions.  His love is with me during the day, and His song is with me at night.  He's got this.  When I'm awake.  When I'm asleep.  My God who never slumbers has this under control, and even though I feel so helpless, it doesn't matter.  All I need to do is trust Him.  This verse gives me such peace!

Then I love the end of the verse.  "A prayer to the God of my life."  I've sat here and tried to find words to express how I feel when I read that phrase.  I usually don't have trouble expressing myself (as you well know) but the only thing I can think of is that I feel comforted - the kind of comfort that comes when a needed hug is received.  No, not a little hug, I'm talking about a big bear hug that squeezes away all fear and pain, leaving only tears of joy.  If I can say those words with honesty, that God is the God of my entire life, then I have to believe when He says, "I've got this" that He does.  For me, that's the kind of hug that I needed this week. 

 

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

 

What Not to Wear, Spiritual Lessons in Clothing from Colossians

Colossians 3:12  "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience."

It's the new year, and that means most of us are trying to figure out what changes need to be made in our lives for 2011.  Colossians 3:12, the verse to memorize for this week, is a perfect resolution for the New Year.  I heard someone say earlier this week that instead of focusing on the physical things you want to change in your life like your weight, you need to ask God what qualities you possess that are not consistent with His character.  Those are the areas that should be your focus of change for the New Year.   

With the advent of the tv show "What Not to Wear" on TLC, my teenager Amber is my personal fashion expert.  She watches every episode and gives me much needed fashion advice.  I usually will not walk out the door without her giving me a thumbs up.  In fact, it's not uncommon for me to change clothes numerous times until I get that nod of approval.  You see, I'm not really good at fashion.  I like it, and I love to shop, but putting it all together is a bit harder for me. 

Do you have any old items of clothing that you are emotionally attached to?  I used to have this pair of overalls.  They were too big for me, and I looked terrible in them, but I didn't care.  I loved them.  They were comfortable and unrestraining.  The last day I wore those favorite overalls was the day I met with a professional at my son's school.  Never in my life had someone talked to me like I was an uneducated and truly stupid person like that professional did.  I was so frustrated with how I had been treated, and as I tried to figure it out, I came to the conclusion that I was judged by my clothing.  Never again would I let that happen, so in the garbage the overalls went.

In Colossians chapter three, Paul talks about spiritual clothing.  Paul had style, in a spiritual sense, and he shares those spiritual "fashion" do's and don'ts with us.  Take some time to read Colossians 3, especially verses 7-17.  In this passage Paul says, don't wear the clothes that you used to wear, the sinful clothes of anger, rage, lying, etc.  He says, put those things away. 

You see, sometimes sin is like my old overalls.  It's comfortable.  It's unrestrained.  And although I know it doesn't look good, I don't care, because to be perfectly honest, it feels really good.  But, the truth is that I need to throw those old sinful 'clothes' in the garbage.  How do I do it?  Prayer.  Soul-searching.  Confession.  Commitment.  And only with God's help.

I think it's pretty awesome that God gives us a choice to get rid of our old clothes, and then He shows us a brand new wardrobe to put on.  This isn't a wardrobe from Goodwill.  It's a high-end spiritual fashion set of clothes.  It's the clothes you would see on the runway of heaven.  Paul says that we should clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love.  Most of these are the fruits of the Spirit, found in Galatians 5:22-23.  These clothes we should wear are all character qualities of Christ.  Think about it.  If you were given a jacket or article of clothing from your most revered person, would you not cling to it, smell it, hug it, sleep with it, and even live in it?  Why do we not do the same thing with Christ and the clothing He offers?

Then Paul closes the section with answering "how" we get this new wardrobe.  By letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.  By letting His Word dwell in me.  Doing everything in the name of Jesus.  And giving thanks to God.  I can get this new wardrobe and it doesn't cost me a financial cent!  Being the bargain shopper I am, that's my kind of wardrobe.  But, it does cost me myself, my commitment to Christ, my yielding to His way instead of mine...it costs giving up my wants and wishes for His will.  God's fashion must be my priority, not my own desire to wear sloppy, comfortable overalls.

Perhaps like me, you've read these verses hundreds of times.  Perhaps like me, you're starting the new year with good intentions and new resolutions.  Let's all make a new resolution to have a "What Not to Wear" experiment in fashion - God's way.  Let's start with memorizing the verse this week and internalizing it in our lives.  Whether you're a girl who loves to shop or a guy who hates it, I think you can relate to the wardrobe God wants us to be clothed in.  Shopping anyone?

 

 ---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Longing for Presents or Longing for His presence?

Isaiah 30:18  "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you: He rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for Him." (NIV)

"Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, and therefore, He waits on high to have compassion on you.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  How blessed are all those that long for Him. (NAS)

Are you longing for Christmas?  Are the kids in your family and those you know longing for that day they can open presents?  How about you?  Have you ever longed for something?  I mean, really wanted something so badly that you could hardly stand it? 

My first baby was supposed to arrive before Mother's Day in 1996, but she was three weeks late, and God had other plans.  This was my miracle baby that I had prayed and prayed for.  She should have been here by Mother's Day, at least that's what I thought.  I longed to have and hold my little baby girl.

I can think most recently to just a few weeks ago.  My husband went to Tanzania for two weeks.  Things were crazy at work for me, and those were perhaps the longest two weeks of my life.  We have two kids in two different schools that start and end at two different times.  Those were two rough weeks for me, and I was counting the minutes for him to land and make it home.  Yes, I longed for his return.

With the Christmas season upon us, what about the characters in the Christmas story?  Think about Mary.  Can you imagine how she longed to hold baby Jesus, this child she carried for nine months, this promised One from God?  As much as I longed to hold my new baby, I can only imagine what Mary felt like!  And what about the shepherds?  I think Luke 2:16 says it all, "They came with haste and found Mary, Joseph, and the babe, lying in the manger."  Yep, I dare say each of them knew what it meant to have a longing in their hearts.

Now that you've conjured up those longing feelings, let's look back to the verse.  The Lord longs to be gracious to you.  Imagine that.  God desperately wants to be gracious...to me!  I read this verse in my quiet time last week and was astounded by it.  I just sat there and read and re-read, pondering every word.  I mean, how amazing is it that God in heaven longs to do good things for me?  And how awesome is it that God blesses us for longing for Him?  It is unfathomable to me, actually!

Now think about one of those times when you've personally longed for something.  Have you ever had just as much energy and emotion directed toward God in that same way?  If not, why?  If so, is it a faint memory, or is it a constant directive in your life?  You know, the best present we can give God this Christmas is our presence.  I don't know about you, but that's what I want to give this Christmas...myself.  It's actually the only thing I can give to my Heavenly Father that matters.  It's the only gift He wants.  He longs for this gift, and I should long to give it, too.  Me.  100% all of me.  What's it going to be this Christmas?  Presents? or Presence?

 

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

 

Teen Spirit Green Cap or Rice Flower and Shea?

Ephesians 5:1-2  "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

When most children are little, they want to grow up to be just like their mommy or daddy.  Why?  It's who they adore!  (What can I say, they don't know any better or anyone else at the time!)  Of course, when they get a little older, they turn their focus far from the parental figure to the popular figure.  You don't have to look farther than any storefront to see how the advertisers have clued in on this fact.  It's not always the product that results in sales, it's the person representing the product.  Get the right superstar to be an advocate for a product, and it's sure to be a hit.  Why?  Imitation is the best form of flattery.  Kids want to be just like the one they idolize, and if that person uses Teen Spirit deodorant with the green cap, then they want to as well.

Thankfully, we eventually grow out of that impressionable age where we believe everything advertised, even if it's by our favorite star.  But in contrast, as we mature in Christ, should we not continue to do exactly that, except putting our focus on Christ? 

The Bible says in order to imitate Christ, I must live a life of love.  How do I practically do that?  This time the answer isn't rolling off my fingers as I type.  I can't physically understand how much God loves us.  Think about it.  If you have children, would you let your child die so that everyone in the world could live?  Could you watch as your child is beaten and tormented, bruised and whipped?  I love my friends.  There's no doubt about that.  But I don't think I'd let my child die so that my friends could live.  But that's what is so amazing about the love God has for us.  He did just that.  And although He doesn't command us to sacrifice our only child, He does command us to live a life of love.

How do you love the unlovable?  How do you love the ones who hurt you?  How do you love your enemies?  How do you show love practically, day in and day out?  The only answer I can think of lies in dying to self and seeking God.  You see, in and of ourselves, we cannot truly love.  It's only through Christ, the source of love, that we can.  I John 4:7-8, 16 says "Dear friends, let us love one another, for loves comes from God, Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love...And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.   Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

I first must have a relationship with Christ to understand love.  The Bible says that love comes from God and God alone.  When I was a small child, I asked Him to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and save me.  I gave Him control, and that started a relationship with Him.  But just because I have a relationship with Christ doesn't mean I'm living a life of love.  Daily I must choose to imitate Christ and show love.  Daily I must deny selfish ambitions and put others first.  No one ever said it was easy, or even fun for that matter.  Sometimes it feels so good to just hold a grudge or be angry with someone.  But it's clear that's not living a life of love.  No, holding on to negative emotions are not what it means to imitate Christ.

The verse closes with saying that Christ's death was a "fragrant offering."  How could someone dying be a sweet smell?  Only with God, that's for sure.  Think about your favorite scent.  If you're a girl, maybe it's a perfume or chocolate.  If you're a guy, it's probably food.  One of my favorite scents is from a perfume that Bath and Body Works used to make -- Rice Flower and Shea.  It's a cheap perfume, actually, but I love it more than any of the most expensive smells in the department stores.  I have a large stockpile of it, and each year, that grows smaller.  It's "precious" to me, and one day it will not even be available.  All it takes is a little whiff to make me feel good. 

I wonder, can people get a little "whiff" of me and sense the love of God in me?  What do I smell like, spiritually speaking?  Is the love I'm showing giving a good scent for Christ?  Christ's death on the cross was a precious fragrance.  The love He expressed was such a sacrifice of love that although it was painful, it was sweet smelling to God.  And when we live a life of love for God, we also are a sweet fragrance to God, and we should be a sweet fragrance to the world around us.

So what is it?  Am I imitating Christ and His love, resulting in that "Rice Flower and Shea" kind of smell to others?  Or am I wearing some Teen Spirit green cap, trying to cover up the smelly parts, hoping no one notices?  Who am I imitating?  My favorite star or God Almighty? 

Lord, teach me how to live a life of love so that I am a fragrant offering to You.

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Stock in God...My Refuge and Strength. My Help in Times of Trouble

Psalm 46:1, 10  "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  Be still, and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."

"You should own stock in the ER," my brother Bruce joked as he called me yesterday.  I laughed at his comment.  But, yesterday is one of those days I don't care to repeat.  It's also one of those days I have to reflect and ask God, "What do you want me to learn from this?" 

It started with my husband Frank taking our fourteen year old daughter Amber to the ER with hives, itching, severe abdominal pain, and extreme difficulty breathing.  So extreme, I might add, that he didn't think he could make it to the hospital.  He took her to the brand new ER that just opened down the street, not associated with any hospital.  We've seen the signs before, and we were pretty sure she was having an allergic reaction.  He injected her with the epi-pen, and off they went.  Our electricity then went out at home.  The doctors mis-diagnosed her at the ER.  And although she was feeling drained but back to normal by the afternoon, her allergist wanted to see her in his office in shorter time then it takes me to drive there. 

This was Amber's fourth trip to the ER in the last few months, due to something called "Peanut Desensitization."  You see, she's been deathly allergic to peanuts her entire life, but since January, we have made weekly visits to the allergist, working to overcome this allergy.  Sure, there have been a few bumps along the way, but on Monday she "graduated" from the program.  We thought those days of reactions were behind us.  Little did we know, three days after graduation, she would have the most severe allergic reaction of her life since the day we found out she had this allergy.

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking about everything that had transpired.  And all I can say, is I have a great God.  And God has given me some amazing friends to pray for our family during crisis.

Maybe I don't own stock in the ER, but let me say, I do own stock in God.  I don't deserve it.  I didn't buy it by good works or any great investment I had done.  But God gave it to me freely when His son Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for my sin.  He invested His Son for me.  All I had to do was accept it, ask Him to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and commit myself to Him.  I did that as a small child, and I am so thankful that no one can ever take it away from me. 

I can't imagine what my life would be without God in it.  He cares about every detail, even leading us to the right doctors, including the "Best Allergist in Dallas" when we first moved here eleven plus years ago.  No, seriously, he IS the best, as named by D Magazine!  Props to Dr. Robert Sugarman!  He spent an hour with Amber yesterday afternoon, in the room, looking at the ER reports, and discussing her situation.  I was so touched by his care and sensitivity with us, late in the day.  He did what was right for Amber, instead of what was right for him and his staff.  They even stayed at the office until 6 PM with us, just to be sure she didn't have another reaction after her next "dose" of peanuts.  Yep, he's a keeper, and it's not by our doing that we found him.  We prayed for God to give us the right doctors when we moved here, and isn't it just like God to answer prayers?

I would be lost, literally, without God.  My heart beats for people to understand what it really means to have a relationship with Him!  I have friends that know about God.  They ask people to pray when things go south, but that's where it stops.  They have never had a time in their life when they've given control of their life to Him and started to have a personal, intimate friendship with Him.  How I wish for everyone to understand what being a Christian is really about.  Religion?  No.  Believing in God?  No.  Relationship with God and giving up control?  Most definitely.  If you do not have a relationship with God like the one I've talked about, please contact me.  It would be my privilege to show you what the Bible says about becoming a Christian.  :)

He knows what tragedies I might face.  And nothing happens to me without it passing by God first.  Why does He let these things happen?  I have no idea, only that in all things, He should be glorified.  And that's what I want to do this morning.  I give Him the glory for giving us an amazing doctor in Dr. Sugarman.  I give Him the glory for the "Peanut Desensitization," even with the bumps in the road that we've had.  I give Him the glory for the new ER being built just minutes from our home.  I give Him the glory for the wonderful epi-pen.  I give Him the glory for all things.

He is my refuge and strength.  He is an ever-present help in times of trouble.  And I will not question why...I will be still, and know that He is God so He can be exalted. 

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Hospitality -- Is it a lost art or are we just too busy?

I've decided that hospitality is a lost art these days.  When I was growing up, my parents were always asking people over to eat after church on Sundays or making plans to get together over the next weekend.  At least once a month, we either went to the Maier's house or the Maier's came to ours.  My parents sought out new people in church to get to know, and usually it was over a meal in the comfort of our own home.  Thanksgiving meal was never shared alone with our family.  There was always an extra seat or two for a family in need or a college student or missionary kid who had no family around.  We opened our home.  It's what we did.  It's who we were.

So when I became an adult, I just assumed that's what people do.   Correction, that's what my family has always done.  But I have come to realize that this form of "get to know you" interaction is a lost art.  It didn't take long for me to figure out that most people in life don't have this practice.  We have had countless people over to hang out with few reciprocal invitations.  In fact, you may actually have better odds at a horse race.

OK, let me clarify.  My feelings have never been hurt by someone not inviting me over.  I'm merely just talking about this lost art form of opening your home.  OK?  Let no one reading this think I'm talking about you!  Besides, my family has so many allergies to pets that we can't actually go to most people's homes.  End of subject.

So this morning I was reading in 3 John.  The entire book is fourteen verses long, so I can't even honestly say, "If you have time, go read it."  Seriously, you can read and finish this book quicker than you can toast and butter your bread.  Go do it.  No excuses.

I wish I could have known John.  I think he would be the kind of guy I could hang out with and be good friends with.  I already know he would be the kind of guy who would have us over to his home, and hopefully for my family, his pet donkey would not be an inside pet.  John specifically talks about hospitality in verse eight.  I love the fact that he calls Gaius "FRIEND."  Five times in this little short book he mentions that word - friend.  He's an encourager.  He's not afraid to call sin for what it's worth.  But mostly you can just feel the love and power behind his words.  Really, he's the kind of friend we all need in our lives.

So back to this lost art form.  How do you think John and Gaius got to be so good of friends?  I think it was by hanging out.  You don't have to "entertain" to have someone over.  Some people don't invites others because it's such a burden to get the house clean, etc.  Let me tell you, once you let your hair down and drop pretenses, heck, you don't even have to clean your house anymore.  Just go make sure the toilets are flushed and you're good to go.  You just need to have a place to sit and chill out together.  Maybe a deck of cards or dominoes, if you're a game player.  It really doesn't take much to offer hospitality to others. 

I believe "Community" is lacking in our churches.  We go to church, see our friends, say goodbye til the next week.  If we're lucky, we may see them again on Wednesday in the halls of church or some time during the week at the grocery store.  "Hey, we need to get together!" is said more times than you can count...but it rarely comes to fruition.

I know I have far too many surface friends in my life when what I really want is deeper friendships.  I'm convinced this happens only by interaction...and not just once.  Maybe I'm old fashioned.  Maybe it's how I grew up.  Probably both.  Either way, know that if you ever need a friend, my home is always open.  If you ever want to laugh and have an evening of games, give me a call.  I'm almost always up for the competition.  If you haven't ever had people over on a regular basis, try it.  Break out of your comfortable shell.  Make it a priority in your life.  Make a goal to have a family over once a month.  Surely you can fit an evening a month into your busy schedule.  Start practicing "community".  You might just discover an art form that you actually love!

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Choker with Biblical Charms...we all should wear one

Proverbs 3:3  "Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart."

I have read this verse countless times, but this morning I had a visual image of a necklace with charms on it.  Most of the time, charms are added to a bracelet or necklace because they are meaningful to the person wearing it.  They want everyone to know that these "charms" are important to them.  Think about it.  What kind of charms do we see on necklaces?  A cross.  A picture of a child.  Usually the charm we see is something beautiful.

So as I started to really study this verse and focus on it, I turned to other versions of the Bible to see how they translated the original text.  I was shocked when I found the comparisons.  The New International Version uses "love and faithfulness."  The New American Standard Version uses "kindness and truth."  The King James & New King James Version use "mercy and truth."  The New Living uses "loyalty and kindness."  That's quite the interesting difference in all those versions, isn't it?

Now, I am not a Bible scholar, and even though I've tried to do some research, I am highly unqualified to figure out the differences and which set of terms is most accurate.  But I think I do understand what God is trying to tell me through this verse.  There's two main things - the actions on the outside (bind them around your neck) and the attitude on the inside (write them on the tablet of your heart.)

These are all attributes of God, and outwardly, I need to have a 'charm' in my necklace for each of them.  Solomon says to 'bind them around your neck.'  I have a scar around the crease of my neck from my two cancer surgeries.  Most people can't even see it, but I know it's there.  So by choice, most of my necklaces are 'chokers.'  I think there's a reason they call it that.  After wearing one for a whole day, I feel like I've been strangled and need to get it off, in a quick way.  I can remember almost that feeling of panic when I can't get it off quick enough!  When you 'bind' something, you tie it up, right?  So if I am binding love, faithfulness, kindness, mercy, truth, and loyalty to my neck, I am outwardly adorning these things like charms on my choker, for others to see...and I can't take them off! 

Solomon reminds me that I may need to outwardly adorn these things, but they also need to inwardly govern me.  He says to write them on the tablet of my heart.  What happens when you have an emotional catharsis, good or bad?  It's indelibly written on your heart.  I was a young child the day I got saved, but I remember it very well.  It's written in my heart.  I remember the day my husband told me he loved me for the first time.  Why?  It was such a special time, and it's now forever written on my heart.  God expects my inward emotions and attitude to match what is on the outside.  He expects me to learn Spiritual lessons and not forget them.

I think about my kids.  Have you ever said, "How many times have I told you...?"  Countless.  Later in Provers 6:21, Solomon uses the same analogy.  He says to keep your father's commands and your mother's teachings.  Bind them on your heart forever; fasten them around your neck.  It's the same thing with our children.  We expect them to learn and remember and put into action what we tell them to do.  God, my Heavenly Father, expects the same of me.  I wonder how many times He looks at me and says, "How many times have I told you...?" 

I've never been a big fan of guys wearing jewelry, especially chokers and charm bracelets.  But I guess in this sense, it's what God calls them to do.  I want to wear love, faithfulness, kindness, truth. mercy and loyalty together with my friends, guys and girls, proudly.  I want to put into action these things God clearly tells me to have on the outside...and have the matching attitude in my heart on the inside.  Charm anyone?

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

Monday Memory Verse - I John 4:16 - Love. God. God. Love.

1 John 4:16  "And we know and rely on the love God has for us.  God is love.  Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him."

As soon as I read this verse, I knew it was going to be a Groupies4God memory verse!  I read it over and over, charmed by the phrasing and wording.  Read it again.  You have to admit -- it's pure poetry, full of imagery and application.

Let's break it down...

And we know and rely on the love God has for us.
Over and over in the Bible, we read that God loves us.  God is love (I John 4:8)...Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13)...For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son.  (John 3:16)  Much of the book of I John is devoted to God's love for us!  (Take some time this week to read the whole book...there's so much more to God's love that I can't even begin to write about.)

I know this love of God that the verse talks about to be true.  I experienced Him personally when I made a commitment as a child to ask Him to come into my life, forgive me of my sins, and save me.  That was how it started, a long time ago.  Do you know someone who has been married a long time?  Ask them if they love each other more today than when they first met.  For most long-time married couples, the answer is obvious.  In my life, I know and rely on my husband and his love for me more every day.  After almost 19 years, our love is still growing.  That's the way our relationship with God should be...growing!  But if my understanding of His love for me and my love for Him stopped growing when I first committed my life to Him, then I might not be able to say with true commitment the words in this verse about relying on His love.   

Wikipedia defines rely as follows: - to rest with confidence, as when fully satisfied in the integrity or ability of the person; to have confidence; to trust, to depend.  I rely on Him because I have full confidence that all things work together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28.)  Sometimes it's easy to ditch God when tough times comes.  When you're abused.  When you have a family member or close friend pass away.  When you or your spouse lose your job.  When you hear the doctor say, "I'm sorry, you have cancer."  But to really rely on God is to believe with confidence that His plan for my life is best, even though it is sometimes hard.  It means to make a choice that no matter what, I'm going to lean on Him, through good and bad times.  John the Disciple says we know about God's love, and we rely on it.

God is love.
Love.  I love chocolate.  I love my kids.  I love that tv show.  I love that song.  I use many degrees of love in any given day to day conversation.  But what exactly is love?  And what does it mean that God is love?  I have found that those three simple words are not so easy to describe!  But God loved us so much He gave us His own love letter to search for answers like this!  God's description of "love" is found in I Corinthians 13 - commonly known as the 'love chapter.'  Love is patient.  Love is kind.  It does not envy.  it does not boast.  It is not proud or rude or self-seeking.  It is not easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs.  It does not rejoice in evil but rejoices in the truth.  It protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  It never fails.  Take some time and think about that.  If you are a seasoned Christian, you can probably think of examples throughout the Bible of how God showed each one of those qualities.  This description is God.  Love is an attribute of His, but it is also the core aspect of His character.  Every thing He does and allows in our lives is because He loves us, even discipline.  (Whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. Hebrews 12:6 and Psalm 94:12)  Love and God are one in the same.

Whoever lives in love, lives in God, and God in him.
Now those are some tricky words!  God is love personified.  When we seek Him and His will for each daily task and decision, when our thoughts are consumed with what God would want instead of what we want, our lives will show more love.  When I truly live out LOVE in my life, that's when I am living IN God.  Have you ever heard it said of a couple that's been married for 50 years that "they even look like each other!"  Yes, that's the way it should be with our love-relationship with God.  The more I spend time with Him, the more I will look like Him and exemplify His love to others.  I like to think of it as a perfect formula...If I live in God, I will live in love.  If I'm living in love, I'm living in God.

Now the last part of that verse - 'and God in him.'  When we accept His free gift of salvation, the Bible says He gives us a Comforter, His Holy Spirit, that comes and indwells in us, never to leave.  His Holy Spirit comforts us, convicts us of sin, and guides us to the truth. 

As I learn this verse this week, I also am asking God to help me focus on what it means to really love Him and live IN Him.  I am going to focus on His description of love found in I Corinthians 13 and ask Him each day to show me a new way how I can put love into action so others can see Him in me.  The more I focus on His love, I know the clearer my spiritual vision will be.

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

I love you, God...SELAH!

Psalm 18:1  "I love you, O Lord, my strength."

I don't know about you, but as my kids get older, I hear those words "I love you" less and less.  Their lives get busy with school and friends, and it's easy to just neglect mentioning it.  The fact that my children love me is assumed and in their minds, doesn't need to be repeated all the time.  It's not intentional, I'm sure.  I know they love me, but I'm the kind of person who NEEDS to hear those words, and I need to hear them not in response to me saying them first. 

As I read in Psalm 18 this morning, David's first words are:  "I love you, O Lord, my strength."  Throughout the chapter, David praises God for how God protected him and worked in his life through the years.  It's like a big 'thank you' note to God.  I put myself in David's shoes.  If I was writing a 'thank you' note to someone, I might end it with "I love you"...but I doubt I would start it out like that.  It's as if David was so overwhelmed with emotion that he just had to tell the Lord right away how he felt about Him.

I had a professor in college, Sumner Wemp, who used to tell a story of how he would play the "I love you" game with God.  He said he would wake up, and try to beat God to saying "I love you."  He would count off, 1,2,3...and shout out "I love you!"  But he said no matter how quickly he would say it, God always beat him in the game.  God loves us more than we could ever love Him!  {Side note:  If you don't know who Sumner Wemp is, you can find out more about him at http://www.sumnerwemp.com/history.htm.  He is in his 80's, and when I think of someone who is not ashamed to share his faith in Christ, he is the visual image I get.  I have known him for more than 20 years, and he always has a fresh story of how he's led a complete stranger into a relationship with Jesus.  A few years ago, he spoke at my church on a Sunday evening, and my children left saying, "Now I understand why you wanted me to hear him."  He's just that kind of person that once you meet, your life is forever changed.  I'm blessed to call him my friend.}

Do you remember when you heard the words "I love you" for the first time?  I'm not talking about an "I love you" from a mom, dad, sister, brother, or friend...but those words from a potential mate.  I remember when my husband and I were dating, I was holding out on telling him those special words.  "I'm not going to say it first," I thought.  Then one night, I just couldn't help it.  I told him.  And you know what he told me?  "Thank you."  He didn't say it back.  I remember that feeling inside, and it wasn't a good one.  The next morning I woke up with cold sores all over my mouth.  I was so distressed.  Here, I put myself out on the line for who I was sure in my heart was God's choice for me to have as a life-partner, and he didn't feel the same way about me.  About a month later, he did choose to tell me.  I remember starting to cry and saying, "I thought you would never say it!"  Then he said some very powerful words, "I wanted to be sure the girl I told I loved would be the girl that I would marry." 

I have to laugh at myself when I remember that situation.  I am guilty of throwing those words around too much when I was younger.  Maybe there's been two people in my life worthy of those words...but none that I love like my husband.  We have a history.  We've been loving each other for over 20 years. When I look at him in the eyes in a serious moment, and say those words, "I love you" they bring emotions and appreciation and joy and words I can't express, even if I tried. 

I think that's how David felt.  He just couldn't help himself.  I don't think he said "I love you" flippantly.  When David wrote those words, I'm sure he brought with them a flood of emotions and memories of God's faithfulness.  This morning, I'm challenged with the comparison.  When I tell God that I love Him, do I just say the words or do I say it with the emotions behind them?  I think He longs to hear it from me.  He longs for me to tell him with the memory of our history together.  He wants me to conjure up those feelings of His faithfulness through the years and to swell up with tears at just the thought of how much I love Him. 

God tells me He loves me every day, and I know He adds an exclamation point to it each time.  I'm praying this morning that I will never tell God "I love you" half-heartedly again.  I need to tell Him not out of what I know in my mind, but I need to tell Him out of what I feel in my heart.  I need to put the word 'selah' after that phrase when I am talking to Him...which means to stop and ponder what I just said.  I'm so thankful He's a patient God who teaches me new truths each day.  Oh if I were that patient with the ones I love! 

I LOVE YOU, GOD!  SELAH!

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com