“The Committee”

By Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:
  You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him. (Deuteronomy 13:4 NASB).

Devotion:

A committee of voices live in my head. Most days they are quiet. However, when a pivotal decision develops they all want to chime in with their points of view. All the personalities clash and clang about making a ruckus and no decisions. Here’s an example of the conversations that might be heard on any given day.

Miss Scaredy-cat whispers, “Don’t do it. You’ll fail.”

Mrs. I Can Do shouts, “Go ahead. Go for it! What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

Ms. Prideful says, “What will other people think? I wonder what they will say?”

Miss Procrastination states, “Just wait to make the decision. Wait another day.”

Now I know that Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me, (John 10:27 NIV). Yet, I admit sometimes His beloved voice gets lost in the clatter of The Committee. I lean toward being a type-A personality with lots of ideas and dreams. So, my own strong personality voices are difficult to squelch. Unfortunately, God’s voice is usually the quiet whisper among the din of fear, pride and procrastination.  

The Committee visits me frequently, but the bigger the decision the more noise erupts in my thoughts. Life-changing choices create the biggest clash of voices. Decisions concerning relational conflicts, career changes, and ministry efforts generate non-stop thoughts in me.

So how do I keep The Committee subdued? For myself, I have found that I need to physically go to a place of quiet where I can sit and listen. I take my Bible and read a few Psalms. I sit. I wait. I still my mind. Eventually, it takes time, but my spirit, and my personality calm down and then I can begin to discern God’s quiet voice. The Committee takes a recess and God takes command. When His voice is in control, I feel the “peace that passes understanding.” It enables me to think rationally without all the emotional inner dialogue

Although the decision making process will never be easy for me, I can make the process more palatable by listening for God’s direction. I need to appoint the Holy Spirit as the chairperson. I must sit quietly and  still The Committee in my head so that I am able to discern the whisper of God.

Prayer:          

Dear Lord, quiet my thoughts. Teach me to sit still and listen. Train me to hear Your voice. Grant me the ability to discern Your thoughts and will for my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application steps: 

Determine to set aside 30 minutes for a time of stillness. Choose a quiet place to sit and reflect. Read three or four Psalms. Close your eyes and listen.  Ask God to speak to your heart.

Reflections: 

Do I consider making decisions a difficult process? Why or why not?

What types of “voices” try to influence my choices?

When a decision needs to be made, do I try to listen to the God’s voice?

 Power verses:

Isaiah 28:23, “Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.” (NIV)

Psalms 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.” (KJV)

1 Kings 19:11-13, “The Lord said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (NIV)

© 2010 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

“Instead of Shame”

By Susanne Scheppmann

Key Verse:

 “Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace they will rejoice in their inheritance; and so they will inherit a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs.” (Isaiah 61:7 NIV)         

Devotion:

I turned and walked away from God in anger and disappointment. I tossed away the calling of ministry on my life. In my own perception, the Lord had hurt my feelings. So, I left my faith to find a fresh path.

This happened during my twenties. With two toddlers climbing up my legs during the day and crying intermittently during the night, I was physically exhausted. Emotional turmoil began to disintegrate my marriage. My immature faith lacked the stamina to hold to God tightly. So, for seven years I wandered through sin, divorce, and miserable meanderings of my own making. It was a time of spiritual drought—the years of shame.

Although I walked away from God, He did not walk away from me. The Lord allowed me to experience life in the wilderness of doubt, but He was right there watching over me and waiting for me to return to the call of ministry placed on my life at age eighteen. 

Eventually, I allowed myself to feel His presence in my life. Little by little, the Lord Jesus wooed me back to Himself. I remember the exact time and place that I felt Him whisper to my spirit, “Let’s start over and do it right this time”. I wept with relief and joy. I began to study the Bible and allowed it change my damaged spiritual heart. This time it wasn’t going to be head knowledge, but heart knowledge.   

My faith was back on track, but I did not think my calling to ministry could ever be restored. Hadn’t I traveled too far off the godly path? Surely, God didn’t want me anymore in service to His Kingdom. Surely, He had more qualified daughters that could minister to others without the shame of my own sullied past.

However, that is not how God thinks at all. The Bible says, “For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). The Lord desires for us to move past the shame of past mistakes and into His calling for our lives. He will restore us to useful service in the Kingdom. It takes time and it is a process, but the Almighty God still has a plan for each of our lives. He intends to replace disgrace with rejoicing, so that we may show our world that we are living miracles.

Do I hear an, “Amen”?

Prayer:

Dear Lord, thank you for having mercy on me. Display Your will for my life. Enable me to fulfill the gifts and call in my life, so that others will understand your grace and mighty power. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Application steps:

Consider the years of your life you feel might have been wasted. Reread and memorize Isaiah 61:7, our today’s key verse. Cast away your shame and look for your double portion of inheritance. Rejoice in God’s mercy and grace.

Reflections: 

Do I feel I have lost my chance to use my spiritual gifts?

How can I begin to use my spiritual gifts to display God’s mercy in my life?

  

Power verses:

Joel 2:26, “You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.” (NIV)

Psalm 36:5, “Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” (NIV) 

Romans 11:29-30, “For God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience.” (NIV)

© 2010 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.

“My Bad”

By Susanne Scheppmann

 Key Verse:
"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.”  Matthew 5:23-24 (MSG.)

Devotion:

Why is saying, “I am sorry, please forgive me” so difficult? Recently, I picked up the trendy phrase, “My bad” to apologize. It seemed like a convenient way to state, “Oops! I made a mistake—so sorry.” One day I wondered where “my bad” originated. Curious I searched the Internet and found the history. It began with a basketball player who spoke English as a second language. He missed a free throw shot and said, “My bad.” Radio announcers and sports fans picked it up and a new slang phrase was birthed, “My bad.”

Interestingly, the urban dictionary defines it as a flippant apology. It means something like this, “I did something wrong. No reason to apologize, just get over.” Hmmm…as a Christ follower I need to rethink my apologizing behavior. “My bad” might work for a silly mistake, but not when I hurt someone’s feelings with my poor behavior. In any situation that requires a real apology, I need to display humility and seek forgiveness.

In addition, to asking for a sincere apology, I need to change my behavior that caused the problem. If I continue with the same problematic actions, it indicates that I do not find my behaviors offensive enough to stop. Now this is so much easier to say than to actually do. For example, when my children were in their teen years they knew how to push every “make Mom yell” button I owned. I hollered at them a lot. But slowly with prayer and Scripture memorization, my screaming lessoned. Now I am not saying that I don’t ever yell, but the habit of screaming at people is gone. I like what the last part of our Key Verse states, “come back and work things out with God.” Sometimes our sinful behavior takes awhile to dissipate, but we cooperate with God and He will help us alleviate them from our lives. So don’t be discouraged if you need to apologize a few times.

However, when we ask forgiveness, both God and others expect a behavioral change. Stay diligent and aware of what triggers the negative actions in yourself. Here’s a trick that helps me to redirect my potential negative response to an irritating situation. I now say to myself, “My bad” to alert myself when something triggers an action that I might need to apologize for to someone. Perhaps “My bad” can be your personal code phrase too. It can be a challenge for us to stop and reflect on our next response. Hopefully, it will allow God the opportunity to work in our lives, before we need to say, “I’m sorry. Will you please forgive me?”

                                                                                                                                                                          

Prayer:

Dear Lord, teach me to ask forgiveness when necessary. Help me to keep my apologies sincere. In addition, give me the strength to change behaviors, so that my apologies carry the truth of my actions. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

Application steps: 

Today make the decision to apologize sincerely to someone whom you’ve wronged. Consider when and where would be the most conducive time to ask the person’s forgiveness. In addition, consider how to word the apology so that it comes across as sincere and not flippant. Next, if your poor behavior is habitually, ask God to help you begin to change your actions. 

Reflections: 

Why is asking for forgiveness so difficult?

Is there someone you need to ask to forgive you?

What behaviors do I find myself apologizing for repeatedly?

Power verses:

Proverbs 6:2-3, “If you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth, then do this, my son, to free yourself, since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands: Go and humble yourself; press your plea with your neighbor!” (NIV)

Proverbs 29:23, “Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honor.” (NLT)

Proverbs 18:12, “Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor.” (NLT)

© 2010 by Susanne Scheppmann. All rights reserved.