Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 26, 2015

Searching Deeper

“For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.” Psalm 66:10 (NKJV)

EXAMS! The very word manages to strike some fear into almost every student. Even as women, the annual medical “exams” we endure are usually something we dread!  But God’s Word tells us how important it is that we ourselves take responsibility regularly examining our spiritual life.  By doing so we will see if we are further on the road of maturity than we were the last time we checked.  Paul tells us in I Corinthians “For if we would judge ourselves, we would be not judged.”  How do we go about this “judging” of ourselves–this “exam” of our spiritual growth?  There are many passages that give us examples: In Psalms, David gives us guidelines in both Psalms 15 and 24 when he says, “Lord, who may dwell in your holy tabernacle?”  Again, Ezekiel 18:5-9, I Timothy 5, and II Peter 1:5-9 are some other passages that help us examine our lives.  There are many places in scripture that provide tests for us. The important thing is that we keep constant watch over our souls so that we may live pleasing to Him who is our strength!

“God our Father, please help us as we look into our lives for any sin that would be lingering there.  Help us to see ourselves as You see us, and live to bring glory to You.”

For His Glory

Sandy Day
TRBC Mountain Blend

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Posted in Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 25, 2015

An Audience of One

“The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: “He is good; his love endures forever.” Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud.” 2 Chronicles 5:13 (NIV)

Bringing glory to His name and praising His awesome goodness.  It’s what we are called to be – true worshippers in Spirit and in truth. However, the level of our worship and praise is directly linked to our heart relationship with God.  When fully engaged with our awesome Creator that worship spills over and impacts all of our relationships.  It influences our decisions, supersedes our insecurities and ignites our passion to serve God fully.  So how’s it going?  Are we maneuvering through the motions of superficial worship denying the transforming power of a heart knit with its Creator?  We may play the part – hands raised, voices lifted. We perhaps portray the right image of one who is spirited in worship engaged fully experiencing the energy.  We could sing those songs and clap our hands in our sleep.  But if our lives don’t reflect the One we worship then we are missing the filling of His glory. If the words we sing don’t penetrate our hearts than we are missing the sweet aroma of obedience.  And if we walk away and wonder what’s next then we just missed an audience with our King.

“Father, give us one glorious ambition to know and follow hard after You. To soak in Your love and spill over your grace as You fill us with Your glory.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Spiritual Living, Worship

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 24, 2015

Master Manipulation

“And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”  Luke 16:15 (KJV)

 Ever been blindsided or manipulated?   Forgetting the disappointment, shock, and hurt is difficult!!   Years ago what I considered a developing friendship was quickly severed once she got what she wanted.   And, worst of all, I realized my innocence and gullibility actually assisted with her manipulation.  Did she know what she was doing?  Of course!  Regrettably, I never saw it coming.

Being used by another person is selfish, deceitful, and damaging.  God’s Word is filled with manipulative people.   Eve persuaded Adam to sin, Jacob deceived his father and stole his brother’s birthright, and Sarah used Hagar to give Abraham a child.  Each cleverly controlled or influenced the other person by masterfully altering decisions.   Ultimately, these decisions affected generations to come continuing today.

Unfortunately, manipulation occurs every day.   Employees ‘pull strings’ to get promotions, friendships are torn apart by jealously, marriages are wounded when partners cheat and lie, and children disregard authority by deceiving parents.   Sadly, each scenario depicts overriding respect and honor.   Walking with Christ requires character.   True honesty carefully considers decisions which may be hurtful or damaging to another person. Intentional wounding of another will be avoided by prayerfully seeking God’s direction.   Godly character determines to do what’s right realizing two wrongs never make a right.

“Lord, please help me to be unselfish by honoring you in all my decisions.”
For His Glory

Patsy Sanders
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Attitude, Encouragement, Spiritual Living

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 23, 2015

Everlasting Peace

“ But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” James 3:17 (NIV)

Life often revolves around drama: yours and mine. Good drama the kind that inspires , uplifts and embraces life fully is amazing.  Sweet stories of restoration, victories won and goals achieved.  But unfortunately, we often get lost encircling those things that seek to overpower our lives – drama that stifles.  Seeds of gossip,  judgement, anger, selfishness and restlessness grows into weeds that entangle us suffocating our peace.  So what’s a girl to do when reality checks in and reveals our thrill of drama has stolen our joy, destroyed our fruit and produced a hearty crop of discontentment? How about  a fresh cultivating of our hearts and minds poured out before the Master Gardener?  God is our Peacemaker and when we exchange our drama for sweet surrender, we will flourish.  As women, God knows our hearts are full of emotion and feelings. He wired us that way, but He never intended for us to let those emotions overpower us or to allow us to get caught up in someone else’s emotional nightmare. Bringing the unsettling areas of our lives before Him, we gain wisdom and sincerity rather than feed an unhealthy diet of strife.   By safe guarding our minds and hearts, God will produce an abundant crop of trust, faith and hope that rises above any drama – now that’s something to talk about!

“Father, how sweet to truly place our lives into Your hands knowing that You alone can supply all that we need.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Encouragement, Hope, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 20, 2015

Self-Affirmations

cb devo feb20“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…” (Psalm 139:14, NIV)

I was riding with a friend, I’ll call Anne. It was fun to just get on the road with her and set out for an adventure. On one of those occasions, she turned on a CD about self-affirmations. Before we actually got to those, we had to go through some put-you-to-sleep stories and instructions about the affirmations. A couple of times, we accidentally missed the start of the affirmations. After a couple of incidences where Anne had rewound the tape, she asked, “Do you want me to rewind it again?” and before I could stop myself I shouted “NO!” We fell into regales of laughter.

After we finally got through the Top 50 affirmations, Anne asked me what my fave was. Hmm. Which one should I go with? The one that said, “I love listening to my affirmation CD” (no self-indulgent plug there) or the one that said, “I like to smile” (huh?) That conversation kept our laughter going! But, then, it was time to get serious. I shared with Anne that while I believe in self-talk, and use it frequently, I have found what I believe to be a better way.

That better way is the truth found in God’s word. I feel much better about who I am when I remind myself of whose I am. Repeating scriptural truths such as “If God is for me, who can be against me?” and “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” does me a world of good. Yes, it is self-talk. But, it is not selfish talk. This talk affirms truth that calms my heart and soothes my soul. Anne agreed. Maybe we should record these affirmations. I don’t even think I would mind rewinding and starting them over and over and over…

“Dear Lord, please help me to focus on all of the wonderful things You say about me, and help me to believe them to be true.”

For His Glory

Laurel Shaler (www.drlaurelshaler.com)
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Encouragement, Hope, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 19, 2015

Finding The Margin To Serve

cb devo feb 19“Do not withhold good from those who need it, when you have the ability to help.” Proverbs 3:27 (NET)

God created me to value tangible, practical outcomes and He often chooses to connect truths I need to learn to our tangible, practical world. Last week, I saw a glimpse of the everyday benefit of margin.

On Monday, I decided to organize my pantry. This felt like an accomplishment and looked good, but I wasn’t really convinced it was worth the effort. But on Wednesday, God showed me some tangible, practical benefits. I had just returned from the grocery store, where my shopping trip was made easier by the mere fact that I knew what I already had on hand. Once I put away the groceries, I checked my email and saw a request for someone to provide dessert for a gathering on Thursday night. Normally, my first thought would be, “why couldn’t I have seen this BEFORE I went to the grocery store!” However, this time, was different. Since I knew that I had the needed ingredients to make a cake, I was able to instantly volunteer without taking on the stress of deciding what to make and possibly making another trip to the store.

Don’t you love how organized our God is? He can use my organized pantry to give me a stress-free opportunity to serve. As we clean and organize our homes, let’s invite God to show us how we can use our margin to bless others.
“Lord, thank You for Your blessings. Help us to enjoy what You generously give us, and to create margin in our homes and hearts so that we can glorify You and bless others”

For His Glory

Ann Skalaski
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Attitude, Encouragement, Freedom, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 18, 2015

Godly Friends Dig Deep

cb devo feb 18“As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Proverbs 27:7 (NIV)

Arms full, I sat down my computer bag and darted for the Coke machine. Road trip thirst had left me longing for some caffeine. Quenched my parched throat and headed to the hotel reservation desk. Checked in, glanced at watch 11:30 pm and dragged myself to our room. However, the organizer in me couldn’t quite slip into bed without first unpacking my bags, nibbling on some stale cookies and recharging my computer. Problem was my computer bag was missing.

Calm husband searched the room, while I remained in a panic. No bag found, we began retracing our steps and then I remembered lugging it into the hotel lobby. Last place, I’d seen that bag. Sweet husband went down to the front desk and found my now “suspicious bag” in the manager’s office and rescued it before they called the police. Amazing how our world now views anything left, discarded as suspect.

Got anything in our lives that looks suspicious? Any reasons for others to question or be alarmed by our behavior, our words, our facebook posts, etc. Now one might quickly respond that others shouldn’t judge, question or zero in on our world. One might even be tempted to dismiss a friend’s probing conversation. But God’s word reminds us that “iron sharpens iron” – don’t we want iron in our friendships? Don’t we want to be more than acceptors and excusers when things don’t seem to be okay? What if the suspicious bag in the hotel lobby was not my computer? The safety of all the guests could have been compromised. Same thing is true in our world. I’d much rather explain what looked suspect than dismiss what could be a huge red flag. Godly friends dig deep because they value the souls of those they love.

“Father, You have safeguarded our lives with those who have earned the right to speak into our “suspicious” places. Give us courage and grace to be iron that sharpens iron.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Spiritual Growth, Spiritual Living, Success, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 17, 2015

Fearless Living = Godly Confidence

cb devo feb 17“…but he called out to them, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” John 6:20 (NLT)

I remember a season of my life, I was scared to leave the boundaries of the small town where I was raised. As long as I was in town or one of the surrounding small towns I was fine. However if I ventured out of my safety zone, I would lay my head on Mama’s lap and cry until we reached our destination. My Mom was baffled the whole trip as to why I was so scared. As I look back, I think about how silly I was, but at the tender age of seven it was real.

How many times has God said, “I am here! Don’t be afraid.” But we are so paralyzed with fright we don’t hear Him. Fear is for real and can be debilitating for some. Fear is the opposite of love and is a successful scare tactic of the devil. The devil is so cunning that he can even invite fear into positive or happy occasions like a promotion or getting married.

Our relationship with Christ should be viewed as the “Daddy” we call on when situations and circumstances have us frightened. A weapon may form against us, but whatever weapon (health, finances, chaos, tragedy, etc.) the devil tries to use to terrify us with – God says, “… it will NOT prosper…” (Isa. 54:17).

Decree today the evil one has no authority or power to scare us! Choose to be and live unafraid because of Jesus. Declare I am never alone for the great I Am lives in me and loves me. So who or what shall I fear? Whenever fear tries to creep its way into our hearts and minds be listening for God’s still, small voice saying, “I am here! “Don’t be afraid.”

“Thank you Father, because of the confidence of who we are in Christ, we can live totally fearless!”

For His Glory

Kim Lacey Schock
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Faith, Freedom, Hope

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 16, 2015

Pleasing Him

cb devo feb 16“Don’t work only while being watched, in order to please men, but as slaves of Christ do God’s will from your heart.” Ephesians 6:6 (HCSB)

How do we act when the boss is watching? What do we do when they are nowhere in sight? Our work ethics or lack thereof shout loud. Agreeing with our boss in one breath and then when they exit the room grumbling and complaining. Taking on a project to impress our boss, but then failing to do our part. Texting overrides doing our work. Being late becomes the norm because the boss is away. Exaggerating our abilities yet failing to meet deadlines. Too much chatter and not enough work done….. the list could go on and on and on.

Regardless of what we promise, proclaim or attempt to convey – the truth lies in what we actually do. When the boss is away, God is always present. What does He see in our 8 to 5? Is God pleased with our attitude, interactions with co-workers and respect for our boss?

Flip side….if we’re the boss how are we treating the people who work for us? Do we push our workers too hard, overloading them with our work while we claim the credit?

Ephesians reminds us that our ultimate Master is in Heaven – regardless of who is the boss on earth. Favoritism doesn’t exist in the presence of God. He doesn’t have one set of rules for the office administrator and another set for the Corporate Executive. God holds us all up to the standard of holiness that is centered on pleasing Him out of love and respect.

“Father, everything we do, every way we respond reflects the condition of our hearts whether we are at work or at home. Help us to remember that You are always present in our world.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Spiritual Living, Success, Wisdom

Posted by: trbccoffeebreak | February 13, 2015

Forever Young

cb devo feb 13“The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.”  I John 2:17 (NIV)

The fountain of youth – we all desire to live longer and better lives. I have to admit, the thought of aging doesn’t thrill me.  Those gray locks that continue to surface are quickly hidden, and every time I look in the mirror my smile line seems to stay put regardless of my expression.  Oh well, it happens – I’m getting older by the second. While some will seek extreme measures to temporarily halt the signs of aging, scripture reminds us that the man (person) who does the will of God lives forever.  No beauty regiment or exercise plan can compete with that guarantee.  Regardless of our outward bodies, our inner soul can be renewed day by day when we intentionally follow His will.  While our lean muscle mass may deteriorate over time, God’s strength empowers us when we walk in His footsteps.  The more our desires line up with His desires, the greater our impact will be on the people He brings into our lives.  When God’s Spirit infuses and reigns over all our decisions and reactions, He daily produces new life in us. And that influential life continues even when our days on this earth are ended.

“Father help us to seek extreme measures to maximize Your will for our lives even if it means leaving our dreams behind.”

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Coffee Break

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Posted in Encouragement, Spiritual Living

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