Devotion: Who did God Choose as Vice President?

Dear Faithful One,

With the ongoing Presidential campaign, are you sitting at the edge of your seat waiting to hear who was chosen to run as Vice President? Now, imagine yourself as one of the candidates who could have been chosen. What thoughts were going through your head regarding your future? What happens then when you finally hear the selection and discover you were passed over for the appointment? History will unfold before your eyes but you will not be the one in that house, in that seat, in that inner circle. Have you ever wondered if the choice was God's intention or can human flesh get in the way of God's plans? How can we tell if a specific election was part of God's plans?

Samuel was sent by God to anoint the future King, 1 Sam 16:8-11 reads: Then Jesse called Abinadab and had him pass in front of Samuel. But Samuel said, "The LORD has not chosen this one either." Jesse then had Shammah pass by, but Samuel said, "Nor has the LORD chosen this one." Jesse had seven of his sons pass before Samuel, but Samuel said to him, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11 So he asked Jesse, "Are these all the sons you have?" NIV. Observe that Jesse is acting as counselor to Samuel and is confident of his ability to discern potential. So he puts before Samuel his top picks. He offered him Abinadab, then Shammah, then seven others. None were the ones God had chosen.

By Samuel's persuasion, Jesse then pulled David from the field. Don't miss the fact that God shut the door to nine of Jesse's choices because no matter how many false starts, God always fulfills His purpose. On the tenth try, Jesse reluctantly picks David because God allowed him to run out of options and we find Samuel naming the next successor to the throne. I wonder today if you are frustrated because you don't sense a fit in the choices placed before you. Instead of force fitting a choice, perhaps you need a spirit filled Samuel in your life to help you to connect the dots and to confirm, "This is it!"

How did Samuel know who was God's choice? 1 Sam 16:12-13 tells us: Then the LORD said, "Rise and anoint him; he is the one." NIV. Don't miss the fact that God's choice is followed by an outpouring of God's power. So don't be afraid to look for confirmation and the visible evidence of God's power pouring out from His selections. 1 Sam 16:13 reads, "and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power." NIV.

Oh Faithful One, if you see those who are ineffective in their places of authority, could it be because they were not God's choice for the position? If you do not find yourself operating in God's power, could it be because you appointed yourself or allowed someone who is not Spirit filled to talk you into an appointment? But if you are sure of God's choice, then don't hesitate to ask God for an outpouring of His power. Personally, I say to God all the time, "I desire to live for your dreams. If you allowed me to be passed over for an appointment, then you must have other plans for me that fit your greater purpose. However, if I am your choice, then show the world your hands are on me by showering your favor on me and releasing your power. How else will the world know that you sent me? And if you will not go with me or bless my efforts, then let me sit and wait until you are ready to move forward because I am not in a hurry and there is nothing else I need to get to or accomplish except to be in the center of your perfect will."

Time will prove God's choices. Until then, let's look closer to home at our own lives. Is there someone in your organization who has demonstrated by their ineffectiveness that they are in the wrong seat? Are you in a place where you are trying to force fit your role? What needs to change so you can start flowing in God's power?

God's Word is the compass for my life. When I pray for you, I hear a victory song. I believe in you because I believe in the power of God's Word in you as you put His Word into action.

Love, Anita

www.Inspirewomen.org

God Loves you and Offers a wonderful PLAN for your life

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I feel much better

Crazed Distracted Mother

The Apostle Paul

Acts 20:9-12

Still Blessing His Name

Two months after the tragic loss of his daughter, Steven Curtis Chapman resumes touring—and says he's found a new reason to sing.
By Elizabeth Diffin, online exclusive

It's not often you leave a concert reflecting on the words of a song by a different artist. But as I exited the July 24 Steven Curtis Chapman event, the words of a Matt Redman worship song echoed through my head. Chapman opened the concert with "Blessed Be Your Name" just two months after the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Maria Sue, in a tragic accident at the family's home.

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Christianity and America

The pilgrims, as you will recall, were, Christians fleeing Europe in order to escape religious persecution, and they literally began their stay in their new land with the words, “In the name of God, Amen.”

The pilgrims were followed to New England by the Puritans, who created bible-based commonwealths. Those commonwealths practiced the same sort of representative government as their church covenants. Those governmental covenants and compacts numbered more than 100, and were the foundation for our Constitution.

New Haven (Connecticut) and Massachusetts were founded by Puritans who wanted to reform the Church of England, who later became known as Congregationalists. Roger Williams founded the colony of Rhode Island based on the principle of freedom of conscience. Pennsylvania was established by William Penn as a Quaker colony. Maryland was a haven for Catholics from Protestant England.

America was indeed founded by bible-believing Christians and based on Christian principles. When they founded this country, the Founding Fathers envisioned a government that would promote and encourage Christianity.

All but two of the first 108 universities founded in America were Christian. This includes the first, Harvard, where the student handbook listed this as Rule #1: “Let every student be plainly instructed and earnestly pressed to consider well, the main end of his life and studies is to know God and Jesus Christ, which is eternal life, John 17:3; and therefore to lay Jesus Christ as the only foundation for our children to follow the moral principles of the Ten Commandments."

In 1777. Continental Congress voted to spend $300,000 to purchase bibles which were to be distributed throughout the 13 colonies! And in 1782, the United States Congress declared, “The Congress of the United States recommends and approves the Holy Bible for use in all schools.

So, let us take a look at some of the lives and words of our Founding Fathers to see whether they were Christians or whether history has been revised.

[John Adams] [Sam Adams] [Charles Carroll] [Alexander Hamilton] [John Hancock] [Patrick Henry] [Francis Hopkinson] [John Jay] [Thomas Jefferson] [James Madison] [John Marshall] [George Mason] [Thomas McKean] [Dr. Benjamin Rush] [Roger Sherman] [Richard Stockton] [George Washington] [Noah Webster] [John Witherspoon]

Discover Your Child's Strengths Through Play

How play helps get kids ready for the real world

By: Mary Beth Lagerborg

As we approached the start of preschool for our son Tim, age 4, the teacher alerted me to the fact his class would have seven little girls and Tim. In the car on the way home after the first day, I asked him, "How did you feel about being the only boy?" Timmy looked up at me thoughtfully, as if he'd not considered this. "Well, when we play house, I'm the dad," he said, grinning.

In my grown-up-ness I'd thought he'd miss boy rough-and-tumble. But he had plenty of that with his brother at home. My thoughts had been small and logical and worried; his, like his imagination, were uncomplicated and free.

Children's work is play. Day in and day out that's what children do at home: They play. As moms we see play small-sightedly: Will they make a mess? Will I have to play with them? Will they argue or play nicely?

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