Guest Author, Jennifer Slattery

 

Thank you, Jennifer, for sharing your thoughts and your new book with us.

 

Have you ever felt invisible? Wondered if anyone would notice, should you stop doing whatever it is you're doing, day in and day out?

When our daughter was younger, I often wondered what would happen if I didn't make the bed–after all, it'd only get messed up again. Or what if I left the laundry and dishes untouched.

There were times, many, when the tedium of the day wore me down and left me feeling ... insignificant.

They say integrity is doing what you know is right when no one is watching.

Except, Someone is always watching, right? Psalm 139 tells us God is attentive to our every move. He knows every detail of our lives and every thought that flits through our brain. More than that, He takes great delight in us.

Psalm 37:23 says, "The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord upholds them by the hand" (NLT, emphasis mine*).

Pause to consider that verse for a moment. The Lord delights in every detail of our lives--when we're doing something grand and exciting and when we're folding towels for the umpteenth time. Perhaps because He knows our character, that part of us He's continually molding, is grown in the big and the small.

I don't know about you, but I want to be a person of integrity.

I want to be known for my character and obedience. I want God to look down on me, when I'm elbow deep in dishwater, and smile, and I want to do it all–everything--for Him and His glory.

For obedience sake.

 
These emotions and thoughts were triggered as I read Luke 1:5-7. Elizabeth and Zechariah, an old and childless couple, were known for being righteous and carefully obeying God's commands and regulations. When we read this passage, it's easy to skip over that, probably because we know the end of the story. They were faithful, and God rewarded them with something they'd deeply longed for--a child. Not just a child, but the one birthed to proclaim the coming of Christ.

Wow. Pretty awesome, right?

But let's step back. Back to when, still childless and likely unnoticed, John's parents lived obediently. Scripture tells us Zechariah was a Jewish priest, and as such, his responsibilities were to maintain the workings in the temple, instruct the people, and on occasion, if the lot cast landed on him, to enter the Holy Place of the Tabernacle to burn incense on the altar of incense.

I'm not a statistician, but it seems likely he could go his entire life and never, not once, receive this honor. He was one of 20,000 priests! Though Scripture doesn't tell us, I think it's safe to assume there were times he felt unseen and wondered if what he did mattered. After all, should he simply cease performing his duties, there were 19,999 other men ready and able to take his place, many of which likely had children.

 

Let me explain the significance of that for a moment. In Bible times, children were seen as a blessing from God; barrenness was seen as a curse. Meaning, Elizabeth and Zechariah were likely judged for their infertility. The common assumption of their day–They'd likely done something wrong or had displeased God in some way, and that was the reason they were barren.

In other words, Elizabeth and Zechariah served God faithfully in the midst of their sorrow. Despite the fact that He hadn't granted them the one thing they likely longed for above all else.

That's integrity.

They obeyed in the mundane, in the hard and painful, simply because it was the right thing to do.

They obeyed because they knew God is worthy, amen? 

There's a verse I love, and one I pray often: "And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice–the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him" (Romans 12:1 NLT).

In view of all God has done for us, in view of Christ's sacrificial death so we might live, may we offer our whole bodies–all we are. Our time, our gifts, our words, our thoughts–to Christ, as a living sacrifice.

Sometimes life is a sacrifice, right? Obedience isn't always easy or glamorous. But that is "truly the way to worship [God]." Or to put it another way, every time we scrub toilets, mop floors, wipe snotty noses, or answer phones, if we're doing it in obedience to Christ, we're worshiping Him.

Isn't that cool?

Let's talk about this!

What were your thoughts as you read today's focal passage? Is there an area in your life or something you do that feels insignificant? How does it feel knowing God is watching you every time you engage in that activity? How does it feel knowing that thing, whatever it is, can be an act of worship, something that brings your Father joy?

Additional content you might find helpful:

Meaning in the Mundane

The Invisible Woman

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YU0aNAHXP0&w=560&h=315]

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

Jennifer Slattery is a writer, podcast host and speaker who has addressed women’s groups, church groups, Bible studies, and other writers across the nation. She’s the lead host of the Faith Over Fear podcast and cohost, with four others, of the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She also maintains devotional blogs found JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLoud.com and is a regular contributor to iBelieve.com. Connect with her on Facebook and Instagram, and follow her author page on Amazon. When not writing, reading, or editing, Jennifer loves playing games with her family, working puzzles, and adventuring with her hilariously fun husband. Contact her through her website to learn more or to book her to speak at your next event.

 

About her latest release, Recapturing Her Heart:

What she’s always wished for… might be right here at home.

When she loses her job, professional dancer Harper Moore returns to her Texas hometown with one goal in mind—leaving again. But first she needs money for her big move, even if that means working for her ex-boyfriend. CJ Jenkins is certain he can help the single mom and keep his still-bruised heart intact. But as old feelings resurface, can they let go of the past for a new dream together?

From Love Inspired: Uplifting stories of faith, forgiveness and hope.

 

Buy Recapturing Her Heart here: https://www.amazon.com/Recapturing-Her-Heart-Uplifting-Inspirational/dp/1335597255

He Touched Even Me

I’ve decided to occasionally reprint some of my favorites of my blog posts from the past. This was originally published in March, 2015.

 

Jesus touched a man with leprosy.

Matthew 8:1-3: “Large crowds followed Jesus as he came down the mountainside. Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. ‘Lord,’ the man said, ‘if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.’ Jesus reached out and touched him. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be healed!’ And instantly the leprosy disappeared.”

This passage has always touched me. No one touched the lepers. They had to stay away from everyone else and constantly call out “Unclean”. But Jesus touched him.

I grew up going to church every Sunday and made the decision to become a Christian when I was seventeen. In college, I became involved with a campus ministry. They offered worship services, large and small group Bible studies, and classes on serious Christian topics—women’s issues, Old Testament prophecy, and more. They offered the opportunity to learn to do ministries—visits to hospitals, nursing homes, prison, others.

I knew I was getting a good Christian education. I developed a strong knowledge of and commitment to the Bible. Most of my social time was spent with other students involved with this ministry. I wrote about the Bible for my classes, and I witnessed to people. I was charged.

I was proud.

It took growing up, venturing more out into the world, a few bumps, temptations, some growing stress, and a lot of mistakes for me to finally realize I was really a sinner. I was unclean.

I’m not going to describe to you all of my sins. It doesn’t matter. I just finally realized I wasn’t God’s gift to Missouri.

I needed God’s grace.

I hit bottom, more than once, before I could come up. I have suffered from depression since I was very young. God has given me great healing in this area, but I experienced times when I was buried in it, as crushing as if I was in quicksand.

I have gone through times when I let Satan convince me that I had never been saved. Other times, he made me sure that even if I had been saved, I had gone too far away to be able to come back to God. Satan told me I had committed sins that God could never forgive.

I now believe that God has spent many hours crying over my lack of understanding about how much He loves me.

I wish I could say that I went through an earth-shaking, immediate, miraculous recovery.

God has shown me more miracles than I can count, but I didn’t let the change happen all at once. He used my family, many other people, His word, a torrent of tears, and multiple years to bring me to a strong belief that He does still love me.

When I open my ears, and listen to God speak to me throughout His word, He shows me so many people in the Bible whom He touched. They were in trouble for many reasons; all of them were sinners. But He found them, and He touched them. He touched even me.

Tenderly, God showed me His love for specific sinners in the Bible, including some who were already His children: David, the adulterer and murderer; Peter, one of His closest friends, who denied Him; the woman at the well; the thief on the cross; the woman caught in adultery; Paul, persecuting the church.

The Lord gave them the privilege of helping him and his children. He called David a man after his own heart, Acts 13:22. The woman at the well brought many out to meet Jesus, John 4:28-30. He asked Peter to feed his sheep, John 21:15-17. He sent Paul to rescue the gentiles, Acts 9:15.

When I was young, I believed I could draw people to God by my knowledge and fervor. Now that I am older and weathered, I pray that I can be kind to others who share similar sins and struggles as mine.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

I have often felt so unclean by sin that I don’t see how anyone can bear to touch me, especially God. In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul says that he is the chief of all sinners. I have often said that I am his closest deputy.

But the Bible says that God forgives me. He accepts me as his child. He loves me. Psalm 103.

And when I still worry if God can accept me, he reminds me that his love and forgiveness continue.

Lamentations 3:21-23: “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”