Following God's Schedule

Most of us enjoy feeling in control of our own schedule and grow frustrated when things don't go according to plan. Yet if we truly desire to walk in the center of God's perfect will, we must become willing to cooperate with His time frame.

Consider how you pray about situations in your life. Without realizing it, you may be demanding that God follow the schedule you've constructed according to your very limited human wisdom. Yet if we believe He is who He says He is, how can surrendering to His way not be to our benefit? Think about His unique, praiseworthy qualities:

Submitting to God's timetable requires faith and courage. Believe in the goodness of His heart and His plans--and determine to wait until He gives the signal to move forward. Then, as you follow His schedule, you'll experience the joy of watching Him make all things beautiful in His timing.

From Dr. Charles Stanley

Today's Devotional Sponsor:

AT THE THRESHOLD OF TEMPTATION

Titus 2:11, 12 The grace of God has appeared... instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age

Yielding to temptation is another step toward a stronghold being established in your mind. Whenever you are stimulated to conform to Plan B instead of God's Plan A for your life, you are experiencing temptation. The essence of all temptation is the invitation to live independently of God and fulfill legitimate needs in the world, the flesh or the devil instead of in Christ. That's the great contest. And Satan knows just which buttons to push to tempt you away from dependency on Christ.

The moment you are tempted to get your need met in the world instead of in Christ, you are at the threshold of a decision. If you don't immediately choose to take that thought "captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5), you will begin to consider it as an option. And if you begin to mull it over in your mind, immediately your emotions will be affected and the likelihood of yielding to that temptation is increased.

The Scriptures teach us that God has provided a way of escape from every temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). But the escape is right at the threshold of the temptation. If you don't control the temptation at the threshold, you run the risk of allowing the temptation to control you. Rare is the Christian who can turn around after directing his will toward Plan B.

For example, a man sees a pornographic picture and is tempted toward lust. He has the opportunity to respond by saying something like, "My relationship with sin has ended. I choose to take this thought captive to the obedience of Christ. I'm not going to look at it or think about it." And he separates himself from the picture immediately and escapes the lust.

But if he hesitates at the threshold, stares at the picture, and begins to fantasize about it, he will trigger an emotional landslide producing a physical response which will be difficult to stop. He must capture the tempting thought in the threshold or it will probably capture him.

Prayer: Dear God, I want to be obedient to Your perfect plan for my life today. I don't want to give in to Plan B thinking. Strengthen my will to obey.

My Mom’s Fudge

from http://delishpoints.com/my-moms-fudge/2/

Ingredients

2 and 1/2 cups white granulated sugar
3/4 cup butter
2/3 cup evaporated milk
12 ounce package (2 cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips
7 ounce jar marshmallow cream (also called marshmallow fluff)
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.
In a 3 quart HEAVY saucepan over high heat, combine sugar, butter, and evaporated milk. Use a wooden spoon to stir slowly until butter melts, scraping sides of pan to get all the sugar crystals.
Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly with a long wooden spoon. Once it starts boiling, set a timer for 5 minutes and turn the heat down to medium so that you don’t burn your fingers off–it should be boiling the full 5 minutes. Stir constantly.
When the timer goes off, remove from heat and add chocolate chips. Stir until all chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Add marshmallow creme and beat with a wooden spoon until well blended. Add vanilla and mix well. Immediately pour into the prepared pan.
Let cool to room temperature. (Good luck with that.)
Slice and serve! Store on the counter covered.

DAILY SMILE:

Birthday Gift

Family Jokes

Submitted by Tristan Cook

When my three-year-old son opened the birthday gift from his grandmother, he discovered a water pistol. He squealed with delight and headed for the nearest sink.

I was not so pleased. I turned to Mom and said, "I'm surprised at you. Don't you remember how we used to drive you crazy with water guns?"

Mom smiled and then replied, "Oh I remember!"