Devos for the month of October. You may reply to devotionals as you feel led, but please remember this is a place of encouragement and edification. If you want to debate, we have a special place set aside for that.

What you see below is the original article as first written on August 5, 2007. I understand that there may be some personal items in here, but my entire ministry is based on transparency. If something confuses you or offends you, please let me know, and I will take care of it. Thank you.

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This is something I've been struggling with but found great encouragement last night and wanted to share for those of you that might be struggling with as well. It blessed me, may it do the same for you.

When I put on a pair of shoes, it usually means I intend to go somewhere. I have direction, I have a purpose. If I put on shoes, I have a plan to do something.

Lately I've been struggling with where exactly my shoes should go next. I stand here and look at all the opportunities in front of me. They are vast, and many are bright. Others are darkened, clouded, and the path unsure. Others are more bright and bustling then I had hoped for, too much for my tastes. Then I feel the tug of God in one particular direction.

My biggest problem is I think too much. Before I do anything I analyze how it works, why on earth I'd even want to do it, weigh the risks and benefits and then and only then make my decision. I have logic and I have follow through. Logic is the arch enemy of faith. No, logic is not bad, too much of it though drives faith into the water. The substance of things hoped for and evidence of things not seen becomes "analyze everything and don't believe it till you see it." I frustrate myself *sigh* My little runner shoes want to have the route mapped out first.

Last night though, I found encouragement in the story of Moses and the burning bush in Exodus. Moses is minding his daily business and sees this bush burning. He is curious so he says to himself, 'I'm going to go over here and see what on earth is going on' (paraphrased). God notices that He has Moses' attention so He calls to Moses. Moses responds, "Here am I." The next line in this script is what caught my eye:

And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet , for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

So many meanings carried in that one sentence all pointing to the glory of God. The one I applied to me, "Jessica, take off your shoes, you are dealing with me now. Don't come to me with an agenda, I am God, I love you, I have a plan for you, I have a purpose for you, but you have to get rid of your own plans, purposes, and intentions first." Ouch.

Along with being logical I am selfish (aren't we all). If logic is the arch enemy of faith, selfishness is the arch enemy of obedience and pride, which I know is mixed in there somewhere, is the arch enemy of service. All in all, I'm not scoring too well :-(

Take off your shoes.

I love the rest of this story because God tells Moses what He wants him to do and I could tell you what my reaction would be/is: "Ahem, excuse me, I'm sorry but I really think You have the wrong person." Which if you really focus on the majesty and the sovereignty of God, is a very foolish thing to say, but I know I say it... alot.

I want to write this book, great, step 1. But then I look out into the future and see what might become and look up to Heaven and say, "I am not adequate, pick someone else. I could never be a national public speaker, what if that's what happens? I can't do that! I just wanted a simple life, to be used in the simple ways, I'm just simple person."

Further into the story of Moses: Exodus 4. Moses is to go before Pharoah and give the "let My people go" speech. AFTER , talk about being thick headed, after God shows Moses all these miracles, Moses is afraid to speak. First God changes a piece of wood into a snake and back again. Second, He gives Moses a two minute bout with leprosy. Then God tells him what the third miracle would be.

You would think, if you were Moses, that that would be enough. To know that you have the power of an Almighty God behind you would be enough to go blazing into Pharoah's palace without fear. Yet, Moses' response is, "But God I'm not a good speaker." :-p So, God reminds Moses of Who it is that is calling him.

And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.

I call these Almighty 2*4s because I know sometimes I just don't get it and I need to get hit with one.

But Moses, still didn't get it and asked God to use someone else ! Next verse:

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses

Not a good spot for Moses. Not a good spot at all. I tremble to think how many times I have been in the same spot though. If God wants something done, it will get done; that's how it is. We can choose to be vessels for His power or we can choose to run our own course and miss out on the blessing of being used.

I'm not saying that I'll ever be anything big. For all I know, my book may never make it to the shelf. The future is unclear, and I don't feel adequate. All I know is that it's time to take off my shoes.

I know I didn't sign-up, but I felt like I should post this with an explanation of what brought this short devotional into being.

Both my junior and senior years of college I went down to the Gulf Coast of the U.S. to help with Hurricane Katrina clean-up efforts with a group from my college. My junior year, there had been some grumbling that we weren't doing anything important by doing things like painting houses or cleaning up a boy scout camp so it could be used as a Catholic relief camp.

I hadn't heard any of those grumblings personally, but one of our co-student leaders for the trip my senior year did and discussed it with me after we'd finished a discussion about what being a small group leader meant (I'd been asked to co-lead a small group, as I was a senior who'd been on the trip the year before). The co-student leader I was discussing the matter with didn't want a repeat of the previous year's grumblings, but she and the other co-student leader weren't sure what to do about it.

God put it on my heart as she talked to me about it to see what I could do to help them out. So, I jotted down some notes while we were talking, and after the trip meeting that night, I went back to my room and a short time later this devotional was pretty much done (with the exception of some fine tuning). I e-mailed it to the co-student leader that I'd had the conversation with a couple of days later, and she made copies so that every small group could discuss it at some point on the way down.

Each day before breakfast and after supper, somebody from one of the groups would lead a brief devotional for the entire camp. At the urging of the co-student leader, I stood before the entire camp the Tuesday night while we were down there to read this devotional. I was also asked to read this devotional as the invocation for the chapel service at our college we led after we returned, to share what God did in and through us that week.

There was no grumbling about the work we did that week being unimportant.

Just wait...the story's not over just yet. The co-student leader was a year behind me in school, and last winter she e-mailed me asking if I'd send her this devotional because she'd lost her copy and she wanted it for last year's trip. She told me that she hoped that every group that the college sent out to do service would use it before departing.

I don't share any of this to brag about my part in this devotional. This devotional was totally from God, and He's the one that deserves all the glory for the impact this devotional has made on people already, and for whatever impact it may make on people in the future.



Whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward.
-Matthew 10:42

A cup of cold water. Maybe it was a little harder to come by in Jesus’ day than today, but it’s a simple thing nonetheless. What needs to be done isn’t always flashy or attention-grabbing, but it needs to be done with a glad heart and a positive attitude just the same. Remember, God loves a cheerful give (2 Cor 9:7). Simple things, like giving a child a cup of cold water or a hug to a person who needs one, can make a bigger difference than shingling a roof or putting up a wall of sheetrock.

Why do I write these words as we near the departure date for the trip? As a reminder. Last year, some of the group forgot how important the seemingly unimportant or unflashy jobs were.

You may not feel like you’re accomplishing anything while we’re in New Orleans, but you really are. The rebuilding process is a well that will need many years and lots of water to fill. We may only be a few drops of water in that well, but as long as we can provide a cold drink to the people we help in New Orleans, then our trip will be well worth it.

My challenge to all of you is to be a cup of water. Simple, yet important to those that receive it.

I like it.

Me too. I'm volunteering at the "schoolies festival" (which is basically a party of 10,000 students who have just finished high school), and we are standing by the toilet block, cleaning the toilets andmaking sure that everyone is ok! Definitely not a job that seems important at first, but yes, it's a cup of water...

Thanks Thomas