Book Navigation
  • Hire
    Writers
    Editors
  • Home
  • Read
    What's
    New
  • Join
    Faith
    Writers
  • Forum
  • My
    Account
    Login
  • Shop
    Save
    Support
  • Book
    Store
  • Learn
    About
    Jesus
Return to Content
  • Read Our Devotional
  • Opportunities to be Published
  • Detailed Navigation
The Home for Christian Writers! Matthew 6:33

Devotionals

PLEASE ENCOURAGE
AUTHOR BY COMMENTING


  Leave Comment   Message Writer
  Hire Writer
Report Article
  Track Writer
  Add to Favorites
A Quick Wit and a STIFF Neck

by LauraLee Shaw 
10/18/07
Free to Share
Author requests article critique

  Message Writer Mail
  Hire Writer

Tweet

God has gifted me with a quick, dry wit. Constantly, I hear catch phrases that ring in my mind and cause it to answer. It’s a blessing and a curse. Some people are drawn to it; others probably run the other direction as soon as they see me just to avoid it. If you could be inside my mind for one day, I guarantee you would either be greatly entertained or incredibly concerned. ANYWAY, I’ll get to the point of why I’m mentioning it.

One day recently, I woke up with excruciating pain in my neck. While issues with my neck are common, this day was worse than normal, as it wouldn’t even relent to the pain medicine. Halfway through the day, Wit spoke up: “What a pain in the neck!” I chuckled in my mind. Later in the day, she spoke up again: “You stiff-necked woman!” That one wasn’t quite as funny to me, of course, as it reminded me of the stubborn Israelites.

As I awoke that next morning, the pain woke with me. I couldn’t even move my neck from side to side without a wince. I was thankful for Mrs. Wit’s humor to keep me amused along the way.

What amazes me is that God often uses these little illustrations in life to strike me and remind me of Himself. As I spent time in prayer, the Holy Spirit reminded me of some unconfessed sin in my life. I was quick to deal with it.

Then He brought to my mind some areas of complacency and unbelief. I gave those over.

Then a tucked away verse woke up my memory: “Do not be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.” That sent me on a trail of trying to figure out what this means to a Christian, and more importantly, to me:

“See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. As has just been said: ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.’”
Hebrews 3:12-15


Though I’ve read this verse many times before, the Lord showed me this time that it is possible as a mature believer to turn away from Him with sin or unbelief.

Before, when I’ve envisioned “turning away from the living God,” I’ve thought of a BIG turning away, kind of like the prodigal son. I picture a monumental decision to leave the Christian life to seek my own pleasure.

While that is certainly a possibility here, I don’t believe it is the only one. It says, “BUT encourage one another DAILY.” Wow---I can actually deal with a sinful, unbelieving heart on a daily basis?!?!?

One of the things about sin is that it can tiptoe up on us.....it is deceitful. It wants to make us believe that we will be unaffected from the repercussions of a wishy-washy lifestyle, but read on: “We have come to share in Christ IF WE HOLD FIRMLY TILL THE END the confidence we had at first.”

We WANT to share in Christ, don’t we? Do we still have the confidence IN Him to live rightly BEFORE Him? Micah 6:8 says, “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

To walk humbly requires a daily giving over of ourselves. If we’re not careful, sneaky sin can convince us that we don’t have time to do this or that it’s not necessary....we can become a “stiff-necked” people, if you will. So what is the answer for us?

The answer is found in Psalm 95:2-8a:

“Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods; In His hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is His, for He made it, and His hands formed the dry land. COME—let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care. TODAY, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts....”


Let’s stretch our necks out for Him today, noticing His creation on the left, His blessings on the right, and His provision right in front of us. As He shares this with us, may it renew in us the confidence to hold firmly Today all the way to the end.

© Copyright 2007 Laura L. Shaw
All scripture references are from the NIV unless otherwise noted.

May use without permission under the condition that you do not edit the content.
I would appreciate the reference to my website if possible: www.lovinthearts.com



PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR, LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
Read more articles by LauraLee Shaw  or search for other articles by topic below.


Search for articles on: (e.g. creation; holiness etc.)
Read more by clicking on a link:
Free Reprints
Main Site Articles
Most Read Articles
Highly Acclaimed Challenge Articles.
New Release Christian Books for Free for a Simple Review.

NEW - Surprise Me With an Article - Click here for a random URL


God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You


...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19

Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38

LEARN & TRUST JESUS HERE

The opinions expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Member Comments
Member
Date
Laury Hubrich 
18 Nov 2007
Wow! I can relate to this article. Great job, Laura! I love your Wit. I'll be looking for it in your next e-mail to me:)
Laury
Sara Harricharan
15 Nov 2007
A quick wit indeed. This was both interesting and entertaining to read, but the real message slips in through it and stays with this reader!
Clyde Blakely
14 Nov 2007
Wonderful message. You caught me with the opening (kindred spirit) and kept me through to the end (kindred spirit again). God bless.
David F. Palmieri Sr.
13 Nov 2007
My prayer is to remember this article as I begin a new day tomorrow. Thank you for sharing...Dave
Beth LaBuff 
12 Nov 2007
This is a nice devotion. It's good to see it showcase on the FW Homepage! Congrats!
Jan Ackerson 
27 Oct 2007
Very good, Laura! I'd like to showchase this article in the Front Page Showcase on FaithWriters home page for the week of November 12. Watch for it there!
Patricia Bankhead
25 Oct 2007
GOD IS REALLY SPEAKING TO ME THROUGH THIS WORD...THANKS FOR SHARING:) (((Patty)))
Barbara Thompson Young
21 Oct 2007
From one "stiff neck" to another, I think I'll try your little exercise tomorrow morning when I wake up. Creation on my left and blessings on my right! I feel better already!
Helen Dowd
20 Oct 2007
You have a great gift of using every day happenings and experiences to bring out devotional thoughts. "Let’s stretch our necks out for Him today, noticing His creation on the left, His blessings on the right, and His provision right in front of us." This is certainly good excercise for a 'stiff neck', and I thought of a fourth excercise to complete the three you mentioned: Keep looking up!"...Helen
Diane Bertrand
20 Oct 2007
I love your spiritual insight. thanks for sharing your perspective with us.
Danette Kettwich
18 Oct 2007
another great article. Thanks for your wise insight. Danette
Tim Pickl
18 Oct 2007
"God has gifted me with a quick, dry wit. Constantly, I hear catch phrases that ring in my mind and cause it to answer. It’s a blessing and a curse. Some people are drawn to it; others probably run the other direction as soon as they see me just to avoid it...." ...that sounds like me, too! I agree: it is both a blessing and a curse--Sometimes I find it hard to walk with a foot in my mouth!
Laura, when you are at wit's end, remember Who is your Best Friend!
This article has been read 2367 times    < Previous | Next >




Home  |   My Account  |   What's New  |   Site Map  |   Contact Us  |   Help  |   Blog
Monthly Newsletter  |   SITE INFO  |   Link To Us  |   Become A Member  |   Sponsors  |   ADVERTISING