Lost in My Attic - Steve Badaracco

"Then Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, ‘I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD.’" II Kings 22:8, NASB

At-tic ['at-ik] (n.): A place where time stands still.

In the summer of ’99, my kids and I explored an abandoned Victorian house along the back roads of Pennsylvania. Judging by the odds and ends strewn about, this structure had last housed a young family in the late 1950s. My favorite part was ascending a dilapidated staircase to the cavernous attic and finding a stack of ancient newspapers—including one with a prominent article about the return of space monkeys, Able and Baker (May 28, 1959). Being in the center of the stack, this newspaper was hardly yellowed after forty years!

2 Kings tells of Josiah, the most godly king since David and Solomon. He led Judah in a search for the purposes of God that they had lost under a clutter of sin and neglect.

As the priests, by royal command, set about cleaning and repairing the temple, they discovered the “Book of the Law”—God's revelation and covenant as recorded by Moses. The king was stunned to realize how much God had invested in His people, and how they, in turn, had walked away from His presence into a spiritual wilderness. He immediately launched the most ambitious plan of repentance and restoration that Judah would know under the Old Covenant.

What’s this got to do with me?

I’m often expecting God to toss me some salient new morsel of revelation or guidance. Instead, I should be probing the cobweb-covered corners of my attic. There I would find the lost purposes of God buried beneath the clutter of a thousand failed agendas and projects of my own.

But, the good news is that the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. As soon as I set my heart to "stir up" what God has already placed in me, it will blossom into fulfillment as surely as it might have done long ago. Tragically, though, all those years lost in the attic cannot be recovered.

Is reconnecting with God your #1 New Year priority? Consider an exhaustive search in the attic of your heart. You may stumble upon the “lost” purposes of God—still fresh and un-yellowed after years of neglect.

Steve Badaracco is a freelance writer and speaker with a passion for personal revival and world missions.

He is a spokesman for the “Minutemen” movement—a grassroots effort calling Americans everywhere to 1 minute of daily prayer for revival. For information on how you can become a Minuteman, see http://www.ivanpanin.org/minutemen .

Steve lives in rural Cecil County, Maryland with his adorable wife, two younger daughters, and three cats. Read Steve's devotions.

Taking What Isn't Mine - Steve Badaracco

"...It is not right to take the children's bread and toss it to their dogs." – Mark 7:27b (NIV)

Like a sweat-soaked statue, the young corporal stood squarely at attention, while his beloved leader paced the chamber, stopping at intervals to re-read the communiqué that had just been delivered with such dire haste.

Napoleon Bonaparte interrupted his pacing long enough to gesture absent-mindedly. “At ease, Captain.”

“Captain!...Of what regiment?…Sir!” barked the soldier.

Napoleon spun around, speechless at this petty messenger’s brazen impertinence. But in a moment, the furrowed brow relaxed and the eyes were smiling. “My Personal Guard.”

This scene reminds me of that equally “impertinent” Syro-Phoenician woman who approached Jesus requesting a miracle for her little girl.

Imagine the whispers. “How dare she?” “A woman…a gentile…petitioning a rabbi! Just who does she think she is?”

Jesus, too, was astonished, but for a different reason. He could see her extraordinary faith—faith that would withstand one final test. “So! You’re saying I should take food from the children’s table...and toss it to their dogs?”

“But, even we dogs get the crumbs, don’t we?” she shot back. Jesus surely laughed out loud as He proceeded to order up a miracle for this amazing lady.

I’d always heard the faith sermons and read the books. “Know your place in Christ!” they admonished. “Claim what’s yours!” Nothing could be more rock-solid and scriptural.

But, then I watched this no-account woman taking faith to a whole new level. In her Old Covenant context, she was definitely OUT of line, reaching for what was certainly NOT hers. And, it didn’t seem to bother Jesus one bit!

Now I’ve learned to comb the Word for “crumbs” of promise. The ones Satan says can’t possibly have been meant for me personally.

So, He gave gifts to “the Church?” Guess what? I’m part of the Church! These signs shall follow “those who believe.” Yep, that little crumb of dynamite’s going in my basket too.

How about you? What unique passion lies forgotten in your attic because they’ve told you it’s unachievable...unthinkable...too outrageous even to ask? And, your mind says, “Sure, God can use ‘people’ to do great things. Just not me personally.”

Hey! Jesus needs a good laugh today. And, He still knows how to give good gifts to His kids. So, go ahead—walk into the throne room now and take what isn’t yours.

Steve Badaracco is a freelance writer and speaker with a passion for personal revival and world missions. He is a spokesman for the “Minutemen” movement—a grassroots effort calling Americans everywhere to 1 minute of daily prayer for revival. For information on how you can become a Minuteman, see http://www.ivanpanin.org/minutemen. Steve lives in rural Cecil County, Maryland with his adorable wife, two daughters, and three cats.