He will guide you into all the truth

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth, for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak..."

The emphasis in this passage is on the word "guide". Amazing! The Holy Spirit is our guide! The Bible refers to Him as such..never as a controller..but as a guide..He will never drive us., He will never force us! He will guide us.

Because He is the Spirit of truth, He guides believers into truth and according to what is true. That makes Him a trustworthy guide. He helps us to discern what is truth, and what is not. He helps us to understand what is wise and what is foolish..what is best, and what is simply ok.
Each day is a day of decisions. As you are barraged with the details of everyday living, remember Who is with you...living IN you..giving you that extra on-the-spot sense of discernment you will need to make both big and small decisions. And the wonderful thing is that as you develop a greater sensitivity to His guidance, you will worry much less about the decisions you make...why? Because the Holy Spirit is a trustworthy guide!

Keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile

1 Peter 3:10 "Let him who wants to enjoy life and see good days keep his tongue free from evil and his lips from guile"
Have you ever regretted something you said, the moment the words were out of your mouth? I have. You realize you can't take back those words..and you see the look on the face of the person that you just said them to..it is a look of hurt..or of anger..or of pain..and you suddenly feel like the biggest failure in the world..because you know you're the reason. Words can damage relationships.
When I was growing up, my grandmother died. She was my dad's mom. She lived in Illinois and we were getting ready to travel back there for the funeral. My dad was on the phone before we left, with his sister. They were discussing their mother's funeral flowers when my aunt told my dad that she had already picked out the flowers and paid for them. This really hurt my dad because he wanted to be allowed to be part of all that process. My aunt was not trying to take over..she just thought that since we were so far away, it would help for her to do some of the things that dad wouldn't be around to do. Needless to say, dad lashed out at her..she lashed out at him...and they never spoke again for 35 years!!! My grandmother would have greatly mourned that entire episode had she known.
When I teach Sunday School, I have at times brought a tube of toothpaste with me..and talked to the kids about what comes out of their mouths. I squirt some of the toothpaste onto a piece of fabric and show them how the toothpaste stains the fabric..just like words can stain someone's heart..and then I remind them that you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube once it's already out. It's the same with the words that we speak. Once they have left our mouth, there is no way to take them back.
I'm not saying that there is never a time for standing our ground at all. I am saying that before we respond too quickly in any situation, we all need to take a deep breath, and even stop for a moment if we need to. At times, a difficult conversation might even require that we walk away for a few moments. I promise you that walking away for a few moments to gather your thoughts is better than the losing someone for years that you truly care about.
Today ask the Holy Spirit to help you in every conversation you have. James taught, "Let every man be quick to hear (a ready listener), slow to speak, and slow to take offense and get angry" Commit your mouth to God today, and use words that speak healing to others.

Isaiah 30:15 "In quietness and confidence will be your strength"

Isaiah 30:15 "In quietness and confidence will be your strength"
Are you limiting God by the way you think? Imagine a circumstance that you consider bad. Use whatever descriptive words you want to use..hard, difficult, agonizing, strenuous, debilitating, horrific, sorrowful, preturbing, painful..Then ask yourself..is there a problem of any kind that would fall into any of these categories..that would be too difficult for God to handle?
If your answer to this question is anything other than "no" your understanding of God is probably too small.
Our God is a great and limitless God. He dwells in eternity and operates in infinity. He has all things within His understanding..and all things under His control. Beloved, in quietness and confidence certainly shall be your strength.

Luke 1:37 "Nothing is impossible with God"

Luke 1:37 "Nothing is impossible with God"
High in the snow covered Alpine valleys, God works one of his delightful miracles year after year. In spite of the extremes of sunny days and frozen nights, a flower blooms unblemished through the crust of ice near the edge of the snow. How does this little flower, known as the soldanelle plant, accomplish such a feat?
During the past summer, the little plant spread its leaves wide and flat on the ground in order to soak up the sun's rays, and it kept that energy stored in its roots throughout the winter. When spring came, life stirred, even beneath its shroud of snow, and as the plant sprouted, it amazingly produced enough warmth to thaw a small dome-shaped pocket of snow above it's head.
It grew higher and higher, and as it did, the small dome of air continued to rise just above its head until its flower bud was safely formed. At last the icy covering of the air compartment gave way and the blossom burst into the sunshine. The crystalline texture of its mauve-colored petals sparkled like the snow itself, as if it still bore the marks of the journey it had endured.
This fragile flower sounds like an echo in our own hearts that none of the lovely flowers nestled in the warm grass of the lower slopes could ever awaken. Oh, how we love to see impossible things accomlished! And so does God!
Therefore, may we continue to perservere, for even if we took our circumstances and cast all the darkness of human doubt upon then and then hastily piled as many difficulties together as we could find against God's divine work, we could never move beyond the blessedness of His Miracle-working power. May we place our faith completely in Him, for He is the God of the impossible.
From Streams in the Desert

Psalm 138:7 "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life"

Psalm 138:7 "Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life"
The Hebrew meaning of this verse is literally "to go on in the center of trouble". What descriptive words! And once we have called on God during our time of trouble, and pleaded His promise of deliverance but not received it..or continued to be oppressed by the enemy until we are in the very thick of the battle...or the "center of trouble"...others may tell us "don't bother the Teacher any more".. Luke 8:49
When Martha said, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died"..Jesus encountered her lack of hope with His greater promise, "Your brother will rise again". When you and I walk in the center of trouble and we are tempted to think, like Martha, that we are past the point of ever being delivered..our Lord also answers us with a promise from His Word.."Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life"
Although His answers seem so long in coming and we continue to "walk in the midst of trouble", the "center of trouble" is the place where He preserves us..not the place where He fails us! The times we continue to walk in seemingly utter hopelessness are the very times when He will "stretch out His hand against the anger of our foes" Psalm 138:7.. He will bring our trouble to completion..causing the enemy's attack to cease and to fail.
Trust that God is with you in the very middle of whatever you are going through. Know that this is the exact place where He will preserve and protect you until He walks you through to the outside of your situation. He will be with you entirely..and when you come through, you will be able to look back and see His footsteps alongside yours all the way.

But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead

2 Corinthians 1:9 "But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves, but on God, who raises the dead"
Most of us are of sound mind, and are generally capable and competent people, who can rely on ourselves to find a way from point A to point B. We might flounder a bit, but we eventually get there. We might exhaust ourselves, like a swimmer treading water to try to maintain our position...or we may use all of our strength just to stay afloat and not drown or drift off with the current.
There is another way of approaching things. We can rely on God's mighty power instead of our own. I remember when Ray used to do the sound at our church..he had told me at one point that it was really a simple job..occasionally a glitch but for the most part, he relied on his skills..until the new sound system came. All of a sudden everything he thought he had known went out the window...and a new reliance came.. not one of self..but one of God. I truly believe that God allows some curves in the road sometimes..just to remind us that our trust..our reliance and our dependence is always to be on Him..and not on ourselves or what we think we know.
When we do things God's way, He carries us..and we eventually get to the destination that He has in mind for us. Surely, He Who has the power to raise the dead, has sufficient wisdom and means to handle the daily matters of our lives.
Beloved, in all things, Rely on God!

'Shall I go out and fight against them? Will you defeat them for me?

"When the Philistines heard that David had been crowned king of Israel, they tried to capture him; but David was told that they were coming and went into the stronghold. The Philistines arrived and spread out across the valley of Rephaim. Then David asked the Lord, 'Shall I go out and fight against them? Will you defeat them for me?'" (2 Sam 5:17-19).
When you are about to enter your destiny, there is so often opposition from Satan designed to prevent you from fulfilling your it.
When Jesus was born, Herod tried to kill him. When Jesus was baptized and fasted 40 days, Satan came to tempt Him in an effort to derail his destiny. When David had been anointed king over Israel, God's destiny had been revealed for all to see-even Satan. So, Satan raised up the Philistines to try and kill David's destiny.
However, in response, we see David do two things. First, he retreats to his stronghold. It is a place of protection. It is a quiet place. Second, he inquires of God. It is here that he inquires of God for the strategy to defeat his enemy. God reveals it to him and he goes on to defeat the Philistines. In fact, David NEVER lost a battle because he learned to inquire of God for the strategy to defeat his enemies.
Do you know God's intended destiny for your life? Beware of Satan's strategy to attack you in the place of your destiny. His desire is to take you off this divine path.
We must follow David's example in response to the enemy of our souls. We must retreat to our stronghold, seek the Lord, and listen for His answer. Then, we will fulfill the purpose for which God created us.

Os Hillman

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you..

Isaiah 30:18 "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you..He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him"
We talk a lot about cultivating a spirit of patience, and learning to wait on the Lord. But we rarely think that the Lord also waits on us.
He stands at the door..like a spiritual benefactor...His arms laden with blessings. He waits until we are ready to receive. He waits for the perfect moment. He waits until we can appreciate we are asking for. He waits until we have made sufficient preparations in our heart. He waits until we are not too busy to notice. He waits until we are free from resentment or discontentment.
He waits until our understanding is elevated. He waits until our arms are open and unhindered. Sometimes He waits until we actually believe He has forgotten..but as that happens our faith grows. It's not just a matter of His waiting. It's that He waits wisely because His love for us is so great.
K Armstrong

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of fear..but of power, love and a sound mind"

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of fear..but of power, love and a sound mind"
What is it that you fear? I have dealt with some fear in my life..on the surface, I fear tight enclosed places.. I hate elevators and have to force myself to get in one..but down deeper, maybe the fear is loss of control..I think many of us fear failure, rejection or even pain. At times I think we even fear speaking from the depth of our hearts, because we want to be accepted and loved..
Fear can trap us. It takes away our power..and the Lord said that He didn't give us fear, but power! Fear, as an emotion, will come at us from time to time, and try to stop us dead in our tracks. Fear will keep us tethered, like a ball tethered to a pole. It can only go in circles..it can't really fly...and the Lord wants us, as believers to soar!
In Paul's statement to Timothy, you might note that he doesn't say that God is referring to those "strong, courageous, powerful, or influential people"..He simply refers to "us"..The Lord did not give "us" a spirit of fear. He is speaking of you and me.
I believe that the Lord wants us to look fear straight in the eye and see it for what it is...and for what it isn't.. The spirit of fear is not something that has come from your Maker. It is something the devil uses to stop you in your tracks. It can literally put a roadblock in your life, as you find yourself tethered to it..going in circles. The Bible says 365 times, "Fear Not"..I always wonder if that was because God knew that every day we would need a reminder..that He is with us...that whatever we fear, He will walk through with us. When fear of any kind begins to try to invade your mind, and your life..it is not the time to succumb to it..it is the time to stand..to remind ourselves that F.E.A.R. is really just False Evidence Appearing Real. Most of the things we fear haven't even happened yet..we are dealing with false evidence. But, it can APPEAR to be real to us..Remember that fear is a spirit..and that it doesn't come from God.
What is it today that you fear? What holds you back? Today, bring it before His throne..and ask Him to give you healing strength..in spite of yourself...
And Remember... that your God created you to soar!

Isaiah 53:7 "He did not open His mouth"

Isaiah 53:7 "He did not open His mouth"
What love it requires when we are misunderstood, and yet by His grace, are able to handle it in a way pleasing to the Lord...or when we are judged unkindly and yet receive it in holy sweetness. Nothing seems to test our character more than having something evil said about us. This kind of grinding test is so difficult. We want to clear ourselves. We want to be understood. We want people to know the truth. We would love an apology. If we could see the blessings that lie hidden in our trials, we..like David..would say when Shimei cursed him.."Let him curse..it may be that the Lord will repay me with good for the cursing I am receiving today."
Some people are actually turned away from the greatness of their life's calling by pursuing instead their own grievances and enemies. They ultimately turn their lives into a whirlwind of warfare. It reminds me of trying to deal with a hornet's nest. You may be able to disperse the hornets, but more than likely you will be terribly stung in the process..and receive nothing for your pain.
God has given us the Spirit of Christ Who, "...when they hurled insults at Him..did not retaliate. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly"..I Peter2:23.. "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose Heart" Hebrews 12:3
A.B. Simpson

"Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear" Isaiah 65:24

"Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear" Isaiah 65:24
God knows us so well. He knows our needs even before we know them. He also knows the desires of our hearts. Having been a mom for 36 years now..and now a grandmother, I can take one look at my son, and know when he has a need. I can tell when his heart is broken. I can hear a certain tone in his voice when he is troubled. I know when he is in a silly mood, or a sad mood. I am certainly no mind reader. I am just a mother who loves her child. As a parent, you have the same gifting. But I am mediocre compared to how well my heavenly Father knows me..and so are you.
So..if God already knows our needs, why do we pray? Because prayer is part of our relationship with God..not simply making requests. It's a time to seek not merely an answer..but to sense the presence of the One who already knows the answer. It's a time to rest in His company and to know that He is God..and that He is faithful. He wants us to come to Him...to call on Him..He longs to hear our voices..and to offer kindness to His children.
When someone loves you..do you ever tire of hearing it? Neither does God. Today, let Him know how much you love Him. When someone you love lets you know that they love you also..or lets you know that they have a care or a concern..it is indeed a privilege for us to be the one they've come to. It is the same with God. Go to Him today..not only with your needs..but with your love..and bless Him!

"God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering" Genesis 41:52

"God has made me fruitful in the land of my suffering" Genesis 41:52
Have you ever stood by the window and watched a spring shower? I have. I love rain! I especially love a good storm. We were in Oregon one time, staying at a hotel right on the ocean, when a huge storm came. I watched through our window as the rain turned into sleet, which I had never seen before. It was incredible! I wish I had taken a picture as the sleet came down in long sheets, and pounded the fierce waters.
I believe sometimes that in the eyes of God, He sees so much more than we do. Without the storm, the flowers could never bloom and the lovely fragrance that fills the air in the spring would be gone. Maybe today, you..as a child of God..are undergoing some "storm" in your life. You are crying out to Him that it is raining very hard on you right now. The storm clouds have moved in..in the form of disappointment, illness, financial difficulty..or whatever the case may be..and you are feeling incapable of enduring much longer. The rains of affliction are beating down very hard on your soul.
Beloved, I believe that if we could see through the eyes of our Maker..the One who died for us..we would see things completely differently. I don't believe that He is raining ON you..I believe He is raining IN to you! He is raining blessings! If you will trust Him..you will realize that springing up beneath the pounding rain are spiritual flowers...and they are more beautiful, and more fragrant than any that ever grew before the storm came into your life.
You can see the rain, but can you see the flowers? God sees them. They are sweet flowers of faith..springing up into your life beneath the trials that you are going through. God sees a new compassion for other sufferers being birthed in you.
God is not raining affliction on you..He is raining love, compassion, tenderness, and so much more...fruit of the wonderful Holy Spirit...and this is bringing to you so much spiritual enrichment that all the ease of this world could never produce in your soul.

You brought my life up from the pit, o Lord my God...

"You brought my life up from the pit, o Lord my God...when my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord, and my prayer rose to you" Jonah 2:6-7
Probably many of us feel as though we could have penned this scripture ourselves. In my own life, I credit God alone for lifting my life out of the pit. When life as we know it, has begun to "ebb away", we remember and acknowledge the incredible and merciful God who hears our prayers and spares us time and again..even when we have forgotten Him..forgotten what He has done in our lives..forgotten the finished work on the cross..forgotten that by His blood, we are saved, forgiven, and redeemed.The fact that He hears our prayers, and has forgiven our iniquities is proof that he is truly shepherding our lives..even if we, as the sheep of His pasture tend to stray from the path, He is there, and celebrates our return to His fold. Never do I want to be so wrapped up in the cares of this life that I forget the wonder of my God.
I don't want to remember Him at the last minute. I don't want to forget to thank Him. I don't want to come to Him as a last resort. I want Him! I want Him front and center in my life..as the first person I talk to..as the first arms I run to.
Lord, may we never forget our redemption from the pit. May we never forget the wonder of YOU! May it keep us humble and draw us ever closer.

James 5:17 "Elijah was a man just like us"

James 5:17 "Elijah was a man just like us"
Thank God that Elijah was just like us! We can learn something from his life. He sat under a tree and actually complained to God, expressing his unbelief..as I'm thinking many of us have done..Sometimes it is so hard to believe when we have seen nothing in the way of an answer. That verse continues however..it says, "yet he prayed earnestly"...the literal meaning of that in the Greek simply means that "he prayed in prayer"..or in other words "He kept on praying"..the lesson for us today is simply..we must keep praying as well.
When Elijah was on Mount Carmel, he had called down fire from heaven to defeat the prophets of Baal. Rain was needed for God's prophecy to be fulfilled. The Bible says that Elijah bent down toward the ground and put his face between his knees. I think he was literally shutting out all the sights and sounds around him. He put himself in a position to not be able to see or hear anything...but GOD!
He told his servant to go and look toward the sea, to see if the needed rain was coming..but when the servant returned, he told Elijah that he saw nothing there..NOTHING! Beloved, how often have you prayed, and then and then waited..but saw NOTHING? Can you imagine what most of us would do under the same circumstances? Many of us would give up, thinking this was just what we expected! Even though Elijah didn't see the answer yet, he DID NOT give up! In fact, six times, he told his servant to go back and check again. Each time, the servant returned saying there was "nothing".
Yet..the seventh time, the servant came back with the report that there was a small cloud, the size of a man's hand rising from the sea. What a perfect description..for a man's hand had been raised in prayer to God before the rains came! Then the sky became black and the rains came in abundance! (You can read this story in I Kings 18..)
This is a story of faith and sight..faith that cuts itself off from everything else..except God..and yet sight..that sees nothing. But in spite of hopeless reports time and again received from sight..faith continued!
Do we prevail in prayer? Even when things seem darkest, do we let our prayer life be controlled by sight? OR..do we by FAITH, continue prevailing in prayer, coming boldly before the throne, pouring our heart, and our need out to a God who hears..and who cares? Which report will we believe..the report that sight produces..which is often nothing..or the continued prodding that faith produces..to not give up..to continue on..no matter what? May we all be people who live by faith. No matter what your needs are today child of God, DO NOT give up! Continue in faith, and watch as God begins to pour into your life!

The glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud

Exodus 16:10 "And it came to pass as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud"
Each of us should get into the habit of looking for the glory of the Lord in the storm clouds that hang over our lives. Once we have seen Christ in our situation, we need to focus on Him, rather than the dark gray center of the cloud. We are often easily discouraged, but beloved, God does not wish for us to give in to the deadly foe of discouragement, because that puts us in a "helpless" state in which we are not able to "stand against the devil's schemes" (Eph.6:11)
Look..from your wilderness..for the glory of God in your situation. I believe you will find Him. I believe that so often He is speaking to us..we just have trouble hearing because we have our mind tuned in to the circumstance in which we find ourselves, rather than our heart and our spirit..where Christ lives and breathes IN us. Jesus often speaks to us through His Word. He will sometimes speak through other people. Often, when I am not even expecting it, He will just "plant" something in my spirit..but He is continually speaking.
When you make a decision to wholeheartedly turn away from every symptom of doubt, discouragement, and lack of trust..when you make the choice to simply believe God..your faith will be reawakened..and the very breath of God's divine strength will begin to invade your very soul..you may not even realize it at first..but as you get determined to shun every tendency toward doubt and unbelief, you will begin to see the powers of darkness turned back.
If we could see into the unseen world, and know the mighty armies of strength and power that are always behind our turning to God, there wouldn't be any desire at all to "give in" to the enemy's ploy to push us down..to keep us discouraged..to riddle us with guilt..to make us question our God.
Child of God, look up! Look for Jesus in your situation. He is there. This is no time for our souls to retreat! Keep your eyes on Jesus!

Proverbs 30:30 "Favour is deceitful, and beauty if vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

Good morning everyone! My cousin sent me this poem and I loved it! I hope it is a blessing to all of you. May each of you today simply have that deep knowing in your heart, that you are His!

Proverbs 30:30 "Favour is deceitful, and beauty if vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised."

When I say that 'I am a Christian', I am not shouting that 'I am clean living. I'm whispering 'I was lost, but now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride. I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong. >I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success. I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect. My flaws are far too visible, but God believes I am worth it.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain. I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

Mark 10:36 "What do you want me to do for you?" Jesus asked.

Do you know your own heart well enough that if the Savior of the world were to ask you this question, you would be ready with an answer? Of course, He knows our needs and desires before we can even collect our thoughts..but I believe He also loves to hear us ask. He loves for us to rely on Him. He loves fellowship with us. He loves it when we come to Him, our Abba Father, and pour out our hearts.
He loves it when we trust Him to fill our empty places. I think we probably grow more by learning to go to Him, and to ask..than we do, even when we receive our answer.
What are your needs today? Heal me. Renew me. Teach me. Restore me. Help me to know and understand Your love.
Today, the Savior of the world..YOUR Savior..is asking...like a kindly, loving Father to His precious little child.."What do you want me to do for you?"

Exodus 14:21 "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back......the waters were divided"

Have any of you ever felt trapped? Have you been in a circumstance that just left you feeling like there was no way out? Have you ever found yourself in the middle of a situation that you didn't want to be in..but just by matter of circumstance, there you are..and there is seemingly no way out? I have felt that way from time to time..I guess part of the reason that we feel trapped to begin with is that we feel a loss of control..we, for whatever reason, are literally up against a wall..and no decision that we make seems to be the right decision. If we choose one direction, someone might get hurt. If we choose a different direction, we can't see the way clear to move forward... and yet staying right where we are..we find ourselves growing increasingly stagnant and even discouraged.
Beloved, I don't believe that God ever wants you to feel like there is no way out. It is true, in our own thinking, planning, reasoning, and maybe even manipulating our situation, we may not be able to see clearly what lies ahead..but there IS hope..because God DOES see the way for you. Start praying! When you can see no way in your current mess, simply start praying.
Imagine how the children of Israel felt, trying to flee from the Egyptian army. They arrived at the Red Sea with Pharoah's forces on their tails..they must have been thinking..now what? Most likely, they had some pretty serious moments of discouragement, looking from one direction to another..and realizing..there was no place for them to go.
But then God stepped in, and split the Red Sea to permit their crossing. Do you think that any of them even considered the sea parting as an option? Then to top that off, as they crossed the sea, with the Egyptians still close behind them, the sea closed and suddenly, the enemy that had been hounding them was gone. I can remember so many times when I was praying for an answer, I found myself giving God advice..telling Him what He could do to remedy my situation..and most of those times, when the answer came, it wasn't even on the "list" that I had cleverly given to God..it didn't even come in any way that I could have imagined.
Beloved, when you are up against a wall, and there is no way out..PRAY! You may not see the way to go forward, but God does. Think today of the powerful provision and protection evidenced in the story of the Israelites..and know that God can do the same for you. You may have come to the end of what you know to do, but God's ways are limitless!

From "God Thinks You're Wonderful"

...It may be difficult for you to believe that God knows your name...but He does.
Written on His hand. Spoken by His mouth. Whispered by His lips. Your name.
You have captured the heart of God. He cannot bear to live without you.
God's dream is to make you right with Him. And the path to the cross tells us exactly how far God will go to call us back.
It is not our love for God: it is God's love for us in sending His Son to be the way. If you want to touch God's heart, use the name He loves to hear. Call Him "Father".
He thinks you're wonderful!
I have written your name on My hand. Isaiah 49:16
From "God Thinks You're Wonderful"

Numbers 21:17 "Then Israel began singing this song..Spring up O well; sing ye unto it"

This was a strange song and a strange well. The children of Israel had been traveling over the desert's barren sands, and they were thirsty for water, but there was none in sight. Then God spoke to Moses and said, "Gather the people together and I will give them water" (vs. 16)
The people then gathered around with their rods. As they began to dig deeply into the burning sand, they sang, "Spring up, o well! Sing about it"...Soon, a gurgling sound was heard, and suddenly a rush of water appeared, filling the well and running along the ground. As they had dug the well in the desert, they had tapped the stream that ran below that was unseen but had been there for a very long time.
What a beautiful picture this is! And it describes for us the river of blessings that flow through our lives. When we begin to respond with faith and even praise, we begin to see God, the river of living water, even in the most barren desert. If each of us were to begin to really look at our lives, we wouldn't have to dig very deep to know the presence of our God in every situation. We would be able to see how He has carried us through, each and every time. When we looked at our own strength and knew we didn't have any, but then realized that we have come through every situation, every need, every dark time..because of Him..the chorus of praise that would raise up from the very depth of our soul would sound like an entire choir singing a resounding "Hallelujah"..Underneath all of the emotions that we deal with, there lies the strength of Jesus, quietly waiting to be tapped into..almost unseen except that we know He is there..because He promises to be..
And to that I say..Hallelujah..to the Lamb of God.

Job 35:10 "Where is God my Maker, who gives songs in the night?"

Do you ever experience sleepless nights, tossing and turning..and simply waiting for the first glimmer of dawn? This was a real pattern for me for a while. I would wake up at some point during the night..and my thoughts were all over the place. I would think about what happened during the day..what might happen the next day..what I needed to get done..how far behind I was..conversations with people would play over and over in my mind..and those were on the nights when it wasn 't bad. Some nights, I really struggled with the fact that when my sister died a few months ago, I didn't know whether or not she was saved. My thoughts went from thinking that I should have done more..all the way to thinking that I have some of the same medical problems that she had..and you can imagine from there. I would get up in the morning with a headache..and not rested at all.
Today's devotion is very practical, but I think sometimes they need to be. I have found something that has really helped me was right before going to bed, like maybe in that last hour.. Most evenings I try to just slow down, and shut the world out..I usually like the t.v turned off....and I don;t always answer the phone..I try to just spend some quiet time with the Lord. Sometimes I will read..but sometimes my mind is so overwhelmed from the day's events that even reading is hard. When that happens, I will take just one verse that really speaks to me and that I find gives me comfort..and I will simply meditate on that verse. Often, I have thought about the fact that God IS love..and that He loves me. Sometimes I think about the fact that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Sometimes I simply think about the fact that He has made me a new creature in Him.
Focusing on God before going to sleep has really helped me to get a better night's sleep..if I do wake up in the night, I begin once again, thinking about the things of God..and when those other thoughts try to work their way into my mind..(I really believe those are darts from the enemy)..I start over..I begin again thinking on whatsoever things are lovely..and whatsoever things are filled with truth..and whatsoever things are of good report.
I don't know what it is about that state right before we go to sleep, or right when we first wake up. Maybe we are more vulnerable then because we're tired..whatever the case..if you fill your mind with the things of God, it will help. Take heart, beloved, your Maker will come near to you..and give you a song in the night..a song of hope that will bring you through whatever you are facing.

Job 17:11 "My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart"

Who knows more about brokenness than Job? He pretty much lost every good thing in his life..except for his faith. He was stripped of family, fortune, friends, and even health. From the depths of despair, he still refused to curse God.
Instead, Job talked to God. He expressed his pain, his illness, and his emptiness. He grieved his loss openly, never shutting God out.
We have a choice to either include God in our pain, or to exclude Him and try to make it on our own. Job had strength in the face of trials..strength that his friends could not see..but strength to hold on to God, and to pour his broken heart out to Him..the One on Whom he knew he could still trust. God restored Job's life and blessed him many times over.
Are you sometimes afraid to let God know what is really on your heart? Beloved, He knows anyway. Be careful that any pain that you may be dealing with does not cause you to give God the cold shoulder. He cares...and He wants to hear from you.

II Kings 3:17-18 "For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain

II Kings 3:17-18 "For thus saith the Lord, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that he may drink, both ye and your cattle..and this is but a light thing in the sight of the Lord.."
To human reason, what God was promising here, seemed impossible..but nothing is too difficult for God. Without a sound..and without any signs..and from a source seemingly invisible and impossible, the water flowed the entire night..and the next morning, there it was..the land was filled with water..and the sun was shining on that water!
Our unbelief is always desiring some outward sign..and the faith of some seems to be based more on sensationalism than anything else. Some are not convinced of the genuineness of God's promises without some visible manifestation. The Israelites watched the parting of the Red Sea, and yet still doubted...and spent 40 years making an 11 day journey. The greatest triumph of a person's faith is simply "to be still........to be Still.......to be....STILL.....and KNOW that He is God."
As we step out in faith, in whatever situation we are in..and without seeing or hearing any sign or any sound..we take our first steps into the water..and we watch as incredibly as it is, those waters begin to divide. Continuing to march ahead, we see a path opening up for us in the midst of the sea that could normally cover our heads.
A.B. Simpson wrote, "Whenever I have seen God's wondrous work in the case of some miraculous healing, or some extraordinary deliverance by His providence, the thing that has always impressed me most was the absolute quietness in which it was done. I have also been impressed by the absence of anything sensational and dramatic, and the utter sense of my own uselessness as I stood in the presence of this mighty God, realizing how easy this all was for Him, without any help from me".
When God speaks to us in a situation, our role is to simply take Him at His word..obey quickly when asked to..and then be still. In the story above, the people were asked to "make this valley full of ditches". They did so, and then were still...as the water came pouring in from God's supernatural source to fill them. What a lesson for our faith!
May the Lord grant each of us the faith that acts "BY faith..and not by sight"..and may we expect to see Him work..even when we see no wind or rain.
Taken in part from Streams in the Desert

A time and a season

Isaiah 55:10-11 "For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it"
Without the changing of seasons, vineyards would never bear fruit. Each season offers something that the vine needs for continued growth. Spring brings rain to stimulate growth that will come to maturity in the warmth of summer. Autumn is the time of harvest and winter brings much needed rest. Without this rest, the vine wouldn't be strong enough to go through the cycle again to harvest.
Eccelesiastes simply says, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven" Would it be fair to assume that there are also seasons in our Father's vineyard? God seems to work with us at different times in different ways. Sometimes we seem to see the hand of God moving in every situation that we have prayed for. At other times, we feel pressed on every side. At times, we have that deep sense of joy..and at other times, we have that deep sense of longing.
Without the changing seasons, vineyards would never bear fruit. Likewise, our spiritual growth requires an ever changing climate..seasons..when whatever God is doing in our lives is tailor-made to fit out personal circumstances. These are seasons designed by our Father as He nourishes our lives toward fruitfulness.
We must learn not only to embrance the season we are in, to enjoy it's gifts and confront it's challenges, but also to let go when the season changes. The cycle of God's care is always dependable. That never changes. Even when we can't see it, He is behind the scenes, working to bring fruit into our lives. He determines the seasons of our lives, when to prune, when to feed, when to harvest. We are the branches on His vine, privileged to grow and blossom and bear fruit..to follow His perfect plan through all the seasons of our lives.
W. Jacobsen

Romans 8:34 "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maket

Romans 8:34 "Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us"

Let me remind you of several things that are true for those who follow after Christ...

1. God loves you.
2. Jesus has already paid for your sins.
3. Your eternal home is secure with Him in heaven.
4. There will come a day when every tear will be wiped away.
5. You are not alone..Jesus is with you every moment of every day.
6. You are a child of the King of kings.
7. Your problems are not the sum of who you are..God is.

Life can be difficult at times..but I encourage you to think on the above things..and do not be defined by the difficulties that you face. Use them, by the grace and strength of God as stepping-stones to a deeper life, a life filled with peace, and lived with a thankful heart.

Psalm 139:1 "Oh Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me"

Your God KNOWS you! I've said in the past..He knows me..and He loves me anyway..but I am starting to get a fuller picture in the eyes of my heart, and to the depth of my being..about the fact that not only, did God create me..not only does He love me..but He KNOWS me. He knows the struggles that I have..and yet He loves me. He knows when I am fearful..and yet..He loves me. He knows when I am overwhelmed. He knows how my mind works and the battles that I have. He knows the hurts that I have faced. He knows the victories. He knows my deepest longings. He knows my strengths and my weaknesses...He KNOWS me..and He LOVES me.
This morning, as I listened to Beth Moore, she told a story about her little dog Beanie..( I LOVE that name!)..Beth and her husband must live out in the country..because their little dog had a run-in with a porcupine. The porcupine must have backed right up to the dog because his little face was full of very painful needles. The poor thing ran up to Beth's husband, wracked with pain. The dog was trembling, but he laid his chin on Keith's knee, as he gently, one by one, pulled out the very painful needles from the dog's face. The little dog had to put his trust in his owner. It must have hurt so much to have them removed..but the pain would have been even greater if the needles had been left in the little dog's face. Infection could have set in, and eventually the little dog could have died.
This was such a good illustration to me..because I..and some of you as well..have had a run-in with a porcupine. We have been stung by the criticism of a co-worker or a spouse. We've been led to believe by someone that we have finally outsinned the grace of God. We have literally been fighting a spiritual battle with the forces of darkness that we have no idea how to combat any more. The devil has tried to rob us of our joy, and our peace. He has tried to fill our minds with a lot of "traffic" and the "what ifs".
But Beloved..God is not only a God who KNOWS you intimately..He is also your Redeemer. When you have felt absolutely ravaged by life..you can go to Him..lay your quivering head on His knee, and let Him gently remove the needles that have worked their way in to your soul..one by one. It may be a painful process at times..but I promise..you can trust Him. Your God doesn't want to leave you in the condition you're in when you have been hurt or going through a difficult situation. Coming to Jesus, and simply pouring out your heart..pain and all..(I promise He can take whatever you tell Him)..and then trusting Him to work in your situation, even when it's painful, will actually increase your intimacy with God. You will begin to KNOW Him! You will begin to understand as Beth said this morning..it is because He FIRST loved you..that you are drawn to that love like a flame to a candle..and your love and trust for Him, will begin to soar..and those things that once held you captive, will seem like only faint memories as the peace, joy and trust begin to return to your life.

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today and forever"

Life for most of us is not a steady-paced stroll through time with a beginning, a middle, and an end..like a well-constructed play. It's filled with change. We change schools, careers, homes, relationships, almost as casually as our grandparents changed horses.
Not all change is by choice. Tragedy strikes and our lives change forever. Unfortunately, even divorce has become almost as common in the church as it is in the world. A marriage dissolves, and a woman, who has been linked to her husband by the common thread of Christ, finds her life unraveling and wonders where to go from here. Cherished friendships change in character..or someone else's choice cuts directly across our own, bringing us to a place we never wanted to be.
For the believer, then, this question is vital: Is our God the Lord of change? Will He be with us IN change, especially when it strains our trust to it's limit?
In a threatened world, in the kaleidoscopic whirl of our life patterns, it can be enormously reassuring to remind ourselves that God is unchanging. Malachi 3:6 says, "I the Lord do not change". "Jesus Christ IS the same yesterday, and today, and forever" He will be with us throughout whatever change we face..but we can trust in His character remaining the same.
G. Andrews

The Three Trees

I don't know how many of you have ever read the book called 'The Three Trees'..it is one of my favorites! It's the story of three trees, an olive tree, an oak tree, and a pine tree. Each tree had big dreams for it's life.
The olive tree wanted to one day be made into a treasure chest..covered with sparkling jewels..and to carry the greatest treasure in the world.
The mighty oak tree, being very strong and proud, dreamed that one day it would be made into a beautiful ship, mighty and strong..and that it would someday carry great kings across the water.
The pine tree had a dream of it's own. It stood high on the mountainside, and many times saw people in the valley looking up at it. The pine tree dreamed of it's towering branches pointing people to the glory and splendor of God. It wanted to stay on the mountain and point people toward Him.
One day, a woodsman came and noticed the olive tree. The olive tree thought that it's dream was about to come true...at last it would become a beautiful treasure chest! The woodsman cut the tree down, and took it to his workshop. Sure enough, he cut the the tree into boards and hammered them into the shape of a box! But..he didn't make the tree into the shape of a treasure box..he didn't polish the wood or cover it in fine jewels. Instead..he dragged the box into a dirty stable and filled it with hay for the animals to eat from. The olive tree lost all hope.
Meanwhile, the mighty oak was noticed by some shipbuilders..they cut the oak tree down and took it to their boatyard. They cut the tree trunk into boards and bent them to form the side of a boat. The oak tree was so excited, thinking his dreams were about to come true! But, when the men were done working on it, the oak tree ended up feeling small..they hadn't made the oak into a mighty ship at all..they had made it into a tiny fishing boat. The oak tree lost hope that he would ever carry a great king.
The pine tree continued to stand tall high on the mountaintop..but a fierce storm came. It shook the pine tree to it's core, and uprooted it. The pine tree crashed to the ground..along with it's dream of pointing people to God. Some soldiers came, and they hauled the tree off to the scrapyard..the pine tree felt unused and forgotten..now it was nothing more than old scrap wood.
After several years had passed, all three of the trees had lost hope. Their dreams had not taken place, and they gave up thinking about what they might become...but God had a plan for each one of these trees!
When there was no room at the inn for Mary and Joseph, they were taken to a dirty stable, filled with animals..In that stable, there was a manger, filled with hay..it was perfect as a cradle for the baby Jesus. The olive tree had not become a treasure chest at all..but now, as a manger, it held the greatest treasure there had ever been..God's son.
Jesus grew into a man and He traveled to the very lake where the little oak fishing boat was docked...and one day..the little boat carried Jesus along with His friends the disciples across the lake. A great storm came and the little oak boat filled with water..it looked like all was lost..but Jesus calmed the storm..and the little boat realized..it may have never carried an earthly king..but it was now carrying the King of Kings!
The pine tree laid for years out in the scrapyard. Broken and defeated, it had lost sight of it's dream to point people to God. One day, the pine tree heard voices in the distance. People were hollering "Crucify Him!"..and the soldiers came and grabbed the forgotten pine. They cut the pine into two pieces to make a cross. Then they laid Jesus on the cross. The pine tree didn't know if it could bear the weight of a man..but it also knew that it's dream was being fulfilled. Jesus died that day to take away the sins of the world for all who believe in Him...and to this day, people look to the cross to point them to God.
Beloved, most of the time, the dreams that you have for your own life are much smaller than the dream that God has for you. Sometimes you may feel forgotten, even rejected. Sometimes it may seen that your dreams have even died. You may have let go of the dreams you had for your life because they seemed impossible...but pay attention to the desires of your heart. They were given to you by God...and His timing is perfect. God has not forgotten you. He just has a way of "unveiling" the dream that He has given you in a way that you could have never imagined. Don't give up. Don't quit praying. Don't stop making plans. Your God has not forgotten the dream that He gave you. Life happens. Things seem impossible. But God is still working in your life..behind the scenes..in ways you cannot see. When you cannot trust yourself..trust Him. When you cannot see anything happening in the natural, believe that He is working "supernaturally" in the hearts and lives of others. The three trees in the story couldn't have begun to imagine how God would use the dream that He put in their heart...but His dream for them was even greater than what they could have ever dreamed themselves. It is the same with you beloved!

Christ liveth in me

Galatians 2:20 "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live BY the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."
The heritage of the cross is a life lived in trust. It frees us from the bondage of sin that drives us to compensate for that, and provides for us the certainty that we are loved by the God of the universe. This is the faith He wants us to live by, and even that faith is His gift to us.
Few versions of the Bible translate Galatians 2:20 exactly as it appears in the original Greek. Paul wrote: "I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me"
The vast majority translate it, "The life I live in the body, I live by faith IN the Son of God." They could not conceive of what Paul might have meant by living the faith OF Jesus...so they translate it as "faith IN the Son of God" because certainly there are so many wonderful scriptures that speak of the importance of putting our faith IN Him. I believe Paul was speaking about something different however in this verse. I believe that Paul was saying that he lived off Jesus' faith..not by mustering up enough of his own.
When the Lord showed me this recently, it changed my life. Time after time over the years, I have wondered what was "wrong" with me..why I didn't have enough faith to believe God for something..why I couldn't muster up more faith..what a failure I must be to God because it's so hard sometimes to stand strong during the difficult times. But beloved...God does not see us as failures. We are not disappointments to Him. This verse is incredible. How often do you feel "weak" in faith? Try as hard as you might to believe, belief still escapes you. How do you muster up what you lack? People tell us to simply trust Jesus more..and while they may be right, it is rarely helpful to hear without practically understanding the how part. How do we trust Him more than we already do?
I believe the answer lies here..Paul didn't live by his own human faith. He let Jesus live IN him, and let Jesus' trust in the Father stand for his. Just this week, we have been tested. Ray was in a car accident..yesterday we received some bad news..and in the midst of these storms, when we truly could have been paralyzed, we simply prayed "Jesus, give us YOUR faith to stand strong, believing that our lives are in your hands"..
It's amazing how simply knowing that we don't have to muster up more faith, but we can stand in Christ's faith, who lives in us..seems to release a power beyond our own abilities or intellect. We can see a little more clearly. Our hearts find greater endurance. Answers we thought we needed no longer seem that important. His presence proves to be sufficient in the storm...and we recognize once again..that we are loved.

Colossians 3:12 "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness..."

There is an old story of an elderly man who always carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and when he would go through a door that squeaked, he would squirt a little oil on the hinges. If he encountered a gate that was hard to open, he would oil the latch...and so he went through life, lubricating all the difficult places, making it easier for all those who came after him. People called the man eccentric, strange and crazy, but he went steadily on, often refilling his can of oil when it was nearly empty, and oiling all of the difficult places he found.
In this world, there are many lives that painfully creak and grate as they go about their daily routine. Often it seems that nothing goes right with them, and that they need a little "shot" of the oil of joy, gentleness, or thoughtfulness.
Do you carry your own can of oil with you? Are you ready with your oil of helpfulness each morning? If you offer your oil to the person nearest you, it may just lubricate the entire day for him. Your oil of cheerfulness will mean more than you know to someone who is downhearted. Or the oil may be a word of encouragement to a person who is full of despair. Never fail to speak it, for our lives may touch others only once on the road of life, and then our paths may diverge, never to meet again.
The oil of kindness has worn the sharp hard edges off many a hard, or difficult life..and left it soft and pliable..and even ready to receive the redeeming grace of the Savior. A pleasant word is a bright ray of sunshine in a saddened heart. Therefore, give others the sunshine, and let Jesus do the rest.
From Streams in the Desert

"2 Chronicles 15:7 "Be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded"

It's hard to let go of things in which we have placed our hope...even when they lie broken in our hands. It's even harder to let go of our preconceived ideas of how God works when those things lie shattered at our feet.
Many of us carry around a heavy weight of discouragement. It seems as if nothing will ever get any better, nothing will change. Just this week, a dear friend of mine told me about a circumstance in her life. She looked at me through eyes of pain and said..nothing will ever change. My heart broke for her because I could see why she would feel that way. I understood that pain because I have been there myself...but In the midst of that, I offer these words of hope and promise..God is faithful..ALL the time...even when we may not be..and even when we don't seem to see what He is doing.
Perhaps it seems to you that you are at the breaking point. I urge you to throw yourself on Him..to hide yourself under His wings. Don't give up. You have come too far. The road ahead may look bleak, but trust in God. It is the way home.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 "Encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing"

I used to be more concerned with being "inspirational" than with being real..but now I sense that people in pain need to know that they are not alone in their struggles. We need each other to be real. I am not advocating a coast to coast spiritual pity party...far from it. Rather, I suggest that as we receive the help and comfort of Christ, we in turn take a risk, and extend that same hope and comfort to others also.This is not a time to hide behind walls and put on a brave face. This is a time to stand in the light with our wounds and our flaws. Having taken that risk, we can encourage others to come out of the shadow..and to find healing and comfort in Christ. Those who reach out, who risk being known, will have the privilege of sharing the grace and mercy of God with others.
Sheila Walsh

Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning

Psalm 143:8 " Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust. Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto Thee"

So...where do you go when you can't fix your life? The only place is back to the One who made you. You have a divine destiny..a purpose from God that no one else can fulfill. It begins with a risk. God will give us the courage to take all the pieces of our lives, our hopes, and our dreams back to Him..the One who made us...and then ask Him to show us who we are...in Christ.
Yesterday we were "in jail" (that always sounds funny)..but we were ministering to the young men in the facility east of Folsom. So many of them have just forgotten that there is a purpose for their lives. Some of them have probably never been told. Yesterday, one young man in particular seemed to have a difficult time with the idea that God cares specifically...about Him. That young man eventually left the room..my heart broke..that young man seemed so beaten down by life..and people..that he no longer sees the hope that is in Christ. The other young men were eager to hear the word of God preached. They are so simply looking for someone to encourage them..to tell them that God still loves them...to offer them hope.
God is like a watchmaker, and He will carefully and gently replace our broken parts. He wants to show us what we are meant to be and to give us all that we need to live our lives according to His purpose, and His plan for us.

And he arose, and came to his father

Luke 15:20 "And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him."

I don't know about all of you, but I have heard the story of the "prodigal" or "lost" son taught many times over the years. I have heard the story preached from some of the godliest men I know. I have been in Sunday School classes where it was taught. I have heard my own husband teach it several times at the Boys Ranch because it is one of his favorite Bible stories, and it is a story filled with hope. I have heard many different slants on the story from the younger son being the main focus, to the older son, being the one who is often overlooked as we study this parable.
Recently, I was reading a book, and the title of the next chapter was "A Father Like No Other"..as I began to read the chapter, I realized it was going to be teaching about the prodigal son. I hate to admit this, but I almost skipped the chapter. I truly thought that I have had so much teaching on this over the years, that there couldn't possibly be anything that has been overlooked. I really didn't think that I could learn anything more from the story.
Boy, was I wrong. As the chapter began to unfold, the story came to life for me...and I saw something that I had never seen before. The author asked the question...At what point in the story do you think the father loved the son the most? My answer would have been that he didn't love him more at one point in the story than at another point...but the author shared that when he asks that question, almost always the first answer is that it is the moment where the Father met the son on the road. Some also suggest it might be when the father gave him his inheritance and let him go. Only then does it become clear. There is no point in the story where the father loves his son more than at any other point. He loved his son completely through the whole process. That love from the Father is the only constant in the story.
The events in the story cannot be accounted for by the varying love of the father...only the varying perception of it by the son. Though he was not less loved at any point in the story, through most of the story, he lived as if he were. When he took the money from his father and left home, free to pursue his own way..he lived less loved.
When he spent this money in a foreign land, wasting it on his own pleasures, he lived less loved.
Even when he started for home, practicing his plea of repentance, and willing to be a slave, he lived less loved.
But finally, when he was home in the robe, the sandals and wearing the ring, sitting at his father's table, it seemed to sink in. He was loved...but he always had been! It was just that then he could stop living as if he weren't.
I wonder how much of our lives today are spent living "less loved". We worry that God will ask us for some difficult sacrifice..and we live "less loved". When we "fail" in some way, that we know is against the will of God..we live "less loved". When we give in to anxiety during the difficulties of our circumstances, we live "less loved". When we try to earn God's favor by our own efforts, we live "less loved". Even when we get caught up in trying to become more like Him..we live "less loved".
The truth is that God wants a relationship with you. He wants you to know how He feels about you all the time.. He wants you to know that the love He has from you isn't going to change or vary because of your circumstances.
Jesus ended the story at an interesting point. The younger son was in the house enjoying his newfound relationship with the father. The older son was still outside angry and deciding what to do. Would he come to know just how much he was loved and join the celebration, or would he remain convinced of his father's unfairness and stay angry and alone outside? The choice was his..and it is ours. Everything in our life really hinges on one question..Do you know how loved you truly are? If you don't know or aren't sure..isn't it about time you found out?

A Psalm of Thanksgiving.

Psalm 100
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
1 Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. 3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. 4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. 5 For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.

P;ease note the subtitle "A Psalm of Thanksgiving" (It will be in your Bible as well). Let this be your song of thanksgiving today.

Behold, I will do a new thing.

Isaiah 43:19 "Behold, I will do a new thing. Now it shall spring forth. Shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert"
God's creation are full of examples of radical change. A snake slithers out of old dull skin, revealing newer and more brilliant color. A butterfly emerging from a cocoon has undergone a startling metamorphosis...even the change of a tadpole..
We know that God created man above all creatures, to reflect His likeness and glory. We too can expect to experience transformation of even greater proportion.
Have you ever allowed others to box you in with their perspectives? Have you followed suit by diminishing your potential with self-imposed limitations? By asking God to define us, and believing only what He says about us, we can make great strides in becoming the women of God we were created to be. Even if you don't feel new yet, you can start doing things in a new way. Change begins in the heart, moves to the mind, and is expressed through action.
Ask the Lord to provide you with a greater vision of yourself. Soon enough, people will perceive the "new you".

2 Corinthians 3:18 "We, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness"

It is possible to live years of our lives under a veil. A veil is not merely an old-fashioned face covering, or something white reserved for a bride..or even something black on a widow's hat...A veil is anything that we hide behind....which then breaks our direct eye contact with God.
What do you hide behind? That's a question that can really make you think. Some hide behind their reputation...or their children..their friends..their money or lack of it..their perceived unworthiness...their past..their mistakes..their definition of themselves...pride..family..job title..or even self image.Coming to Jesus is an unveiling. We have a chance to understand and expose the veil...to come out from behind the curtain of shame. Turn your unveiled face to the Son and let Him shine on you, transforming you into the radiant beauty that He sees in you

"We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon You" 2 Chronicles 20:12

An Israelite named Uzzah lost his life because he reached out and took hold of the ark of God. He placed his hands on it to steady it "because the oxen stumbled"..but nevertheless, he had overstepped his bounds by touching the Lord's work.
Time after time, I have tried to "help" God. I am learning that living a life of faith often requires us to leave things alone. I had a friend a few years ago who I kept "rescuing". The needs in her life were great, and she didn't really have anyone else that I could see anyway, who could help her. I kept stepping in..but it seemed no matter how many times I "stepped in" to help, it never really changed anything. The problems only increased and the wear and tear on me was becoming evident as well. Finally, at some point, I realized that God loved this woman, just like He loved me. I realized that to keep "Helping" Him only meant that she was turning to me, instead of to God. I was worn out, and the relationship and trust that He wanted to develop with her were being snuffed out.
I am definitely not saying that we shouldn't help people. I'm not saying that at all. I am saying that if we have completely entrusted someone, or something to God, unless He specifically speaks to us otherwise, I think that it is often better to keep our hands off. God knows every circumstance that we face..much better than we do..and He will work in those circumstances at the perfect moment, if we will completely trust Him to work in His own way and in His time.
There truly are times when the best "action" on our part is simply to pray. It is such a comfort to drop the entanglements and perplexities of life into God's hands and leave them there.

I Chronicles 26:27 "Some of the plunder taken in battle they dedicated for the repair of the temple of the Lord."

1Great physical force is stored in the depths of the earth, in places such as coal mines. Coal was produced by the tremendous heat that burned ancient forests many years ago. In the same way, spiritual force is stored in the depth of our being and is sometimes brought about by the very difficult thing in our life that we cannot understand.
Someday we will see that the "plunder taken in battle" from our trials was preparing us to become like Great-Heart in the book Pilgrim's Progress...so that we too could lead our fellow pilgrims triumphantly through trials and difficulties..and eventually end up at the city of the King. May we never forget that the source of learning to help others is sometimes the experience of victory during difficulties.
Paul never carried around a discouraged attitude..but a chorus of victorious praise. The more difficult his trial, the more he trusted and rejoiced. He said, "Even if I am poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. Phil. 2:17...
Lord, today help us to draw strength from whatever comes to us. Help us to trust You no matter our circumstances.
Today I just want to thank all of you for your prayers for my new friend Margarita's grandson Isaiah. At last report, he was doing very well. Praise God! I have another prayer request for all of you. My sister in law Sandy, is undergoing major surgery on Monday. Sandy is my husband's sister..and she is a courageous woman of God. Sandy has been through a lot in the last couple of years. She has served her country via the military and has been all over the world. She recently served in Iraq for l l/2 years and was found to have breast cancer when she came home. She has had two mastectomies along with all the chemo and radiation, and she has done amazingly well. She is a fighter and loves God, her family, and her country. She will be undergoing surgery on Monday for pre-cancerous cells that are around her pancreas. This is not a simple surgery, and I ask that all of you be in prayer for her..for her doctors, and for her family. I know that she will very much appreciate her needs being taken before the throne by all of you. Thank you all very much and I will let you know how she is doing. May the Lord bless you today. May He make His face to shine upon you and give you peace.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning"
Whenever I read this verse, I am reminded of the greatest gift of all..the gift of Jesus..who came down from His home in heaven..and in Whom there is no variation...Who does not change..like the shadows around us that move. As we have just come through the season where we celebrate His birth, and we give gifts to each other as a remembrance of the greatest gift..I wanted to share something with all of you.
I have such a wonderful family and was so blessed this year to receive some of the most wondeful and useful gifts that I've ever received. My daughter in law especially always seem to get just the right thing...she just seems to know what I would like. She is a very generous and thoughtful person and loves to get someone just the right thing. I was so thrilled on Christmas morning to open up the CUTEST pair of black boots that she and my son had picked out..and whenever she buys me something, it always fits perfectly! She puts a lot of thought into gift giving..For some reason..I guess because she is so thoughtful, I am always reminded of the gift that God gave to us in His Son, Jesus. No one but God could have thought of a way to redeem mankind..no one but Jesus could offer eternal life..a gift that it's hard to imagine anyone refusing..even though unfortunately, some do.
Jesus IS the perfect gift. He is the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Him. Today, my thought for you is simple..Your Father in heaven chose the perfect gift for you. He made a way for you to be saved, to be forgiven, to have joy, peace and comfort, to be redeemed, to know that you are never alone or overlooked..to be assured that when you fall, He will lift you up, when you fail, He forgives. When you are weak, He will be your strength. When you are lost, He is the way. When you are afraid, He is your courage. When you stumble, He will steady you. When you are hurt, He heals! When you are broken, He will mend your heart. When you can't see which way to go, He will lead you. When you are hungry, He will feed you and sustain you. When you face trials, He is with you. When you face persecution, He is your shield. When you face problems, He comforts you. When you face loss, He provides for you. He is faithful. You are His..He is yours!

I Corinthians 4:18 "What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal"

It may seem impossible to imagine right now, from where you are, that this season of your life, is temporary. Does it seem that your life is defined at the moment by your circumstances? That you might feel the way you are feeling forever? That this is your new reality? Beloved, wisdom speaks through God's Word. He is telling us that this pain is temporary..that we will transcend these circumstances..and that He has so much more in store for us that we can look forward to.
Have you ever seen one of those giant mazes...made by tall, carefully cut European shrubs? Have you ever felt as if you were sort of wandering in a maze..just not sure which direction is the way out? You're sure that the path to exit is just around the next bend in the maze..but you cannot see far enough in front of you to know how much farther you have to go? The mere idea of endurance without end would be overwhelming...but the ultimate perspective is from above! God sees the beginning and the end...and every twist and turn in between.
Don't give in to weakness by dwelling on what you see today. Look through it, as hard as it is, to the vision that is just beyond your sight.
K Armstrong

Exodus 4:12 "Now go. I will help you speak and will teach you what to say"

We are all hesitant at times, neglectful even, to speak the truth from our hearts. This lack of authenticity, often disguised as a desire to be pleasing can tend to undermine friendships, work and family relationships, and even marriages. God created us to be true to Him, and therefore true to ourselves as a by-product.
We may hesitate to speak up because we think that words will fail us. This scripture tells us otherwise. Moses was trying to convince God that he was not the best cohice to lead the people. He said, "I am slow of speech and tongue."..to which God replied, "I will help you speak and will teach you what to say"
And He will. God will empower us to glorify Him by living, and speaking in truth and in love.

Colossians 2:10 "And ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power"

I have been going through what I believe to be a spiritual battle like no other the past few weeks. This is a verse that I need to memorize and remind myself of daily..and throughout the day. Beloved, we are complete in Christ! From the moment that you invited Him to be part of your life, and to live in your heart, you began a new life. You became complete. You are whole. The more time you spend with Him, the more you know Him..and you are rooted, and built up in Him and established in your faith. In Him dwells all the fullness of God, and YOU are IN HIM. Amazing!
When we are in a battle, we must remember who God has made us..IN Christ..we must remember that Christ is the head over all principality and power...and we are IN Him. As plants draw nourishment from the soil through their roots, so we draw our life giving strength from Christ. The more we draw life from Him, the less we will be affected when we are facing those spiritual battles..and the less we will be "taken in" by the world's way of dealing with things.
Paul writes against any philosophy of life based only on human ideas and experiences. Paul was himself a gifted philosopher, so he was not condemning philosophy..he was condemning teaching that credits humanity, not Christ with the answers to life's problems. Knowing Christ is truly all we need to deal with any battle. He alone holds the answers to life's questions..because He IS life. He is our unique source of wisdom and power. No child of God needs anything else. Beloved, you are COMPLETE in Him.

But they soon forgot

Psalm 106:12-15 "Then they believed His promises and sang His praise. But they soon forgot what He had done, and did not wait for His counsel. In the desert, they gave in to their craving; in the wasteland, they put God to the test."
In Hebrews 11:27 we read that Moses "perservered because he saw Him who is invisible". Yet in the above passage, exactly the opposite was true of the children of Israel. They perservered only when their circumstances were favorable, because they were primarily influenced by whatever appealed to their senses, instead of trusting in the invisible and eternal God.
Even today, there are those who live inconsistent Christian lives because they have become preoccupied with things that are external. Some focus on their circumstances rather than focusing on God. I have struggled with this in my own life..even in the last month..as I've been dealing with a physical problem that is painful. It is so easy to get my mind on the problem, and off God. Beloved, God desires that we grow in our ability to see Him in everything, and to realize the importance of even seemingly insignificant circumstances if they are being used by Him in some way.
We read of the children of Israel that "THEN they believed His promises"...They did not believe until AFTER they saw..once they saw Him work.."THEN they believed." They doubted God when they came to the Red Sea, but when He opened the way and led them across, and they SAW Pharoah and his army drowned, "THEN they believed". The Israelites continued to live this kind of up and down existence, because their faith was dependent upon their circumstances..but dear child of God..this is NOT the kind of faith that God wants us to have.
The world says that "seeing is believing".. but God wants us to believe in order to see. The psalmist said "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living".
Do you believe God only when your circumstances are favorable, or do you believe no matter what your circumstances might be? Faith is believing what we do not see, and the reward for this kind of faith is to see what we believe.
Taken in part from Streams in the Desert

Ephesians 6:10 "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might"

Memorize this verse and hide it in your heart. When I start to falter, my first reaction can tend to be one of panic..and wondering..what do I do? No matter how long I have spent in the workshop, my progress is made evident only in the initial moment of peril. We prepare ourselves internally to meet the challenges externally. We rehearse in advance so our responses are involuntary when the moment of truth arrives.
There isn't one situation, one temptation, or one question that cannot be answered with the response "Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might". On a multiple-choice test, this is answer (d) All of the above. Use this verse to steady yourself in shaky moments until you regain your stability on the Rock.
God is not telling you to be tough on your own, or to come up with the right thing to do. He is saying to rely on His power, His strength, and to allow Him to do for you what He knows best.
K Armstrong

Job 17:11 "My days have passed, my purposes are broken off, even the thoughts of my heart"

Who knows more about brokeness than Job? Job lost nearly everything in his life..including his children..but he didn't lose faith in God. He was stripped of his fortune, his friends, his family and even his health. From the depths of despair, he still would not give up on God.
Instead, Job talked to God. He expressed his pain, his illness, his emptiness. He grieved his loss openly, never shutting God out.
We have a choice either to include God in our pain, or to exclude Him and try to make it on our own. Because of Job's strength in the face of testing and the fact that nothing could cause him to deny God, God blessed Job many times over and restored his life.
Be wary that your pain does not cause you to give God the cold shoulder. He wants to hear from you...and it's ok to tell Him anything..it's ok to tell Him how you truly feel. He knows anyway...and He cares deeply.

Heavenly Realms

Ephesians 2:4-6 " Because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions..and God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus"
This is our rightful place.."seated with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus"..yet seated..and still. But how few of us actually experience this. In fact, most of us feel that it's impossible to sit still "in the heavenly realms" while living our everyday life in a world so full of turmoil.
Oh, we believe it may be possible to visit these "heavenly realms" on Sundays or now and then during times of great spiritual emphasis and praise..but to actually "be seated" there all day, every day..is a completely different matter. Yet it is clear from the scriptures that it is meant not only for Sundays, but for weekdays as well.
There is tremendous power in stillness. A great believer once said "All things come to him who knows how to trust and to be silent". This fact is rich with meaning, and a true understanding of it would greatly change our ways of living. Instead of continuing our restless striving, we would "sit down" inwardly before the Lord, allowing the divine forces of His Spirit to silently work out the means to accomplish our goals and aspirations.
You may not see or feel the inner workings of His silent power, but rest assured, it is always mightly at work. And it will work for you, if you will only quiet your spirit enough to be carried along the the current of His power.
From Streams in the Desert

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding

Proverbs 3:5 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding"
This is one of my favorite verses in all of scripture. It is so simple..and yet so powerful..so much truth packed into this one little verse. Trust in the Lord.
Beloved, no matter what dark cloud may be hanging around over your life today, trust God. No matter what people may tell you, trust God. Don't put faith in anything but Him. Don't lean on what you think you know about something..lean on God. He will certainly bring all your circumstances into His glorious light of understanding in His time.
Today's thought is so simple, and yet so profound..simply trust Him.

You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent Psalm 30:11-12

It begins quietly, this revolution of joy, with a steady rumbling growing inside and a gray haze lifting as light begins to break through. At first, the mere absence of "awful" feels heavenly. Soon enough, we are surprised to hear our own laughter, like our joy is an old friend who has come back into our life. You start to develop that spring in your step. You put lipstick on at a stoplight and smile when you flip the mirror open. The CD you're playing is playing songs that minister to you.
You realize that the absence of "awful" is not good enough for you. It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Remember? Beloved, God wants to heal you..from whatever has hurt you..whether it was the cutting remarks of someone, the pain of losing someone you love, being rejected by someone you so much want to love you, the depression that had seemed to settle over your life like a large black cloud...God wants you whole..and He is your Healer. When He heals you, He will stop at nothing short of joy!
The other day, I was feeling blue..some things were going on in my life that were a challenge. We were on our way to church that morning and the sky was cloudy. All of a sudden, the rays from the sun broke through the clouds, and they were incredible. I still couldn't see the sun..only the rays sweeping down over the earth in all their brilliance. In that moment, God reminded me that no matter what "storm" is over my life, He is still "in" the storm. I may not see Him, but He is there.
Beloved, in whatever area you are hurting today, cry out to your Healer..seek Him..invite Him in to your situation. He truly wants to see you whole..and remember that even though you may not see Him..He is there.

"Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers"

Last Sunday, our pastor touched on this scripture when he was preaching..I love my pastor..He can communicate a difficult thought without condemning anyone or making them feel guilty. He simply looked out at us and quietly stated.."So you say you love God, and yet what is it that comes out of your mouth?" He began to speak about swear words, and someone from the back called out "preach it!" I found myself wanting to call out too..what about gossip? What about judgement? What about harsh words that hurt? What about lying? What about revealing someone's private problems under the guise of "praying" about it? What about complaining?
I heard someone say once that the things that bother us the most are probably the things we struggle with ourselves. I didn't have the courage to call out. I only know that I have struggled with my mouth my entire life. I think if the truth were known, most of us do. As our pastor very sweetly broached this subject, something happened. I think everyone in the room must have sensed it. I know that the Lord is always with us..but that morning as our pastor preached, the sweet presence of God filled the room. It was like a blanket that came down and warmed all of our hearts. You could have heard a pin drop in there.
I have come to truly realize that the reason for his instructive verse from scripture isn't just for those around us..it's for us. Have you ever noticed that the more you talk about something difficult, the worse you feel? Words are containers for power. They come out of our mouths, and somehow enter the air around us..then they go back into our own ears, and the ears of anyone around us. We can actually get discouraged and become fainthearted, just by listening to ourselves!
Ray and I visited a church one time that we absolutely loved. The worship was like none other...it was so God honoring. The preaching was also very God honoring and encouraging. We would have gone back except for one thing. Before and after the service, we picked up on a lot of gossip going on among people who attended there. How can this even be? How can this even happen to any of us when we have just sat in the presence of God? I think of the children of Israel and how they murmured and complained..and I wonder how different I am.
Words have the power to build up..they also have the power to destroy. I have seen marriages discentegrate simply because of the words that were spoken. Wars begin because of words. Families fall apart because of words. Friendships end because of words.
Beloved, we all need God's help in this area. This is not in any way meant to make anyone feel bad. God knew that we would struggle..and it is His desire that we encourage each other. Today, ask for His help, and He will certainly give it..not only that..you will be encouraged and uplifted yourself as you begin to speak words of life. May you all be richly blessed today!

2 Samuel 22:20 "He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me"

Sometimes we tend to confine ourselves with our self-made limitations. We fence in our little garden patch and tend to it; meanwhile, the Lord has a vast meadow, streams, fields, and a mountain vista for us.
This place you occupy because yhou think it is all you can manage or all you deserve is too small for you. The Lord has more in mind, and you will grow in your walk with Him because of it. The Lord delights in you. He wants to rescue you from the way you define yourself..so that He can define you.
Allow the Lord to draw you out. If you are a wallflower, let Him bring you out of your shell. It you love the spotlight, let Him bring you beyond what you could even imagine. If you aren't sure who you are any more, allow Him to define you..once and for all. He has a beautiful open space for you, with plenty of room to grow.

K Armstrong

Come unto Him

Ephesians 1:5-6 "Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will..to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved"
Ok..is it just me, or does anyone else feel like dancing a hallelujah dance? This to me is one of the most excitiing passages of scripture in the entire Bible! The word "predistinated" in verse 5 actually means "beforehand"..God has literally adopted us as His own children, and knew before we ever came into being that He would make a way for us to become His child..through Jesus sacrifice on the cross, we have been brought in to the family of God! Now we are joint heirs with Jesus! Amazing!
In Roman law, adopted children had the same rights and privileges as natural children. Paul uses this term to show how strong our relationship to God truly is. Because Ray and I actually went through the adoption process, and tried to bring a little girl here from China, (because of red tape, it didn't happen)..but I get this picture in my mind of the faces of all the children who need someone to love them..who are homeless until someone takes them in..who have been rejected by the world and simply need to be loved..and my heart breaks..I wish I could take in every child who needs a family.
These are God's sentiments exactly! He simply says "come" and be part of my family. "Come" and let me be your Father. "Come" and let me bring you into a large family, where you'll have many brothers and sisters. "Come" and allow me to make you a joint heir with my Son, Jesus. "Come" and let me lead you. "Come"..and experience redemption through the blood of Christ. "Come" and experience forgiveness. "Come" and let me bless you with wisdom. "Come" and allow Me to give you a gift..it's called salvation.
Obviously, I could go on and on..Friends..you are ACCEPTED in the beloved. Your heavenly Father went to great lengths to ADOPT you and bring you into the family of God. All He asks of you is to "come".

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ

Ephesians 1:3-4 "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in Love"
Good morning everyone!!! Today, I have an assignment for you. Honestly, this will bless your socks off! Here is what I would ask you to do...The above passage is AMAZING! But I want you to personalize it. In every spot where you can, I want you to insert your name...so it would read like this.."Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who hath blessed, me, Judy, with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ...according as He hath chosen me, Judy, in Him before the foundation of the world, that I Judy, should be holy and without blame before Him in love" Wow!
Precious child of God..if each of us only KNEW how MUCH God loves us! If we took every Scripture and made it personal, it would change the way we think about how much we are loved. It would help us to see ourselves differently. It would help us to see ourselves through the eyes of God..to know that we are valuable to Him.
Beloved, He CHOSE you..before the foundation of the world! Before He thought of anything else, He thought of YOU! He knew YOU! And..because you are in Him, you are seen by Your God as being Holy! You are blameless! Just let that sink for a minute. I know that we all fail...daily! But God has blessed us with ALL spiritual blessings In Christ..our salvation..the power to live daily in Him..the hope of living forever..the joy, and the peace that come in having a relationship with Him. Because we have an intimate relationship with Him, we can enjoy those blessings now!
Dear one;...today, I am asking you to REMEMBER and personalize todayu the fact that you are in Christ. You will find strength to face whatever your day brings..in simply Remembering!

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness

Ephesians 4:22-23 "And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness"
Are there things about the "old you" that you weren't crazy about? Maybe you felt you were too controlling, too weak, too compliant, too regimented, too rebellious..too bossy, too afraid, too inhibited, too critical, too unfocused, too indecisive, too willing to settle for less?
Guess what? You are invited by the Lord to shake off all the dust of the old you, and reveal what He has been working on underneath. Like a renovation project covered in scaffolding and plastic, you now have your grand opening!
Open the doors, cut the ribbon...The bottom line is that you don't forget to celebrate who God has made wonderful YOU! You are not the sum of your old definition. You are not who anyone has told you, you are. You are who God says you are. Your old self has been made new in the attitude of our mind, which is where things begin. Congratulations!
K Armstrong

Philippians 4:7 "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus"

Yesterday, I had a conversation with someone I love very much, who is facing one of the most difficult challenges in her life at the moment. She began to share with me the peace that she is experiencing. By the world's standards, there would be no reason to believe that her life will ever be normal again..but she doesn't live by the world's standards. She has chosen to believe God. She is standing on what she knows to be truth..and she knows that she is in His very capable hands.
The unlimited, indefinable peace of God does not come to us via our own effort. We cannot relax or meditate ourselves into the depths of this peace. We cannot mandate it by managing our own circumstances. We cannot will it by virtue of sheer desire. We cannot think our way into it with our intellect. We cannot orchestrate it with our vast skills. We cannot obtain it with our finances. We cannot force it by wielding our power. We cannot steal it from anyone's possession.
This peace is most evident when everything is falling around you, and yet you have a sure and steady stillness at your core. In the chaos you have more clarity than in so-called ordinary times. When everything is moving, it becomes easy to focus on the one thing that remains unshakable.
When you finally reconigize peace as the presence of Christ, you will never want anything else.

Matthew 7:5 "First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye"

In other words, I think God is saying here..be careful to mind your own business. We have enough that God is helping us through, that should leave little time or energy for judging others. Our own weaknesses blind us, often rendering us unable to see ourselves clearly. The very thing that annoys us about someone else, or the thing that provokes a spirit of judgement, is most likely the area that we need to work on in our own life.
Notice the size difference between a speck and a plank. God is telling each of us that our own issues are probably the more problematic. We need to first seek Him to clear our own vision. Only then, in plain view of our own weaknesses, can we offer any real help to others. When you feel a twinge of judgement, realize that it is very possibly illuminating something that you need to see in yourself. In that way with God's help, you can walk through to the freedom that He wants you to have.

Ezekiel 34:16 "I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak"

Do you see how loved you are? Do you feel how pursued you have been..and how desired you are? Do you see how protected you are?
I think that most of you are saved. You have invited Jesus into your hearts..but today, invite Him into your problems, into your pain. Let Him replace your missing pieces. Let Him heal your brokeness. Let Him cure your afflictions.
Where other eyes choose blindness, God's eyes seek until He finds. As far as you could ever run away, He will find you and bring you home. As chipped and broken as your heart may be, He will smooth the cracks. As sick as you may be feeling, or as dark as the world around you may seem, He comes with healing light to lead you to safety.
There is no gap larger than His love can bridge...no failure that He cannot redeem...no plague of spirit He cannot cure. Don't run from Him today beloved. Run TO Him..and allow Him to love you back to health.

A Homeless God by Frank Viola

Hi Everyone.. I don't normally send these out..I get them every Sunday..but there were some good thoughts in this one..so I hope you all enjoy it. Have a blessed week!

"As you come to Him, the living Stone -- rejected by men butchosen by God and precious to Him -- you also, like livingstones, are being built into a spiritual house…" (1 Peter 2:4-5a)
This week's devotional comes from Frank Viola's book From Eternity to Here: Rediscovering the Ageless Purpose of God .

Part of my roots are in the Charismatic movement. In that experience, I was repeatedly encouraged to seek God for a "visitation" from heaven. As a result, I harbored the illusion that if God visited our church, He was pleased with it. I later discovered that God is not looking for a place to visit. He is looking for a place to dwell.
The pages of history are littered with the sobering fact that God is no longer present in the places He once visited. Go to the landmarks of past revivals, and you'll quickly discover that the crowds have diminished. The joy is gone. The life has evaporated. In many cases, those places are but hollow shells today.
For me the intriguing question is: Why does the Lord leave? The answer is telling: because he was not completely welcomed.
He was allowed to visit, but He was not permitted to be head. That is, He was not granted the right to make the decisions.
Visitations bless us for a short season. But a dwelling place for God is something for His interest and His desire. Blessing is merely a byproduct. It's not the prime product.
Contemplate this thought: If God "visits" a church, it betrays the fact that it doesn't belong to Him. A homeowner doesn't visit his own home. He lives in it. In a divine visitation, God will bless His people. But He will eventually move on and search for a home that He can call his own. Thus if the headship of Jesus Christ is not fully yielded to any given place, the best of Lord can do is visit. He cannot take up residency.
Our Lord is in a quest for a place to lay His head, a place where His headship is operative, a place where He does what He wishes, a place where he can feel comfortable and find rest. This is the indelible mark that a particular church is in fact His house. Anything else is but a layover for Him.
Like any homeowner, God builds His house in His own way. If the home is His, He arranges the furniture the way He wishes, for He is the master of His own home.
In this connection, I want you to imagine countless living stones scattered all over the earth. I want you to see innumerable living stones living their own individual Christian lives. I want you to see scores of living stones who loved God, but who are isolated and independent of other living stones. Many attend religious services, but there is little to no "building together" among the members.
That is precisely the situation we find ourselves in today. And what is the net effect? God is still homeless.
The burning intent of your God is that all of His living stones be built together with other living stones to form His house. Not for themselves, but for their Lord. To be the house of God, by God and for God.
“Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.” (Psalm 127:1)
“From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Ephesians 4:16)
Jesus Christ did not die and rise again just to forgive you of your sins. He died in order that His father could obtain a home. The Lord saved you and me for a high and holy purpose.
Without people who are being assembled together, God is a wandering, homeless God. And we are wondering, homeless Christians. Your Lord wishes to build Himself into a people, and He wishes to build a people into Himself. He is after a building, not a rock quarry. He wants a house, not a heap of stones nor group of scattered rocks. The Lord Jesus Christ is looking for willing vessels who will abandon their Western-style individualism and live a shared life with others under His exclusive headship. This is our high calling.
This WeekMake a home for the Lord in your life. Each day, give Him complete headship to arrange your life as He wishes. Then begin to connect with other “living stones” by building relationships with fully committed believers.
Prayer“Lord, take complete control of my life. Dwell with me so that I can be yours. Be with me and be my God. Amen”