Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
Just One Touch
Just One Touch
9.29.15
"....and brought to Him all who were sick and implored Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made well."
Matt.
14:35-36
This Scripture so amazed me this morning. Those who were sick had such faith that they knew if they could but touch the hem of His robe, all would be well.
That's the kind of faith I want to have! A faith that knows if I can but have a touch from Him, all the crooked paths in my life will be made straight.
That was my focus this morning....Father, let me have another touch from you today....all will be well. My weakness becomes strength with Your touch....My failure becomes victory.
"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." May I never be satisfied for even one brief moment away from Your side!
I hope you'll seek His face before you face any other today!
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Throw Up Your Hands!
Throw Up Your Hands!
9.27.15
"God is not aloof. He says continually through the centuries, 'I'll help you, I really will. When you're ready to throw up your hands, throw them up to me.' "
~Jim Cymbala ~
Oh, how I love this! If we could all just get to the place where we did this on a daily basis and didn't wait until we reached the end of our rope. How different life would be... How much more impactful our testimonies would become!
More peace, more joy, more of HIM in our lives!
"Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."
Jer. 33:3
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Saturday, September 26, 2015
Things Hoped For
Things Hoped For
9.25.15
"Prayer-it has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. If I say, 'I ought to pray,' I will soon run out of motivation and quit; the flesh is too strong. I have to be driven to pray."
~Jim Cymbala~
"....Yet ye have not because he ask not."
James 4:2
I posted this quote yesterday and was reminded of it again this morning. I think it's worth repeating.
I've had so many times when I've just rattled off prayers in my quiet time. Just half-heartedly going down the list. Verbalizing, but not really asking!
This morning, I'm praying about some very specific needs and they are urgent. My, how a sense of urgency will change your prayer life.
All of this reiterates for me the fact that I need to be more intense with my praying, more focused and confident....God stir up faith within me!!! I hope you feel this need too.
Scripture tells us that the effectual, FERVENT prayer of a righteous man availeth much!
I need to remember all the times He's proven faithful in answering prayer, but look ahead and not grow stale by just resting on past victories. We all need renewed focus, fresh time with Him TODAY!
Let's be fervent in prayer, believing that He is faithful and wants to hear from us and know He ALWAYS responds to our "felt need"!
"Faith gives birth to prayer, and grows stronger, strikes deeper, rises higher, In the efforts and struggles of mighty petitioning. 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for', the assurance and realization of the inheritance of the saints. Faith is also humble and persevering. It can wait and pray; it can stay on its knees, or lie in the dust. It is the one great condition of prayer. The lack of it lies at the root of all poor praying, feeble praying, little praying, unanswered praying."
E.M. Bounds
May we seek His face before we face any other today!
Friday, September 25, 2015
Prayer Request-Youth of America
Prayer Request-Youth of America
9.24.15
I just read some startling statistics:
In the next 24 hours.....
1000 unwed teens will become pregnant
500 Adolescents will begin using drugs
And
6 teens will commit suicide...
Oh, how they need Jesus!
Pray for the youth around you.
Prayer Request-Dotty
Prayer Request-Dotty
9.24.15
My sister Dotty had a stroke this week. The MRI showed that she had a previous one also.
She has limited right side function and is struggling with slurred speech
She is the primary caregiver for my mother, who is going through chemo for colon cancer.
Please add both of them to your prayer list!
Felt need!
Felt Need
9.24.15
"Prayer cannot truly be taught by principles and seminars and symposiums. It has to be born out of a whole environment of felt need. If I say, 'I ought to pray', I will soon run out of motivation and quit; the flesh is too strong. I have to be driven to pray."
~Jim Cymbala~
Weeds
Weeds
9.24.15
"Lord, help me, for I am lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, and makes me forget Thee.
Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; Grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling."
Unknown Puritan
"For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of life."
Psalm 56:13
It struck me this morning in my quiet time how quickly my spiritual heart grows cold.
Do you struggle like me? It's as if the minute I turn my eyes away the weeds begin to grow.
My prayer is with the Puritan..."let the weeds that grow in my heart be cut at the roots."
Aren't you thankful that the pruning is His job? We just need to cling to Him and no matter what distractions come our way, make Him the first encounter of our day.
He will deliver your feet from falling as our verse says. He will draw nearer as we draw close to Him. He will do the pruning and take care of the weeds, and in exchange we can have sweet fellowship with Him and experience the peace that passes all understanding!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Him or Me?
Him or Me?
9.22.15
"The Lord will not ask how good your work is; He will only ask who does the work: His Spirit or your flesh?"
~Watchman Nee~
Never Alone!
Never Alone
9.23.15
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
Isaiah 41:10
I had a flashback in the middle of the night. I woke up briefly and was wide awake for just a bit. When that happens, my first thought tends to be "is it starting again?"
You see, I've just come out of a long period of months and months of sleepless nights. They weren't the tossing and turning kind of nights....they were Cardiac PTSD nights with pain, endless shivering, panic attacks, never more than 3 hours of sleep. They were torturous, but... Just for awhile.....just until I realized that my head knowledge had to become my heart knowledge! That just reciting all those verses wouldn't do.
I look back now, and while I'm thrilled to be mostly symptom-free, I wouldn't trade those months of dark nights for anything.
It was there in those times that I truly found out that we as Christians are never, ever alone! I learned that we are wrapped in the Eternal Arms of Love during times of intense pain! I learned that He draws very near to those who are broken-hearted. (Mine really was!) And, I learned how to pray.
You may be going through your own season of dark and stormy nights. You may feel forsaken and alone and your pain may be unbearable. Oh, can I tell you that if you know Him, you are never alone!!
No matter what the enemy is whispering in your ear today to the contrary, our Loving Father can turn times of intense suffering into times of triumph, times of deep loneliness into times of sweet communion with Him, and He can lift you when you feel like you haven't the strength to hold your own head up and help you to soar with Him above what once felt like hell on earth.
No matter how things appear or how dark your days and nights.... You are never alone!
How blessed I am to be able to trace His hand through those long months! He never left me and He will never leave you or forsake you.
Trust in the Unseen Hand today!
May you seek His face
Before you face any other today!
Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Whatever Happened to Sin?
Whatever Happened to Sin?
9.22.15
"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."
Matthew 9:13
"What the church of God needs today is to get down in the dust of humiliation and confession of sin, and go out and be separated from the world; and then see if we do not have power with God and with man."
D. L. Moody
I was reading in Matthew this morning and it struck me..."Whatever happened to sin?"
It seems that nowadays, we hear excuses for certain behaviors and we see blame passed for this and for that, but we see very little confession and even less of people taking responsibility for their own actions.
Jesus came to redeem us back to Himself and offer forgiveness. The enemy knows that men need an awareness of their great need of a Savior and Forgiver.... Maybe that's why society has pushed it so far into the background of things.
I feel humbled before the Lord this morning as I confess my failings. What a patient and forgiving Father we serve!! I fail time and again and He remains faithful.
In this age of self-help and self-esteem building and ego trips and self-sufficiency, maybe we need a little more tasting of dust and bowing before the God of All and confessing our nothingness and His sufficiency. Remembering that in humbling and bowing low, we are forgiven and lifted up.
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Monday, September 21, 2015
Our Keeper
Our Keeper
9.21.15
"But then we remember that the One who neither slumbers nor sleeps is our keeper."
D.L. Moody
Wings for the Week
Wings for the Week
9.21.15
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31
"If you show me a Christian living on the Word of God, I will show you a joyful man. He is mounting up all the time. He has got new truths that lift him up over every obstacle, and he mounts over difficulties higher and higher."
D.L. Moody
Sometimes, after a great Sunday of worship, Monday can feel like the day after Christmas for me. It can feel like a "here we go again" start to the week.
For me, the best cure for Monday blahs is to start in the early morning with immersing myself in the Word and tuning out all of my wonders and worries about my week.
Don't discount that early time of meditation and fellowship with God each day. I'm convinced it's where we get our wings for the week. When we "come off the mountain" after time spent with him, all perspective changes. What once was big now seems so much smaller. The challenges ahead that seemed insurmountable are approached with those new wings and a renewed confidence in our Lord, our Hope for the future!
With Him by our side, we can face the coming week confident in the fact that we can run and not grow weary, walk and not faint, and mount up with new wings as eagles!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Sunday, September 20, 2015
Saturday, September 19, 2015
The Valley of Vision
The Valley of Vision
9.19.15
"Lord, High and holy, meek and lowly, Thou hast brought me to the valley of vision, where I live in the depths but see Thee in the heights; hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up,
That to be low is to be high,
That the broken heart is the healed heart,
That the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
That the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
That to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from the deepest wells, and the deeper the wells the brighter Thy stars shine; Let me find Thy light in my darkness,
Thy joy in my sorrow,
Thy grace in my sin,
Thy riches in my poverty,
Thy glory in my valley."
Unknown Puritan
A Baby Changes Everything!
A Baby Changes Everything!
9.19.15
"She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21
I read the Christmas story today! Yes, it's September, but today starts my season of Christmas rehearsals, so it seemed appropriate. It's actually appropriate to read this one every day! For this baby changed everything for me and for you. He brings hope to the hopeless and He came to save us from our sins.
The wonderful free gift of this baby changed the world forever.
It made me think of our sweet 2 year old Ivey. Back in the summer of 2013, Sophie was 16 and although we had agreed that we would stop with one child, Andrea had regretted the decision and had wanted another child for years.
It had caused much conflict between us as I was very much against the idea. On a Thursday night, as we were packing for the beach, all of that changed! We were packing in our room for a beach vacation and stumbled on Sophie's baby DVD, which I had found mixed in with our beach towels!?!
We watched and laughed while we packed and had a great time. But, when we were through, Andrea was bawling and our decade old argument came up again. She wanted a baby so badly.
This time, my heart broke over the matter for the first time as I comforted her and we prayed right there on our bedroom floor. "God, I'm sorry I've broken Andrea's heart." "God, I'm sorry about not seeking your will on this." "God, if it be your will, will you bless us with another child?" All of this prayed by a 45 year old man! 😁
No one but God knew of our conversation and prayer, but the very next day, we got a text from my sister..."newborn baby girl... You want her?.... Need to know now!"
Yes, that was the very next day and a week later, we had newborn Ivey in our arms....followed 11 months later by her sister, Lexi.
Oh, can I tell you how shell-shocked we were that first night with Ivey. Andrea, Sophie, and I just stared at her until after 1a that first night. It had been 1 month shy of 17 years since we had done this. This baby changed everything for us! Baby's always do!
I know I rambled on with our story, but today, I hope you'll ponder the miracle of that baby born in Bethlehem! Oh, how He changed everything! Thanks be to God!
I hope you know Him and have asked Him to be born in you. Everything for you will be forever changed!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Friday, September 18, 2015
Hookers and Kings!
Hookers and Kings
9.18.15
"But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. "
Joshua 2:4
"By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace."
Hebrews 11:31
I love the story of Jericho's prostitute, Rahab and her place in the history of The Israelites.
She was the wrong nationality, lived in the wrong city, definitely was in the WRONG profession, but she believed, and guess what? God used her and blessed her faith, and we are still talking about her today!
She had heard about all of the miracles God had performed for the Israelites and was drawn to their God. She believed the spies of this God should have all the help they needed.
I love the lesson this story teaches. It is that God so often uses ordinary, and in her case downright deplorable, people to do extraordinary things!
That gives me hope! I don't have to come from a fabulous family or a long line of wealthy patriots, or be a power player in business, or have a certain amount in my bank account, or have a respectable career, or even appear successful to the world for God to use me!
Rahab was considered trash by all who knew about her! But I just love how God used "trash" to help secure the Promised Land for His people.
She was willing and able. Are you? She believed! Do you?
Come as you are.... He uses "trash" and kings... And everything in between.
Give your day to Him! He uses all who humbly come to Him and offers a life of blessing to those who do!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Mountain Mover
Mountain Mover
9.16.15
"Prayer projects faith on God, and God on the world. Only God can move mountains, but faith and prayer move God."
E.M. Bounds
Hope in Him-He's Faithful
Hope in Him-He's Faithful
9.16.15
20 My soul hath them still in remembrance, and is humbled in me.
21 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope.
22 It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
24 The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.
25 The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
26 It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:20-26
He's faithful! His mercies are new every morning!
Just like the manna God faithfully provided for the Israelites for 40 years, He still provides mercy and grace today. A new supply every morning!
I love the "Hope and quietly wait part"! It can be hard to sit and wait....and to be quiet on top of that!! But, sit and wait for His still, small voice this morning and He will come to you and He will be all that you need for this day.
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Always Enough!
Always Enough
9.15.15
"The people of Israel ate the manna forty years.."
Exodus 16:35
"25.Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat it what you will drink..26. Look at the birds of the air...are you not of more value than they..27. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
28. Consider the lilies...will He not much more clothe you? 31. Therefore, do not be anxious..34. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow"
Matthew 6
God so graciously provided for our needs during my months out of work. He provided every single need! Miraculously! How horrible that as I shift back towards a normal life, my first thought tends to be to worry about tomorrow! Oh, how God must roll His eyes at me and my thick-headedness.
Thank God those times are brief and He reminds me of His faithfulness, and I remember, and my worries are stilled. I'm human and He understands that....how kind of Him to give us the Holy Spirit as our great "rememberer".
These verses were another great reminder for me today. For forty years as the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, there was enough. There was always enough! Every single morning, there was fresh manna and it met the needs for THAT day. They didn't have to worry about tomorrow's manna. Each day there was enough!
If you struggle like me with running to a place of doubt, take comfort in these verses today.
God fed His people daily for 40 years and He still feeds His people today. He knows we are forgetful, but sends us wonderful reminders of His faithfulness and mercy. He tells us not to be anxious and sends the Holy Spirit to minister to us.
Whatever you're facing...need, worry, sickness, depression, doubts?? He's always enough!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Monday, September 14, 2015
Empty!
Empty!
9.14.15
"Before there can be fullness, there must be emptiness. Before God can fill us with Himself we must first be emptied of ourselves."
~A.W. Tozer~
You Can Turn Around Now
You Can Turn Around Now
9.14.15
"Give thanks to the Lord,
for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."
Psalm 136:1
We are always looking ahead....planning, scheming, looking at schedules, booking this and booking that, dreaming, looking forward to vacation,.... A day off. Good to do! We all do it!
Today, I'm going to just look back and trace God's hand of faithfulness through my year. Today, I'm going to praise and thank Him for His goodness and mercy. Today, I'm going to be grateful for all of my blessings. I don't think we need to wait until 12/31 to do so.
No, I'm not where I'm going to be, but thank God I'm not where I was!
So, while you plan your busy week and line it all up, it's ok to stop for just a moment. Take a peek over your shoulder and look back at where you've come from and praise the One who led you through it all!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Saturday, September 12, 2015
Thursday, September 10, 2015
Pray for Tami in Texas
Please pray for my friend Tami in Texas.
She was in a bad car accident last Friday and is still in the hospital.
She has broken bones, punctured lung, and other injuries.
Pray for a speedy recovery for her!
Prayer for a friend
Prayer for a friend
9.10.15
Please pray for a friend who's had a recent cancer diagnosis.
Has had surgery and is awaiting test results. This is a family with young children. Pray for peace during the waiting ~ Pray for healing!
Pray for Melissa
Prayer For Melissa
9.10.15
Please pray for my friend Melissa Ennis today! She's having surgery this morning to remove a brain tumor. We are praying that it's benign and that all will be well!
By the Book
By the Book!
9.10.15
"This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success."
Joshua 1:8
"That is the way backsliders fall--by turning away from the Word of God" D.L. Moody
I've written so much about communion with God and this morning I woke up with the song "Ancient Words" on my mind. It reminded me of another "most important thing"-- time in God's Word!
"Ancient words ever true, changing me and changing you" M.W. Smith
Powerful words are in The Book, life-changing words. All the wisdom we need, and how often when I'm devouring book after book, I've relegated THE BOOK to the back burner! Not on purpose, but our enemy is subtle and knows the tricks to pull us away....our points of weakness.
I've put my walk under the microscope so many times this year, and ALWAYS when I look back and I've failed the Lord and moved away, these 3 things have happened: 1. The noise of the world replaced quiet moments with my Savior. 2. Talking with others replaced talking to the King! 3. My love for reading books took precedent over my love for THE BOOK!
How grateful I am for the Love that loves me in spite of all my failings and all my wanderings. How grateful I am that my Father allowed 6 horrible months this year that dropped me to the ground and drew me through the fire that burns away unnecessary things and reveals only important things.
This I know....His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. Live by The Book.
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Candor
Candor
9.9.15
"Candor is no common virtue. Few men are honest with themselves; they evade and avoid convictions that would compel them to condemn their past course and reform their present practices."
~Arthur Pierson~
Becoming Like Him
Becoming Like Him
9.9.15
"Then the believer leans hard on the ever-present Lord, drawing on His fulness, appropriating His unsearchable richness, claiming from Him grace to turn every temptation into the means of increasing likeness to Himself."
~F.B. Meyer~
Away We Go!
Away We Go!
9.9.15
"...I send the promise of my Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high." Luke 24:49
"But you shall receive power, after the Holy Ghost is come upon you." Acts 1:8
Before my heart attacks, I was the king of spinning plates and running to and fro..... Most of the time on my own strength.
These passages really spoke to me this morning and reminded me that I do NOT want to go back to my old ways.
Jesus told the disciples to wait, to just sit and wait until they received the power they needed for the work they were called to do. That is so hard to do sometimes. We live in such a "Just do it!", "Grab the bull by the horns!" society! It goes so much against what we are bombarded with every day. Waiting is not in our Modern vocabulary.
"Some people seem to think they are losing time if they wait on God for His power and so they go and work without unction. They are working without any power."
~Charles Finney~
I don't know about you, but I want Divine unction and power working in my life. All of our work is just wood, hay, and stubble that will just burn away one day if we don't have this. Don't you want your work to have lasting impact?Don't you want it to count for His Kingdom? Maybe we all just need to sit, seek and wait just a bit today.
May you seek His face before you seek any other today!
Tuesday, September 8, 2015
The Secret
The Secret
9.8.15
"Personal fellowship with God is the secret of the whole of it."
~Charles Finney~
This Little Light
This Little Light
9.8.15
"The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar, it shall never go out."
Leviticus 6:13
"Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here; therefore, let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer of vital and experimental religion"
~C.H. Spurgeon~
So many times in my Christian walk I've been so immersed in church activities, Bible studies, choir rehearsals.... So very busy for the Lord!
Yes, I heard 1 or 2 sermons per week, did group Bible study, listened to Christian radio EVERY day. This should have been enough, right? I was such an active Christian, right?
The problem so often with me was that while in my mind I was such an active and strong Christian, I was neglecting the most important thing.
All of my "activities" mean nothing if I am not in daily private communion with my Lord! He wants a personal relationship with you and with me. A relationship that cannot be fed by "Christian" busyness.
Our personal communion with God feeds our little light, our personal fire. "For if this fire should be smothered..... It will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world." ~Spurgeon~
This fire of ours feeds our family walk, our Church work, and our influence on the world, as Spurgeon says.
The unseen Hand of our Lord fans the flame in our quiet moments with Him!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Monday, September 7, 2015
Puffed Up!
Puffed Up!
9.7.15
"The entire shore of the history of Christian workers is strewn with the wrecks of gallant vessels that were full of promise a few years ago, but these men became puffed up and were driven on the rocks by the wild winds of their raging self-esteem"
~R.A. Torrey~
Father, help us to empty of self each day and seek to be filled with your Holy Spirit!
The Throne
The Throne
9.7.15
"Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 4:16
Our Hope, our Faith, our Strength, and all of our help in time of need is found at the Throne of the Almighty.
All of our enemy's energy is spent trying to keep us away! He knows that if he can succeed at this, we are weakened, lukewarm Christians that he can toss aside with no effort.
Don't ever underestimate the power and victory we find at the Throne! We have all we need for any situation when we humbly bow there and acknowledge Him who sits on the Throne as our source for living.
Leave your pride and self-reliance outside the door as you enter the Throne room. He exalts us when we humble ourselves before Him. When we don't, we have the stench on us that filled heaven when the prince of darkness rose up and said "I am" and "I will"!
Mercy, grace, strength, hope, VICTORY! All we need..... At His throne!
May we seek His face before we face any other today!
Sunday, September 6, 2015
The Little Things
The Little Things
9.6.15
"It is the littlest things of life, the minute, unimportant-looking things that are most likely to shatter our peace. Because they are so small, it is most likely that we will fight them ourselves instead of looking up at once to our Strong God - our Barrier between us and them."
-Amy Carmichael-
Saturday, September 5, 2015
Bonar quote
Bonar Quote
9.5.15
"God likes to see His people shut up to this, that there is no hope but in prayer. Herein lies the Church's power against the world."
~Andrew Bonar~
Friday, September 4, 2015
The Praying Church
The Praying Church
9.4.15
"The condition of the church may be very accurately gauged by it's prayer meetings. So is the prayer meeting a grace-ometer, and from it we may judge of the amount of divine working among a people. If God be near a church, it must pray. And if He be not there, one of the first tokens of his absence will be a slothfulness in prayer"
~C.H.Spurgeon~
Prayer Request for Julie
Prayer Request:
Please pray for Julie in Minnesota. She has lung cancer that has moved to her spine. She's never smoked a day in her life! She is 48, married and is the mother of 5 children. Pray that the Great Physician will work a miraculous healing in her life!
Wilderness Roads
Wilderness Roads
9.4.15
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.
Isaiah 43:19
I've written several times about shelf time. Those times in life when you are basically sitting on the shelf, your car is in "park" mode, you feel like there's no plan for you, and everyone else is just cruising by. And, of course, their lives are perfect and yours isn't!
Our perspectives are so limited during those times. For me, those times usually include a pity party or two-how about you? Then many times I've roused from my pity party determined to make something happen on my own, often with no regard for God's plan for my life. Oh, the pain and trouble that causes as I usually make a mess of things!
This is what I'm beginning to learn about shelf time:
There's always a reason for it!
The quicker I submit to my loving Father and acknowledge my need for guidance and wisdom, the quicker the peace comes
The arrival of peace doesn't always rush things along--His answer is often "wait"!
Finally, I've learned that no matter how tough the waiting, how long, how ridiculous it seems, His plan is ALWAYS the best plan, His ways are always higher than my ways!
No matter how dark, how barren your wilderness and no matter how long you have to wait it out or sit on the shelf, what a comfort to know that our Lord specializes in road building. He can always make a way where there seems to be no way!
He WILL do a new thing in your life!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Thursday, September 3, 2015
Weakness
Weakness
9.3.15
"God is attracted to weakness. He can't resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him. Our weakness, in fact, makes room for His power."
~ Jim Cymbala ~
Two Fish, Mercy, and a Mortgage
Two Fish, Mercy, and a Mortgage
9.3.15
".....we have only 5 loaves and 2 fishes"
"...and those who are were about 5,000 men, besides women and children"
Matthew 5:17,21
"His mercies are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness"
Lamentations 3:23
I love the passage in Matthew where Jesus takes the loaves and fish and feeds the 5,000+.
To me, it says that no matter how things look, when we look to Jesus nothing is impossible.... Even when man says otherwise.
By all accounts, life looked bleak 6 months ago for us. Early March was my last full-time work, 2 adoptions and a tax crisis later, the savings were gone.... No health insurance, first set of prescriptions over $1,000. We were headed down the drain. Very soon after that, it was obvious that we had to shutter our business and let our employees go. My health prognosis was not good and looking at it through man's eyes, we were quickly coming to the end of our rope.
Oh, thank God Mercy came calling. We were at the end of our rope and we just had to cast all of our cares on Jesus. My condition called for no stress and we had no choice but to lay it all at His feet.
That's when we began to see God work mightily through His saints. Our bank account would get to $0 and time and again, we would hear a knock at the door and friends and strangers alike would arrive to offer help,
or we would receive a card with a check in the mail. We reached bottom many times, but His hand was always under us. Every single morning, His mercies were new.
Even though we've lost over 78% of our monthly income, Jesus broke the loaves and fishes so many times at our table! On paper, we should have lost our home, our cars, our sanity... Everything! But, we never went without food, the mortgage was paid every month, health insurance was provided....and on and on I could go.
I ramble about our situation not to cling to 6 bad, horrible months, but to let you know that no matter how things look in your ledger, no matter what man says or logic says, our God can supply ALL of our needs!
He can take a couple of loaves and fish and supply mercy AND the mortgage!
He brought us through the worst of times, and as we start over we see His promise for our future unfolding.
1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
He's ever faithful!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Chief Place
Chief Place
9.2.15
"Let your first act in your devotions be stilling yourself before God. In prayer or worship, everything depends upon God taking the chief place in your attention."
~ Andrew Murray ~
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Transformation
Transformation
9.1.15
"Without the help of the Holy Spirit to understand the meaning of what we read, we're susceptible to reading our own biases into God's Holy Word. No wonder our reading can become dry and boring. When we see only what we want to see in the Bible, it loses all power to transform us."
~ Jim Cymbala ~
Burning Words
Burning Words
9.1.15
"I travel around the country, and I hear a lot of eloquent words and many sermon masterpieces. But what my soul longs for are burning words"
~ Catherine Booth ~
Wife of William Booth, Salvation Army Founder
Renewed Strength
Renewed Strength
9.1.15
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Isaiah 40:31
This morning I'm overwhelmed and I'm grateful. I hit what was for me a big milestone. I graduated from cardiac rehab! I've been enrolled since March and after so very many stops and starts.....in the hospital... Stop... Out again... Start... Back in.. Stop... Out again, but too weak... Stop... Start. A big roller coaster, but I rode it! With a great rehab team!
Last night I stayed up after the fam went to bed and looked back to the beginning of this journey. I was so weak in those first days. Two weeks in, I went to my first rehab and could only squeeze a 10 on the calipers (today, a 78).
"They that wait upon the Lord".... It was a long wait! "Shall renew their strength"... I'm not where I'm going to be but God has brought me so far from where I was!! "They shall run and not be weary"... Well.... I can't run yet! "They shall walk and not faint"....12 laps in 6 minutes today to be exact!
Still some humps to cross, but today, it feels like a REAL fresh start. I believed Him when things looked bleak and He manifested His healing hand in my life and I got to see firsthand, the miracle of bad news turned to Hope!
He let me live this: "He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength." Is. 40:29
If your tomorrow turns bad, if tomorrow starts your time "on the shelf", trust His heart! If your world crashes in today, trust His heart! You may have to wait, and it may be a long test, but He won't fail you!!! I promise! He promises!!
Six months ago, I woke up very early, earlier than this morning. I thought I had hit the side of my head on the nightstand and it must have caused the neck spasms I was having. Or maybe my head had slipped off of the pillow in the night and it had hurt my neck? Within an hour, I was rolling on the den floor wailing into a pillow with no idea I was having a massive heart attack. Followed by another and 5 procedures and more hospital stays and long, sleepless nights than I care to recall!
For altogether different reasons, I've cried quietly all morning. Happy tears! He's turned my "mourning into dancing", He's renewed my strength, and I can only bless God for all He's done!
May you seek His face before you face any other today!
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