Don’t mistake “God” for “strength”. Sometimes the strongest people are simply the weak ones that say, “God, I can’t handle this. Will you do it for me?”
In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God. Psalm 62:7
We were driving around the other day and saw four deer next to a tree line. They immediately ran into the woods and out of sight. Nearly every time I see deer, they are hanging close to a tree line so that the least little sound or the first sign of trouble, they can dart under cover. But there are other animals that stay in plain sight. Our horses for example. They hang out in plain sight all day long. In fact, when they see us or hear us, they might run, but it’s to us instead of away from us. They know us, they trust us, and they know we can give them what they need. When I made the choice to walk with Christ, I spent a lot of years hanging close to the tree line. But the thing is, there’s more danger in the darkness than there is out in the open. I don’t want to be a deer, darting into the cover of darkness. In fact, the only running I want to do, is toward God and the only cover I want is under His wing of protection because I know Him, I trust Him, and He is the ONLY one who can give me what I need.
On this 25th day I’m going to change how I view possessions. I try to remember but sometimes I forget…I have nothing. Everything in my possession is there because God has allowed it to be there. Including “my” girls. They are His but He has blessed us with them. Nothing is ours, nor do we DESERVE anything. We are not worthy enough to deserve anything. Especially if what we think we deserve causes others pain and sadness. When we start thinking that we DESERVE something, Satan wins. When we start admitting that God has blessed us far beyond anything we could ever DESERVE, then we win.
Dear Gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank You for all of the blessings that we see amidst a broken and fallen world. We thank You for time spent with family rather than wasted chasing entertainment. We thank You for quiet times of prayer and meditation that we might grow closer to You. We thank You for time with our spouses to invest in our marriage that is second only to our relationship with You. We thank You for those who are working to keep stores stocked, patients cared for, utilities on, and their families cared for. We pray for all who don’t know You as their Savior, that their eyes and would be opened to Your amazing mercy and grace and that they would turn away from their sins, humble their hearts, and repent. We know that You have the power to heal this land and bless it beyond anything we could imagine. And we know and believe that You will. We thank You. We love You. And we give You all the honor, glory, and praise! Amen!!!
The word ‘to’ and the word ‘in’ have a lot in common. It’s been awhile but if memory serves me correctly, they are both prepositions, they’re both used frequently, they both consist of two letters, and I’m sure they have many other similarities. But they are also very different. If you were wandering aimlessly and you were dying of thirst, you could go ‘to’ the water or you could go ‘in’ they water. ‘To’ gets you close. You may even be close enough that you can describe the water to others. Tell them how good it is for them. Maybe even show them the way to the water….but unless you’re willing to make that last little bit of effort, you won’t be ‘in’ the water. And unless your lips are actually ‘in’ the water, you can be right next to it and still die of thirst. I said all that to say this…you can go ‘to’ Christ and remain there until you breathe your last breath but unless you are ‘in’ Christ and He is ‘in’ you, you will die of thirst. The dead ‘in’ Christ shall rise! But the dead ‘to’ Christ….He never knew. So I guess my question is, will you drink?
Have you ever blown on a dandelion? I used to love to. It was so cool how the little fuzzy pieces would float away. It seemed like they would float forever. Then one day my mom told me to stop doing it because those cool fuzzy things were seeds and everywhere they landed another dandelion would pop up. I didn’t see a problem with that since it would mean many more days spent picking and blowing on them but she explained that they are weeds and that we don’t want weeds in our lawn and garden because they’re bad for the good plants. Blowing on dandelions is not much different from spreading rumors. We may convince ourselves that it’s fun…or maybe for someone’s protection…or maybe because we feel like it’s our duty to set the record straight…or maybe we think we just can’t help ourselves. But the thing is…once we blow on the dandelion, we have no control over where the pieces go. And everywhere a piece lands, more dandelions pop up. Before it’s over, we have done more harm than good. So maybe, when we find a dandelion, it would be better to spray round-up on it instead of blowing it. Because you never know whose garden or yard is going to be hurt by it next. And regardless if the rumor is true…regardless of how reliable your source is…you are the one that has to answer to God and if what flies from your lips does anything but give Him glory, then it should probably be kept to yourself.
I said, “I will guard my ways,
Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
Psalm 39:1 NKJV
This is actually a thought that I wrote awhile back but it’s as if it was meant for now….
If you watch or read any news at all, you know how easy it is to get frustrated and irritated at the state of the world. As hard as I try…I find myself getting worked up if I even think about it too much. But why does it surprise us that the world is in turmoil? In Job 1:7, the Lord asks Satan from where he came & he responded, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth across it.” Satan’s handiwork is all over this earth and in the people. And while I believe you should most definitely be aware of what is going on the world, I do not believe we should dwell on it because to dwell on it and worry about it takes away from the glory of God. 2 Timothy 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. If you are a true child of God, desiring and aspiring to do His will for His glory, then you are already part of the solution. But don’t allow the things of this earth to overshadow your relationship with God. There is nothing on this earth more powerful.
After a few cloudy days, I’m ready for some sunshine. After a few more I feel like the sun is never going to shine again and I’m sick and tired of mud. It makes a mess of my floors. It’s a pain to put on muck boots every time I have to walk across the yard. It gets to the point that every step takes so much effort because my boots stick in the mud and I have to get unstuck before I can move forward. It’s pretty easy to lose my footing and next thing I know I’ve fallen and am completely covered in mud. But even through all of this, and even though I haven’t seen the sunshine in days, I know that the sun is up there. It’s just blocked from my view. Sometimes we let things get between us and God and it blocks Him from our view. It’s not that He’s not there. It’s just that we’ve let the storm clouds of life get between us and Him. And then the next thing you know we have allowed so much sin into our life that we’re bogging down in it until we don’t think we can move forward. But even when it’s the darkest and we’ve lost all traction and fallen to our knees, covered in the sin we’ve allowed into our life, all we have to do is ask the Son to shine into our lives and He will.
Psalm 69:2World English Bible (WEB)
2 I sink in deep mire, where
there is no foothold.
I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow
me.
Psalm 69:14World English Bible (WEB)
14 Deliver me out of the mire, and don’t let
me sink.
Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of
the deep waters.
For the last several Sundays, at the end of the day, I have looked at Todd & said, “This has just been an amazing day!” Sunday has always been one of my favorite days of the week so it’s not overly surprising that I would say that. It just seems that lately they have been even better than normal. So I began to ponder why they have been making such an impression on me. It’s not the weather because in Arkansas, the weather can easily vary 40 degrees in either direction with anything from snow to hail to rain to gusting winds to blistering sunshine…all in the same week…lol. It’s not the sermon because although I love it when I get to hear it, I’ve been in Children’s Church the last couple of weeks & haven’t gotten to hear the message. I finally realized that although my reason for attending the church has always been to praise Jesus, it just feels like the last few weeks I have accomplished that. I go to church on Sunday morning, not to receive a blessing…although I usually do, not to be a blessing…although I hope I am, not to see my church family…although I love to see them, not to learn…although I always do, not to teach…although I try, but to fully and completely worship and praise my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!! Everything else is simply a bonus!
…I actually wrote this awhile back but Sunday will always hold a special place in my heart. I know in all the uncertainty in the world and the storm that we are facing that I won’t be worshipping in the same place for the next few Sundays but I will still be worshipping. And although the worship service will not be the same, it will still be special. I will praise Him in this storm! I will still be worshipping the same amazing God that has healed my wounds, answered my prayers, and loves me with a love greater than my human mind can even comprehend. Nothing can stop His love for me and nothing can stop me from praising Him because the church is not walls and windows. WE ARE THE CHURCH! And if we can’t be the church outside of the walls and windows, then we can’t be the church inside of them!
Dear Gracious Heavenly Father,
We thank You for the community that You have allowed us to live in and the love for one another that we have. We come to you in a time unlike any that we have experienced before. We are facing a nation gripped by fear and uncertainty. We have those who are out of work by no fault of their own and are worried about how they will pay their bills. We are moms, dads, doctors, nurses, teachers, children, and people from all walks of life, but most importantly, we are Your children. Hebrews 13:5 tells us that You will never leave us or forsake us. Your Word also tells us in James to pray for one another and that the fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. So we lift up those in our community who have been affected by this trial. We pray Your protection over each and every one who reads this. We pray that instead of seeing all of the negative that the world wants us to see, that we see YOU. We see You in the kindness of neighbors. We see You in the prayers of a stranger. We see You and Your all consuming healing powers. We see You in a small group bible study. And we see You in ourselves. We know that the church building is simply a place and that we as individuals working together are the Your church. We pray that You guide us in continuing to be Your church outside of the walls of the building. We pray that You allow us to minister, both spiritually and physically, to those in this community that have a desire to move closer to You. We know the promises that You have made us and we know that You are still in control. We thank You for Your love, mercy, and grace. And in all things, we give You the glory. Amen.
Why is it that so many want this world until they get it and then they expect God to save them from it? And not just once…but time and time again. They make choices that they believe will benefit them without so much as a thought about whether or not it’s God’s Will…or if they do think about God, they twist everything around to convince themselves that it is His Will….and then when it all falls apart, they’re back to praying for His mercy again. Now…I would love to say that I’ve never done this, but that would be a lie. But what I will say, is that once I accepted Jesus as my savior, it has been soooo much easier to seek God’s Will before I screw up than it is to seek Him after I go with my own will. But too often I see people trying to use God in their life just like they use aspirin. When the pain gets bad, suddenly they need Him. Maybe instead of looking to Him to kill the pain, they should look to Him as the water that they have to have daily to survive.
Heavenly Father, I come to You thankful for this glorious nation that You have allowed me to grow up in. But I also come to You ashamed at how we as a nation have failed You. We have allowed laws and personal desires to override Your Holy Word. We have allowed greed and dishonesty to run rampant. We teach our children to do their best in school, in sports, in activities…..but we fail to teach them about You. We do whatever it takes to get ahead instead of doing what is right and relying on You to fill our needs. We look to preachers who preach happy, feel-good messages, and wait to see what YOU are going to do for US instead of asking what WE can do for YOU. We may occasionally occupy a seat in Your house on Sunday but then we’re back to cussing and gossiping on Monday. We elect officials based on how we will benefit from their election instead of electing someone who will rely on You for guidance. We take a bad situation and make it worse by rioting, looting, and injuring others. We help ourselves every chance we get but how often do we help others? We condemn others for their sins but don’t see our own. We busy ourselves with our spouse, our kids, our home, with every activity that we can possibly sign up for…we’re always telling everyone that will listen about how busy we are…we are so busy that usually the first thing that we cut out of our schedule is You. We are prideful and we are boastful to the point that we allow it to separate us from loved ones. We harbor anger and un-forgiveness and hope that “karma” will catch up with our enemies…and sometimes even friends…instead of asking You to help them and us by changing our hearts. We are an ungodly, sinful people. And despite all of our failures, and all of our despicable behavior, You still love us. You are still waiting for us to turn back to You. You haven’t taken down Your hedge of protection. We have walked away from it. You haven’t left us. We have left You. So I pray today that this amazing nation that You created will find its way back to You. Because if we aren’t serving You, we are serving Satan. And I pray that everyone who reads this will choose You. All glory be to God! Amen.
I have really been struggling with compassion and works lately. Compassion is something we all deal with at some point but I believe that God expects His children to be compassionate towards one another. I don’t believe that it means that you condone sin or allow people to walk all over you, but I believe that God wants us to have a compassionate heart. You see…you can unintentionally hurt or wrong someone, but if you feel no compassion for what you’ve done, then you have not only hurt them, but you have also tarnished your testimony even if it was unintended. I once thought that one of my “works” for God was trying to get people to come to church with me. I have since realized that although I believe attending church is important for many reasons including that it is God’s desire for us to do so, it’s much more important to get people to God and then hopefully God will lead them to the church He wants them to attend. And if it isn’t the church I go to, that’s ok as long as they are worshipping God and His Word. I believe that denominations are helpful in finding the type of worship that you are drawn to, however, I also believe that denominations are a division in beliefs and can cause a sort of competition between churches. And if the competition to fill seats becomes greater than the desire to fill hearts with the Holy Spirit, then works are dead and compassion is lost.
We all like to enjoy the fruits of our labor. I like to look around & see a clean house after I’ve worked all day cleaning. I like to hear people compliment my children on good behavior when they are being sweet and respectful. I like how excited Todd gets when I’ve cooked a big yummy meal. But then there are times when I look at someone else’s accomplishments & feel like a complete failure. But God does not want us to compare the fruit that we bear to someone else’s. Because it’s not about how much fruit we bear, it’s about whether we are bearing good fruit or bad fruit. It’s about who we are bearing the fruit for. Are we bearing it for ourselves so we can feel some sort of validation? Are we bearing it for the world to please others? Or are we bearing it for God and for His glory? We may not always be able to see the fruit that we bear for God, but we will also never be burdened by the weight of it when we bear it for Him.
On this 28th day, I LOVE that I never run out of things to love and that God never runs out of love for me!! Just as Jesus knew that Peter would deny Him 3 times, He knows that we will fail Him before we even do. So what should we do when we fail? Should we throw in the towel and live our lives as heathens because nothing we do could ever right our wrongs? No!! It’s not that we fail…it’s how we handle & deal with that failure. God would rather us fall to our knees, admit our failure & ask for His mercy. When this happens is when He forgives us and tells us to go and sin no more. He doesn’t want us to glory in our sin…shifting blame to everyone but ourself.. ..continually & repetitively repeating sins over and over and then using the fact that He loves us to try to convince others that our sins are ok. God loves EVERYONE and is willing to save everyone who is willing to accept His salvation. God doesn’t send us to hell….He saves us from it. Because no matter how we want to sugar coat it, that’s where we are all headed unless we accept His gift of salvation.
By The Thread 