For today

(an excerpt from my devotions this morning...)

I am thanking God that unto us a Child was born. I am thanking Him also that there was a pure-hearted woman prepared to receive that Child with all that motherhood would mean of daily trust, daily dependence, daily obedience. I thank Him for her silence. That spirit is not in me at all, not naturally. I want to learn what she had learned so early: the deep guarding in her heart of each event, mulling over its meaning from God, waiting in silence for His word to her.

I want to learn, too, that it is not an extraordinary spirituality that makes one refuse to do ordinary work, but a wish to prove that one is not ordinary--which is a dead giveaway of spiritual conceit. I want to respond in unhesitating obedience as she did: Anything You say, Lord.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

A thought for today...

Had Joseph been looking at only the circumstances during his 13 years of trial and wrongful imprisonment, he would have despaired of all hope, but his trust was in God.

God's ways are mysterious; they are beyond man's comprehension. As God sovereignly works, man is often unable to understand why he is being led down a certain path.

"Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?" (Prov. 20:24).

For today...

Patient God, I find it easy to criticize and condemn what others do. Help me to count to forty, or more, if necessary, and to be as patient with others as you are with me. Amen.

thought for today

Very possibly we often miss what God wants to show us because we don't take time to pray silently and watch quietly.

The Apostle's Creed

I BELIEVE in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

From facebook...

...you've been talking to God too much, and not listening enough.

Prayer is when you talk to God. Meditation is when you become quiet and listen to God. You've learned how to talk and ask well. Time to learn how to listen and hear, because God has been answering you.

from today's devotions

Watching Quietly, Praying Silently
The man whom Abraham sent to find a wife for his son Isaac had been long in Abraham's service. No doubt he had learned much of trust and obedience through watching his master walk with God. He set out on his mission, confident that God would help him.
Beside the Well of Aram of Two Rivers he halted his camels and was praying silently when a beautiful young woman appeared with her water jar on her shoulder. She responded to his request as he had prayed she would, and he watched quietly to see whether the Lord had made his journey successful (Gn 24:21).
Very possibly we often miss what God wants to show us because we don't take time to pray silently and watch quietly. It was by doing those two things, along with the obvious practical things (let us not leave those undone) that the servant was able to say, "I have been guided by the Lord" (Gn 24:27 NEB).


~I'm really trying to take this to hart. I am learning to "be still and know that He is God"...that He is in control of all things...that He is directing me every step.

today...

Lord, may no gift of yours ever take your place in my heart. Help me to hold them lightly in an open palm, that the supreme object of my desire may always be You and You alone. Purify my heart--I want to love You purely.

today...

"My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him" (Ps. 62:5).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wait Quietly

Few of us enjoy having to wait for something we want. It is human nature to desire instant gratification, and it is divine nature to do many things very, very slowly. Growth is always imperceptible. But the farmer exercises long patience in waiting for his crop. He has done his work and is assured of the result, hence he waits quietly. He is at rest because the outcome (barring disastrous "acts of God") is certain. If we could simply remember that this is true of everything--that God's purposes are slowly being worked out for his glory and our good--we would, like the farmer, keep faith and wait quietly.

Lord, take from us all fretting and hurrying and teach us to rest our hearts in the "ultimate certainty" (Jas 5:7 JBP).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
JOY FROM WITHIN

Scripture Reading: Psalm 126
Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy.
Psalm 126:2

Joy is often confused with happiness. Happiness depends on our outward circumstances—how things are going in our jobs, our relationships, or our health, for example. But joy isn’t dependent on the weather, or on our weight, or on our bank accounts. Joy is a quality of the spiritual fruit (love) that grows within us.
Psalm 126 was written at a difficult time in the -history of God’s people. They had been released from exile in Babylon, and as the people returned to their homeland, they found it in ruins. Jerusalem had been destroyed, and their temple had been flattened. Enemies still surrounded them on every side.
It’s no wonder that as they journeyed home, they prayed, “Restore our fortunes, LORD.”
Despite the people’s circumstances, however, their “mouths were filled with laughter” and their “tongues with songs of joy.” Why? Because they had determined to be joyful.
Centuries later, the apostle Paul wrote to Christian believers in Philippi, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11). God’s people returning to the land of Israel after exile had learned the same lesson. Happiness may depend on the condition of our outward lives, but joy is something the Spirit grows within us, reflecting God’s unfailing love.
Prayer:
Father, grant me a sense of joy that does not depend on circumstances. Cultivate an inner joy that reflects your love within me, and help me to share it with others. In Jesus, Amen.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is all so timely right now.

Anyone get the feeling/idea that God is trying to tell me something?

For today..

Discerning the Will of God

The primary condition for learning what God wants of us is putting ourselves wholly at his disposal. It is just here that we are often blocked. We hold certain reservations about how far we are willing to go, what we will or will not do, how much God can have of us or of what we treasure. Then we pray for guidance. It will not work. We must begin by laying it all down--ourselves, our treasures, our destiny. Then we are in a position to think with renewed minds and act with a transformed nature. The withholding of any part of ourselves is the same as saying, "Thy will be done up to a point, mine from there on."
Paul gives four important steps to discerning the will of God:
1. "Offer your very selves to Him,"
2. "Adapt yourselves no longer to the pattern of this present world."
3. "Let your minds be remade."
4. "Your whole nature transformed."
"Then you will be able to discern the will of God" (Rom 12:1,2 NEB).

Proverbs 27:1???

I got a message that on this day, God wants me to know...
... that I cannot wait anymore.

The moment has finally come. I have no choice. I have to take that step now. Now. Not tomorrow, not in an hour, - Now! If anyone else is reading this, they would be confused. But not me. I know exactly what we mean. Do it. Now.

Answer to prayer???

I got a message that on this day, God wants me to know...
... that God has an important purpose for me, and made everything possible for me to succeed.

That's not to say it's an easy purpose, or a convenient one. It might very well seem hard or even impossible, but it only looks that way. The truth is that one day I will look back and see how all the pieces fit together. And how my life has been a complete and utter success.

(from Facebook)

This is something I'm struggling with right now.

From today's devotions

WAITING FOR JESUS

Scripture Reading: Mark 5:21-43
“Don’t be afraid; just believe.”
Mark 5:36

In an emergency room, if a doctor treats a patient with a nosebleed while another patient with a heart attack goes unattended and dies, that doctor is in trouble. If a police officer chases someone for speeding but ignores a bank robbery, that officer could face discipline.

Some situations call for immediate attention, while others can wait. Yet in our story today Jesus seems to delay an urgent case to deal with a less-important one.

Jesus was approached by a man named Jairus, whose daughter was at the point of death. He pleaded with Jesus to come immediately to his house and heal her. Along the way, a serious—but less urgent—situation arose. A woman who had been sick for 12 years touched Jesus and was healed. He stopped and asked, “Who touched me?” At first no one responded. But then the woman, trembling with fear, told what had happened.

Then, while Jesus was still speaking to the woman, word came that Jairus’s daughter had died. Jairus must have had feelings of anguish, confusion, and perhaps anger. Why had Jesus let that woman delay him?

Can you relate to this? Maybe you have waited for Jesus to help you, but it seemed never to happen. Remember: Jesus is never late. He is always on time— but it’s always in his time, and his timing is best. Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter to life—to the glory of God.

Prayer:
Lord, give me faith and patience when I am tested to tears and perhaps even anguish. Help me to know that your timing is best- and God will be glorified. Amen.

For today

This really speaks to where I am right now. May I use this time to glorify God. This time of trial will come to pass.

When we are puzzled by delays and detours, let us think about the great purpose of life: to glorify God. The lessons He wants to teach us "in the wilderness" are priceless means of providing us with a song we could not otherwise have sung: "In Thy constant love Thou hast led the people!" (Ex 15:13).

What I am trying to learn:

Lord, teach me to take gladly the place You have assigned to me and to submit humbly to those over me, that I may do my part to keep the smooth and proper functioning of the body of Christ.

For today

(an excerpt from my devotions this morning...)

I am thanking God that unto us a Child was born. I am thanking Him also that there was a pure-hearted woman prepared to receive that Child with all that motherhood would mean of daily trust, daily dependence, daily obedience. I thank Him for her silence. That spirit is not in me at all, not naturally. I want to learn what she had learned so early: the deep guarding in her heart of each event, mulling over its meaning from God, waiting in silence for His word to her.

I want to learn, too, that it is not an extraordinary spirituality that makes one refuse to do ordinary work, but a wish to prove that one is not ordinary--which is a dead giveaway of spiritual conceit. I want to respond in unhesitating obedience as she did: Anything You say, Lord.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

my hope...

Lead me, Lord, to the Rock that is higher than I. Let me hear your word, give me grace to obey, to build steadily, stone upon stone, day by day, to do what You say. Establish my heart where floods have no power to overwhelm, for Christ's sake. Amen.