Make a Eternal Difference

A brand new week, a brand new day is upon us.  What will we do or say this week, this day that will make a eternal difference in our little part of this world?

Yesterday, Pastor Kemp spoke of each of us being a shepherd.  He challenged us, as Christians, to dust off our pulpits for those who matter more in our life. Asking us to go the extra mile, he challenged us to broadening the circle of our influence. His message (based on John chapter 10) was to convince us to become a shepherd like Jesus.

This morning reading one of my daily devotions I noted that David declared to do just that.  He declared to daily tell (write) of God's righteous and salvation.  I doubt if David knew his circle of influence would be used on this old country girl from Texas thousands of years later.  Perhaps today you can not even envision your influence being of importance.

Still I would remind each of us you never know what a seed planted will produce until you plant it. Praise Him aloud today!  Tell others what He has done for you! Sing of His goodness!

Even if you do not see or believe others are listening and watching - they are......


Abba Father,  please allow us to make an impact in the lives of others, bringing glory to Your name.  Help us to tell of Your goodness all of our days, even today as we reach out to both those we love and those You place in our path.  Help us to truly believe as David wrote "for I do not know their limits."  For Abba I believe Your love is immeasurable.

Psalm 71:14-15
New King James Version (NKJV)
14 But I will hope continually,
And will praise You yet more and more.
15 My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And Your salvation all the day,
For I do not know their limits.

Psalm 71:14-15
New Living Translation (NLT)
14 But I will keep on hoping for your help;
    I will praise you more and more.
15 I will tell everyone about your righteousness.
    All day long I will proclaim your saving power,
    though I am not skilled with words.

In Awe

"You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.” Deuteronomy 13:4 NAS

When we think of fear often we picture a state of panic and uncertainty but this is not the fear Moses speaks of here in Deuteronomy. He speaks of standing in awe of the Almighty God. He speaks of being revere before the Almighty God knowing that God alone is to be worshipped. He speaks of being revere knowing that Almighty God is the one and only true God. In knowing these truths of God, how could one NOT desire to keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him and cling (hold fast) to Him?

Jesus tells us that we are to abide in Him (cling to Him) so that we might bear much fruit. (John 15)

Almighty God today we choose to fear you, follow your commandants, listen to your voice and obey. We thank You that You have provided the True Vine for us. As He clings to You so we cling to Jesus. We pray that we may bear much fruit bringing glory to our Almighty God.
Fear=revere, stand in awe of
Cling=hold fast to

Lj 02262013

Nevertheless

Having delivered the words I felt God had given me for the group, my head now resting on my pillow, images dancing in my mind – there it was! God’s reminder to me, simply these words “let down the net.”
Let me back up for a moment and explain.  My words spoken were to encourage us to pray detailed prayer from our heart.  Giving an example of how I personally have seen God answer prayers to the detail in which they were prayed.  To see the results of the particular answered prayer I spoke of, I first had to believe the words God had spoken to me.  Not only believe the words but deliver them as He asked.  Having done as asked then I could (and did) enter my prayer closet asking God to bring His word to past, asking in a manner that only God could answer.

As the words “let down the net” danced through my mind, it was as if Jesus was saying that like Peter, I had let down the net and He had given the catch.  Years ago, the answered prayer, came after not understanding why God would ask me to deliver such words to a lady I truly knew very little about.  Still as Peter said “nevertheless at your word, I will let down the net.”

What is God asking you to do today?  Perhaps He is asking you to be a witness of His amazing saving grace…  Perhaps He is asking you to show compassion to someone… Or maybe He is saying to you, just as He told Peter; “let down your net, trust in Me and see the catch (results)”

"When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.” And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink."  Luke 5:4-8 NKJV

LJ 02192013

The Path

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do. Avoid all perverse talk; stay far from corrupt speech. Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you. Mark out a straight path for your feet; then stick to the path and stay safe. Don't get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil."  Proverbs 4:20-27 (NLT)

What lies before you?  Are your eyes fixed on the goal or on yesterday's failures?  Have you marked out (set) a straight path for your journey?  Life doesn't always come at us as we would like.  There are always little stones or even pebbles that can cause us to stumble but still we must travel forward in our journey.

As I type this, thoughts from years past flood my senses.  The trip was all planned!  How I was looking forward to travelling with a friend.  We would make our journey to Cleveland, TN.  There we would attend classes to become Commission Chaplains through the Church of God.  Who would have ever guessed that same day a pebble would change all those plans?  One hurried wrong step, one small accident can change the timing and perhaps even a location in your journey but it does not have to change the destination of your dream.  One small pebble, one wrong hurried step brought me a broken hip and lots of down time to think about the path I had chosen.  

Today, I still haven't reached my final destination.  Why you ask?  My final destination is to become all God has created me to be.  There are milestones God has allowed me to reach but the climb isn't over yet.  So I have fixed my eyes on what lies ahead, (the big picture) spending eternity with the love of my life, Jesus Christ.  As my eyes stay fixed on the destination, He sees me through each step  of this earthly journey be they hurried or slow.

Oh by the way, I did accomplish the dream I mentioned.  He has allowed me to accomplish not only that one but many others He had planned for me.

This and another encouraging devotions can be read at Spiritual Sundays 
Playdates With God
The Weekend Brew
 

Deadly Silence

A very dear friend asks me this question recently. "Why can't I feel God anymore?" She went on to say that "if I hold on to Him but cannot feel Him, am I believing in vain?"

Truth is I am not certain how to answer. What do we do when we cry out to God time and again feeling nothing within us but sadness, confusion, or worse - complete emptiness? Have you been there? I have! Times in my life when if only God would give me an answer, I could move on. If only God would show up and say everything is going to be fine, I wouldn't have to worry and fret.

Over the past few weeks, my husband and I have been in the progress of buying a home. My goodness how the phone rang, the emails popping up every time I opened my I-Pad. The air was full of both of excitement and business. We are now waiting as things have gone to the under-writer of our home loan. Everything has grown so deadly silent. If only the phone would ring, if only one email would pop up I wouldn't have to worry or fret.....

Faith! Yes, faith is the answer that fits the question to a tee! When I don't feel Him, I remember the times in my life when He allowed me to touch the very hem of His garment. When I can't hear Him, I remember the times when He spoke so clearly to me that the heavens seemed to be raining down on me. In faith we can stand and choose to remember the faithfulness of God. In faith we can stand on the promise that God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We may not hear him nor feel Him right now but He is here for He promised He would be.

The loan officer was one of the most encouraging young man I have ever had the pleasure of doing business with. He was confident enough in our application to say he would give it a 100% chance of getting past that under-writer. If I stand on that young man's promise, am I believing in vain? Perhaps, but what if I just give up because the silence is simply too deadly?

Guess what? God is so confident in not only who He is but also in you that He promises if we wait (even in the deadly silence) He will see us through. He promises that at times we will have to wait in faith believing His word. "I will never leave you!"

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV

Be sure to visit Spiritual Sundays blog for great weekly post of hope, encouragement and truth.

Hide and Seek

Thoughts of my son, Michael and his youngest daughter danced into my mind this morning during my quiet time. Thoughts of how Rebecca would be downstairs with me and as soon as she heard Michael come in the kitchen door she would run into my bathroom to hide.  Making his way downstairs he would begin to say "where is Rebecca?"  Although she always hid in the same place, he would open other doors in his search for her.  As soon as his hand touched the bathroom door handle her laughter would begin.  With her ear-piercing screams of delight, she would run to receive his hugs and kisses.

There are periods in my life when I go eagerly into my prayer closet.  As I go it is as though every part of my being is crying out to be with God.  However during the dark unsure periods of my life I find myself hiding.  The prayer closet seems almost dangerous and certainly a place that guilt of being so unsure will have to be dealt with.

This morning as I thought of Rebecca's father playing the game with her, I realized like Rebecca though I hide I know my Father will come to seek and find me.  When He enters the room (my heart,) my every sense of being screams with the delight of a child being loved.

Just as Michael knew where his daughter hides so my Heavenly Father knows where this daughter hides.  Can we truly hide from God? Of course not!  Does God know of my guilty feelings and of my lack of faith?  Of course He does! Still He will come calling, "daughter, where are you?" 

 

Psalm 139:1-12 - NLT

O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up.
You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.
You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.
You know everything I do.
You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.
You go before me and follow me.
You place your hand of blessing on my head.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!

I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

Picture Credit: http://i286.photobucket.com/albums/ll118/Jacazza/Hide-N-Go-Seek.jpg

A Lot Like My Father

"You look a lot like your Father."  What strange words to hear as I was praying.  Still without a doubt these words echoed in my heart.  Even stranger I knew these words were not referring to my earthly father.  With both my mind and heart racing, I whispered "how could this be? Me, no way! I make so many mistakes as I try to love and serve you God, my Father."  Then I am reminded I am indeed His little girl....  

Do you remember trying to imitate your parents?  Without losing respect here, I must say I was not one who would want to look nor act like her earthly father. Still there are many generational traits that perhaps are obvious to my family, certainly more so before my coming to know Jesus as Savior. 

 

So how does one look like God, our Heavenly Father?  Paul, in 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) says it like this "So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord--who is the Spirit--makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image."

As in 1 John 3:2 (GWT) I will say loud and clear, what I am to be isn't completely clear yet but I am thankful this morning that the Holy Spirit reminded me that I am to look like my Father!

"Dear friends, now we are God's children. What we will be isn't completely clear yet. We do know that when Christ appears we will be like him because we will see him as he is." 1 John 3:2

NOW?

Where do we go from here, Lord?

The Lord replied, "where ever you will allow Me to lead you...."