When I awoke…

 

When I awoke…

Since my late husband and I celebrated monthly anniversaries as well as yearly anniversaries, when I awoke this morning, I wished him “Happy anniversary “…his parent’s anniversary is coming up in two days as well. So did a “shout out” to them as well…June is a big wedding  month…

I read this devotional by Ray Stedman and couldn’t help but think of each of the above…

When various people found out my husband had terminal cancer, prayer was spread throughout the world…just because of various connections…it was so humbling to know that people we knew and didn’t know took time to pray for him and our family…

The opportunity has  existed and still does to pray for those we know and don’t know for a variety of reasons…those in conflict, those serving anywhere in the world, those far from us or close by…those who are strangers or close friends..anyone God puts in our path or minds…we may never know the answers, but that should stop us…God has a plan….

Jesus prayed for us so long ago and they are still at work…

Thank YOU…

20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

John 17:20-26 

But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,  not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:8-9

Unceasing Prayer

A daily devotion for June 28th

From your friends at RayStedman.org

Read: Colossians 1:9-14

For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. Col. 1:9a

Paul knows that the Colossian Christians are living in a dangerous world. A seething volcano of false teaching has begun to erupt and engulf them, threatening to destroy the simplicity of the faith that is producing such beauty and liberty in their lives. Paul is in Rome, a prisoner in chains, and unable to travel to Colossae, a thousand miles east, to help them. There is nothing he can do physically for them. But spiritually, he is a powerful prayer warrior who can create in their midst a tremendous opportunity to know truth that will free them and enable them to withstand the assault of false teaching. That, then, is what he is doing: he is praying for them.

The striking thing about this prayer is the very first sentence of it: “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you...” This was a continuing prayer. As far as we know, Paul had never been to Colossae. Apart from one or two among them, he did not personally know these believers. And yet he prays continually for them. When we come to statements like this in Scripture it is quite fair to ask, when did he do this? Day and night he is chained to a Roman guard, he never has a moment to himself. Awake or asleep, he is bound to his jailer. Furthermore, when he is awake, his friends are dropping by to see him to seek his counsel and instruction. He even ministers to the Roman guards, many of whom came to Christ, as we learn in the letter to the Philippians. He is busy writing letters, too, so when did he find time to pray for the Colossians?

The answer lies in having an ongoing life of prayer. This refers to quiet, whispered prayers and praises that flow from our hearts all day long. We use interruptions, people or events that break in unexpectedly upon our day, as calls to specific prayer. Most of us use mealtime to think of God and to voice our thanks to him. But more than food can call us to prayer. We can even use the newspaper or the television set in the same way. As world decision-makers are pictured before our eyes we can breathe a quiet prayer for them by name. We can read a newspaper prayerfully, whispering back to God our intercessions for those in need, about whom we are reading. When we run across someone, even in an impolite way, tripping us on the bus, jabbing us with an umbrella, dodging in front of us in traffic, God may be calling that particular individual to our attention in order to inspire prayer for him.

Have you ever prayed for people who cut in front of you in traffic, asking God to bless them, not blast them? That is what this is suggesting: that continual prayer arises constantly as a reaction to what you are going through. I am sure this explains the apostle's words here. Through the day he would think of the Colossians; how they were doing and what was threatening them, and he would breathe a prayer for them. This is what he means when he says, “we have not stopped praying for you.” We can pray for each other in the same wonderful way.

Lord, teach me the secret of ongoing prayer. Help me to see every event and every person in my life as an invitation to pray.

          

Life Application

Is communication with our Father becoming a spontaneous response to all of life? Are we faithful prayer-responders to the plethora of need continually surrounding us

Verses to contemplate…

 

Verses to contemplate…

Let love be genuine. 

Abhor what is evil; 

hold fast to what is good. 

Love one another with brotherly affection. 

Outdo one another in showing honor. 

Do not be slothful in zeal, 

be fervent in spirit,  

serve the Lord. 

Rejoice in hope, 

be patient in tribulation, 

be constant in prayer. 

Contribute to the needs of the saints and 

seek to show hospitality. 

Bless those who persecute you; 

bless and do not curse them. 

Rejoice with those who rejoice, 

weep with those who weep. 

Live in harmony with one another. 

Do not be haughty, 

but associate with the lowly.  

Never be wise in your own sight. 

Repay no one evil for evil, 

but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 

To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; 

if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; …..

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:9-20a, 21

Love is patient 

and kind; 

love does not envy 

or boast; 

it is not arrogant 

or rude. 

It does not insist on its own way; 

it is not irritable 

or resentful; 

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, 

but rejoices with the truth. 

Love bears all things, 

believes all things, 

hopes all things, 

endures all things. 

Love never ends….

1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

A tall order…

Thank YOU….

Inward parts…

 Inward parts….

Colonoscopy….the dread word…the dread preparation…the dread procedure….

Because I have a variety of cancers in my family history, I have the opportunity to get screened for some every once in awhile…this week is was for colon cancer…my mom had colon cancer, was treated with success…my cousin had it for several years and finally succumbed to it, a young amazing man…

“They” keep saying the preparations for the procedure are the hard part…the exam the easy part…the nurse reiterates that over and over…and so it was…

 As I was going through the prep, I thought of the verses that actually talk about bowels in the Bible…there are 5…in Numbers, 2 Chronicles, and Acts…

The first one is about faithfulness…

May this water that brings the curse pass into your bowels and make your womb swell and your thigh fall away.’ And the woman shall say, ‘Amen, Amen.’ “Then the priest shall write these curses in a book and wash them off into the water of bitterness. And he shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that brings the curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter into her and cause bitter pain. And the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand and shall wave the grain offering before the Lord and bring it to the altar.

Numbers 5:22-25

The second ones about unfaithfulness…

and you yourself will have a severe sickness with a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because of the disease, day by day.’” And the Lord stirred up against Jehoram the anger of the Philistines and of the Arabians who are near the Ethiopians. And they came up against Judah and invaded it and carried away all the possessions they found that belonged to the king's house, and also his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz, his youngest son. And after all this the Lord struck him in his bowels with an incurable disease. In the course of time, at the end of two years, his bowels came out because of the disease, and he died in great agony. His people made no fire in his honor, like the fires made for his fathers. He was thirty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. And he departed with no one's regret. They buried him in the city of David, but not in the tombs of the kings.

2 Chronicles 21:15-20 

The third one about guilt…

“Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out. And it became known to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the field was called in their own language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood.)

Acts 1:16-19

But my favorite ones are about God’s care and creation…

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. 

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. 

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. 

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. 

Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

Psalm 139:13-16

And yes, the preparation is worse than the actual procedure…but, those pictures of our inward being, the scope the doctor uses, give glimpses of what God made…so intricately are amazing…

Thank YOU….

Psalm 23…and politics….

 Psalm 23…and politics…

 I was reading this short devotional this morning…from “Don’t let politics steal your peace” by Joel Maln….

“We want:

1. Security (physical, financial, and emotional)

2. Connection (relationships, compassion, feeling valued and accepted)

3. Freedom (empowerment, options for ourselves and our family)

Political parties build their platforms around those things and make promises to meet those needs. But they can also use fear to persuade you that the "other side" wants to take those things from you.  

As citizens of God’s Kingdom, we need to regularly remind ourselves that no matter what a politician may promise (or threaten), our source for security, connection, and freedom is God’s love. He is the only one who can ultimately fulfill those needs. No matter who wins elections, God is the source for all we need. 

Take some time today to remind yourself that God is the source of your security, connection, and freedom. We don’t have to be afraid, because God’s Spirit of power and love lives inside of us. His Kingdom is where you will find the fulfillment for all you need.”

This devotional just brought me back to psalm 23…and care that the shepherd offers his beloved sheep….his provision through life…

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures. 

He leads me beside still waters. 

He restores my soul. 

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1-6

Or Isaiah….

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Thank YOU….

James…

 James…

I didn’t know I had an anger issue until I married…then I found out I had an anger issue, a bitterness issue, a faith issue, a steadfast issue, a patience issue,  basically a sin issue….that needed to be dealt with…

one of my favorite books is/was James…he doesn’t mince words, add flowery descriptions…just lays it out there…kind of like the Proverbs…straightforward…

Thank YOU …

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 

And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. 

But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 

For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. 

So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. 

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 

But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 

Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

James 1:2-20,22

The ground is moving…

 

The ground is moving…

The other day I was out in the country wandering around with family…

As we journeyed there, in spots, the highway looked to be moving…hiking around, the same went for various places-the ground was moving, alive with “Mormon” crickets…hopping, hopping, jostling one another, eating one another, moving, ever moving from one pace to another…

At the edge of the creek, they walked or fell in, climbing branches until the branches tipped them into the creek…with small “rafts” of them floating on to another spot…ugh, they are just gross…but interesting to watch…they are not devouring the vegetation as locusts do…

Remembering childhood books, “The Little House on the Prairie” series, how they watched as a “cloud” descended upon the crops to devastate the land…filling the air with the whirling, chomping sounds of the hungry crickets…

 

Or the plague of the locusts to the Egyptians during Mose’s time…devouring precious food…vegetation…

There are several descriptions of locusts in the Word…wars with multitudes….countless invaders…we have seen pictures of this in modern times…devouring….and will continue…

They are small things in the grand scheme of life…but 

God sometimes uses small things to teach us lessons…watchfulness…purpose…don’t follow the crowd…preparedness…authority….

Thank YOU….

“The Locust

•

“THE LOCUST.

The locust is called an insect, as well as the ant and the bee, but

instead of being harmless, as they usually are, it does a great deal of injury. It is also much larger than they; for it is generally three

inches long, and sometimes as much as four or five. The plague of the locusts was the eighth that God sent upon the Egyptians, because they would not let the children of Israel go, as he commanded; and it was a very terrible one indeed. The Bible says, "They covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the

field through all the land of Egypt." This is the way they often do in

those countries, though perhaps it is not common for so many to come at

once.

They fly in companies of thousands together, and so close that they look

like a great black cloud. When they alight on the ground they all come

down in a body, and immediately begin to devour the grass and grain;

they also eat the leaves of the trees, and every green thing they can

find. The people dread them more than they do the most terrible fire or

storm; because though they are so small, they destroy all the food, and

leave the people ready to starve. When the inhabitants see them coming

over their fields, they try to drive them away by making loud noises or

by kindling fires; but this does little good.

It is said that a great army of locusts came over the northern part of

Africa about a hundred years before the birth of Christ. They consumed

every blade of grass wherever they alighted; also the roots, and bark,

and even the hard wood of the trees. After they had thus eaten up every

thing, a strong wind arose, and after tossing them about awhile, it blew

them over the sea, and great numbers of them were drowned. Then the

waves threw them back upon the land, all along the sea-coast, and their

dead bodies made the air so unwholesome that a frightful pestilence

commenced, and great numbers of men and animals died.

Many travellers have seen these great clouds of locusts, and describe them in their books. One says that he saw a company consisting of so many that they were an hour in passing over the place where he was.

They seemed to extend a mile in length and half a mile in width. When he first noticed them, they looked like a black cloud rising in the east; and when they came over head, they shut out the light of the sun, and made a noise with their wings like the rushing of a water-fall.

Another swarm is mentioned which took four hours to pass over one spot; and they made the sky so dark that one person could not see another at twenty steps off.

You can now understand two or three passages from the Bible which I will mention. 

David says in the 23d verse of the 109th Psalm, "I am tossed up and down as the locust;" that is, as the clouds of locusts are tossed about by the wind. 

In the first chapters of Joel God threatens to send

the locust among the people, because of their wickedness; and he says of them, "Before their faces the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather blackness. They (the locusts,) shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war. They shall run to and fro in the city; they shall run upon the wall; they shall climb up upon the houses; they shall enter in at the windows like a thief." An English clergyman who visited countries where the locusts are found, a few years ago, says that these verses describe them exactly as he has himself seen

them.

Locusts are sometimes used for food. The Arabs boil them with salt, and then add a little oil or butter; sometimes they toast them by the fire before eating them. A traveller speaks of seeing the Arab women employed in filling bags with locusts, which were to be used for food.

You know it is said in the New Testament that John the Baptist "did eat locusts and wild honey," but it is not quite certain that this insect

was meant; perhaps it was the fruit of the locust-tree that he ate.”

Bible study tools…

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200806-the-biblical-east-african-locust-plagues-of-2020

Faint…

 Faint…

The word “faint” appears 50 times in the Scriptures…14 times in 

Isaiah alone …the rest strewn throughout the Word…

Weariness, tired, weakness, let down…demoralized… lacking courage and spirit…faint…sometimes physical….sometimes emotional….

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 

to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.

Isaiah 61:3

And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,  encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all.

1 Thessalonians 5:14

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Hebrews 12:3 

My favorite…He gave it to me when the world seemed so black and I was so weary…I needed it then and have fallen back on this promise in even blacker times…

For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.”

Jeremiah 31:25

Thank YOU….

Joy…

 Joy….

What brings you joy?

When sorting through things, purging “stuff”…we are to have three categories….trash, thrift, joy….keeping the things that being us joy…getting rid of the other…

 Reading the first chapter  of 1 John made me think of this…right in the middle of the chapter, John exposes what brought him joy…telling others of Jesus…his story on his encounters with the Son of God…proclaiming light..

Thank YOU…

That which was from the beginning, 

which we have heard, 

which we have seen with our eyes, 

which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 

the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, 

and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, 

which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 

that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, 

so that you too may have fellowship with us; 

and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 

And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 

If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

1 John 1:1-10

Aging….

 Aging….

This morning, I was thanking the Lord to be able to walk across my bedroom without holding on to anything…a change from yesterday when I went from item to item…or last week when we walked over 8 miles…thank YOU…

Each day is a new day and I need to rejoice in all things….

Another episode of thinking of aging….oh, I have denied it royally….

“That is for others to face, not me”, as the years quickly tick by…

And thanks to doctors who faithfully listen to our woes, our pain…with suggestions, some answers, another test…some encouragement…

These verses came to mind….and some interesting articles…

Thank YOU….again…

 

“You shall stand up before the gray head and honor the face of an old man, and you shall fear your God: I am the Lord.

Leviticus 19:32

“‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

Deuteronomy 5:16

Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.

Deuteronomy 32:7

Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.

Deuteronomy 34:7

He shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him.”

Ruth 4:15 

Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days.

Job 12:12

I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’

Job 32:7

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Psalm 90:12

The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of our God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,

Psalm 92:12-14

Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.

Proverbs 16:31

Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.

Proverbs 17:6 

The glory of young men is their strength, but the splendor of old men is their gray hair.

Proverbs 20:29

So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all…..

Ecclesiastes 11:8a

Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31

even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save.

Isaiah 46:4

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

But [we are different, because] our citizenship is in heaven. And from there we eagerly await [the coming of] the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself, will [not only] transform [but completely refashion] our earthly bodies so that they will be like His glorious resurrected body.

Philippians 3:20-21

Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day,

1 Timothy 5:1-5

Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled.

Titus 2:2-5 

https://www.compellingtruth.org/Bible-aging.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-aging.html

https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-2022/aging-survey.html

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2019/longevity-medical-breakthroughs.html

https://inside.salk.edu/spring-2019/the-science-of-aging/

https://www.aarp.org/health/drugs-supplements/info-2019/pill-drug-aging.html

Own your faith…

 “Own your faith….”

Last night I started watching this year’s first rally after the 

young adults arriving at Boot camp in Florida for Teen missions international ((TMI)..

For whatever reason, my YouTube just started grinding away and I missed most of the presentation…

(I checked and it is up to watch this am).

But,  I heard this challenge,,,,”a time to own your faith”….

I just made me think back in time when I was challenged to my own faith…what was it going to be…in whom would I put my faith…I couldn’t rely on my parent’s faith, my grandparents or anyone else’s…it was mine to decide, to own…

You don’t get to be a Christian by osmosis, by culture, by race, by parentage, being from a certain country, or whatever …

We each have to make our own choice…do we believe or not in Christ as Saviour…Personal Savior…who was born of a virgin, walked here on earth, died, was resurrected, sits at the right hand of God…promised, fulfilling prophecy through the ages, creator, comforter, King, Emmanuel…and so much more…

It is not another religion but a personal relationship with Jesus…a fellowship like none other…growing…real…transforming…without end…

Thank YOU…

“Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

Isaiah 45:22

Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 

7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 

8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” 

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

John 3:5-8,16-17

9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.

John 10:9

Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 

And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:30-31

because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 

For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 

For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 

For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 

For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? 

As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 

But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Romans 10:9-17

Flowers and trees…

 Flowers and trees….

My cousin recently sent me a video of the acres and acres of flowers in bloom in the California foothills, where our grandparents once ranched, near Visalia, California…so colorful before a soon hot, dry summer…

I sent him back a picture of myself in those same spring foothills at age 18 months…my grandmother would take me for walks in those luscious flowers, pointing out and naming them  as we strolled around…she did that all my life with her, enjoying and teaching the beauty of our surroundings…

Not far from this ranch was the entrance to Kings canyon and sequoia National parks.  We would visit occasionally and camp, enjoying the majestic tress which stand there…my dad’s first job away from home was working in those parks…

Later we moved to Northern California on the coast in the Coast redwoods… home nestled amongst the tallest trees in the world….a nearby museum had a crosscut of one with dates pinned to tell when various world events would have happened over the age of that particular tree…makes one wonder it trees could talk, what stories they could tell…. 

I am reminded of Isaiah 55, especially verse 12, the praise of even nature…breaking forth in singing, clapping their hands…

Thank YOU…

“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! 

Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? 

Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David. 

Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander for the peoples. 

Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know, and a nation that did not know you shall run to you, because of the Lord your God, and of the Holy One of Israel, for he has glorified you. 

“Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. 

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. 

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 

“For you shall go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and the hills before you shall break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 

Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall make a name for the Lord, an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Isaiah 55:1-13 

“California redwoods ( Sequoia sempervirens ) need the marine fog of the Northern California coast for growth. Sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are native to the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, mostly between 5,000 and 7,000 feet in elevation. This habitat features the dry heat of the mountains that the sequoias need to survive. “ The web…

https://www.tripsavvy.com/redwood-forests-in-california-1478739

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequoia_sempervirens

Straight…

 Straight…

I clicked this picture recently in the woods near  Klamath Falls…a tree that looked like it had a really bad start in life, but straightened out….was probably crowded out by others later in life…succumbing to the winds of time…

It gave me pause…we can grow through adversity, just as this tree had grown from it crookedness…we need light, roots…those things which come from the Word…we have a purpose, as this tree does in feeding others with its nutrients…our lives may not be as long as the others around us, but we can still be a thing of beauty in the green forests…we may be different, but God uses everything for His Glory…

Straight…

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.

Proverbs 3:6-8

What is crooked cannot be made straight, and what is lacking cannot be counted.

Ecclesiastes 1:15

Consider the work of God: who can make straight what he has made crooked? In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him.

Ecclesiastes 7:13-14

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

Isaiah 30:20-21 

He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.”

John 1:23 

And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.

Luke 13:11-13

Thank YOU…

Bless the Lord….

 Bless the Lord….

There are times, I admit, when I am down….when I forget the benefits….reading this psalm, stopping to meditate on each listing of those is a good practice….

Thank YOU for the Word on which to dwell…

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 

who forgives all your iniquity, 

who heals all your diseases, 

who redeems your life from the pit, 

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 

who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 

The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 

He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 

The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 

He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 

For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. 

As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. 

But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. 

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. 

Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! 

Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! 

Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. 

Bless the Lord , O my soul!

Psalm 103:1-22

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:8-9 

Slippery slope….

 Slippery slope….

I have been trying out various shower mats which each  promise to be nonskid…my shower is supposed to be nonskid, but adding soap, shampoo and conditioner makes it like an icy, slippery place…I finally ended up with one that is a PVC loofah, soft and doesn’t slide around nor do I…

I thought of this often as we face various challenges in the world…one thing leads to another and another…the consequences may not be to our liking from decisions made…and we are on a slippery slope to an abyss that wasn’t what we first started with…

Frustration turns to bitterness…bitterness to anger…anger turns to hate…hate to death…

King David stayed home from his war, saw a woman sunbathing, desired her, took her, had her husband killed…a slippery slope on an unguarded heart…

The prophet Nathan confronted him and he saw his sin….which led to forgiveness, but there were still consequences…

Nebuchadnezzar saw all his riches and bragged of them….all “he” had done, acquired…was humbled until he realized whose riches he had bragged of….pride…

Judas saw an opportunity to make money, please men and “sold” Jesus…remorse, suicide…

Paul despised Christians zealously…his slippery slope led him into faith…as God dramatically changed his course from hate to love…

Just a few of the slippery slopes recounted in Scriptures…

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 

Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. 

I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16-25 

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 

Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. 

And be thankful. 

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Colossians 3:8-10,12-17

Thank YOU….

Turn your eyes upon Jesus….

 Turn your eyes upon Jesus….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMYZICnV2Ys

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fKAPHjficIc

I was awakened this morning by this song…two versions…by Helen Lemmel…(there are several renditions on YouTube). 

Oh soul are you weary and troubled?

No light in the darkness you see?

There’s light for a look at the Savior,

And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace.

2. Thro' death into life everlasting,

He passed, and we follow Him there;

O’er us sin no more hath dominion--

For more than conqu’rors we are..

3. His Word shall not fail you--He promised;

Believe Him, and all will be well:

Then go to a world that is dying,

His perfect salvation to tell!

It is hard to watch the news on any channel without breaking out in tears or a sweat for the things happening daily here and round the world….so much destruction, world crises, wars,famines, food shortages, and on and on…it is easy to stray from focus on one truth… Jesus in alive, Jesus saves…

So, help me to “ turn my eyes on Jesus”….

Thank  YOU…..

Thirsty…

 

Thirsty…

I am sitting in a warm, dry cabin as it pours liquid sunshine outside….it has been raining all night…supposedly a window of  no rain from 7 am -1pm…

It is “ free fishing” day in Oregon and they have specific places for age groups at the lake where I am…a big green tank for children 6 and under…a blocked off area for 7 and up, the stocked lake for adults.  Lots of water…lots of fish…

We drove here yesterday…across dry thirsty land, across places that usually are filled with water, growing hay fields, water fowl of all kinds…a migratory path…and voila, the water was scarce, the hay short, the birds non existent…remembering times past when water was up to the edges of the road and ducks were everywhere…times when hay couldn’t be cut until later in the summer….such changes in weather patterns, cycles of change…this year, thirsty…last year, wet…

God has control over it all…by his hand…he makes the changes…rain or shine…

Jesus describes another thirstiness that only he can satisfy…Himself….the true “water of life”…that place, that person who truly satisfies through all the searching, seeking that man does…

Thank YOU…

He turns rivers into a desert, springs of water into thirsty ground, a fruitful land into a salty waste, because of the evil of its inhabitants. 

He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.

Psalm 107:33-35

“But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen! Thus says the Lord who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen. 

For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.

Isaiah 44:1-3

14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 4:14

And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.

Revelation 21:6

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 

The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.

Revelation 22:16-17 

Small things…

 Small things…

Yesterday, I put up my hummingbird feeders…I had heard them buzzing around, but had yet to see them…

Looked out a little later and low and behold, one tiny little one was already feeding at one of the feeders…about every ten minutes it would zoom in, perch, eat and zoom off quickly…

I love watching them, so tiny and so fast, curious…so delicate, colorful…and they are only here a bit of each year before migrating south…loved seeing them in tropical countries as they flitted from one tropical flower to another…

My mother painted them, collected various items representing them, glass ones, jewelry, dishes, etc…she had them come visit year around and fed them..

One of the small things we are blessed with…

God sometimes used small things to teach us…

“Consider the ants”…

Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.

Proverbs 6:6-8

A Small lunch to feed thousands… 

The ‘feeding of the five thousand’ is the only miracle performed by Jesus which is recorded in all four gospels: Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6:31-44, Luke 9:12-17, and John 6:1-14.from Interestingliterature.com, except for His resurrection…

A short prayer to teach praying…

And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread, 4 and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Luke 11:2-4

Little  children…

but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”

Matthew 19:14

A tongue…

So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.

James 3:5-6

A fleece…

Then Gideon said to God, “If you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said, behold, I am laying a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece alone, and it is dry on all the ground, then I shall know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you have said.” And it was so. When he rose early next morning and squeezed the fleece, he wrung enough dew from the fleece to fill a bowl with water. Then Gideon said to God, “Let not your anger burn against me; let me speak just once more. Please let me test just once more with the fleece. Please let it be dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground let there be dew.” And God did so that night; and it was dry on the fleece only, and on all the ground there was dew.

Judges 6:36-40 

A lamb…

One of many lessons..

Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man's lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” Then David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.”

2 Samuel 12:4-6

A stock of grain…

One of many pictures…

24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

John 12:24

A mustard seed…

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Mark 4:30-32

A coin…

And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, “Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. 44 For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.”

Mark 12:42-44

A rock, a grain of sand…a quail, a staff…a dove…

Etc…

Small lessons with big truths…

Thank YOU…

Greed…

 Greed….

One of the hardest things I have to do with my fruit trees is deciding how to thin the fruit…

This year between frosts, my peaches were pollenated and I think every flower turned into a fruit…so the limbs look almost like grapes on a vine, they are so thick with fruit…

But, last year, not nearly as many, but still too thick to grow to their full potential, I was greedy and didn’t thin the fruit…consequently one side of the poor tree broke off because there were too many peaches left on the limbs…

I don’t like to pick and choose which ones stay or are picked off and thrown away…but, when thinned, the peaches grow so much better and hopefully no more broken branches…

I have habits that need to be thinned and pruned…and thrown away…they have blossomed out of “nowhere” and grow quickly…until I realized or the Spirit comes in with His truth and starts thinning them out…throwing them away…I grow so much better, transforming into a  better place…more fruitful….of more use…

There are times, I don’t want to let go too easily…greedy, holding on for dear life those faults, habits which encumber growth…and I have to be broken….wounded from my strife,  greed…

So as I thin the fruit, I look to myself and ask “what now?, which part of myself needs that same “thinning”?”   Which part needs growth to be fruitful? …the Spirit always has an answer in truth…

Thank YOU that you mold and transform us daily….

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

Romans 12:2-3

My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver.

Proverbs 8:19

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Galatians 5:22-24