By the time it takes you to read this blog…

Today's blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

“How precious it is, Lord, to realize that you are thinking about me constantly! I can’t even count how many times a day your thoughts turn toward me. And when I waken in the morning, you are still thinking of me!” (Psalm 139:17-18 TLB)

People say you can tell how much you love someone by how often you think about them.  If that’s true (and I believe it is), then we are incredibly loved by God.  Psalms 139 says He thinks about you and me all the time.

Imagine your picture running across God’s mind continually.  God’s thoughts are so much higher than mine, so I won’t pretend to know what He is thinking, but scripture does give us a glimpse of how He views us, so I wouldn’t be surprised if His thoughts went something like this…..“Stephen, you are fearfully and wonderfully made” or “Mary, I love you with an everlasting love.”  “Rachel, don’t be anxious for I am working all things together for your good.

The next time you’re tempted to wonder if God really loves you or cares about the things going on in your life, just remind yourself of how often you are in His thoughts. So often, they are beyond our ability to count them.  I think it is safe to say that by the time it takes you to read this blog, God will have had multiple thoughts about you.

Let me ask you a question.  How often does God find you thinking about Him?  Constantly?  Occasionally?  Rarely?  How often does God direct His thoughts toward us, only to see our thoughts directed elsewhere?

Imagine God’s delight if when thinking about you, he finds you thinking about Him.  AW Tozer said in his book the Pursuit of God - "When the eyes of the soul looking out meet the eyes of God looking in, heaven has begun right here on earth."

Have you been disqualified?

Today's blog post has been contributed by Denise Friedman



“announce now to the people, ‘Anyone who trembles with fear may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.”  So twenty-two thousand men left, while ten thousand remained.”

 Judges 7: 3

This verse has a powerful message:  Of the thirty-two thousand men who started with Gideon’s army, twenty-two thousand retreated when given the opportunity, due to fear.  That percentage is staggering!  More than two – thirds of the men disqualified themselves from being a part of God’s great plan because they let themselves be controlled by fear!

It is easy to look at this story as criticize the men – how could they turn away?  After all, hadn’t Gideon received not one, not two, but three signs indicating he was hearing from the Lord?  God had a mighty plan for Gideon and his army.  However, when given the choice, two thirds of that army turned away because of fear! They disqualified themselves from the good and perfect gift our Father had planned for them. 

 

How often has this happened to you?  Perhaps you are presented with an opportunity, but feel you are not qualified, so you disqualify yourself from the blessing God has intended especially for you.

The next time you are given the opportunity to retreat in the face of fear, remember “the Lord is with you, mighty warrior,” and instead, trust in God and rely of His faithfulness to fight your battle.  Don’t disqualify yourself!

He Waits For You

“Gideon replied, “If now I have found favor in your eyes,

 give me a sign that it is really you talking to me.

Please do not go away until I come back and bring my offering and set it before you.”

And the Lord said, “I will wait until you return.”

Judges 6:17-18

 

 

As you read the verses above concerning Gideon’s encounter with the Angel of the Lord I want to point out to you a portion that can speak volumes concerning the character of God.

Gideon asks the Lord not to leave while he goes to prepare an offering for Him.

As you can see the Lord responds favorably “I will wait until you return.”

But if you allow me to lift that verse out of context for a moment I believe it reveals the true character of God throughout eternity.

We serve a God who is patient and waits for our return.

Jesus amplified this characteristic of His Father when He told the parable of the Prodigal Son.

Some picture God as one who cannot wait to punish us.

He is, in their minds, eager to see you fail and not to return to Him.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

God loves you so.

If this post finds you as a prodigal, one who has run from the Father, please know that He waits for your return.

He waits, not with a rod of discipline but with an embrace that says “Welcome home”.

Gideon’s life was transformed by this encounter.

Your life can be transformed by your return.

Perhaps you have believed the enemy’s lies that God wants you back in order to humiliate you and mete out His justice.

Know this – He wants you back because He loves you so. His heart breaks for you and your absence is not something He delights in.

What joy there is when one child returns home.

Have you wandered away from God?

Here is His response –

“I will wait until you return.”

What He Said

“And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him,

The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.”

 

“And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel?

behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.”

Judges 6:12,15

 

 

Gideon had a choice.

He could believe what the Angel of the Lord said of him

------Or-----

He could believe what he said of himself.

Believe one and it would propel him forward into Gods’ mission.

Believe the other and it would hold him back married to his past,

perhaps to what others have said he was.

God spoke to what He knew Gideon could and would become.

Gideon spoke of where he came from.

We each are given the same choice.

No, you may not have been visited by the Angel of the Lord but if you have given your life to Christ you have the Lord of Heaven and earth living in you by His Holy Spirit.

He can do all things.

That includes completing in you the work He created you for.

No past is so wretched that His grace cannot overcome it.

I love the verse that tells us –

“But we have this treasure in earthen vessels,

that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.”

II Corinthians 4:7

God is at work in you and me.

Half the battle is won when we realize and accept that truth.

His power in us is able to do what we alone cannot do.

Gideon could never defeat the Midianites apart from God.

You and I will never know victory over the enemy apart from God.

Realizing that victory require, in part, agreeing with God.

God called Gideon a mighty man of valour.

Listen as He calls you.

Hear how God sees you!

And believe…what He said!

Again…

 

 

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the word ‘again’ as:

“another time – once more”

So it is with some curiosity that I note that in some translations the beginning of Judges 6 opens with the word “again”.

“Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord,

and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.”

Judges 6:1

Their behavior was repeating itself.

They had a pattern of behavior that was to do “…evil in the eyes of the Lord.”

Now let’s not be too quick to condemn them and pat ourselves on the back.

We, too, can have repeating behaviors that are unpleasant – at a minimum – to the Lord.

But even a quick read of the next two chapters reveals unmerited favor to the Nation of Israel.

God delivered them from the hands of the Midianites even though their repeated behavior did not warrant rescue

Why?

Because God is merciful!

God did not respond because of a corrected behavior on their part.

He responded out of His character.

He raised up a man – Gideon – through whom He could show Himself strong.

Victory came through one man surrendered to Gods purposes.

Maybe God has called you to a particular task.

Maybe the repeated behaviors of your life are a constant reminder of your weakness.

God has sent you a deliverer.

Jesus Christ the Righteous One.

Your ‘again and again and agains’ of life were nailed to the tree.

Just as Gideon was transformed into the Mighty Warrior God called him to be, you too can be transformed into a vessel God will use to bring His deliverance to others.

God transforms your ‘again’ into ‘a gain’ for His Kingdom!

An Undivided Heart

“Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].” (1 John 2:15-16)

Today's blog post is contributed by David Trotta:

Do you love the things of this world?

God has challenged me with that question a lot lately.  Unfortunately, when I take a hard, honest look at my heart, the answer to that question is “yes.”  My thoughts and affections are often preoccupied with the pleasures and cares of this world.

There is only so much room in our hearts.  Love for the world, as it grows, will eventually push out love for the Father.

God further underscores this point in Matthew 6:24 - “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon (deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).”

We may fool ourselves into thinking we can love both God and this world, but it’s not possible.  Eventually, one will take precedence over the other though the small, daily choices we make.  And, if love for the world wins out, we will eventually find ourselves at a place where our love towards God has grown cold (Revelation 2:4-5).

God wonderfully created us in His image with the capacity to love and a free will to choose the object of our love, but with that gift comes the inherent risk of someone or something being able to take God’s rightful place on the throne of our heart.

Choose this day to forsake the things of this world and pursue God with an undivided heart, fully devoted to Him.  Besides, the things of this world cannot satisfy the deep longings of our heart.  Only He can.

 

 

Blocks of Wood

“Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Come to life!’

    Or to lifeless stone, ‘Wake up!’

Can it give guidance?

    It is covered with gold and silver;

    there is no breath in it.”

The Lord is in his holy temple;

    let all the earth be silent before him.”

Habakkuk 2:19-20

 

 

“Whoa…..I don’t care for encouragement that begins with the word ‘Woe’!”

I have to admit, I don’t either.

But truth is the ‘Woe’s’ are there for a reason.

We are well advised to pay attention when we read them.

God is giving a message to the Prophet Habakkuk and speaks of those who worship idols made with hands.

Now maybe your saying to yourself “I would never bow down to a block of wood!”

That’s so ‘Old Testament’.

But 2015 has plenty of ‘block of wood idols’.

Techy toys, careers, a religion based on our own works and efforts.

These can all become ‘block of wood idols’ created, not by God, but by man.

We imagine in our minds some chunk of Mahogany or a slab of marble painstakingly carved to represent a ‘god’.

Yet how many painstakingly carve a career, a hobby, a retirement or a religion so that it becomes the idol they bow down to worship.

Moses brought the command down the mountain…Thou Shalt have no other gods before me.

Jesus revealed how to live out that command.

The Holy Spirit in us empowers us to do the same.

Jettison (repent of) any blocks of wood in your life.

“Come, let us bow down in worship,

    let us kneel before the Lord our Maker;”

Psalm 95:6

Who Shall…?

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Romans 8:35-37

 

 

When I read this passage of scripture it is always curious to me that it is written as:

“Who shall separate us…”

but then goes on to list things like trouble, hardship or persecution.

Wouldn’t you have expected him to list groups of people antagonistic to believers?

In his day it would have been people like: the Roman Government; Jewish religious leaders, etc…

Rather than list people he lists circumstances.

Hmmmm?

Could it be that Paul well understood that the only one who can separate you from Gods’ love is you and you alone?

And even then I am speaking of a personal choice on an individual’s part to reject Gods’ love.

Because you see, even in our rejection of Him, He continues to love us.

Let’s fast forward from the 1^st Century to the 21^st Century.

Can Islamic Terrorists separate us from His love?

How about atheists?

Would the latest science ‘debunking creation’ be enough to cause us to walk away from His love?

Can wealth, riches or power?

We may have fast forwarded to today but the answer to Paul’s question remains the same.

None of these things, past or present, has the power to separate you from God’s love.

You, and only you, still do.

Don’t ‘separate’ from His love.

Draw near in an attitude of worship and gratitude.

Thank Him for His loving kindness.

The refrain from Psalm 136 expresses It so well…

“…His love endures forever.”

Who Has the Answer?

“For this is the message you heard from the beginning:

We should love one another.”

I John 3:11

 

 

Is it just me or does it seem to you that the pace in the world today is getting faster and faster?

By that I mean changes are happening in the blink of an eye.

Today’s technology is tomorrow’s antiquity.

The hot social networking site at this moment in time is passé 24 hours later.

Culture latest rising star/politician/athlete is old news before you know it!

All of that said, it makes the unchangeable God and His unchangeable message such an anchor for our souls.

He does not change.

He was perfect from eternity.

His command for us to love one another is “…from the beginning.”

It is not new.

It does not grow old.

It will never be irrelevant.  

One need only tune into the 24 hour news cycle for a moment to know that the message of God’s love is needed now as much as (if not more so) any other time in history.

You are a ‘carrier’ of the message.

More than that, you are a carrier of Him who is that message.

Carry His message and His presence wherever your feet carry you today.

Let His love shine through you to others.

In a world that may seem to some to be spinning out of control the timeless message of His love brings hope and remedy.

That is not something we will receive from any Hollywood star, Washington Politician or Superstar athlete.

Only God is the answer for our world today.

Only God is the answer for your world today.

 

God’s Love

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;

    bind them around your neck,

    write them on the tablet of your heart.”

Proverbs 3:3

 

“…God is love”

I John 4:8

 

“…because God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

    never will I forsake you.”

Hebrews 13:5

 

Do you see the promise ‘hidden’ in these verses?

On the one hand God instructs us to not let love and faithfulness leave us

but then we find, through His Word,

that He is love and that He will never leave or forsake us.

Though we may choose to walk away from Him, who is love, He will not walk away from us.

Like the story of the Prodigal Son we have a God who pursues and draws us.

Are you responding today to the love of God?

We have been talking of late about supernatural love.

Maybe you’re thinking to yourself “Well, with my behavior or with my past it would take supernatural love to love someone like me!”

Well, welcome!

That is true for all of us.

Even the squeakiest clean person among us cannot stand on their own merit.

Scripture tell us that we love Him because He first loved us.

The ‘squeakiest clean’ and the most vile are loved by God.

The ‘squeakiest clean’ and the most vile are both equally in need of His mercy.

 

Thank you, Lord, for your love.

Thank you, too, for your faithfulness and mercy.

I am so grateful that in your great love you pursued me

You never leave me, you never forsake me.

You are love and I am loved by you.

How wonderful you are!

 

 

Take Me Back

“Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.

Consider how far you have fallen!

Repent and do the things you did at first.”

Revelation 2:4-5a

 

Perhaps some of you reading this blog are ‘seasoned saints’.

By that I mean you have walked with the Lord for quite some time.

If you are (and I count myself among that group) it can sometimes be hard to relate to the joy and zeal evident in the new believer.

We can easily forget the great love we had for the Lord.

That same excitement we once knew now causes us concern when we find it in others.

We seek to justify our complacency by telling the new believer not to be ‘too wild’.

We forget we were once the recipients of that very same advice.

When we received it we vowed to never become like those offering the ‘counsel’ to us.

Our walk with Jesus was so new and so exciting.

It is possible to continue in that fresh and exciting walk with Him.

We need not became stale or forsake our first love.

Jesus tells us how with three words: consider, repent and do!

“Consider how far you have fallen…”

We find in that counsel the need for self-examination of our spiritual condition.  

As we examine our actions and allow the Holy Spirit to bring conviction we come to the second step.

“Repent…”

That’s a word we often shudder at and yet it is a word that when we practice it, it restores communion with the Lord.

Finally,

“…do the things you did at first.”

Those head-over-heels, so in love with the Lord that you didn’t care what others thought, kinds of things.

Remember those?

Remember back then?

No, we are not called to ‘go back in time’ but we are called to return to our first love.

As I was considering today’s blog post message I was reminded of an old song, the writer of which just went home to be with the Lord.

Consider the lyrics written by Andre Crouch decades ago.

“Take me back, take me back dear Lord

To the place where I first received you.

Take me back, take me back dear Lord where I First believed.

As you ask God to ‘take you back’ to your first love He will propel you forward into new and fresh places with Him!

Love Is…

Today's post is contributed by David Trotta:

This is how we know what love is because Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. (1 John 3:16-18)

While writing this I was reminded of the “Love is…” cartoon comic strip that became popular in the 1970s.  The cartoon series originated from love notes the writer wrote to her future husband. Each cartoon depicted a boy and a girl with a catchy phrase on what love is.  I don’t read the newspaper any longer, but I understand the series is still running some 40+ years later.

 Well, over 2000 years ago, long before the cartoon series started running, God told us what love is.  The above verse gives us a clear definition - the laying down of our life for someone else.  And God not only told us what love is, He demonstrated it.  Jesus gave us the blueprint to follow by laying down His life, the ultimate act of love.

But God doesn’t stop there.  He calls us to love in the same manner He did, by laying down our lives for others.  Sure, we may not be called to die for someone, but laying down our life also means to sacrificially give up our time, talents, and resources to bless someone else.

As Jesus stepped out of Heaven to show us what love is, so are we also called to step out of our comfort zone and show God’s love to others.  Jesus put action to the word love and we are called to do the same.  Just saying we love others won’t cut it.  It requires action.  According to God’ definition, anything less is not true love.

No Other god Like Our God!

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”

Hebrews 4:15

 

Jesus lived a life of obedience.

Jesus lived a life of perfect submission to His Father in heaven.

Jesus lived a sinless life.

Those three statements are written as ‘stand-alone’ sentences but the connection between the three could not be greater.

Jesus lived a life of obedience but it was not a life of obedience to the culture of the day nor was it a life of obedience to the whims of any man or woman.

He was perfectly surrendered and submitted to the will of His Father in heaven.

It is through that submission and obedience that the ‘picture perfect’ of the Father is revealed to us through the Son.

Victory over sin was possible only as Jesus remained in the Father.

Some would say “Well, Jesus had an edge over us because He was divine!”

But scripture teaches us that He laid that divine nature aside to come to the earth in the flesh.

It further teaches us that Jesus was tempted in all the ways we are tempted but was still without sin.

How is that possible?

Again, because Jesus remained attached – in communion and fellowship – with the Father.

That same opportunity is given to us through the Holy Spirit.

As we live that life of obedience and submission the image of Jesus in us becomes clearer and clearer to those around us.

So too, the ability to walk in and minister to others in His supernatural love.

Apart from Him we cannot love supernaturally.

We must remain connected to the source of supernatural love.

There is no other way.

There is no other god like our God!

Do They See Jesus in You?

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you,

you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5

 

Let me preface today’s post by saying I am not a farmer.

So while I do not claim to be an expert I do share what I will today by what I have observed.

When I have walked through an orchard or go out to pick fruit off of a tree I have never seen that fruit attached to the trunk of the tree or to the vine if it is a bush.

Instead I see that fruit on the branches.

Jesus is the Vine and we are the branches.

Jesus said that unless we remain in Him we cannot bear fruit.

His expectation is that we bear fruit.

This is only accomplished as we remain in Him.

We have probably all heard someone say, “Why doesn’t God….” and then they complete that statement by expressing a desire that God would do something to change a circumstance or to minister to someone in need.

He is the Vine and we are the branches.

Now, where is that fruit located again?

You and me are to be His hands ministering, His voice declaring, His feet taking us to those who are hurting and those who are in need.

The next time you hear someone say “Why doesn’t God…” I hope that you will take it personally.

What can I do to be Christ to that need?

How can I minister in His Name to reveal Him to others?

You have probably heard that quote

“You may be the only Jesus others will ever see.”

It is so very true.

Do they see Jesus in you?

“…remain in my love.”

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. ”

John 15:9

 

 

 

♫“Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down…in the most delightful way”♪

Do you remember that line from a Disney song?

want things in life sugar coated when it is really the last thing we need.

All too often we

Sometimes, even when the truth is painful, it needs to be spoken without the syrup.

Jesus’ words could be very hard to receive.

From a people accustomed to a law that told them “an eye for an eye” was acceptable justice the words spoken by the Lord must have seemed like language from another planet.

He told them to pray for their enemies.

He even told them to love them enemies.

Talk about a bitter pill to swallow!

And yet…He spoke (as many often acknowledged) with such authority.

He spoke of a love that was supernatural.

That is why it seemed so different – because it was.

He was speaking to a people not accustomed to living supernaturally,

certainly not loving in that way!

It was not an expression of love the ‘flesh’ is comfortable with, let alone capable of.

It is a love evident as we remain in Christ – as we our obedient to His commands.

Now some might take issue with that statement, afraid that we are speaking of works rather than grace but it is not salvation we are speaking of.

It is expressing His supernatural love as it has been, through Christ, expressed to us.

It is recognizing and remaining connected to the source of that love.

It is not an ‘earthly’ love but a love from the Father made evident by the Son.

 A love that demonstrates obedience is not a love for the faint of heart.

Neither is it a love we can ever hope to express apart from Him!

“…remain in my love.”

 

Don’t You Care?

And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up.  Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, don’t You care if we perish?" Mark 4:37-38

There was panic on the boat and Jesus’ silence and inaction led His disciples to believe that Jesus didn’t care about their well being.  Of course we know that wasn’t the case, because when awoken, he quickly came to their aid and calmed the storm.

So, why did Jesus allow them to experience the storm? Was there something He wanted the disciples to learn that only experience could have taught them?  I think so.

I bet that experience, along with so many others, caused their faith to grow in the person they were following.  Jesus was preparing them to change the world and He knew they would need those experiences to understand, in greater depth, who He was.

I wonder how many times the disciples looked back on that time in the boat and drew strength from it, especially during the difficult times that came later in their life.

I wonder if Peter could have said with such confidence “you are the Christ” four chapters later if he didn’t experience firsthand the authority Jesus commanded.  After that day on the boat, Jesus was no longer the Messiah, the Son of God by word only.

Are you going through a storm?  Often, when we go through difficult times, heaven is silent and it feels like we are going through them alone.  But we aren’t.  God does care and He promised to never leave us or forsake us.  Instead, rejoice during those difficult times because God wants you to learn about His love, faithfulness, and provision at a deeper level that only experiential knowledge can teach.

In our testing and trials, its God’s desire that we discover what He can do and who He can be for us. 

Jesus is preparing you to change your world and those experiences of His faithfulness will allow you to face and overcome any challenge and accomplish all that He has called you to do.

 

 

Who Are the ‘Unlovely’?

“He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’ and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Luke 10:27

 

 

 

Who are the unlovely among us?

Is it the one with dirty body and clothes?

Is it the one who you can smell quite a distance off?

Perhaps the unlovely ones are the ones who do not return your smile and warm greeting.

Regardless of whom we may personally label as unlovely a better question we might challenge ourselves with is this:

Who, in spite of the label we have applied, is unworthy of God’s love being extended to them through us?

I think that question brings it back around to us.

Is it really something in us we must overcome?

Is it fear or pride or past experiences?

What might be today’s equivalent to you of the biblical leper?

Who screams – if not audibly, at least in your head – “Unclean, unclean!” as you approach the ones you have labeled unlovely?

Does the word unlovely give us the excuse not to love them in Jesus name?

Of course it doesn’t.

Jesus showed us that.

He healed the lepers, He ate with sinners, He forgave the adulterer.

So we ask the same question today’s post opened with.

Who are the unlovely among us?

Perhaps it’s not the smelly, uncouth or homeless.

Perhaps it’s those who refuse to share the love of God so freely shared with them.

Sometimes I struggle in this area.

The good news is that God can transform a yielded vessel.

Do you need to yield to His transforming touch in this area of your life?

Ask Him to give you a love beyond your natural ability.

Ask Him to fill you with His supernatural love.

Then allow Him to grow this area of your life.

You will never be the same...

…and others will never be the same because of His transformation in you!

When Did We Do These Things?

“The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me.”

Matthew 26:11

 

“All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor,

the very thing I had been eager to do all along.”

Galatians 2:10

 

The disciples could rejoice that Jesus was in their midst.

At the time they did not fully comprehend what that meant.

The Bridegroom was with them.

“The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” is how John later described it in the Gospel.

But what of the poor?

Jesus said we would always have them with us.

In saying that was He relegating them to some second class role?

Not at all.

The 1^st century church understood this and as Paul wrote in the Book of Galatians they were eager to ‘remember’ or minister to the poor.

Jesus no longer walked among them as He had done previously but there were still many, many opportunities to minister to Him.

How?

Listen to these words:

“I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:36-40

No, we will not always have Jesus in our midst as the disciples did but we have no less of an opportunity to minister to Him as we minister to the poor, the lost, the prisoner, the widow and the orphan.  

Have you ministered to Jesus today?

 

Divine Detours

“But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love;

for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”

Psalm 59:16

 

 

“…in the morning I will sing of your love…”

We all have our morning routines.

For some, the first thing after you get up may include pushing the coffee maker button on.

For others, it may be letting the dog out or taking the daily supplements.

Whatever your routine may include, does it also include singing of God’s love?

I’ll be honest – mine does not.

And yet it did for the Psalmist.

It was a routine that helped to develop the confidence he expressed in the next line.

“…you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”

This morning we got a call from our daughter’s caregiver.

She was on her way to our home when she was detoured through an unfamiliar route.

My wife was able to explain to her where the detour would take her and how to get her back on course.

Her ‘morning routine’ to our home did not include the detour.

Life can throw some detours our way.

When they happen, those unexpected ‘routine changers’, are we suddenly lost, fearful and anxious?

I am not telling you that getting up in the morning and singing changes all that.

I am encouraging you to make praise to the Lord your routine.

Do it morning, noon and at night.

Remind yourself of who He is and of His greatness and His love for you.

Then when the detours come (not if but when they come) you can encourage yourself in the fact that God is indeed your fortress.

But He is also your direction in times of detours.

Has your life taken a momentary detour?

Does it seem like your ‘routine’ has changed and not at your leading?

Maybe it’s a divine detour meant to remind you of who is in charge.

Allow me a paraphrase….

For you are my GPS, my direction in times of detour!

 

 

Don’t Give Up!

“He changes times and seasons;

    he deposes kings and raises up others.

He gives wisdom to the wise

    and knowledge to the discerning.”

Daniel 2:21

 

 

Around Western New York we are in that long season of winter where temperatures are bone chilling and expressed in terms of a ‘wind chill’ factored in.

Snowfall is expressed in inches if it’s a good day and feet if it is not!

You hear and see a lot of people cheering on the arrival of spring with countdown calendars and pictures of flowers and others such things as a way of not losing hope!

So to it can be with the seasons of our lives in our journey with God.

We are so ready for one season to end and another to begin.

But God does not release us into the new season until the current season has completed its’ work in us.

While we are so very anxious to move on, He is patiently completing His maturing work in us that He has created the season for.

Persevere through the season He has you in with Him.

Don’t prematurely abandon what He is accomplishing.

If our seasons in God could be measured in the same way the four seasons are marked on a calendar I wonder what it might reveal.

How many times we have missed all there was for us in that season because we quit too early.

Don’t give up.

Don’t give in.

If you must surrender let it be to God alone.

Let the season God has you in refine you in the ways He has meant it to.

Ask others you respect and look up to, to pray that you persevere.

You may just discover they have some sound wisdom having gone through similar seasons themselves.

Ask God for strength in the moments of struggle.

He wants you to receive all He has for you.