Archive for January, 2008

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Everything I need is in Your Word - What Great Riches!!!

Thursday, January 31st, 2008
Jesus, everything I need is in Your word!!  Everything I need is in Your word!  Everything I need is in Your word!!!   Everything I need is in Your word!!!     Everything I need is in Your word!!!  You bless my heart – “I have found Your word feeds my soul. I have found Your word feeds my soul.  It’s better than life and I’ll glorify You, Spirit within me cry out Your name, I have found Your word feeds my soul.”   Oh Jesus, You awaken me wide awake and I will not be able to go back to sleep until I pour out my heart to You!  I went to bed reading the 119th Psalm and the longer I lay in the bed the fuller my heart became!   I recall hearing that Billy Graham’s mother was reciting the words of the 119th Psalm on her deathbed.   Oh Father, could it be so for me?   Oh Jesus, could You get me still long enough to meditate on Your word and Your truth long enough to carve this Psalm on my heart?  I’m just asking.  You would have to do it Lord.  I sure couldn’t.  I read in my footnote that in the Hebrew culture most people did not have personal copies of the Scripture to read as we do, so God’s people memorized His word and passed it along orally.  Almost every verse of this longest Psalm and chapter in the bible mentions the word of God.  

Oh the truths are so deep and so rich and so broad and yet so simple!  You aren’t trying to make this difficult, are You?   Jesus, Your recipe for our lives being blessed is written down on the pages of Your word:

“Blessed are they whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord.  Blessed are they who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart.  They do nothing wrong; they walk in His ways.  You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed.   Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees!  Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all Your commands.  I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn Your righteous laws.  I will obey your decrees; do not utterly forsake me.”  Oh Jesus, I desire to walk according to Your law.  I desire to be blameless in my walk with You.  That is impossible for me – it is only possible through Your Spirit living within me.  That is what I desire.  I desire to receive the full blessing You desire to pour over my life.  I want it all – I don’t want to miss any part of what You desire to pour out!  I desire to keep Your statutes and seek You will all my heart.  I desire to obey Your precepts.  Make me steadfast in obeying Your decrees.  I desire to learn Your righteous laws.  I desire to obey Your decrees; Jesus, do not forsake me.  Do not leave me where I am.  Lead me on Lord, lead me on!

“How can a young man keep his way pure?”  Oh Father, what a question for our day!  How, Lord, how?  How can a young man keep his way pure?  How can any man keep his way pure?  Everywhere we look temptation is right in front of our eyes – everywhere we look – it is not far away.  How do we combat temptation?  “By living according to Your word.”  Oh Father, allow my sons to live according to Your word so that You can keep their way pure.  Allow my husband to live according to Your word so that You can keep his way pure.  Allow me to live according to Your word to that You can keep my way pure.  Our weapon, our sword is the word of God.  Oh Jesus, purity of heart, purity of mind, purity of spirit.  Purity Lord, purity.  Your recipe for remaining pure is to live according to Your word.  We must be in Your word.  We must be soaking in Your word!  “I seek You with all my heart; do not let me stray from Your commands.”  This was Ezra’s heart – he was seeking You with all of his heart – he did not want to stray from Your commands.    My footnote says that this psalm may have been written by Ezra after the temple was rebuilt as a repetitive meditation on the beauty of God’s Word and how it helps us stay pure and grow in faith.    He asks a question that troubles us all:  How do we stay pure in a contaminating environment?  We cannot do this on our own, but must have counsel and strength more dynamic than the tempting influences around us.  Where can we find that strength and wisdom?  By reading God’s Word and doing what it says.

You recipe isn’t hard, is it Lord?  Your recipe is Your word.  You recipe has always been Your word and Your recipe will always be Your word!  Your word will last forever – all else will fade away – but not Your word!  The writer goes on to say that “I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You.”  Hiding Your word in my heart keeps me from sin.  “Praise be to You, O Lord; teach me Your decrees.  With my lips I recount all the laws that come from Your mouth.  I rejoice in following Your statutes as one rejoices in great riches.  I meditate on Your precepts and consider Your ways.  I delight in Your decrees; I will not neglect Your word.”

Oh Father, my heart is so not to neglect Your word.  If it were not for Your word, I would have perished in my affliction.  I know that is true.  I know that today if I am not in Your word I will perish.  Your word renews my mind, Your word allows me to think correctly, Your word gives guidance, Your word give direction, Your word gives counsel, Your words are flawless.  I want to invest my life in Your word.  “Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your law.  My soul is consumed with longing for Your laws at all times.  Preserve my life according to Your word.  Strengthen me according to Your word.  I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free!”  Amen, bless You Jesus!  I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free!  Today, Jesus, set my heart free again – let me RUN in the path of Your commands!!   Run, Jesus, let me run in the path of Your commands!!  Let me follow You with a steadfast heart and my eyes on the goal – Jesus Himself!!  Thank You for waking me up, thank You for continuing to teach me, thank You for Your word and thank You for its life changing power!  Allow Your word to bring me rest even now Lord!  In Jesus name I pray, Amen!
 

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Shhhh…

Thursday, January 31st, 2008

Sometimes the Lord wants us to be quiet so we can hear His voice. So often we are hustling around, busying ourselves with every day “stuff,” talking 90 miles an hour about nothing, fretting over the storms and trials of our lives, thinking we already know the answers when God just wants us to be quiet and listen to Him for a minute. “Shhhh,” He whispers to us.

Have you ever been around someone who talks absolutely all the time, never comes up for air, not much has been said when they’re finished, and you just want to graciously and with all the love you can muster up scream “Shut the heck up!”? I have. Now I’ve never said that to anyone but many times I’ve thought it and bit my tongue to hold back. But you know, God is much more patient with us than we are with others, isn’t He? He doesn’t tell us to shut up, He just quietly whispers, “Shhhh.” As a matter of fact, if we’re not listening intently for His voice, we may even miss it.

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7).

Jesus said to the storms that were raging, “‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm” (Mark 4:39).

God can calm our wildest storms, our most fierce waves, the strongest of winds with just two small words, “Be still.” And He can calm our spirits just the same.

Shhhh…

Hope

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Blind-sided by the enemy…

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008

Well, web friends, do I have a story to tell you. If you dwell on it long enough, you’ll laugh. But I need sympathy first, then you can laugh.

First of all, I started on the treadmill around 6:45 this morning and after about 12 minutes of smooth sailing, our power went off (in the entire neighborhood). There’s nothing like the jolt of going from 3.7mph to zero with no warning. So I catch myself before hitting the floor, start making my way out of the bedroom in total darkness and run into the Gazelle that I forgot I had moved into that room. After assuring Caleb who is in the shower trying to find his way out that all is well but yes, it’s true we have no power, I pick up my exercise elastic band and make my way downstairs. I was finishing up a good workout with the band and decided I’d do one last arm and back workout. I have to give you the visual picture so you can get the full effect. I’m sitting in the floor, legs straight in front of me, back against the couch. I wrap the medium strength band around my feet and am holding each end in my hands and tighten it around my wrist, thus increasing the strength. I pull the band toward my face and stretch outward for the butterfly effect. Just when I have the band pulled to its tightest potential, it slips off my shoes and hits me directly across the eyes and ridge of my nose, literally knocking me backward. Oh, let me assure that was so painful and so without warning that I thought I was going to pass out. I then doubled forward and called for Caleb (Clay’s out of town). Both eyes were throbbing but the right eye was hurting so badly that I could not open it and the entire bridge area of my face felt like I had run into a brick wall. Once I was finally able to keep my right eye open I realized that there was an area of my vision that was blacked out like a quarter of a moon. Then I panicked. Caleb rushed to get me an ice pack, told me to call a sister because he was going to be late for school, hugged me bye and I was left all alone to drown in my pain and fear. Yes, I was blind-sided by this attack.

That’s what satan likes to do, isn’t it? Just when we think we’re doing good, things are going along well, we’re feeling good about our accomplishments and BAM! we’re hit with an unexpected brick wall of “issues.” Quite often those unexpected issues paralyze us with fear and panic. What do we do? We call the doctor! The great physician is always on call. We never have to leave a message and wait for Him to call back. He has the prescriptions in writing for all our problems. But what if we’ve been hit in the eyes and our vision is so blurred or the pain is so great that we can’t seem to focus on His word? Then we pray and trust Him to bring to our hearts the scriptures that we have studied. He is the great Physician and He is our balm in Gilead. The ointment for all that ails us.

“O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me” (Jeremiah 8:18).

“I call on the LORD in my distress, and he answers me” (Psalm 119:1).

So I called my RN sister, Carla, who made all the necessary calls, pulled strings that got me a referral from a physician to an eye specialist and by 9:30 we were in his office. The diagnosis and prognosis? It was apparent that I had a tear (’tare’, not ‘teer’) but it had almost healed itself as the eye heals quickly, I have two areas of inflamation that he prescribed drops for, and the assurance that I did the right thing by coming in. He tells me that I am very fortunate as a blow to the eyes like that could have been very serious. He said, “Typically when someone takes a blow directly to the eyes by an elastic band…” I said, “Is this a common problem? Suddenly I’m not feeling so stupid!” So I’m working from home with a pounding headache, needle-like pains shooting into my eye, but all is well. So far I have no black eyes which is pretty amazing. I’ll let you know tomorrow if that changes.

Today’s lesson? Beware and be prepared - lest you be blind-sided by the enemy. I’m telling you, this exercising thing’ll kill ya!

Hope

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Illuminator of Truth

Wednesday, January 30th, 2008
  

Lord, You illumine truth as we pray together and You are showing me that more and more.  It is really cool that even as we pray, You are teaching us Your truth.  And as we listen to others pray, we are edified in our own spirits and Your Spirit is imparting truth over our lives.  The people You have brought into my life and continue to bring into my life to pray with are one of the greatest blessings and joy You have given me on this earth.  I believe that is true in part because it is a little taste of what heaven will be like – unending communication and fellowship with You and our brothers and sisters in Christ for all eternity – just talking with You.  

 

I am coming to understand more and more all the time Matthew 18:20 – “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.”  Your Holy Spirit resides with and indwells each believer and we individually come to You in prayer.  However, there is also another dynamic that occurs when we pray with other believers.  Ecc. 4:9-12 “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work; If one falls down, his friend can help him up but pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A chord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  

The same is true for me when I walk with other believers and we talk to You and we talk about Your truth.  We begin our walks sometimes with heavy hearts and the more we walk and talk and pray the more You lift our burdens and the pace and step of our walk increases.  You lighten our path, You lighten our steps.  You bring perspective as we share with each other.  You give direction through others, You give wisdom through others.  You are the head – we are the body – one body.  As each part is lifted up so are all the others.  O Father, thank You for continuing to teach me as I pray with others.

There are truths that I desire to take hold of today and ponder – meditate on – things I learned through another, even this morning. 

1)      We have heard it said that time is the healer.  Last night in Billy Graham’s “Death and the Life After” I read that it isn’t time that is the healer but it is what we do with the time that is the healer.  Oh Father, in my own life I know that You have and continue to bring such healing to my own heart through pouring out into the lives of others – it is always in giving away that we receive – another of Your paradoxes.  I will never forget Sal exhorting me to “keep pouring it out, keep pouring it out and the Lord will pour in.”  Oh Father, it is so true!  I want to pour out!  There is such healing in pouring out.  I need to pour out!  Lord, even today give me opportunities to pour out in Jesus name, I pray.

2)      Oh, Father, another of Your truths that I want to ponder today is that I “want to            make much of You, Jesus.  I want to make much of You, Lord” as the song says.  I want to know and experience the bigness of my God THIS day!  To do that, Lord, I must focus upon You.  I must not look at the circumstances which surround me but I must look upon You and You alone! 

3)      You are my Father that is desiring to do new things in and through my life – even each day as I focus upon You.  The path that You have each of us on has not been for naught.  You desire to use it as a building block for the next thing You have for us.  Nothing is wasted in Your economy.  You are building with eternal blocks things into the very fabric of our lives that will last forever.  You are going to bring all things together – it might not be today – but I can bet my bottom dollar that You will because that is who You are!

4)      One of the other truths Lord, is that You don’t usually give us a sign or Your affirmation until AFTER we have been obedient.  Then we see the results of our obedience.  We aren’t going to see it up front because if we did, it would not be a walk of faith – would it?  It would be a walk of sight – and You are all about walking in faith - building an ark for 120 years, leading 4 million Israelites out of Egypt, a little boy beheading a giant and on and on – walks of faith – never walks of sight.  It keeps us coming back, doesn’t it Lord?  It keeps us coming back to You.  We have to keep coming to You for the next strength, the next grace, the next direction.

5)      And another thing Lord, is that You don’t want us to leave the place You have us until we have seen Your glory.  It isn’t about our glory but about Yours – it is for the sake of Your name – not ours.  And You want us to see Your glory – it is to our great benefit to see Your glory  - it fuels our faith walk!  Today, Father, I want to see Your glory!!  Praise You Jesus!!

6)  The greatest blessing of our lives is to know You!  To know You – whom to know     is life eternal!!   Paul said, “My determined purpose is to know You!!”  Phil. 3:10  Oh, Jesus, today let me know You more than I did yesterday!  I anticipate that!  Knowing You more today!  I am certain it is in Your will for me to know You more today than I did yesterday!!  Amen!!!
 

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Just believe Him…

Tuesday, January 29th, 2008

Our Sunday School lesson this past week was worth sharing with you. I’ll make it as short as possible. Abraham (then Abram) and Sarah (then Sarai) were getting really old and the Lord had promised them children. He had promised Abram at age 75 that he would be the father of many nations. “That’s a great promise, Lord, but I don’t have any children and I’m old.” God assured Abram again at age 86 that He would keep His promise and he would be the father of many nations. “O Sovereign Lord, I ain’t seeing it.” (Paraphrased in my own words.) We discussed a few days ago the fact that Sarai took things in her own hands and insisted that Abram sleep with Hagar, the maidservant. So Ishmael came along as Abram’s son and God said, “That’s not where I was going with this plan. You will be the father of many nations but it won’t be through the line of Ishmael.” And Abram said in his heart I’m sure, “O Sovereign Lord, I ain’t seeing it.” But you know what? Abraham continued to recognize God as sovereign and believe Him. He had no idea how it was going to happen and at age 99 when Ishmael was 13 years old, God spoke to Abraham again (that’s when he changed his name) and told him that now was the time. Here are the passages that are good for our souls…

“After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: ’Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward’” (Genesis 15:1).

“Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness” (Genesis 15:6).

The Lord wanted Abraham to 1) not be afraid and 2) believe Him, and Abraham did just that. What did believing God buy Abraham? “He credited it to him as righteousness.”

What did Abraham do to earn the credit of righteousness?

Abraham did his daily devotionals and it was credited to him as righteousness. No.

Abraham gave of his free time to charity work and it was credited to him as righteousness. No.

Abraham had perfect attendance in Sunday School for 5 straight years and it was credited to him as righteousness. No.

Abraham prayed three times a day and it was credited to him as righteousness. No.

Abraham kept the list of Dos and Don’ts without exception and it was credited to him as righteousness. No.

Abraham believed God and He (God) credited it to him as righteousness. That’s all God wants us to do! He wants us to believe Him. Even when the promise is unbelievable. At one point in Genesis 17 Abraham laughed and said, “God, I’m a hundred years old for crying out loud!” But he continued to believe God anyway. When God promises that He has a plan and purpose for each of our lives and that all things work together for good of those who love Him yet He takes the life of our 18-year-old Hannah, we continue to believe God anyway. Do not be afraid and just believe him.

Hope

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Spending time with the Lord…

Monday, January 28th, 2008

“He appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him (emphasis mine) and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:14 & 15).

Our pastor, Danny is leading us through the book of Mark and yesterday morning was an incredible message on our calling as a Christian. Look at the above verse. Christ appointed the twelve “that they might be with him.” He wants us to spend time with him. Why? So that we can get to know him and see “how it’s done” so to speak. If we spend time in the Word and look to Christ as our example, then we will have the strength, the willpower, the boldness to withstand and overcome anything that comes our way. If we are Christians, He lives in our hearts so He is always with us. He wants us to be aware of His presence and allow Him to lead us. He just wants to spend some time with us.

In order to become a Christian, we had to accept a call. Christ calls to us through his Holy Spirit and he invites us to come to him and accept him as our Savior. Then he wants to spend time with us. Hang out with Christ today. He is an incredible mentor. Then you will find that you have what it takes to handle anything that may come your way.

Hope

 

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This is the Day the Lord has made! We will rejoice!

Monday, January 28th, 2008
“To You I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me.  For if You remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.  Hear my cry for mercy as I call to You for help, as I lift up my hands toward Your Most Holy Place.  Praise be to the Lord, for He has heard my cry for mercy.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.  The Lord IS the strength of His people, a fortress of salvation for His anointed one.”  

Oh Father, I bless and praise You that You hear my cries.  You are my strength and my shield.  My heart does trust in You and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I give You thanks in song.  You are the strength of Your people, a fortress of salvation.  Bless You Father.

“Do you rulers indeed speak justly?  Do you judge uprightly among men?  No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth.  Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward and speak lies.  Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.  Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

Oh Father, bless You and thank You that You are the God that judges the earth.  Bless You Father, that You are the One who ultimately will make all things right.  Father, thank You that even during the time of an important election in this United States of America that You are the One who does and will ultimately judge the earth.  “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”

“O Lord, the God who saves me, day and night I cry out before You. May my prayer come before You; turn Your ear to my cry.  For my soul is full of trouble and my life draws near the grave.  I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am like a man without strength.  I am set apart with the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.  You have put me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.  Your wrath lies heavily upon me; You have overwhelmed me with all Your waves.  You have taken from me my closest friends and have made me repulsive to them.  I am confined and cannot escape; my eyes are dim with grief.  I call to You, O Lord, every day; I spread out my hands to You.”

Father, bless You for being the God who sees us, takes us and meets us exactly at the point of our need.  Our desperation does not scare You.  You are not shaken when we cry out to You for help.  Oh Father, You are the only healer, the only Restorer, the only Helper.  You are the God who is mighty to save.  You are the God who brings men from the pit of despair.  You are the God who once again sets our feet upon a rock – Jesus Christ. 

“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.  In my anguish I cried to the Lord, and He answered by setting me free.   The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?  The Lord is with me; He is my helper.  I will look in triumph on my enemies.  It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.  It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me.  The Lord is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.  I will give You thanks, for You answered me; You have become my salvation.  The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone (Jesus Christ); the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes.  This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.  The Lord is good, and He has made His light shine upon us.  You are my God, and I will give You thanks; You are my God, and I will exalt You.  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever.”

O bless You Father; You are a good God.  You are the God who delights in setting Your people free!  In our anguish we can call to You and You set us free!  You are our help.  Your are our strength and our song and You have become my salvation.  Jesus, You are the stone the builders rejected and what the Father has done is indeed marvelous in our eyes.  We will rejoice in this day that You have made!  You are good and Your love endures forever!

“Praise the Lord from the heavens, Praise the Lord from the earth, kings of the earth and all nations, you princes and all rulers on earth, young men and maidens, old men and children.  Let them praise the name of the Lord, for His name alone is exalted; His splendor is above the earth and the heavens.  He has raised up for His people a horn, a King, the King Christ Jesus - the praise of all His saints.  Praise the Lord!”

Bless and thank You Father, that Your name alone is exalted – Your splendor is above the earth and the heavens and we are a people that are close to Your heart!  Bless Your name!!     

 - from the 28th, 58th, 88th,118th, 148th Psalm
 

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High risk…

Friday, January 25th, 2008

Our ladies at Cudd are reading Get Out of That Pit by Beth Moore for our spring Bible study. Last night I sat down to read the first chapter and I couldn’t believe one of Beth’s statements in the Introduction. It was a great “closure” for my update yesterday on For God’s Sake. Beth prayed this short prayer, “Thank you, Father, for risking Your name on me.” Wow.

God sure takes a great risk when He allows me to leave my house every morning and represent His Son through Hannah’s Hope Ministries. I sit here in the lobby of Palmetto Hematology today and I am amazed at the number of patients that come through here each day. Today is Friday and you would think it would be a little slow (not sure where that reasoning comes from but it just seems like it to me). But not the case. The lobby is packed and there are so many hurting, sick people. Good grief, when I think about my “worthiness” to be here, I can’t help but believe that God probably has “High Risk” stamped on me. I want to represent Him well today and every day! The next verse in Psalm 23 is a great one to share with all those I’ll come in contact with today.

“He guides 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.” (Psalm 23:3b & 4).

I may be high risk but if I take comfort in His care and trust Him as my guide, I’ll be alright.

Please pray for my little great-nephew. Landon Bradley Nations was born this past Saturday morning. He was born with no complications and weighed in at 9 lbs. 2 oz. But Wednesday night he started with shallow, rapid breathing and then spiked a fever. He is now in Winston Salem Baptist Hospital (they live in Thomasville, NC). They have tested him for spinal meningitis, RSV and several other viruses. So far all tests have returned negative. Praise the Lord for that! They are awaiting more cultures. This morning his temperature is down, his oxygen level is teetering at 90 (needs to be mid-90s) and his energy level is good. He’s kicking and cooing and glad to be here. Landon is my brother, Randy’s first grandbaby. Born to my nephew Brad and his wife, Shana. Thanks for lifting him up today! Have a great weekend - and represent Him well.

Hope

 

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For God’s Sake…

Thursday, January 24th, 2008

“He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake…” (Psalm 23:3).

God has an awful lot invested in us. His name carries a lot of weight and He has a reputation to uphold. No wonder it means so much to Him for us to “get it right.” It’s not so easy getting it right or staying on task, is it? But God has a lot to lose if we do not strive to stay on the path of righteousness. His name is at stake.

We could spend a lot of time on that today. I don’t know about you, but my name means a lot to me. I remember when I went through my divorce how concerned and worried I was that my name would be “marred” due to this. I had spent years building a name for myself, a reputation, a testimony. I had made many mistakes along the way but had desperately tried to stay on path. The last thing I wanted to do was ruin that. Can you imagine how much more important it is to God? He’s been around a whole lot longer than I have and He’s got a much greater reputation with much to offer others if I represent Him well. Our lives are a reflection of His Son. If we call ourselves “Christians,” we have a big name to uphold, big shoes to fill. So how in the world can we possibly live up to it?

By allowing God to guide us through His word. “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” I want to be worthy of being God’s name’s sake, don’t you? Let’s strive to do it right, for God’s sake…

Hope

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Ahhh, Green Pastures…

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008

Today’s Psalm, a very familiar one, Psalm 23 is my focus for today. I actually read it last night instead of this morning and I started spatting off my thoughts to Clay as he played his little handheld free cell game. Not that I mean to sound spiritual or anything, I had already played the game and pulled Clay out of a game that had him “stumped.” Anyway, while he tried to one-up me, I decided to do something a tad more meaningful with my time at 11:20pm. So I read Psalm 23. Just before we had our family prayer time I had received an email from a friend at church who referenced Psalm 23:2. The Lord had brought it back to my mind while I was praying with Caleb and so I turned to it and found that in fact the direction I had gone with my ramblings with the Lord was substantiated. Here are my thoughts…

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters” (Psalm 23:1 & 2).

The thought of green pastures represents to me abundance and rest. Abundance of blessings in that if the pastures had not received the necessary rain and fertilizer and seed they would not be green. God has provided just what we need in life for our pastures to be green - and He wants us to lie down there, rest. Rest in your blessings today. Don’t fret, don’t worry, don’t be anxious. God has showered you with His protection and love and countless blessings. Rest in those green pastures today.

In my imagination my green pastures are rolling and are vast in size. They stretch as far as the eye can see - and there are no spiders or bugs or snakes or animal “droppings” - nothing but vibrant green grass with the rays of bright sunshine reflecting from each blade. And in my soul God invites me to spread out a blanket and rest. Ahhh, green pastures.

Hope

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