His Ways Are Perfect

He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his ways.
~Psalm 25:9

Think back with me to the kitchen when you were a little one learning the secrets of your mom, grandmother and possibly your great grandmother. They knew you were there to have fun and get your fingers sticky and dirty with all the flour and eggs. As you were listening to their instructions on what to do when and loving every dirty finger minute of it something happened that you didn't count on. As you humbly let them guide you you learned how they made things by doing what they said not by following a recipe. You can look back to that time and remember looking at that dough and thinking how it felt and what it looked like and the smell of it, so when you make your own now you can remember and make it perfect just like your people have all these years. And if you have little ones around you can pass along the family secrets as well.

Gods direction is no different than what was already mentioned above. He knows we are there and when we humbly come to him he directs our lives in ways we never knew we could go. He is always there waiting for us to ask him for his help and what we should do in this or that matter. You may think of it in the same context as making a dough. You are there to have fun and be with God and as you spend time with him something happens you didn't realize, all this time he has been teaching you and training you for the next in your life. This happens step after step of the recipe. In the end we will be a fragrant offering to the Lord by our obedience in the areas God works with us. No matter what it is that God teaches us his ways are perfect. It is always something that we need for the next in our lives. If we just humbly sit at his feet we will know what we need when we need it. Take the time to humbly go before the Lord today and let his ways become your ways. You'll be glad you did!

God Bless...

United Through Peace

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”
Romans 12:18

When I read this verse many many years ago it was a slap in the face. How is it up to me to keep the peace when someone else is absolutely wrong and everyone knows it! The scriptures aren’t wrong and in the end the truth always comes out. Is this a tough lesson to learn, you are to live at peace with others that make you crazy because God says you should. This isn’t something new; people have been making other people crazy way before now. Paul speaks of it in Philippians chapter 4 where he is trying to get two women to “agree in the Lord” then he urges the saved of the congregation to also help him. Who knows why these two women were at odds with each other it could’ve been the color of the carpet to put in the new sanctuary or the color the walls should be, regardless they and we should do our best to keep the peace. If we are squabbling and new people come in saved or unsaved we have lost out on a great opportunity to serve others. And we hurt our own people at the same time. In the end, nothing gets accomplished and huge walls are built instead of the intimacy of friendship.

This passage doesn’t say we have to be best friends with everyone but it does say as much as it depends on us to live at peace. Sometimes all we can do is pray and keep out of that other persons way for a time. As we pray this allows God’s will to be done. And as we pray for the healing of the relationship, we are also to be quiet about it to others so they don’t get involved. Another thing we do is play it over and over in our heads of what was said and what we could’ve said different and if we have other altercations what we will say then. This is also not helping the situation to get any better because we are feeding on the ugly and not looking to the positive. It’s real easy to be ugly when we feel hurt, mistreated, unappreciated or even overlooked. Ultimately we need to keep our eyes on the LORD and not look to the humans around us that have a tendency to let us down. God is always there and will never leave us nor forsake us. Not to mention he hears every word uttered even those we think, he can fix things much better if we give him the time and the opportunity. If there is a relationship that is at odds right now in your life or it’s a crazy sticky sometimes ugly situation please ask God to heal it and bring the unity through peace once again. We are to be the peacemakers! God bless…

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.
— 2 Corinthians 4:7-10, NIV

God will answer all our questions in one way and one way only. Namely, by showing us more of his Son.
— Watchman Nee

Prayer:
O Lord, I am torn up with grief.
I know you are there,
but I cannot see past my sorrow and tears.
Be with me, Lord,
and do not take my unhappiness to heart.
Rather, work within me to guide me
through these dark days
and bring your light to my life,
so that I may see your goodness, even in my mourning.
— Maureen Pratt

God’s Majesty

So if you're serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.
~Colossians 3:1-2 MSG


How many times have you said or thought “Life isn’t fair?” Probably just as many times as I have, maybe more! It is easy to get so consumed with the here and now. And having just had a horrible experience recently it’s kind of hard to look ahead when there are pebbles in your way you may over look and stumble. It’s very easy to begin thinking of these bad or hard times and even question if you have the fortitude to make it another moment. You never know the next minute could be worse than it is right now, how can we cope with that? You may even be thinking of returning to the “old ways” because it’s just too tough to be strong. Too many other people are looking to you for guidance and strength to overcome their portion of junk. Maybe it’s your children that are looking up to you to help them through the same thing you are going through, what are you going to do, let them witness that you say you believe God is powerful but not powerful enough for YOUR problems? I would hope not! I am right here with you thinking my problems are huge, but GOD IS MORE than anything you or I go through. You may think that is a bit harsh because you are hurt and hurting in a deep and painful way, but in reality it is true. And once we get to the point we can think a little clearer we realize this. And it at this point we can hold our head up just a bit and really see the beauty of God. It is this time we see God’s creation and know that God’s hand is at work even when we can’t understand how he could make an ugly or bad situation better. It’s now you see the awesome colors and design God gave us. As children we don’t understand the real majesty of God but wait till you get older and go through the difficulties of life and we can sure see why God made “all of creation”. It is to uplift us in the hardest times and to remember if he can make something exist out of nothing by his voice surely he can handle our problems self inflicted or otherwise. As I think of ways to busy myself to get through and pray for my own craziness, I pray that you would see “nothing is impossible for God” (Luke 1:37) and remember to get your “strength from God” (Phil. 4:13). In the end God is faithful!

God bless…

Quote - Unknown

We are never more like Jesus than when we are choked with compassion for others.
— Unknown

Quote - William Barclay

Strengthen me where I am weak; correct me where I am wrong; cleanse and purify me from all the faults which spoil my life; through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.
— William Barclay

9/II Dare to Remember

For some reason I couldn't sleep in this morning, so I decided to get up, do the morning routine and try to find a movie on TV to watch as I walk. Did I forget what this day was? No, I had already gone to the Lord in prayer for all those that have lost someone that day so long ago and the military that serve 24/7. As I turned on the TV it was on Fox News, hours later it is still on Fox News. The day of remembrance is so strong, tears streaming down my face as I walked continuing to pray for those that have suffered and given so much of themselves and their families for these 7 years. Moments ago, they showed President Bush and oh how he has aged over the 2 terms of his service to our country. Each president ages with the stress of the duties of office. No matter what you think of the job President Bush and others in office have done, you can be sure they fought hard to make sure we did not have another terrorist attack on our soil and continue to fight daily. The Day America Changed is the theme this year for the day of terror. I believe we did change, if only for a moment. Seven years ago there were flags everywhere you couldn't find flags at stores due to being sold out. We all banned together with a strong "God Bless America" and prayer as we sent our military to faraway places to stand up against these horrible terrorists. We still chant God bless America but we forget why we are staying the course with our military men and women fighting abroad all through the year until 9/11 comes around and we are so vividly reminded. We are reminded then that it's to remain "the land of the free and the home of the brave". Our service men and women along with the local police and firefighters deserve more honor and respect from us than they get. It's very important to remember they take many risks to make sure we are safe. 9/11 goes far beyond just one day of remembrance and we should do our best to remember every day of the year. As we go through our lives day in and day out make a difference in someone else’s life, tell service men & women, police, firefighters and anyone that risk their lives for us "thank you" for the job they do and how they make a difference in our lives.

God bless...

Quote - Unknown

The greatest happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved, loved for ourselves, or rather loved in spite ourselves.
— Unknown

Quote - C.S. Lewis

The worldly man treats certain people kindly because he "likes" them: the Christian, trying to treat every one kindly, finds himself liking more and more people as he goes on--including people he could not even have imagined himself liking at the beginning.
— C.S. Lewis

Don't Give Up & Stay the Course

Are you in a battle right now? It could be any kind of battle, I sure am. Sometimes you know what to do and others it seems like you are clueless. It's funny that my devotions yesterday was "God, Our Defender" Psalm 62:6 & today was "Don't Panic" Hebrews 10:23. So today I thought about how God always goes before his children and clears the way just like in the Old Testament he went before the people. We teach our children that God is everywhere and he always existed and he is always at work. So why is it that we fail to believe even in the hard times of our life he is not at work for us fixing everything that gets messed up or we mess up? And in these times we want to give up because it's too hard. The hill is too steep to climb; what you don't see is God ahead of you with a line tied off to his waist and is pulling you, you just feel the weight of your own body thanks to gravity!
Our struggle right now is tough but show me where life is easy... really, I want to go there! Even on a deserted island you have troubles, think of the hurricanes, my most favorite place in the world I would still be subject to hard times. It's best that you give your "stuff" to God and leave it in his hands for him to take care of. He created it all, read Genesis 1 & 2. He also created you it's in Genesis as well, so he knows all about us. He knows what makes us happy, sad even mad. He knows our needs Matthew 6:25-34 and he loves us more than all his created things on this earth. I know for sure he will go to bat for me and help me in my toughest hours. I can hold my head high that I am not giving up and I am staying the course with God by my side. Paul tells us to fight the good fight to finish the race we have begun, 2Timothy 4:7-8, and that God is faithful to finish the good work he started in us 1 Thessalonians 5:24. Don't give up stay in the race it's much better being in the race than sitting on the bench. Being in the race means you aren't giving up on God, he won't give up on you so don't walk away because it gets a bit rougher than normal. And remember no matter the troubles in your life if you are a Child of the Risen Lord you have HIS foot steps to follow. God Bless...