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A few weeks back as I was watering my lime plant I noticed several very tiny limes beginning to grow. I was extremely elated to see them because since I had the plant, which has been a few years, this was the first time I actually got fruit!
I take that physical fruit of the limes for me in a spiritual context as well. I feel like my Heavenly Father will be producing more fruit through me this year. And I realize that has a lot to do as to how I live my life.
It says in John 15:5
"I am the Vine, you are the branches.
He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit;
for without Me you can do nothing."
A branch draws strength, nourishment, protection and energy from the vine. If the branch is not firmly connected, it becomes weak and can eventually die. That applies the same Spiritually for us as well. If I choose to not stay connected to Jesus and slouch off in my prayer time and reading the Bible, I can become very dry and lifeless in my walk with the Lord.
As we become strongly connected and rooted deeply in our relationship with God, that is when the fruit begans to develop and blossom and branch out. Rich fruit is a result of having healthy fellowship with the Lord.
I can not wait for my limes to develop fully so I can make Key Lime Pie! But even more so, I can not wait to see what the Lord has for me along the lines of producing more fruit through me!
The other morning, as I was walking from the BART parking lot
to the train station, I noticed two small birds flying around the
underpass. The birds that I usually see
tend to fly around the small trees and shrubs outside, so seeing them flying
into and around a dark and dreary place caught my attention.
I was amused at first, thinking how silly they were. Why fly in a tunnel of sorts, when they could
enjoy the morning sunshine? It seemed
strange, to choose the gloom, and ignore the light that was easily
reached. Just a slight alteration of
their direction and they would truly see the world as a brighter place.
This got me thinking about how many times we do this to
ourselves. We keep to the confined
spaces and then complain that it is cold and dark and the air smells
funny. We are unhappy, but afraid to do
anything about it. So we continue to
flit around in the small space, telling ourselves that this must be all that we
deserve. We may even tell ourselves that
we are happy, because we need to put
on a brave front.
But God created us to be transformed, bit by bit every day. His
new mercies bring new chances to learn, grown and widen our flight path, so we
can fly into the sunshine and eventually soar!
“…but those who hope in theLord will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they
will walk and not be faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
There is so much potential in each of us that we never even
try to use. We restrict ourselves by
giving in to the negative perspective that we have been fed for so long, we may
come to even believe it as truth. We
tell ourselves that God’s promises are true, but not for us. They are meant for another time and place,
for better people. Jesus loves me, but
not right now.
Our lives are meant to be wonderful, flowing strings of
wonder and joy. But if we continue to
listen to the restrictions placed on us by our past failures and pain; our
current circumstances and the overwhelming burdens that we see before us; we
will miss the sunrise and sunset, birdsongs, warm breeze and tremendous beauty
growing all around; even in the driest
deserts places.
One of my favorite songs from years ago said to, “Keep your head to the sky”
(MWhite1973). And while I know that
heaven is far beyond the sky that we see, I pray that we each try to keep our
hearts, minds and intentions set on flying to the highest heights of eternity
with the Lord. With no restrictions!
“Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see
them?” declares theLord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares theLord.” Jeremiah
23:24
6/29/15 I have no question concerning how I feel about the new Supreme Court ruling on Gay Marriage. I truly believe that this new ruling is outside of the will of God. However, I also believe that nothing happens on earth if God does not allow it. He has given us free will, and our choices do not always reflect his plan for us.This is hard to conceive or understand. I feel that, like the gates and walls of Jerusalem decayed and fell in the time of Nehemiah, the gates and walls of our country are seriously decaying. At every turn of the head or broadcast news there is a new outrage or disgrace for us to deal with. It is hard to know what to do or where to turn. I was in the car with my thirty four year old daughter who is visiting me this week from Minnesota. I have noticed that she is not so immersed as I am about the horrors that seem to be constantly happening all around us. I started talking about the Bible and God's word which would condemn this new ruling. I was glad that we had this discussion, because her seeming lack of judgement about these things was hard for me to understand. I just did not like it.
Here is what she said. I feel it showed much wisdom and that she had her reasons for what she thought. This is the gist of what she said. "Mom, Jesus never spoke of homosexuality, and He must have known about it when He was on earth. I feel that it is our job to find out for ourselves what we hold and believe, and then we must live by it. Our job is to pray about things we know are wrong and not set ourselves up as judges. Our job is to live correctly as we see it from God's word. Jesus told us to love one another, that is our major job now. I think we need to show people love. The rest is God's work. God will take care of the rest."
I am still up in the air about my responsibility to speak into the life of someone who is living outside the law of God and just how to do it. I think that I need to pray and ask God to lead me in the way I should go about this situation...to give us the words He would like me to say. Of course, we need to pray for our country as there is so much need. I just wanted to share what my daughter said which blessed me and might bless you.
We have God's word - the Bible - to guide us in this life. But different people interpret what it says in hugely different ways. Even supposed "Biblical Scholars" disagree on major issues. Some feel that the Bible "contains" God's true words in certain parts, others believe the Bible "is" God's word, in its entirety without exception. Some people take parts of the Bible and dismiss them as "out of touch" or only true at that time, no longer applicable. Others take it all extremely literally regardless of the style of writing and to whom it was written and for what purpose. I strongly believe that the Bible is God's word, all of it is true and for our learning even today, and should be read in context.
It can be very disconcerting to hold strongly to a belief about what the Bible says about a certain issue, and then to have others hold just as strongly to the opposite belief when reading the exact same words. Some can "agree to disagree" on friendly terms, and others launch an all out verbal attack. Then there are the issues that make it to a court of law. There are times that the courts may dictate something in direct opposition to what some believe God has firmly established, while others celebrate that their view is finally prevailing in the courts. And both sides vow to continue to fight.
What is the best way to handle things when this happens? As Christians we must first realize that God is perfect and we are not. We may not always agree with other Christians because as humans we are fallible. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are forgiven for their shortcomings. We can hold firmly to our beliefs but still deal lovingly with those who believe differently. We pray for them, as well as for ourselves, that God will continue to work in our hearts and help us to act in ways that bring him glory. The most important thing is that we remain faithful, believing that we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, not by our works of "right thinking and actions." (see Romans chapter 3)
Second, we must remember that God always prevails. We do not need to fear about what is happening around us. He will always be our refuge and strength no matter what others around us are doing or saying. The universal "church" will always remain.
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress... He says,"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:1-7, 10 (NIV) AMEN!
"...because those
who are led by the Spirit of God
are sons of God."
Romans 8:14
Back in the days before the GPS systems, whenever my mother and I traveled we
used road maps. On long-distance trips we could order a set of maps from
our auto insurance and those maps would take us step-by-step along our route to
our destination. My mother never could read a map very well.
With all of our modern technology, I have heard stories of GPS systems
occasionally giving wrong directions. It pays to be careful traveling to
make sure the way is sure, correct, and safe.
Christians are blessed to have an internal guidance system -- the Holy
Spirit. The great thing about this is that if we seek His direction we
can trust Him explicitly. He leads us in a sure and certain path, even on
never before traveled roads in life. His way is always best for us.
So if you really want to have a safe journey throughout life, don't rely upon
your GPS system, trust the Holy Spirit's guidance through the Word of God.
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24
(ESV)
On my drive to work today I caught myself feeling happy. A genuine glimpse of the real me that I haven’t seen in quite awhile. I was actually singing to my favorite song, which is something I haven’t done in a few years. Once I realized that I was singing, I sang even louder and opened my windows. I know a lot of prayers are going up for me lately and I also know that God has been working on me so much. I can see things so much clearer than I have been able to; blinded by fear, desperation and discouragement.
This week, God has guided me to reach out to friends for support by sharing with them what I am going through; He has allowed me to change my way of thinking to searching for a solution instead of staying stuck in the problem with my hopelessness and fear of the unknown, that has been causing me to hold back from moving forward with changes that are greatly needed in my life. God has strategically placed messages directly to me exactly where I have needed them.
For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord,
plans for welfare and not for evil,
to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11
(ESV)
I know He has great things in store for me. The beginnings of the new times have only begun. Just the fact that He has created me to be able to turn the negative upside down and put the positive right side up is just incredible. He knows me, and with my faith in the Lord, I am able to move forward in this life living with an even greater passion than I ever had before. He knows what I am capable of….and that is what I am going forward with….the love of the Lord supporting me with the positive mind set not allowing the negative people to bring me down. I will be walking through this life my happy self again, and along the way proving how great is our God!
“What’s the price of two or three pet canaries?
Some loose change, right? But God never overlooks a single one.
And he pays even greater attention to you, down to the last detail
—even numbering the hairs on your head!
So don’t be intimidated by all this bully talk.
You’re worth more than a million canaries.
The Lord watches over you
The Lord is your shade at your right hand
The sun will not harm you by day
Nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep
you from all harm
He will watch over your life:
The Lord will watch over your coming and going
Both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121:5-8
(NIV)
I have never had a problem with lack of faith in God. I believed what I learned about God. I believed all that I read in the Bible. I spent twelve years in a Christian school, and then I went to a Christian College. By the time I graduated I had a very good foundation of knowledge about God, His works, and the history of how the Church had evolved. I do not mention this to brag. I just want to give you a peek into the education I had. The result was that, as I wrote in the beginning, I grew up with a strong faith that never wavers.
Having said that there are times when I wonder what something in the Bible means.
For instance, there are so many places in the Bible where we are assured that God will never leave us or forsake us. I believe that God in His way is keeping His promise. After all the in the Bible God tells us that His thoughts are above our thoughts and His ways are not always understood by us. He wants us to believe Him even if we do not understand what He says.
My questions are built around the fact that when the Lord "keeps us from all harm," then why do people have so many challenges and catastrophes to face in life. A child dies of Cancer. A person looses his job and cannot find a new one for a long time. By the time he does get a job he has become penniless and has not been able to support his family. A marriage goes on the rocks. A person who has taken care of her husband for more than twenty years of suffering with MS. Five years after he has passed away she starts to notice stiffness in her legs. She is diagnosed with ALS...Lou Gehrig. (This is a true story about a friend of mine.) The list goes on and on. It makes one wonder how God who saves us from harm from the sun by day and from the moon by night, allows such trials. I believe, but I wonder.
I was thinking about this the other day and I began to understand in a different way...no longer taking it literally. These words are not a promise to shield me from all trials. I live in a fallen world, and in the world there are challenges that I must face. However, in the final analysis, He has my back and has a plan to unite with me in heaven after my life has ended. What could be better than that?
Lord, thank you for having my back when I face earthly trials. You always guide me in the way I should go. I cannot imagine life without you in it. You are my alpha and omega forever. Amen.
Last summer we had a major dilemma with one of our trees in our backyard. On one of the larger branches, the bark had been completely stripped off, and other branches may have been in the making of that happening. We were majorly shocked! We discovered that the squirrels were taking the bark and using it for their homes. Well, knowing my husband, he would find a way for that to come to a halt. He started putting out traps for them daily with yummy bait, and when he would catch them, they would be completely removed from our premises. He continues to do that today, and our trees are fairing very well.
This morning as I sat on our patio in our backyard, I noticed a squirrel that would keep coming around enticed by the bait inside the cage. He would hang out for a short time, just long enough to smell the bait and a tiny taste, and then run out without the cage latching. He would do that several times tasting and scurrying away. As I came back out this afternoon, I noticed that the squirrel had been captured and there was no way out for him this time. He hung out way too long tasting and enjoying the bait until it was too late!!
As I thought about the squirrel today how he kept coming back for more of the bait to taste it time and time again... that it is a parallel with the Lord how He loves for us to keep coming back to Him over and over again. His Word tells us in Psalm 34:8
"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!"
We have the capacity to choose and delight in the Lord continuously throughout our life. We can come before Him and taste His goodness and greatness as long and as much as we would like.
I encourage one and all to "Taste and see that the Lord is good!"
When we our kids started taking piano lessons they were very excited to play great music. As soon as they were taught scales (going up and down the piano keys with proper fingering technique) they practiced going as fast as they could. But their teacher always slowed them down. Her words were "When you can play the piece correctly slowly, then you are ready to play it fast; and you will play it well." One child was very intentional and plugged through the repetition of slow and meticulous practice. The others played slow in front of the teacher, but speed was their game at home! Why should they go slow when they could already go fast? So they missed or slurred a few notes, no big deal, it hardly ever happened according to their ears. A few years down the road and the student who took the teacher's wisdom to heart was chosen for the honors recital. The truth in her guidance: practice it slowly; work on it patiently; don't give up; work on small sections at a time, master each part before moving on- sounds so reasonable and almost simple. It occurs to me that a great amount of the stress in my life would be relieved if I approached each of my responsibilities and myself with intentional patience.
But you must let endurance have its full effect,
so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.
James 1:4 ISV
Dear Lord, please help us to remember that You will not leave us nor forsake us. We can trust You. When trials and interruptions come, please send encouragement to remind us to hold steady with patience and not anger. In Jesus name, amen. Written by Mary M. Wilkins
“For You did form my inward parts; You did knit me together in my mother’s womb”
Psalm 139:13 Amplified Bible
If you are anything like me, there have been times in which you have thought about all of the things that have been allowed to “touch” your life. I am talking about the things that you would never have chosen, had you been given a choice. I am talking about the things that you could never have been prepared for, even if you had been aware of their coming.
Because we live in a fallen world, there are things all around us that “touch” us. Sin touches our lives, both our own sins and the sins of others. Sometimes the sins of others touch us before we are old enough to understand. Sometimes those sins touch us when we are older, but we still don’t understand why. At times those sins can leave us in a constant battle, always trying to overcome the ways in which they have affected us and our lives.
What I love about the above verse is that before anything else had ever been allowed to “touch” us, the Bible says that it was God Who touched us first. It says that He “formed us in our mother’s womb”. When I think about the word “form”, I think about a piece of clay which is being held in someone’s hands. I think about that piece of clay being carefully “molded” into shape.
It causes me to think that the one who is molding has a desired shape in mind, and is carefully working with the clay in order to form that shape. I imagine that he would have “formed” the clay into this shape in his mind first, and that he would then have had to approve of it. After that he would have set about the task of pouring himself wholeheartedly into the making of his creation. I know that he would do this lovingly, for that is what creators do. This is what our Creator did with each one of us.
How wonderful to think about God creating us in this way. It amazes me to think that He actually purposed us to be exactly the way that we are. There are so many thoughts that we could choose to examine here, but the one that I would like to stay with is this. Before anyone, or anything, else ever touched our lives, it was God Who touched us first.
This has to mean that we are acquainted with Him. Whether we like it or not, there is nothing that comes close enough to touch us that we do not become deeply acquainted with. Often times with this thought, we remember those things that have “touched” us in an undesirable way. There’s any number of things that could be named here. Death, abandonment, abuse… perhaps you would name other things, so I will let you fill in the blanks. But then, here it is clearly stated, that before anything else in our lives, we had first been touched by God. That thought is completely comforting and beautiful to me.
So often I have found myself going through life with a feeling of “searching” for something. I have come to understand that it was the touch of God in my life that I was searching for. No matter what else it was that I could find it had always left me empty inside. There was nothing that could ever truly satisfy that “empty” place inside of me. Sure, there were things that at the time, felt as if they could, but they never lasted. In fact, they inevitably caused a place of deeper emptiness for me to fill than the one with which I had started with.
I believe that God does everything with a purpose. I believe that He purposes to touch our lives first, before anything else does, because He desires for us to know what it is that is true. He knows that we will be born into this fallen world, and that there will be a vast amount of deception here. He wants us to know the difference between what is true and what is counterfeit. He actually gives us the “advantage”, if you will, by touching us first with truth, the truth of His love for us.
I believe that it has always been God’s desire for us to choose to come back to Him. How is it that we could “come back” to someone whom we had never known to begin with? A lot of us have grown up thinking that we have never known God. I believe that the exact opposite is true. I believe that the truth is this. The truth is that we have always known Him, and He has always known us… long before we were ever born.
Written by Beverley A. Napier
This song is by Don Moen.
I Am the God That Healeth Thee.
Let the word of God and his promises touch you and heal you.
We've probably all seen the "Footprints in the Sand" story by Mary Stevenson, where in a dream about life she saw two sets of footprints in the sand when things were going well in her life. Then suddenly one set disappears and the other moves on alone during the difficult periods of her life. At first she thought that represented God abandoning her when tough situations arose, but God tells her that was when He was carrying her.
Well, sometimes I think my dream would end something like this: Then there was a rut with a ridge down the middle next to God's footprints in the sand, and He said "That's when I sat you down on your butt and dragged you through to the other side!" That's what I call "Butt-prints in the Sand" because sometimes I just don't get it, and though God is trying to help me, I continue to feel terrified and fight him all the way through the desert. But God still never abandons me! That is what a truly perfect and loving Father does. He protects us throughout life's perils and carries us through to safety when needed.
Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place." Deuteronomy 1:29-31 (NVIV)
Dear God, my Father in heaven, I thank you for never abandoning me in spite of my times of little faith. You have carried me through so many trials and yet I still have times when I doubt your presence or desire to help me. May I never totally turn my back on you. Give me the faith and courage to hold your hand and move forward confidently through whatever comes my way. May this gift of faith be a witness to others of your unfailing Fatherly love. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Are you living a life of disorder and clutter? Have you tackled so many
projects that you don't have time to do any of them well? Are you
presented with many 'roads' to heaven and don't know which story to believe and
which example to follow?
You need to open a letter. God has given you 66 of them in His Word, the
BIble.
In it He will give you
orderly accounts of those ordinary people of faith who have gone before
you. He will give you guidance for living a productive and fulfilling
life. He will give you wisdom in making decisions and setting
priorities. He will give you joy in living.
Most of all, God will tell you all that He has done for you. He loves you
so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on a cross for your sins. He has
reserved a place for you in heaven as a free gift. The Holy Spirit is
waiting to fill your life with faith so you can walk the rest of your life in
peace. God's love will fill you.
The Bible is an orderly and complete account of all we need to know for this
life and for the next. Confused? Open your Bible to read and receive
the peace that passes all understanding in Christ Jesus.
Written by
Carol Steficek
Here is a song that is written as if Jesus is singing it.
He sings of all that He saw in the flawed people
that He met and loved while He was here on Earth.
Please listen to it...I have posted it before
because I find it so touching. He does not see the flaws we have but He sees our spirits and loves us the way we are and as we were created.
I am not in much of a spot to write a devotional today, so
my most encouraging words will come from the bible. It has been a tough week for me
emotionally. I have never felt so alone
and afraid in my life. I was really hurt
by a human that I thought was a true friend.
The betrayal was over me sticking to my morals. He had other earthly needs apparently and
went elsewhere to get them. I know that
is for the best and I will carry on a better person for it, but, at the moment
I am so hurt, and truly can only read the scriptures for my hope and strength
to carry on.
“The Lord is my strength and my
defense[a];
he has become my salvation.
He is my God, and I will praise him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt
him.
Exodus 15:2
(NIV)
Look to the Lord and his
strength;
seek his face always.
1 Chronicles 16:11
(NIV)
This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed is the one who trusts in
man,
who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
Jeremiah 17:5
(NIV)
With that being said….I take my
hurt and pain and turn it into trust to gain strength from the Lord, who has my
heart anyway, because the reality of this situation is that He is just
protecting me after all.
You probably will remember the movie from a while back called Pass It Forward. A Junior High School student came up with a unique project that would affect other people. His project directed that the students would do good work and helpful things for others and when they were thanked by the person who benefited by the good deed the students would explain to them the value of passing it forward to someone else. It was as if it started a wave of good will and helpful things that radiated out from the student who did it. It is a lovely concept.
Our church is visited by a Messianic Rabbi from Dallas about once a year.He is a delightful person, interesting and very energetic person who is involved in many ventures. To give you an idea he is connected to several colleges and universities where he teaches Bible class and the fact that Jesus was indeed the promised Messiah that the chosen people had been waiting for and missed the understanding of who He was. On a more mundane level he is a policeman for the Dallas Police Department.
You are probably asking, "Corinne, what does all that biographical information have to do with "paying it forward?" I plan to tell you about something Rabbi Jeff said when he was last at our church. It was a story from his policeman experiences. He never mentioned pay it forward. However, what he said reminded me of that concept.
Rabbi Jeff was talking about how he conducts a pull over for driving fast or for some other infraction. He said he rarely issues a ticket. Basically when he does it is because of a rude argumentative attidude. He does walk up to the car and do all the regular things police do. When he goes back he hands back the license and proceeds to discuss the infraction and gives a little talk about the expected behavior he has from this driver in the future. Then he tells the driver that he feels that God has given him a lot of breaks when he has messed up. He tells them that he will not be issuing a ticket, because he wants to do as God has done to him. Then Rabbi Jeff gets into his car and drives away.
Another name for this act could be forgiveness, and forgiveness benefits the one who forgives or pays it forward.
Be gentle and ready toforgive; never hold grudges.
Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you mustforgiveothers. Colossians 3:13
Lord, thank You for all the times You have paid me by your forgiveness that you have given me that I did not deserve. Help me to always look more softly at people who have offended or hurt me. May I always be willing to pass forward the gifts that you give to me to others who may have hurt me. Amen.
It takes time to set our affections on things above. Especially when life has so many distractions. There are multiple things that are constantly crying out for our attention each and every day.
The good news is that once our affections are fixed on the things above and on the Lord, our hearts cannot be easily altered. As we are seeking Him, His will, His ways, His character, we truly become fixed on Him. That is when our heart, our mind and our will, our affections, our desires are focused firmly on the Father above.
We can continually seek the things above and experience an increase and a richness of the Lord and His many benefits.
As you set your mind on the things above, you will enter into a deeper dimension of the fullness of the Lord and experiencing His presence and knowing Him more.
That is where I want to be!! That is where there is much of His Life and Light and greatness of all that His is!! Set your sights on Jesus and soar with Him!!
A few weeks back as I was watering my lime plant I noticed several very tiny limes beginning to grow. I was extremely elated to see them because since I had the plant, which has been a few years, this was the first time I actually got fruit!
