Learning to Live Clearly...Friday

May 8, 2015

I am taking the time lately to truly learn about myself.  I am intentionally living slower in order that I can understand why or how I do certain things that I do as well as getting to understand the feelings and emotions that I have been having.  It has really been a very good thing.  At times it can be hard to be so closely in touch with those sensitive emotions, but, in the long run, it has been so very good to learn about myself.  And I absolutely LOVE the moments of clarity.  Slowing myself down to actually see more parts of the journey has shown me how I treat God, as well as how my daily travels go when I keep Him in my life versus not allowing Him in.  How incredible it is, that as I hold Him close, my direction and decisions come so much easier. 

 The revelation of God is whole

and pulls our lives together.

The signposts of God are clear

and point out the right road.

The life-maps of God are right,

showing the way to joy.

The directions of God are plain

and easy on the eyes.

God’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold,

with a lifetime guarantee.

The decisions of God are accurate

down to the nth degree.

Psalm 19:7-9  

(MSG)

That being written it does not mean that life will always be easy. However, it does mean that life will run more simply.  Keeping God with me ensures that I will have a life filled with confidence, peace, love, joy, harmony, as well as CLARITY in abundance.  That fact right there makes me very happy!  It will also be true that I will show and share that eternal happiness in my heart with the rest of God’s people as I continue to journey on with that exact intention.

Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

       
                   Philippians 4:8-9
                             (MSG)

Written by

Kelly Dobyns

Happy Inspired Reading! ...Thursday

5/7/15

I used to hear people saying that they found this or that gem when they were reading their Bible. They would say that God led them to find this or that verse that was totally speaking to them and made their day.

I would listen and then think, "Why hasn't that happened to me. I need help to get to just the right book and scripture. So I did not read the Bible in that way. I would read a book or the required reading for whatever Bible study I happened to be taken. I would listen to and read what Priscilla Sherir had to say. She would bring out the verses and ring them dry with her insights. Beth Moore is another leader that had that same talent. I did not, and that made me sad. I used to wonder if something was lacking in me to lead to me coming up very dry a lot of the time. I wondered if I was ever going to hear God the way I hoped. After all, I told myself, we all are unique...born with talents unique to us and different from others. It is silly to play the comparison game. Personal lecture over. 

A couple of weeks ago I had a bright idea...and I will allow the possibility that God was actually speaking to me. My idea was to open my Bible to the page that lists all the books of the Bible, to close my eyes and point. So I decided to give it a try. My only hope was that I would be spared Numbers that I had already pre-decided would be pretty boring. When I opened my eyes my finger was on the book of Ephesians. I was excited and set to work on Chapter 1. I immediately found a verse in that chapter that caught my eye. 

It was Ephesians 1:4.

 Long ago, even before he made the world, God chose us
to be His very own through what Christ would do for us;
He decided then to make us holy in His eyes, without a single fault
we who stand before Him covered with His love. 

I wrote about this verse a couple of weeks ago and shared what I got from it. I have talked to others who agreed with me that this passage means that God chose to overlook our thoughts because of the salvation Jesus provided for us. You need to think about it and  see if you agree that is the meaning. 

My whole point in writing this is to show you a new way to find where to read in your Bible. It is not hi tech and you could say that you will not be hearing God with this method. However, that is not true because God is taking your finger and putting it on the Book that He would like you to read. 

Happy inspired reading! 

Written by

Corinne Mustafa

This musical choice is different than the kind I usually pick. It is a walk through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation showing the scriptures that tell who Jesus is. It is not about the entire Bible, but I found the list of Scriptures to be invaluable and gives a new pursuit to future Bible reading.

"His Word Like A Fire"...Wednesday

5/6/15

"Is not my Word like a fire, declares the Lord, 

and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces." 

Jeremiah 23:29

Every time I read this particular scripture, it reminds me of the vast power of our Lord, Jesus Christ! His Word is alive and well! As we read His Word and speak and declare His Word, it penetrates and pierces our hearts deeply. It breathes life to us, even in the most darkest places. His Word is life and light and healing to our souls.

I am so thankful for the fire that goes forth in God's Word and how it is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces in correlation breaking down the lies of the evil one. As that transpires, His truth is revealed. His truth rises up in our hearts and Victory comes forth!

I rejoice each day for the Love Letter of His Word He has given us, that brings Amazing Revelation shining bright in our hearts!

In His Fiery Word and Love, 

Sandy Billingham

Bend...Be Pliable...You Will Feel Better...Tuesday

 5/5/15

There are times when a I have felt frozen by life and the challenges that seem to paralyze me. The snow drifts of hard paths seem too much for me to overcome. Then comes the day when I seem like I am at the top of the mountain and then something happens. There I am needing oil on my joints just like the Tin Man in Alice in Wonderland as rust sets in leaving me immobilized all over again.

This sort of thing happened to me on the day before the opening of school in 1954. I had just arrived home from a great vacation in Canada. I had had a great time, and now I was thrilled to go back to school, be a sixth grader, and see my friends that I had not seen all summer. Then the phone rang and my world was turned dusty. The news shouted by my grandfather when he answered the phone was  that my Great Auntie Vida, my favorite, had died in a car/18 wheeler crash that afternoon. The next few months were a nightmare. My mother had a stroke at the funeral and ended up in the hospital for several months. My father had to go away to a job...he worked on the road training men in the use of card clothing drums. I ended up in the car of my mother's girlfriend who was stern almost to the point of abusiveness. I got into a lot of trouble in school that year, but no one seemed to notice that perhaps what I was going through could be the reason. Things that came from all that carried on with ramifications for about two years.

I survived, and that was not the only challenge that I have faced throughout my life. In 20/20 hindsight some were not as traumatic as they seemed when I was going through them. At the time they were beyond difficult. I am older, and now I am fully aware of this scripture. 

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future."Jeremiah 29:11

I have found this to be true. There always is a light at the end of the tunnel...not always a fixer but always a blessing to gain from God's work in my life

I got into this train of thought by a song that I heard recently. I always seem to be behind the current times as this song is from a book, THE STORY that came out in 2011. There is an album of the same name with songs about various people and situations in both Testaments of the Bible. The song was the song about Joseph. He had so many ups and downs in his life...

• sold into slavery
• taken into the kings trust as an adviser
• sent back to jail for a false accusation of sexual impropriety
• and finally in a position to save his family from starvation during a famine

In the end he came out just where God had planned him to be. One of my favorite themes in the song is that he was not part of what his family tree would have said he was. There is a line that I really love. "Learning to forgive what has already been done." In times of adversity things are done to you that can destroy you or help you grow stronger and better. You just have to be pliable and be willing to bend. Forgiveness is the key to ending up better than you were at the start. 

Written by 
Corinne Mustafa

Your Life in Bloom.....Monday

The cluster of bright purple flowers wrapped in brown paper and string catches my eye. Looking for a little gift for a friend I am sorry to see upon closer inspection that there are lots of dead little blossoms on this small but flourishing plant. "I can't give her that one," I say to myself. Then I hear a whisper in my mind, "Why not?" "Because it's not perfect," I reply. The voice continues:

"No one's life is perfect. At any given moment in your life some things are coming to an end while other things are just beginning to develop. You are made up of lovely open blossoms and buds closed tight that are not yet revealing what beauty they will be. Then there are the dead blooms. You are more than these bits that are fading and falling and done. When a season comes where you don't see any blossoms, you are growing still. Deep in the ground your roots are spreading and getting stronger as you struggle through your questions, doubts, fears, and challenges."

I put the pretty little plant with the dead bits in my cart and ponder the idea that my life is not perfectly beautiful all the time. Since I know how messy and messed up my life is on any given day it doesn't take me long to admit that even if I tend to pretend it doesn't make the dead blooms in my life go away.

Open up before God, keep nothing back;

    he’ll do whatever needs to be done:

He’ll validate your life in the clear light of day

    and stamp you with approval at high noon.

Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him.

Psalm 37: 5-7a MSG 

Dear Lord, thank You for Your patient love and mercy that keeps drawing us to You and into better understanding of Your truth. Please helps us to be patient, kind and forgiving towards others and ourselves. Please help us to face our circumstances with strength and courage because we know that You are with us and for us. In Jesus name, amen.

The Power of Your Love performed by Maranatha

Written by Mary M. Wilkins

SHEEP... Sunday

Devotional for 5/3/15

Sheep are meek and docile.  Their shepherd guides and protects them, and they faithfully follow their shepherd.  They can also be skittish, easily scared by noises or shadows.  Sometimes what scares them is an actual enemy out to steal them away and kill them.  This fear can protect the sheep from predators if they run fast enough, but can also cause them to become lost easily from the group.  Luckily, they also have a keen sense of hearing and can recognize their shepherd's voice as he calls for them.

This is why Jesus is called the Good Shepherd, and we are the sheep of his pasture. He guides and protects us, and we faithfully follow him, or at least we usually try.  Sometimes we are easily distracted or run due to fear.  The noises and shadows of this world can be very deceiving.  The chief thief, Satan, also can snatch us away when we wander too far.  We may easily get lost as we turn our backs on God.  Luckily, He comes searching for us and calls us by name.  He even sacrifices his own Son's life to rescue us from eternal death.  And when we are still lost and dead in our sins, He picks us up and holds us in his life-giving arms.  Sometimes, like a child, we struggle to get free from what we may feel as being trapped.  But if we allow his loving arms to hold us and his Spirit to work in our hearts, we soon feel the peace and comfort that only He can give! As we come to him "sheepishly," full of guilt but also repentance, our sin is wiped away as he forgives us yet again, every time.

John 10:14-15 (NIV) "I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me - just as the Father knows me and I know the Father - and I lay down my life for the sheep."

Dear Lord, thank you for guiding and protecting me as my Good Shepherd and for bringing me back into your flock when I stray yet again.  No matter what I have done to turn away from you, or how many times, you continue to love and forgive me. Undeserved though it be, your grace and mercy are ever with me.  Help me to witness this to the world!  In your name, Amen.

written by Jan Andersen

FRIEND OF GOD...Saturday

5/2/15                    

"...and he was called God's friend."  

James 2:23b

     Most people are familiar with the Old Testament patriarch, Abraham.  He was called God's friend.  Another prominent Old Testament man was Moses.  He actually spoke to God fact to face as one friend does to another.

     What God seeks from each of us Christians, who claim to follow Him, is friendship.  Yes, God wants an intimate relationship with you and with me.

     What are the ways we can foster this relationship with God?  God wants us to tithe (bring Him our best and first offerings), and to worship Him faithfully with other believers, and to pray (talking to Him about our deepest needs and concerns and thoughts), and to read His Word daily for wisdom and direction.

     Just as we have to put time and effort into our marriages, friendships and other earthly relationships, we have to expend the same time and energy to become a friend of God.

     Who are we human beings that God not only created us but now He wants to have a relationship with each of us?  Wow!  I have the opportunity now on earth to become a friend of God.

Written by

Carol Steficek