Peace That Passess All Understanding

God never ceases to amaze me day after day. I have found many of time when I am going through a crisis or a very trying time God's peace sustains me. His word says in Philippians 4:7 "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds throught Christ Jesus."

God will carry us and give us great peace and guard our hearts and minds through Him. It certainly does surpass all understanding, but He is God and there is none like Him. What a wonderful promise to have and to actually experience that when you are in the midst of difficult times. I am so thankful that our God takes cares of us and He knows exactly what we need at the right time. I can so totally rest in Him and rest in His perfect peace.

Blessings,

Sandy

Golden Rule

12/7/10

Galatians 6:2

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

Galatians 6:2

Bear ye one another' s burdens - Have sympathy; feel for each other; and consider the case of a distressed brother as your own.

And so fulfill the law of Christ - That law or commandment, Ye shall love one another; or that, Do unto all men as ye would they should do unto you. We should be as indulgent to the infirmities of others, as we can be consistently with truth and righteousness: our brother' s infirmity may be his burden; and if we do not choose to help him to bear it, let us not reproach him because he is obliged to carry the load.

Submitted by Annie

THE FAITHFULNESS OF OUR GOD

Monday, December 6, 2010 Devotional

I just returned from mailing a belated birthday card. I have been faithful for years in sending this person a birthday card on time. However, this year the date slipped passed me and I sent the celebratory message well after the fact. Oooops!

As I picked up the card to send it on it's way, I was reminded that our Lord is never late in his responses to our prayers. His solutions to our problems and the help He grants us is always in His perfect timing. Our cares and concerns never "slip His mind." Isaiah 49:14-17 states "Yet Jerusalem says, 'The Lord has deserted us; the Lord has forgotten us. Never! Can a mother forget her nursing child? Can she feel no love for a child she has borne? But even if that were possible, I would not forget you! See, I have written your name on my hand. (NLT) Our Heavenly Father assures us that the love He has for us is stronger than that of a nursing mother for her baby and that we will never escape His memory. Furthermore, in Hebrews 13:5 the Lord says, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (ESV) These are powerful declarations of the faithfulness of God.

I recently heard the testimony of a recovering drug addict. She had survived a childhood filled with abuse, neglect, and exploitation. Early in her spiritual journey the Lord spoke these words to her: "I will be there for you tomorrow." This solidified her commitment to Jesus and gave her the hope and security she needed to continue in her Christian walk. Whether we are overcoming great emotional trauma or just in need of a word of encouragement in our daily routine, we can rely on the enduring promises of God. The lovely song by Robert Davidson says it best.

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases.
His mercies never come to an end.
They are new every morning.
New every morning
Great is thy faithfulness Oh Lord.
Great is Thy faithfulness."

Written by C.F

SUNDAYS

This was a recent on-line headline: "Linda Lost 100 Pounds By Cheating on Her Diet". Now there's a statement that gets my attention! Many of us struggle to lose weight or even just maintain it so that as the years go by we don't get continually bigger. Well, Linda Roland had the same problem. In fact, she had gone on special diets, even some of the most popular diet programs that we hear are the most effective. However, Linda always gained the weight back, and more. In her fifties, she finally hit a breaking point, and decided to diet her own way and change her lifestyle. She held to a strict diet with restricted calories for 6 days of the week, and on Sundays she rewarded herself and ate whatever she wanted all day long. She found she was able to hold out for the 6 days, knowing that on Sunday she could eat anything she had craved earlier in the week. Now that's a great reward in itself, but the weight loss is an even greater reward!

This reminds me of the sabbath. After 6 days of working and being busy with all the tasks at hand in life, we are to rest from our labors and honor God. We know that God rested on the seventh day of creation, and that He wants us to rest from our labors also.

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Hebrews 4:9-10

But the Sabbath day is not just for us to rest and be lazy. It was set aside to honor God.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Exodus 20:8

The Sabbath day in itself is also a reward for us - we get refreshed physically by resting. But there is an even greater reward - that of spiritual renewal. We are given the gift of eternal life in heaven with our loving and forgiving God, by grace through faith in Jesus, who came to earth as a babe in Bethlehem... whose birth we are preparing to celebrate. And during those preparations it is important to remember to take time to rest and honor our God. Every week, no matter how much is on our plate, no matter how many things we feel we need to get done, no matter how many decorations there are to put up and christmas cards there are to write and cookies to bake and gifts to buy and wrap.... remember to take your Sabbath rest to honor Him. So worship with fellow believers, be built up in fellowship, read and study his Word, meditate and pray, and rest in His arms. Let your faith be built up in Jesus who came to earth as one of us, died in our place on a cross, and rose again to set us free. Be refreshed and renewed in body and spirit by the Sabbath!

written by Jan Andersen, refreshed and renewed in spirit

For everything there is a season,

Sometimes the pressures of life and circumstances can build up to be so intense that you just need a break. But who’d have thought that the break would feel more like a broken heart.

Yes, God knows when it’s our time. He has our days numbered. He knows when it’s the right time. But not just the right time to bring a person home to Him, but the right time for everyone else to say, “Good-bye”.

Oh, how the pressure’s been building. I’ll bet no one expected that it was time for a break, and not the kind of break you would expect. In our family, it was time to take a break and change our focus. For some, it was time to stop focusing on…office work. For others, it was…kids or grandkids. It was time to stop focusing on sales, on schoolwork, on Christmas plans. It was time to stop focusing on…circumstances. It was time to focus on something else, on someone else…on someone who was loved and who will be missed.

No one ever looks forward to the end of a life. After all, it’s not a time of joy, but of sadness, or is it? Well, I suppose it’s basically a ball of emotions tangled together from years gone by that surfaces dramatically, and in a matter of days we expect to unravel it just enough to put together a respectable sending off for the one whose life has ended. But how exactly is that supposed to be done?

It’s done by not stuffing that ball, but by letting it go. By taking a break from everything else and focusing on…her favorite flower…the hymns that she cherished…the style in which she decorated her home…. It’s done by remembering... remembering the old Livermore hospital building where she used to work as a nurse…her silly little dog, Sloopy…the way her hairstyle changed over the years, or hasn’t changed. It’s done by talking about her…talking about all the time that she’s volunteered to help at the thrift store…talking about how she and Grandpa used to spend their vacations fishing…her favorite kind of pie…where she liked to go to brunch after church…the spunky way she handled her husband when they were a young and not so young couple. It’s done by taking a moment and hearing the sound of her voice still echoing in our hearts…humming a little tune. It’s done by sorting through her knick-knacks with a smile…and her pictures with tears…. It’s done by honoring her.

It’s time…time to take a break and rally together, to excuse, put off and let go of anything that need be and celebrate her life…and that’s not necessarily a sad thing. It’s joyful to celebrate a life, especially knowing that her life has not ended, but has truly just begun.

Death is inevitable, and there’s just no good time for it. But there is a right time. I know there were plenty in this family who found themselves with a break, but not the kind of break where you sit and have some coffee. It’s more like an earthquake…something that occurs when pressure’s been building. Yes, death is earth-shattering, and with every death of a loved one, there’s a fault line created. It’s a reminder of someone who left a mark…a deep rooted break that will never be filled in, as it shouldn’t be, but will be remembered, for that someone will someday be seen again…at least by all of us who know the same Lord and Savior as she knows. Then the time will come for the broken hearts to be mended.

   

For everything there is a season,

A time for every activity under heaven.

A time to be born and a time to die.

A time to plant and a time to harvest.

A time to kill and a time to heal.

A time to tear down and a time to build up.

A time to cry and a time to laugh.

A time to grieve and a time to dance.

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them up.

A time to embrace and a time to refrain.

A time to search and a time to give up.

A time to keep and a time to throw away.

A time to tear and a time to mend.

A time to be silent and a time to speak.

A time to love and a time to hate.

A time to wage war and a time to make peace. 4Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

In honor of
Amy Maxine Spruiell
Born November 25, 1915
Died December 1, 2010


Written by Amie Spruiell
    (her grand-daughter-in-law)
            12-01-2010

The Place

Devotional for December 3, 2010

“He refreshes and restores my life (my self);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
(uprightness and right standing with Him- not for my earning it, but)
for His name’s sake.” Psalm 23:3 (Amplified Bible)

No matter what the season, it seems as if there is always a lot to do. Whether it is a calendar “season” or simply a “season” in our lives that we are going through, I find that “quiet” time is getting harder and harder to find. It seems to me as if the “demands” of life are becoming “louder” and “louder.” I am finding that at times these demands are (almost) all that I can hear.

A very special friend of mine has a meeting that is held once a month. It is called “The Place”. It is a place that you can come to and “set aside” the demands of life for a moment or two. It is a place that focuses on the Lord. There are testimonies given of His goodness. It is a place that “shows” His love through a kaleidoscope of different sizes, colors and backgrounds. His love and goodness is shown through the people whose lives He has touched.

I love this place. It is a place where all are welcome. It is a place where acceptance and love are the norm. There is no need to look for or to try and find a “position” to make you more acceptable. You are accepted, simply because you are there. You are loved, simply because you are you.

This is a place where Jesus is welcomed. This is a place where He is exalted, and lifted up. Not only through the praise songs that we sing, or the testimonies that are heard, but most importantly, through the attitude of those who are there. The attitudes of those who have been personally touched and changed by the Lord are different from any others that I have seen. Where there was once pride, there is now humility. Where there was once hatred, there is now love. Where there was once fear, there is now peace. Where hands were once reaching out to “get”, those same hands are now reaching out to “give”.

What a beautiful place this is. This is the place that we pull away from all that hinders us. This is the place where our perspectives are changed. This is the place where our hearts can become full once again, and a place where our spirits can soar. This is the place where our dreams are allowed to grow, and the place where we find nourishment for all that is parched inside of us. This is the place of restoration. This is the place of abundance, the place of hope, and the place of joy. This is the place where Jesus is.

Now I have been talking about a physical place, but in reality, this “place” is not a building. It is a place where we can “go” to at any time of the day, no matter what our physical location is. It is the place that we go to in our hearts and in our spirits. It is the place where we meet Jesus. It is the place where He is always waiting for us. It is the place that He offers us His comfort, His peace, His wisdom, His love, His confidence, His strength and His perspective. It is a place where we can simply come, no matter what the state of our lives, or even our hearts are in. We do not need to be worried about “covering” up the places that don’t look so good. We do not need to be anything other than who we are, even when we don’t really know who that is, or even when we don’t really like who that is. It is a place where we know that we will be loved.

Thank you Lord, for these “physical” places in our lives that You have prepared ahead of time for us, through your people, those who know You and serve You. But thank you also for the access that You have given to each one of us, into your Presence. Thank you that You have made yourself available to us, and all we have to do is to call out your Name. We know that You are beside us, even before we call. Our only right response to all of this Lord, is to let your “call” become the desire of our hearts. We desire to love others, Lord, because you have first loved us. Help us to do this, we pray.

In Your name, Amen.

Written by Beverley A. Napier

A Little Bit of Yourself this Christmas

It started innocently enough with a cell phone. I could more easily let my young teenager off of the proverbial leash knowing he could reach us and we could reach him. A few years later I briefly resisted texting until I realized how much it could open up conversation with my older teen. At a time when 2 words could not be said without tempers flaring, texting provided a safe zone for discussion. Comments on a screen could be exchanged without emotion as long as I chose my words thoughtfully.

The computer is another great tool for measuring my words with care before sending them off into the wild blue yonder. One of the things I especially appreciate about this technology is the ability to send messages in an instant to family and friends all over. Just as I chose my words carefully while texting, I want to share my thoughts and best wishes for others in a way that will mean something special to them.

I know there are a few people who actually want to hear everything the kids have been doing and how well everything is going at work. However, if my goal of sending Christmas wishes is to let people know that I love and care about them, then that’s another story altogether.

Instead of an email ‘all about us’ I will need to reach out to them by expressing affection and appreciation. Hopefully in the process, I will be a little water jug of God’s love, pouring out His grace and tenderness. Not by preaching at them with scriptures, quoting the latest book or by being unbelievably positive but by telling them that I care about them. Warning: flattery must be avoided at all costs. People can see right through it and it is more offensive than if they had not heard from you at all. Trust me, I know this from experience.

The emotional effort of writing something personal takes time and thoughtful consideration. Although as one who has received such a kindness, I can tell you, it is time well spent. There is nothing more nurturing to a relationship than to share your feelings through words. Whether you send a card, a text or an email I hope you’ll put a little bit of yourself in each of your best wishes this season.

Proverbs 18:20-22 (MSG)

Words satisfy the mind as much as fruit does the stomach;

 good talk is as gratifying as a good harvest.

Words kill, words give life; they're either poison or fruit—

you choose.

Romans 14:19 (MSG)

So let's agree to use all our energy in getting along with each other.

Help others with encouraging words; don't drag them down by finding fault.

Written by Mary M. Wilkins