[God] who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go. (Deuteronomy 1:33)

What difficulties are you now facing? What perils threaten to undo your peaceful world? What calamities taunt in this dark day?

Pitch your tent in the land of hope, my friend! For Jesus has risen from the dead. And if the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwell in you — then He will also quicken your mortal body in even the most hopeless moment. If death itself is not the end, then these paltry attempts by the devil to thwart your faith and spoil your life will fall powerless to the ground.

Be glad! Yes, be ecstatic from the inside out — for the Lord of Life is your dearest friend; and He holds you in the palm of His hand…even now.

Rylisms (James Ryle)

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, (Ephesians 3:20)

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.

He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day he was walking along the shore. As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.

He smiled to think of someone who would dance to the day. So he began to walk faster to catch up. As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man wasn’t dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, “Good morning! What are you doing?” The young man paused, looked up and replied, “Throwing starfish in the ocean.” “I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?” “The sun is up and the tide is going out. And if I don’t throw them in they’ll die.”

“But, young man, don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it. You can’t possibly make a difference!” The young man listened politely. Then bent down, picked another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, “It made a difference for that one.”

There is something very special in each and every one of us. We have all been gifted with the ability to make a difference. And if we can become aware of that gift, we gain through the strength of our visions the power to shape the future. We must each find our starfish. And if we throw our stars wisely and well, the world will be blessed.

(Author Unknown)

 “Let my words and my thoughts be pleasing to you, LORD, because you are my mighty rock and my protector.  (Psalms 19:14)

For the past ten years or so I’ve had the privilege of sharing with hundreds of women through small group bible study, conferences, retreats, etc.  In our many discussions, the subject of prayer almost always comes up.  You might be surprised to learn (or maybe not) how many women say they have trouble praying.  Among the reasons given, there are three that stand out in my mind as the most common.

 Trouble #1 – “I’m not sure what I should or shouldn’t pray for” (or similarly)  “I don’t know what to say”.

This is not a new problem.  In Luke 11 Jesus’ disciples came to Him and asked Him to teach them to pray.  Jesus answered them by giving  them (and us) a model, a guide for effective prayer.  Praying and personalizing the words Jesus left for us, in what is referred to as The Lord’s Prayer, can be a wonderful way of releasing our spirit and drawing us into a time of prayer.

“My Father in heaven, holy is Your Name.  Let Your kingdom come.  Give me what I need for today.  Forgive me my sins and help me to forgive others.  Keep me from giving in to temptation…”

Another path to prayer, when you don’t know what to pray, are the Psalms. Recorded in this amazing book we see David cry out to God.  We see him sing praises to God. We see him pour out his soul in times of joy, fear, repentance, sorrow, pain, weakness, brokenness.  The Bible tells us that David was “a man after God’s own heart” and isn’t that, after all, what we want for ourselves?

God has given us His word for our instruction and edification.  What greater act of worship can there be than to speak His own words back to Him?  When we pray God’s word, we are aligning our thoughts with His; we are saying “God, I agree with You.  I submit myself to Your will.”

“I praise you, LORD, for being my guide. Even in the darkest night, your teachings fill my mind “. (Psalms 16:7)

 Trouble #2 – “It doesn’t feel right to pray for myself”.

When we pray for ourselves I think we somehow feel we are being selfish, or lacking in humility.  That is not what scripture teaches.  Look in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and John 17.  In these passages Jesus pleads for Himself, He asks the Father to intervene, to deliver Him. Do we really think He would desire any less for us?  God is our Abba Father, our Papa.  What greater joy is there to the heart of a Father than to have His child come to Him and make his needs known?

saying “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)

Trouble #3 – “My mind wanders”.

This is probably the struggle that I hear the most.  In case you’ve missed it, as I did for many years, prayer is one of the weapons in our spiritual arsenal (see Ephesians 6:18).  Knowing that, it stands to reason that Satan will do anything and everything to keep us from it.   We have the power to stand firm against his attacks, all we have to do is call on the name of Jesus.  A passage that I often claim, is 2 Corinthians 10:5-6

“For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ”

A great way I’ve found to rid the mind of distractions and bring it back to a place of worship is by singing a hymn of praise.  It doesn’t matter if you can sing or not, God loves it when we lift up our voices in praise to Him.  When we do, He returns our worship with His glory and fills us with His Spirit.

and it was the duty of the trumpeters and singers to make themselves heard in unison in praise and thanksgiving to the LORD), and when the song was raised, with trumpets and cymbals and other musical instruments, in praise to the LORD, “For he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever,” the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God. (2 Chronicles 5:13-14)

We know that prayer is an essential part of the Christian walk.  More than that, it is a gift from God – a gift that entitles us to come into the presence of a Holy God with the assurance that He will listen to us. I believe if we could fully comprehend and exercise the power of our prayers, we would get so excited that we would not be able to contain ourselves.

Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. (Proverbs 31:25)

“The other night he took me to dinner. We were having a wonderful time when he remarked, “You can certainly tell the wives from the sweethearts.”

I stopped licking the stream of butter dripping down my elbow and replied, “What kind of crack is that?”

― Erma Bombeck, “At Wit’s End”

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You. Psalm 5:11

Dear God,

You ask of me just three simple acts – trust You, love your name, be joyful in You. No problem, I’ve got that – or do I?

Trust you? To a point, I guess. I always intend to trust you but if the road gets too long and the burden too heavy, I’m likely to give up, try it my way. Sure, experience has taught me my efforts just make things worse but how can I just sit by and do nothing? After all God, aren’t there times when I need an answer now, situations that can’t wait? It is only in those times my faith slips and my intentions fall by the way. I trust You the rest of the time.

Love Your name? The lovely name of Jesus. It’s such a pleasant name to say. When I speak it, the letters seem like they roll off my tongue in a sweet, soft whisper. Yes, I love Your name. Well, at least I love what it represents; hope, peace, comfort, forgiveness, and so much more. Can I say though that I love the One to whom the name belongs? You gave up the glory of heaven for me, what am I willing to give up for you? You suffered great shame for me, how much pride am I willing to put aside for you? You died for me, what would I choose – die or deny?

But that final thing, that’s an easy one:

Be joyful in You. I have joy. I laugh a lot, have a good time, I enjoy spending time with friends and family. People who know me would say I’m a pretty happy person most of the time. But, I have to wonder, could it be I am only fooling myself with a kind of “surface joy”? What’s really going on in my heart? I sing praises and lift my hands to heaven, but is my heart filled with the praises I offer up? Is my heart tender for the hardships and sorrows of others or does it only break when I’m the one suffering? Do I fall to my knees to give You thanks for Your daily blessings , or do my knees get dirty only when I want or need something for myself?

No God, guess I’m not there yet, I still need some help. I need Your help Lord. Make me complete in You. Help me to make these truths my truths. Make me to be a doer of Your word, not just a hearer. Teach me Lord, to trust You, to love You, to be joyful in You.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Whatever you’re doing right now, stop. Take a moment to look around you at the world God created. He has truly surrounded us with beauty. All of His creation declares His glory. The colors of the seasons, the laughter of a child. The sounds of nature – a bird singing, the whisper of a gentle wind, the falling rain.

Time slips away so quickly. Lives are busy; so much so that I fear too often we neglect the beauty of God’s creation. We fail to “take time and smell the roses.” That’s a shame because He has given us so much to enjoy. And just think, as beautiful as all this is, it is only a sampling, a taste of what is to come.

But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”–(1 Corinthians 2:9)

Can I get an “AMEN”?

Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (Ephesians 5:22-23)

This doesn’t sound much like what we read in the magazines or hear on TV does it? I don’t know about you, but I need to be reminded of this command – often. Being stubborn and strong-willed, this is an area in my own life where the Lord has a lot of work to do. Right now some of you are thinking “you don’t know what my husband is like”, or “what if my husband takes advantage of me”, or maybe “who’s going to meet my needs”.  Wrong thinking, wrong message. There are three good reasons that I’m pretty sure you think that way.

Reason #1:   God said you would (To the woman he said, “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” Genesis 3:16b).

Reason #2:  You tell me that’s how you think (see reason #1).

Reason #3:  It’s how my mind works (see reason #1). As the Lord continues to work in my own life concerning submission, I find that my load doesn’t grow heavier, surprisingly (to me) it grows lighter.  As I come to be more and more obedient to God’s command, and more and more dependent on His grace, I am enjoying many blessings in my relationship with my husband and with my Lord. Still not sure?  Here is another passage that helps me when I struggle with submission:

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, (Colossians 3:23)

When we do all things for the glory of God we don’t see burdens, we see beauty. Go ahead, try it.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.(Psalm 5:3)

We look around, we look out, we look in, and we look down. We look behind and we look ahead.  We sometimes close our eyes so we don’t have to look at all.

When you need guidance. When you need strength.
Look up.

When your faith is weak.  When you feel hopeless.
Look up.

When you fail.  When you fall.
Look up.

When you don’t know what to do.
Look Up.

We think – too simple. Too easy. Surely there must be more to it.  If God were as a man we would be right.  But God is not as a man, His ways are not our ways, His thoughts not our thoughts.  God promises us that He hears us and He is there for us.  Day by day, moment by moment.

JUST LOOK UP!

And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day. (Genesis 1:4-5)

Do any of these sound familiar?

I hear these very comments all the time; I am guilty myself.  I don’t know why we want to move through life so quickly, why we, as my Mother used to say, “wish our life away.”  I can’t help but wonder, when I come to the final days of my time here on earth, if I will wish back some of those hours I have wished away.  Will I look back with regret and long for the days I hurried through?  Twenty four hours seems like such a small thing in the shadow of eternity, but when you consider all that God spoke into existence within that small frame of time, it doesn’t seem so insignificant does it?

How much richer our lives would be if, rather than wish for the days to pass, we would stop to think about how we could invest those hours in the things that bring lasting rewards.  No, we can’t speak a solar system into existence, we can’t divide the waters or fill the earth with every form of life.  But, we can tell someone we love them, we can speak words of encouragement to a friend who feels hopeless, we can wipe the tears from the eyes of a child, we can hug someone who desperately needs a human touch.

So, the next time you find yourself winding the clock forward, stop.  Instead, cherish the time you have remembering that a day, once it has passed, is gone forever.