Dear Adonai,
There's something about a fresh, clean journal. 😌 Like the fresh new day, the fresh new start You give us when we ask. We're able to breathe deeply once again, in the innocence of the morning, and sense the softness of Your caress on our brow, soothing the rough, hurt places...putting night anxieties to rest. How lovely Your touch, how soft the whisper of Your tender Love. Let nothing ever take the place of this intimacy with You in the newness of the morning..
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Advocate
Evidently I need to hear this message repeated in various ways, so there may be others who need to hear it, too.
This morning I was feeling anxious about not getting something right which has the potential to make a significant difference in people's lives. I realized I was concerned I would disappoint the Lord, that He would always love me but might end up rolling His eyes a bit at my inability to 'get it right.'
His answer:
"I will indeed guide you. Don't you realize you are trying to do My will? Why would I not help you? I'm not playing 'cat and mouse,' waiting to see if you figure it out. Praying My will be done, yes. Worrying, no.
You're always thinking you've disappointed Me somehow. That I love you in spite of it. But I am your Cheerleader. I run out and pick you up when you fall, not berate you for falling or shake my head with sighs at your dismal performance. I'm running along the sidelines like a coach, inspiring you to greater strength and distance, delighted at your efforts. See Me there and grin from ear to ear, knowing I'm your greatest Advocate."
May you turn your head and see Him there running alongside in your own life and know that He is so very pleased with you.
This morning I was feeling anxious about not getting something right which has the potential to make a significant difference in people's lives. I realized I was concerned I would disappoint the Lord, that He would always love me but might end up rolling His eyes a bit at my inability to 'get it right.'
His answer:
"I will indeed guide you. Don't you realize you are trying to do My will? Why would I not help you? I'm not playing 'cat and mouse,' waiting to see if you figure it out. Praying My will be done, yes. Worrying, no.
You're always thinking you've disappointed Me somehow. That I love you in spite of it. But I am your Cheerleader. I run out and pick you up when you fall, not berate you for falling or shake my head with sighs at your dismal performance. I'm running along the sidelines like a coach, inspiring you to greater strength and distance, delighted at your efforts. See Me there and grin from ear to ear, knowing I'm your greatest Advocate."
May you turn your head and see Him there running alongside in your own life and know that He is so very pleased with you.
Saturday, April 15, 2017
Let Them Catch You
During my morning prayer time, I often receive an image of water. Sometimes it is a lazy river, sometimes a bubbling brook, sometimes a creek with a fast-moving current, sometimes a stream with eddies swirling round and round within. They are always versions of His grace into which He invites me: sometimes to rest, sometimes to see the beauty of His creation, sometimes to be carried without burdens through various responsibilities. But recently He encouraged me to just jump in and splash around, to play with abandon as a little child would, to laugh and giggle and toss the water into the air, to feel the soft sun upon my back and twirl around in delight.
As often happens, I picture my own grown children, when they were small, and how much fun they had playing in water...whether the ocean, a pool, or a puddle. One of their favorite activities was to find a stream which ran from the woods or other source into a lake or into the ocean. They would play for hours tromping about in it, building a dam, or floating leaves or sticks downstream. Whenever we came upon a bridge over a river or stream, we would stop and gather just the right stick or other floating object for Pooh Sticks.
Participating with them was fun, but my true enjoyment came from watching theirs. God tells me He feels the same way, only to a greater degree, of course. He enjoys watching His children play. He experiences great satisfaction when we splash, float, or swirl in the Water of His grace. Sometimes the eddies, where we don't seem to be advancing quickly enough toward the solutions to our problems, cause us to finally look up and see the sunlight dappling the branches overhead, hear the sounds of His little creatures calling from the banks, or feel the soft air caressing our skin. We see, if we look even higher, His loving countenance smiling down upon us.
"Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] n the house and in the presence of the Lord" [Psalm 23: 6]
The question is, "Will we let them catch up with us?"
As often happens, I picture my own grown children, when they were small, and how much fun they had playing in water...whether the ocean, a pool, or a puddle. One of their favorite activities was to find a stream which ran from the woods or other source into a lake or into the ocean. They would play for hours tromping about in it, building a dam, or floating leaves or sticks downstream. Whenever we came upon a bridge over a river or stream, we would stop and gather just the right stick or other floating object for Pooh Sticks.
Participating with them was fun, but my true enjoyment came from watching theirs. God tells me He feels the same way, only to a greater degree, of course. He enjoys watching His children play. He experiences great satisfaction when we splash, float, or swirl in the Water of His grace. Sometimes the eddies, where we don't seem to be advancing quickly enough toward the solutions to our problems, cause us to finally look up and see the sunlight dappling the branches overhead, hear the sounds of His little creatures calling from the banks, or feel the soft air caressing our skin. We see, if we look even higher, His loving countenance smiling down upon us.
"Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] n the house and in the presence of the Lord" [Psalm 23: 6]
The question is, "Will we let them catch up with us?"
Wednesday, April 5, 2017
Impossible Love
Yesterday, some of my students were being loud and obnoxious. One of them turned to me and said, "You know you love us, Mrs. Wales." I laughed and said, "Yes, I actually do." Another girl said, "She has to love us..." and then turned to me and said, "You have to love us, don't you?"
"Actually, no, no I don't."
But then...hmmm....as a Christ-Follower, yes, yes I do. Certainly not with my own stock of love resources. In fact, there are a few students whom I only want to see the backs of as they're exiting the room. I cringe when they walk through the door. The spiritually discerning hairs on the back of my neck rise when they enter. I long for their departure. Yet Abba loves them, which means that if I love Him, I must love them also. It seems impossible when my stomach roils at their very presence...or at what has taken up residence within them or rides on their shoulder. Seeing past to the little child within them takes supernatural eyes. The ability to believe who they can be takes enormous faith.
Beth Moore, in her book Believing God, said "When we lose our faith to love, we lose the energy to love. Then we lose our hope." It struck me this morning that I had lost hope of being able to love some of these children (as you may have lost hope in being able to love some adults in your life).
We don't realize that we have reverted to relying on our own ability to love the unloveable, instead of relying on the God of the Impossible, the Source of all love.
"If you truly become a person who makes a lifestyle of believing God, you will become bolder in your love for others and what you are willing to believe God for in their lives." --Beth Moore
May it be to us as you have said, dear Abba. May your love flow through us like molten lava, even to the hair-raising ones. May your love set them free to be transformed into the image You already see in Your mind's eye. And as an extra-special gift, may we from time to time Be given the privilege of seeing the manifestation of that transformation, as we put our hope in You.
"Actually, no, no I don't."
But then...hmmm....as a Christ-Follower, yes, yes I do. Certainly not with my own stock of love resources. In fact, there are a few students whom I only want to see the backs of as they're exiting the room. I cringe when they walk through the door. The spiritually discerning hairs on the back of my neck rise when they enter. I long for their departure. Yet Abba loves them, which means that if I love Him, I must love them also. It seems impossible when my stomach roils at their very presence...or at what has taken up residence within them or rides on their shoulder. Seeing past to the little child within them takes supernatural eyes. The ability to believe who they can be takes enormous faith.
Beth Moore, in her book Believing God, said "When we lose our faith to love, we lose the energy to love. Then we lose our hope." It struck me this morning that I had lost hope of being able to love some of these children (as you may have lost hope in being able to love some adults in your life).
We don't realize that we have reverted to relying on our own ability to love the unloveable, instead of relying on the God of the Impossible, the Source of all love.
"If you truly become a person who makes a lifestyle of believing God, you will become bolder in your love for others and what you are willing to believe God for in their lives." --Beth Moore
May it be to us as you have said, dear Abba. May your love flow through us like molten lava, even to the hair-raising ones. May your love set them free to be transformed into the image You already see in Your mind's eye. And as an extra-special gift, may we from time to time Be given the privilege of seeing the manifestation of that transformation, as we put our hope in You.
Wednesday, March 29, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Shalom, your Governor
"I will make Shalom your governor and righteousness your taskmaster. Violence will no longer be heard in your land, desolation or destruction within your borders; instead, you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise." --Isaiah 60: 17b-18
I love reading the Bible in the Complete Jewish Bible translation (David Stern). Scriptures I've read countless times come alive in a new way (as they do also, in a different way, in The Message version). The fresh wind of the Spirit flows from the pen of this Messianic Jew steeped in both Hebrew and ancient Jewish culture. The intimacy of the Hebrew woven into the English stirs something deep in my spirit.
As I was reading this Scripture from Isaiah recently, I wanted to claim it for today, but it seemed so impossible for our nation.
"Am I not the God of the impossible?"
"Lord, I know our nation was once dedicated to You, despite the existence of unbelievers in the land. But we have strayed so far. Would this just be our personal Promised Land within Your Kingdom...or for our nation as a whole? Is it truly possible for this Scripture to once again be fulfilled in our place
and time?
"Was that a rhetorical question?"
"LOL. Ah...yes, evidently."
"Then pray accordingly and take the authority I have given you, believing and not doubting. You pray 'Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done.' Do you believe it can be so? If not, why are you saying it?"
"Ummmm..."
"And by the way, why do you pray, 'Lead us not into temptation.'? I never lead anyone into temptation. I lead them out. Do you really believe that is the correct translation of My words? I don't care how many centuries it's been quoted as such. Or, 'Lord, hear our prayer.' Of course I hear your prayer. Pray according to My will in the name of My Son, knowing that I always hear and I always respond. Pray that you are able to receive My answer, receive what I have for you, whether or not it is exactly what you are requesting from Me. I always know and send what is best for you, but you do not always receive it. I do not tell you this to be harsh but because I want you in a position to pray for, receive and be grateful for every thought and action toward you. As a Good Father, I hate to see you miss the blessing and think it is because I didn't care or choose to send it.
See your nation, see individuals, as set free and following Me, despite how they currently appear. Envision them as I see them, and watch what I will do. You will stand amazed, even though it's exactly what you had set your heart to believe..."
"I believe, Lord. Help me in my unbelief."
I love reading the Bible in the Complete Jewish Bible translation (David Stern). Scriptures I've read countless times come alive in a new way (as they do also, in a different way, in The Message version). The fresh wind of the Spirit flows from the pen of this Messianic Jew steeped in both Hebrew and ancient Jewish culture. The intimacy of the Hebrew woven into the English stirs something deep in my spirit.
As I was reading this Scripture from Isaiah recently, I wanted to claim it for today, but it seemed so impossible for our nation.
"Am I not the God of the impossible?"
"Lord, I know our nation was once dedicated to You, despite the existence of unbelievers in the land. But we have strayed so far. Would this just be our personal Promised Land within Your Kingdom...or for our nation as a whole? Is it truly possible for this Scripture to once again be fulfilled in our place
and time?
"Was that a rhetorical question?"
"LOL. Ah...yes, evidently."
"Then pray accordingly and take the authority I have given you, believing and not doubting. You pray 'Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done.' Do you believe it can be so? If not, why are you saying it?"
"Ummmm..."
"And by the way, why do you pray, 'Lead us not into temptation.'? I never lead anyone into temptation. I lead them out. Do you really believe that is the correct translation of My words? I don't care how many centuries it's been quoted as such. Or, 'Lord, hear our prayer.' Of course I hear your prayer. Pray according to My will in the name of My Son, knowing that I always hear and I always respond. Pray that you are able to receive My answer, receive what I have for you, whether or not it is exactly what you are requesting from Me. I always know and send what is best for you, but you do not always receive it. I do not tell you this to be harsh but because I want you in a position to pray for, receive and be grateful for every thought and action toward you. As a Good Father, I hate to see you miss the blessing and think it is because I didn't care or choose to send it.
See your nation, see individuals, as set free and following Me, despite how they currently appear. Envision them as I see them, and watch what I will do. You will stand amazed, even though it's exactly what you had set your heart to believe..."
"I believe, Lord. Help me in my unbelief."
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Cedars
"Even in old age they will be vigorous, still full of sap, still bearing fruit, proclaiming that ADONAI is upright, my Rock, in whom there is no wrong." --Psalm 92:15-16
Some mornings (and evenings) it's harder to believe this. Some days I find myself falling over backwards when I sit on the floor to put my shoes on. What happened to all that core strength? Or when I drag myself to bed at 8:30 'to read' and fall asleep after one page. Sixties are the new forties, right?
In this case, God does not want me to 'go with the flow'...to just give in to the 'I'm getting old' syndrome....to constantly describe myself as tired or forgetful or confused or befuddled. In ADONAI I am strong; I am quick of mind, energetic, and full of life (sap?). I am a cedar of Lebanon in Him. I have the strength of my youth; or, better yet, His. I am bearing fruit every day, as I proclaim His Truth, His Goodness, His Faithfulness. His Life blood runs deep in the marrow of my bones.
Friends of my ilk, let us not settle for our recliners [well, except when it's our 'prayer chair']. Let us rather fight the good fight, claiming His vigor of body and soundness of mind every single day. Let us work to take care of His temple so that He can do all He desires through us. Let us speak forth who we are in Him, rather than consigning ourselves to the sidelines, where the Enemy wishes us to remain.
Some mornings (and evenings) it's harder to believe this. Some days I find myself falling over backwards when I sit on the floor to put my shoes on. What happened to all that core strength? Or when I drag myself to bed at 8:30 'to read' and fall asleep after one page. Sixties are the new forties, right?
In this case, God does not want me to 'go with the flow'...to just give in to the 'I'm getting old' syndrome....to constantly describe myself as tired or forgetful or confused or befuddled. In ADONAI I am strong; I am quick of mind, energetic, and full of life (sap?). I am a cedar of Lebanon in Him. I have the strength of my youth; or, better yet, His. I am bearing fruit every day, as I proclaim His Truth, His Goodness, His Faithfulness. His Life blood runs deep in the marrow of my bones.
Friends of my ilk, let us not settle for our recliners [well, except when it's our 'prayer chair']. Let us rather fight the good fight, claiming His vigor of body and soundness of mind every single day. Let us work to take care of His temple so that He can do all He desires through us. Let us speak forth who we are in Him, rather than consigning ourselves to the sidelines, where the Enemy wishes us to remain.
Wednesday, January 4, 2017
Nothing Too Small
As I was offering my prayers to the Father this morning, I was very aware of the smallness, even pettiness, of my concerns in the face of all those in all the world: Christians being tortured and martyred for their faith; girls and boys, women and men being taken into sex trafficking; those dying for lack of food and fresh water. How could God not be disgusted with my relatively trite requests for His intervention, when He sees all these devastating issues in need of His (and our) help?
Via His usual pedagogy, He gave me a picture of my children when they were small, coming to me with a broken toy or a broken relationship, tears in their eyes. Would I ever have belittled their heartbreak, diminished their concerns, relegated their needs to the unimportant shelf of my life, in lieu of bills that needed paying, financial-securing jobs which required my attention, or even friends in deep crisis?
Nothing was too small for me to care about if it was important to them, no matter how much greater perspective I held on the world around me. My adult wisdom never limited my depth of caring where their hearts and well-being were concerned.
ADONAI is so much better a parent than we are...our Good, Good Father. Nothing is too small for His tender heart where we are concerned. Rejoice at the depth of His love for you and His care of the tiniest details of Your life.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." --Matthew 10:29
Via His usual pedagogy, He gave me a picture of my children when they were small, coming to me with a broken toy or a broken relationship, tears in their eyes. Would I ever have belittled their heartbreak, diminished their concerns, relegated their needs to the unimportant shelf of my life, in lieu of bills that needed paying, financial-securing jobs which required my attention, or even friends in deep crisis?
Nothing was too small for me to care about if it was important to them, no matter how much greater perspective I held on the world around me. My adult wisdom never limited my depth of caring where their hearts and well-being were concerned.
ADONAI is so much better a parent than we are...our Good, Good Father. Nothing is too small for His tender heart where we are concerned. Rejoice at the depth of His love for you and His care of the tiniest details of Your life.
"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." --Matthew 10:29
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Affectionate Reverence
"Affectionate reverence." That is how the Amplified Bible translates 'the fear of the Lord'. Ever since I read that years ago, I've been struck by the truth of it. This morning the Lord reminded me that one without the other is insufficient. Reverence without love reduces us to simple fear. Affection without reverence makes us presumptive and cavalier in His presence. Only in combination do deep reverence and whole-hearted affection bring us into the right kind of relationship with Him who loves us tenderly yet causes us to fall at His feet in awe, wonder and utter humility.
Let’s not forget that, in the image of the book of Esther, the Father chooses to ‘extend His scepter to us’ in the grace we received through His Son. It is not a deserved right, but a privilege. One in which He also delights, but something not to be received without full appreciation of what it took for that ‘acceptance in the beloved’ to be extended to us.
As we progress through this Advent season of preparation, may we simultaneously fall on our faces and hug the stuffin's out of Him.
As we progress through this Advent season of preparation, may we simultaneously fall on our faces and hug the stuffin's out of Him.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Enough
Doctors told my mother before I was born I was a threat to her health. Thankfully, she trusted God to see her through.
However, if one presidential candidate had her way, I would have suffered excruciating pain in a slow death in my mother's womb, either being burned to death or by being torn limb from limb. If I had been a puppy or a kitten, the animal rights activists would have screamed bloody murder, and rightfully so, for so it would have been...and so it is now,
How is it that we believe all sorts of scientific facts without question but stop our ears and blindfold our eyes to the clearly proven fact that unborn children are just that....children. They have heartbeats and brains and nervous systems. They receive nourishment, move, kick, respond to the voices of their parents, and turn away from medical instruments inserted to destroy them. There is no lack of evidence, including videos, that even a toddler could perceive as truth.
There would have been no Julie on earth, and, in turn, no Joshua, no Danielle, no Peter. God saved My husband through his premature birth at only two pounds in 1947. If he had been still inside his mother's womb in this decade, they could have legally murdered him instead of putting him in an incubator and trying to keep him alive.
Why have so many Americans and others around the world agreed either overtly or complicitly in recent decades to what was previously considered a horrific form of homicide? Because it's convenient for us to do so. And if we took off our blindfolds and removed our earplugs, we'd have to face the truth of what we've allowed to happen. We haven't screamed 'bloody murder' because it would require personal sacrifice to do so. I know I, personally, have not done anywhere enough to stop this barbaric practice.
I could never look my Heavenly Father in the eye again if I were to vote for this woman, not by any means for this reason alone, but this reason itself is absolutely and most certainly enough.
However, if one presidential candidate had her way, I would have suffered excruciating pain in a slow death in my mother's womb, either being burned to death or by being torn limb from limb. If I had been a puppy or a kitten, the animal rights activists would have screamed bloody murder, and rightfully so, for so it would have been...and so it is now,
How is it that we believe all sorts of scientific facts without question but stop our ears and blindfold our eyes to the clearly proven fact that unborn children are just that....children. They have heartbeats and brains and nervous systems. They receive nourishment, move, kick, respond to the voices of their parents, and turn away from medical instruments inserted to destroy them. There is no lack of evidence, including videos, that even a toddler could perceive as truth.
There would have been no Julie on earth, and, in turn, no Joshua, no Danielle, no Peter. God saved My husband through his premature birth at only two pounds in 1947. If he had been still inside his mother's womb in this decade, they could have legally murdered him instead of putting him in an incubator and trying to keep him alive.
Why have so many Americans and others around the world agreed either overtly or complicitly in recent decades to what was previously considered a horrific form of homicide? Because it's convenient for us to do so. And if we took off our blindfolds and removed our earplugs, we'd have to face the truth of what we've allowed to happen. We haven't screamed 'bloody murder' because it would require personal sacrifice to do so. I know I, personally, have not done anywhere enough to stop this barbaric practice.
I could never look my Heavenly Father in the eye again if I were to vote for this woman, not by any means for this reason alone, but this reason itself is absolutely and most certainly enough.
Thursday, October 6, 2016
Shaken
Someone mentioned on Facebook that she thought the hurricane was God's wrath being poured out. But Jesus is our Mediator (our One and Only), who saves us from the punishment we deserve. We are in a New Covenant, for which I am and will be eternally grateful. What I do believe, however, is that God loves us so much, He will allow whatever it takes to get our attention so we take necessary action. not just storing survival supplies, but taking a look at our spiritual survival. This call is especially for those who don't even know He exists or know they have need of Him, but it applies to all of us who claim to trust in Him but who have slipped back into lukewarm, half-hearted devotion, with one foot following the world's values and dictates and the other trying to still touch heaven by tiptoe.
Early on in the storm news, before I even knew how severe the prediction would become, He told me that there would be a great shaking. People would wake up to the danger. But the real danger, they would come to realize, wouldn't be the hurricane. It would be rejecting and cutting themselves off from their Savior...the One and Only Lover of their souls who gave everything so that they could be rescued from the hands of the evil one and live with Him forever...now in this life and in the next.
For those of us who have already made that commitment to Him, how much of our actual walk with Him is pretense? What do we truly believe in our heart of hearts. How much of what we have been given do we really entrust to Him? How much of our lives do we spend seeking His will and His heart?
The true danger is one that can't be seen on a TV meteorological report or in the economic news or in an approaching storm cloud. It is in turning from the hand of God being extended to us, from the acknowledgement of our own sin and helplessness to save ourselves and, instead, making ourself our own god. Every other religion of the world, from the formal major religions to new age philosophies and popular cults of the moment, demands that you raise yourself up to that god's height to attain what is promised, to avoid the wrath of its god, or to attain that status for yourself. Only in pure, unadulterated Christianity does God reach down to rescue, demanding nothing but
acknowledgement of His Kingship and grateful receipt of His Gift, His Sacrifice of Love. This is the One I've come to know. The One Who even now rescues us from The Eternal Danger, as well as caring for and protecting us in the temporal. I'm grateful for both, but I know which is crucial.
Yeshua said that His desire was and is that no one be lost. I believe this includes those who have treated their declaration of trust as more of an insurance policy than a vital and active daily relationship. It's time to have a 'come to Jesus meeting'....literally.
If we must endure the shaking, let us be confident in knowing it comes from a heart of Love, not one of Vengeance. After the shaking, one thing remains....
" 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you."
-- Isaiah 54:10
"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever."
--Psalm 125:1
"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
--Psalm 16:8
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken
--Psalm 55:22
"Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
--Psalm 62:6
Early on in the storm news, before I even knew how severe the prediction would become, He told me that there would be a great shaking. People would wake up to the danger. But the real danger, they would come to realize, wouldn't be the hurricane. It would be rejecting and cutting themselves off from their Savior...the One and Only Lover of their souls who gave everything so that they could be rescued from the hands of the evil one and live with Him forever...now in this life and in the next.
For those of us who have already made that commitment to Him, how much of our actual walk with Him is pretense? What do we truly believe in our heart of hearts. How much of what we have been given do we really entrust to Him? How much of our lives do we spend seeking His will and His heart?
The true danger is one that can't be seen on a TV meteorological report or in the economic news or in an approaching storm cloud. It is in turning from the hand of God being extended to us, from the acknowledgement of our own sin and helplessness to save ourselves and, instead, making ourself our own god. Every other religion of the world, from the formal major religions to new age philosophies and popular cults of the moment, demands that you raise yourself up to that god's height to attain what is promised, to avoid the wrath of its god, or to attain that status for yourself. Only in pure, unadulterated Christianity does God reach down to rescue, demanding nothing but
acknowledgement of His Kingship and grateful receipt of His Gift, His Sacrifice of Love. This is the One I've come to know. The One Who even now rescues us from The Eternal Danger, as well as caring for and protecting us in the temporal. I'm grateful for both, but I know which is crucial.
Yeshua said that His desire was and is that no one be lost. I believe this includes those who have treated their declaration of trust as more of an insurance policy than a vital and active daily relationship. It's time to have a 'come to Jesus meeting'....literally.
If we must endure the shaking, let us be confident in knowing it comes from a heart of Love, not one of Vengeance. After the shaking, one thing remains....
" 'Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,' says the Lord, who has compassion on you."
-- Isaiah 54:10
"Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever."
--Psalm 125:1
"I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With Him at my right hand, I will not be shaken."
--Psalm 16:8
"Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken
--Psalm 55:22
"Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken."
--Psalm 62:6
Before the Storm
As I gratefully reside at my daughter and son-in-law's home outside of the path of the hurricane, I am once again reminded of the transitory nature of the things of earth. One of the most difficult aspects of letting go for me involves those irreplaceable things tied to memories..tied to love. Photo albums, old videotapes of the kids, treasured birthday and Mother's Day cards which I meant to grab when I hurriedly evacuated yesterday after work, trying to beat the highway evacuation parking lot. I think of those items left behind, along with my prayer journals containing God's specific messages to me.
Yes, it's also difficult to deal with the thought that everything, including the house itself, could soon lie ruined. But what my mind goes to first are the 'old treasures,' not the large screen TV, antiques, or even the car just finally paid for. When you are forced to evacuate, you quickly realize where your treasure lies: in the hearts of your family and friends and, more importantly, in the hands of your loving Heavenly Father from Whom all gifts come, including the gift of those you treasure.
I am rebuking and cursing this storm in His Name, because He's given those who believe and trust in Him the authority to do so. He is the calmer of every kind of storm, including those taking place in our minds and hearts and bodies. I know He can stop this storm, and if we better understood the authority designated to us by Him, we could calm the storm in His Name. I also; like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; declare that even if it doesn't stop, still I will trust in Him. Everything I have comes from Him, and nothing can remove or diminish His love and care for me. I may not understand the whys and wherefores, but I know I am His, and I know Whom I have believed...and that He is able to guard what in His sight are my greatest treasures on earth and in Heaven....
2 Timothy 1:12
Yes, it's also difficult to deal with the thought that everything, including the house itself, could soon lie ruined. But what my mind goes to first are the 'old treasures,' not the large screen TV, antiques, or even the car just finally paid for. When you are forced to evacuate, you quickly realize where your treasure lies: in the hearts of your family and friends and, more importantly, in the hands of your loving Heavenly Father from Whom all gifts come, including the gift of those you treasure.
I am rebuking and cursing this storm in His Name, because He's given those who believe and trust in Him the authority to do so. He is the calmer of every kind of storm, including those taking place in our minds and hearts and bodies. I know He can stop this storm, and if we better understood the authority designated to us by Him, we could calm the storm in His Name. I also; like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego; declare that even if it doesn't stop, still I will trust in Him. Everything I have comes from Him, and nothing can remove or diminish His love and care for me. I may not understand the whys and wherefores, but I know I am His, and I know Whom I have believed...and that He is able to guard what in His sight are my greatest treasures on earth and in Heaven....
2 Timothy 1:12
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