Before leaving for vacation, I had all my prescriptions filled. I have quite a few and they each meet a need for my physical problems: for strength, for life! As I looked at the containers of my medicines, I noticed they recorded many things. There was the phone number for the pharmacy which I called to order the prescription. My name was recorded, then the name of the medication. The doctor’s name was on the label with the special instructions for me to follow.
If I made my own choice of what and when to take the medicines, I could lose my strength or even my life. I need to trust in the doctor and the pharmacist. The cost was great! I read, too, that a certain medicine was a “substitute” brand for the “real” medicine. Also recorded on the bottle is the original date I received the prescription.
As I continued to pack, I was reminded of something else I needed to take along – my Bible! God has written this, and in it He gives me His directions for life. Like Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord…and He will direct my path.”
We need to call on the Lord; His is always there for us. He hears and answers our prayers. As a child nine years old, I learned I needed Christ in my life. I prayed and called out to Jesus to forgive my sins and come into my heart. (John 3:16) He has given me instruction and direction in His Word.; and I need to follow them. If I choose to do things my own way, I fail. Joshua 24:15, “Choose this day whom you will serve.”
Christ is more than a doctor; He is my Savior. There is no substitute! Christ died in my place. He recorded my name in Heaven back in 1942. Jesus wrote, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” – John 14:6. I’m glad I didn’t put off asking Him into my heart back then. I’ve had years of joy that have filled my life, years of reading His Word and praying. I’ve tried to heed His warnings and trust in Him. He has given me life – eternal life – and it’s free!

Dottie

“The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.” Psalm 25:14

A few weeks ago at our Higher Ground meeting (our Monday night women’s Bible study/support group) we were discussing the holiness of God. And one of the women raised here hand and said, “Some where in the Bible, I’m not sure where, it says God confides in those that fear Him.” That sounded awfully familiar. Then it struck me. During our banquet season in September, Tom Paschke was the featured speaker. His theme was “My Life in a Box”. I had an opportunity to hear Tom a couple of times and each time he referred to this verse. So when it was brought up at Higher Ground I went looking for Psalm 25:14. And there it was, “The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them.”
Do you fear Him today? Can you imagine? The Lord of Hosts, Creator, King, Master, and sustainer of the universe, wants to confide in you. He wants to make His way known to you. Are you listening?
Psalm 25:4-5 makes a great prayer: “Show me your ways O Lord, teach me your paths, guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior and my hope is in you all day long.”

Diane

Are you a Wise Christian? That might be a tough question to answer without knowing what I’m really asking. So, here are some statements about what makes up a Wise Christian.

1. A Wise Christian in one who is in the Pursuit of God: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. (Prov 9:10) What is more, I consider everything as a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…(Phil 3:8)

2. A Wise Christian is one who Applies God’s Word in a living way: The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double -edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)

3. A Wise Christian knows the Importance of Prayer: For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer…(1 Peter 3:12)

4. A Wise Christian Values Fellowship with Godly People: He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm. (Prov 13:20) Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up” (Ecc. 4:9-10)

5. A Wise Christian Shares the Word of God: Therefore go and make disciples of all nations,… and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you… (Matt 28:19-20) That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…(Romans 1:15-16).

So how are you doing on the wise scale? I know I fall short at times, however, I know we can all grow in wisdom and strength if you continue to pursue Godly wisdom.

LDJ

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Isaiah 40:26, “Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host by number; He calls them all by name, by the greatness of His might and the strength of His power; not one is missing.”

Have you ever taken a good look at the stars? I mean a really good look? Before we moved to the “city” we lived in a country-like setting where the stars were pretty visible at night. I remember stepping out on my back porch many evenings and gazing at the stars and saying either out loud or to myself, “Lord, if you can keep each of those stars in place, and call them all by name, you can surely handle my problems.” A sense of comfort would wash over me.

Suffering often causes us to be very self-focused. What looms large in our thinking and vision is our problems which tend to captivate much of our attention and drain our mental and emotional energy. If our problems are looming large in our thinking, then God is not. If we are captivated by them, then we are not captivated by Jesus Christ. “Sinclair Ferguson stated, we should ‘expend our energies, admiring, exploring, expositing, and extolling Jesus Christ.”1 Jerry Bridges penned the following prayer in his book, The Joy of Fearing God: “Lord, fill my heart and mind with awe and adoration as I think upon your greatness.” When we mediate on God’s majesty and greatness, it tends to put our problems in perspective.

One way to meditate upon the greatness of God is to consider the heavens. Take time to pause and gaze upon the stars. You can only see a speck of what it out there. On a really clear night, the naked eye can see 1-3 thousand stars, more depending on what hemisphere you live in. Even in ideal conditions and location it is still less than ten thousand stars. Bridges asked an astrophysicist how many stars are in the universe and this was his response: “there are about one hundred billion galaxies, each one containing about one hundred billion stars.” (pg. 56) That’s a lot of stars – yet God created them, sustains them and calls them each by name. Do you think He can handle your problems?

Diane
1 Sinclair Ferguson quoted in The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney (pg.51)
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Today you get a break. I want you to sit back and think about someone you would like to bless today through prayer. Okay, did you think of someone? I took some liberties with one of Paul’s prayers so you can just fill in the blanks. What can be more powerful than praying God’s Word back to Him? You already know it’s true and according to His will. What could be better?

Ephesians 3:16-21:

Lord, I pray that You would grant ____, according to the riches of Your glory, to be strengthened with might through Your Spirit in his/her inner man, that Your Son Jesus may dwell in _______’s heart through faith; and that he/she, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Jesus Christ which passes knowledge; that he/she may be filled with all Your fullness. Thank You Lord that you are able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that I ask or think, according to the power that works in me. Lord, may Your name be glorified in the church because of Jesus Christ to all generations, forever and ever, Amen.

Blessings for a day of peace.

Diane

“My times are in your hand…” Psalm 31:15

I had been a believer for about 15 years. I still remember it. I was visiting my family for my parent’s 50th wedding anniversary. My husband, children and I were staying in our trailer in my sister’s front yard. I had not yet been hired at America’s KESWICK, but I was reading through Bruce Wilkinson’s book, Personal Holiness in Times of Temptation which they were using in the Colony of Mercy.
As I read, I came across what Wilkinson referred to as the Ceremony of Consecration, and at 6:30 am Sept 10, 1999 on the floor of my trailer I prayed this prayer:

“Dear Heavenly Father,
I hereby kneel in humility before Your Throne.
I come into Your presence of my own free will and want to be here with You.
You are the most gracious and loving Person in the universe.
Your kindness to me has no boundaries or limits.
Your lovingkindness guides everything You do toward me.
Your mercies are new every morning, great is Thy faithfulness!
Your love sent Jesus Christ to die in my place and give me eternal life.
I now respond to Your love and give myself to You in this solemn moment.
Forgive me for taking so long to come to this point o f total consecration.
I hereby lift myself up to Your altar, and present myself to you as a living sacrifice.
I consecrate and dedicate myself to Your for the rest of my life.
Thank You for accepting this sincere presentation!
In Jesus’ name, amen.” (pg. 77)

It was a life-transforming moment. I finally surrendered ALL of my life to Christ. I finally trusted Him completely. From that time on, I have prayed many times, “Lord, my times are in Your hands.”

How about you? Have you fully surrendered or are you holding something back? Give it all to Him. He holds your life in the palm of His hand. Trust Him.

Diane

Years ago during a financially lean time, God gave me a cleaning job to help my husband provide for our family. In one of the numerous office cubicles I cleaned hung a plaque which read, “Character is who you are when nobody but God is watching.” – Author unknown.

I remember not being able to get that phrase out of my head, and thus I have remembered it until this day. Many times over the years this phrase has come to mind and I have been prompted to ask myself, “Stephanie, who are you when no one is watching?” Are you doing all that is up to you to do to live at peace with all everyone in your live? Are the words that come from your mouth and the meditations of your heart acceptable in the sigh of the Lord?

“Does your talk equal your walk or do you need to be reminded today, that you are a Christian?” My answer is yes and yes. Yes, my walk equals my talk and yes, I need to be reminded that I am a Christian. It could go with out saying that there are days I wish I could relive because I walked in them so poorly. In those days I wander far from acceptable meditations. I thank God then and now, for His faithfulness, even when I am unfaithful in my faith walk. I praise Him for the Holy Spirit’s presence in my heart and life because apart from it I would be a woman most unknown.

My Question For You Today:
Who are you when no one but God is watching?

Stephanie

Can you recall the verse Ephesians 4:32? Perhaps you memorized it as a child in Sunday School. “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” What a command the apostle Paul has given us in that verse! However, we should include reading 4:31 first and heed this command, also. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.” Now, read these verses together and notice that God was careful to have Paul record them all. The answer or way to keep from these sins is to let Christ change your life and fill you with His love and kindness. How much should we forgive? – as much as God in Christ has forgiven us.
What a difference this would make in our lives – forgiving as Christ forgave! I’m not talking about the anger of the unsaved, but Christians who have accepted Christ’s forgiveness and have Him in their lives, yet hold on to grudges, anger, unforgiveness and bitterness.
But you may say, “You don’t know what I’ve had done to me.” or, “I hurt so much I just can’t forgive”. You’re right, no one does know your hurts, but Christ does! And He says you must forgive; you must love. 1 John 4:7-21 is a great chapter of instruction for all of us. Also, if you want to do a good Bible study on anger, bitterness and jealousy, read the recorded examples of Cain and Able or Jacob and Esau. My favorite is Joseph and his brothers! And don’t forget Paul’s life in the New Testament, and the greatest forgiveness – of Christ at His crucifixion. As you do these studies, you will find much guidance God has given in His Word. He knew you and I would need help with these sins in our lives. Listen to Him!
Anger, jealousy, unforgiveness, malice, and the rest will rob you of the joy and peace He wants you to have in your life. John 15:11-12, “That your joy may be full.”

Dottie

I want to share with you the essence of an interview with Gloria Gaither by Sharon Morris May, Ph. D. Sharon asked Gloria what she felt was the main struggle facing women today – this was her response.

FOCUS: There has never been a time that women have had so many demands placed upon them to be everything to everybody. Women legitimize their existence by doing and have worked themselves into another kind of bondage that say, “You have to do it all.” My big concern for women is that we don’t get segmented, so busy, so marginalized by a work ethic that they forget that we are the callers together of our families, of the community of believers and the larger whole of culture. There is a culture that says “let’s pair down, let’s focus on what is essential and what is eternal.” We have lost this kind of community in our culture. I feel the role of the women is to call the community they are in to the essentials, to what is most important in life.

Sharon then suggests the following:

1. Each day decide what is most important to you and make all your decisions around that.

2. Realize your voice is of great importance in your family. What you focus on is what your family will make important. Choose wisely.

3. Find friends with whom you can re-focus. Call your sister on the way home from work to unload your day so you are better able to open the front door with an attitude of warmth and joy. Every morning and every night – greet your family with a genuine gratefulness of having them in your life.

So, what do you think? Why don’t you think about trying to add some focus into your life and the life of those you come in contact with on a regular basis?

LDJ

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I was recently reading for the third time, The Cross-Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney. It is a pocket sized book packed with life-changing truths. Itcan easily be read along with your devotions in just a few days. In chapter 6, I came across a few statements that fit right in with a
Victory Call from earlier this month. Mahaney writes, “…Our habits
reflect our true selves – we all build our daily lives around our priorities
and passions.” And again, “We make time for what we truly value. We build
habits and routines around the things that really matter to us.”
Perhaps you recall the devotional I wrote last week titled, “Cuz I Wanna”.
The main point was: We do what we do because, at that moment, it is what we
really want to do.

For example, I have heard all kinds of excuses for not having time to read
the Bible regularly (or at all). I have even made a few excuses myself. But
you know I almost always have time to eat. I rarely miss a meal. I almost
always have time to check my email. Other women have complained of not
having enough time, but they rarely miss their favorite TV shows, or seem to
find time to talk on the phone. Are any of these things wrong? Absolutely
not. But each day we make choices as to what we are going to do with these
twenty-four hours. At the end of the day we have lived out what was most
important to us that day.
When I hear women tell me their priorities are God, family, work, and then
watch while they consistently fail to spend time in the word, rarely eat
together as a family and spend lots of time at work, I think the only one
they are fooling is themselves.
We live out our priorities (our real ones not the ones we say) through the
choices we make moment by moment every day.

How are you doing? Are you in need of a priority realignment? Does your
heart need some adjusting? If this devotional speaks to your heart, don’t
beat yourself up, take action. Remember, you make moment by moment choices.
You can live out your spoken priorities today through your choices.

Diane