Periodically we need to truly understand where our strength comes from….is it our own making or are our burdens doing their magic work from God in making us strong.
This morning’s devotion with Oswald Chambers assured me that God is always with us carrying the heavier part of our burden as we grow in strength to see the joy of His profound love.
The burden that God places on us squeezes the grapes in our lives and produces the wine. Oswald Chambers
While we don’t enjoy any burdens we know they do have a purpose in proving His love for us.
For His hand is never far from us, filling is with the hope that proves His love.
No power on earth or in hell can conquer the Spirit of God living within the human spirit; it creates an inner invincibility. Oswald Chambers
So rest assured that whatever burden you mat be facing today, God id holding you hand and He will carry you through to the shining glory of His love for you.
Have a great day and a beautiful weekend. And always remember to be kind, even when it is really hard. For kindness shows your inner beauty of love.
The weekend is a time we try to unwind and rest from the hectic week we just had or possibly still reeling from. My devotion this morning reminded me of some of the walks I use to have when I lived in the North Carolina mountains. Since I am 1,000 miles from there now I have to go there in my mind. Come walk with me and I will take you there with words.
Its early morning. The morning fog still clings to trees around you. It’s peacefully quiet except for the few birds fluttering in the trees. It’s the perfect time to be alone with God and feel His peace.
Picture yourself by a small stream. Its deep enough where it doesn’t babble over rocks, yet it moves slowly. Its surface is smooth as glass and reflects the beauty of the forest around you. Sit here and rest in God’s love that He has just for you. Give all worries and concerns to Him and let Him carry them for you. His shoulders are much stronger than yours.
When we are calm and relaxed, it is then that the blessings of God are most beneficial because we remember who we are. We are children of God.
Always remember He is walking beside you and if needed…He will carry you. So lift praises to Him and He will cover you in peace as you walk the day together.
And in closing I remind you of the positive power of kindness. Not only does it encourage others, it encourages the beauty that is within you.
With so much happening around our world these days, we all need small bits of encouragement. We get discouraged when we do something that goes wrong, or maybe it comes from something someone else did to us. Plus its discouraging to see the disasters going on around the world. Life is hard and can be easily discouraging! But scriptures remind us that we have a helper to get us through these discouraging time even thought they may be scary times.
He helps us in so very many ways. He heals our broken bones. He heals our broken hearts. He heals our broken relationships. He carries us in His arms all because of His love for us. He is there to helps us in whatever way is needed.
It is hard sometimes in today’s world to trust in what we can’t see but scriptures reminds us, old and new testaments, that He has always been there for us and will continue to always be there for us. We were created because He loves us and wants us with Him and He will always watch out for us so keep your eyes are on Him.
Like the poem on footprints in the sand – when you see only one set of prints in the sand, its proof of Him carrying you. Always remember you are loved deeper than you will ever understand. And since you know you are loved, reflect His love by being kind – especially when underserved. It really stays with them.
Good morning friends. I come to you this morning to explore some more through the Advent devotional book “The Gifts of Christmas”. This week we are celebrating the beauty and power of Joy. The candle we light is pink because this color represents joy. This candle is meant to help us enjoy the remembrance of Jesus’ birth. This candle is also called the Shepherd’s Candle as it represents the joy of the shepherds.
I can not imagine how the shepherds felt when all of a sudden the sky erupted with angels, but they told them not to be afraid. The gift of joy that had been promised of old had now been born. It is a gift of caring love and of strength.
And while this world around us can be quite scary, we have an inner joy that is stronger than any fear through Jesus our King. The Wiseman from foreign lands had studied the stars for years and knew of the prophecies. They felt a powerful joy the star appeared and went to seek it out.
As our pastor explained to us during Sunday’s sermon, joy is not a feeling, it’s a choice. Happiness is a feeling that can come from joy but if circumstances are dire, you can still have joy, it is a gift from God that comes from within.
There are many scriptures concerning joy, so it is a very important gift for us to embrace and hold tightly to. The psalmists remind us to be glad in the joy that has been bestowed on us.
May you feel the Joy of the Lord in all that you encounter. Have a blessed weekend and remember through this season of joy to always be kind.
Some encouragement and love for all women. This poem was written by Donna Ashworth and the sculpture was created by Simone Wojciechowski . I was so touched when I saw them both on facebook, I wanted to share with all of you. Never forget how very special all women are. A special creation from God by design for His purposes. Even though some of us have harder tasks than others, He has given us all the strength to get through them all. Hang in there and lean on God when it seems too hard and He will carry you through it.
When God created woman he was working late on the 6th day.
An angel came by and asked, “Why spend so much time on her?“
The Lord answered, “Have you seen all the specifications I have to meet to shape her? She must function in all kinds of situations. She must be able to embrace several kids at the same time, have a hug that can heal anything from a bruised knee to a broken heart. She must do all this with only two hands. She cures herself when sick and can work 18 hours a day.”
The angel was impressed, “Just two hands…impossible! And this is the standard model?” The angel came closer and touched the woman. “But you have made her so soft, Lord.
“She is soft”, said the Lord, “But I have made her strong. You can’t imagine what she can endure and overcome.”
“Can she think?” the angel asked.
The Lord answered, “Not only can she think, she can reason and negotiate.
“The angel touched her cheeks. “Lord, it seems this creation is leaking! You have put too many burdens on her.”
“She is not leaking…it is a tear” the Lord corrected the angel.
“What’s it for?” asked the angel.
The Lord said, “Tears are her way of expressing her grief, her doubts, her love, her loneliness, her suffering and her pride.”
This made a big impression on the angel. “Lord, you are a genius. You thought of everything. A woman is indeed marvelous!”
Lord said, “Indeed she is. She has strength that amazes a man. She can handle trouble and carry heavy burdens. She holds happiness, love and opinions. She smiles when she feels like screaming. She sings when she feels like crying. Cries when happy and laughs when afraid. She fights for what she believes in. Her love is unconditional. Her heart is broken when a next-of-kin or a friend dies but she finds strength to get on with life.”
The angel asked: “So she is a perfect being?”
The Lord replied, “No. She has just one drawback…she often forgets what she is worth.”
May women everywhere understand just how very important they are. I think women underestimate themselves more than men do and while all creation has a divine purpose, I believe women can balance more plates in the air at one time that most men. So rest assured ladies, you are indeed special. And remember in all that you do, be kind.
Good morning friends. I wanted to share with you a quick word on fighting the good fight. What does that mean…why do we have to even think about fighting? Because Life is hard, sometimes even on good days. Billy Graham’s message this morning was an encouragement to me and I hope it will be to you.
Remember to always walk with Christ, live for Christ, and to have one consuming passion—to please Him in all that we do. Then, whatever happens, we know that He has permitted it in order to teach us some priceless lesson and to perfect us for His service. He will enrich our circumstances, be they pleasant or disagreeable, by the fact of His presence with us. Billy Graham
We wonder why life seems to be so hard sometimes and its usually because we make it hard by forgetting His presence is always with us, strengthening us, loving us and sometimes carrying us.
Remember the footsteps poem from a few years back, even though we can’t see Him around us, even though we only see one set of footprints in the sand, it proves he is just carrying you. He will not leave you to carry the burden, the discouragement, or the fight alone.
Let Him drive the car for a while and enjoy the beauty out the window. I know that sounds like a strange analogy but it is a favorite of mine as I often want to be the one driving. But if we would move over and let Him drive, there may be a few less potholes or at least the ability to not bounce too hard when you hit them.
I encourage you today to feel His peace surround you and as always remember to be kind and reflect the beauty and joy of His presence in you.
Good evening friends. Hope you are well tonight. While it was a beautiful day in the midwest today, it’s still early spring yet, so I am not going to get too excited. I do have faith though, that spring will be here real soon. When I think of reality of faith, the first thing that pops into my mind is Abraham. He left family and country to follow God’s asking.
A life of faith is not a life of one glorious mountaintop experience after another, like soaring on eagles’ wings, but is a life of day-in and day-out consistency; a life of walking without fainting. Oswald Chambers
How many of us have felt like fainting but by some miraculous ability we remained standing. That’s when God shows up to hold us firmly in His grasps. In reading the Proverbs 31 Ministry devotion this morning I was reminded of this concept in a different way. Think of a time when you were desperately tired. You have nothing left to give to another being, yet a need came up that you knew needed to be met. And from somewhere deep inside, you found the strength to meet this need. Sometimes, those are the situations where you see God’s intervention the most and you become as much, if not more than, blessed that you wonder if this was the initial reason the help being asked for. Maybe you needed the assurance God still held you close. For when you had nothing left to give…God did.
Remember the story of Jesus feeding the 5000? Do you remember what happened just before that? Jesus had sent out the disciples to go spread the word and they did. As they came back and told Jesus of their wonderful stories, he told them to come, go rest. But what happened? The people found them and followed them and Jesus felt compassion for the people. After teaching them he told the disciples to feed them. What?? You know they looked at each other, possibly complaining of how tired they were. And now He wants us to feed them? From where? With what? There is one kid with enough sense to bring his own food and that won’t go far. But yet, they picked up 12 baskets of leftovers after feeding 5000. And lets us remember those counted were just the men. There were women and children there as well. Faith. How many times did Jesus ask his disciples “Where is your faith?” How many times does He ask us? Where is our faith? When I look back over my life, I can visibly see the wonderful times He was there for me, but it usually all in hindsight. He never leaves us.
Tonight, we all have friends, family, fellow church members, people in our neighborhoods who are hurting, scared and who feel like fainting. Please lift them up in His precious name. We all get weak in the knees from time to time and need His comforting arms surrounding us, holding us up. Let’s stand together as God’s church, as we lift each other up in prayer.
I so enjoy finding these wonderful pictures on the internet with scripture on them as I am a major believer that pictures reach a thousand hearts and there are many hearts that need reaching across this world. It has been a rough year for all of us and many are still in lockdown. When we do start to emerge out of these forced cocoons, let us remember the beauty of kindness and how kindness gives us a chance to start fresh, regardless of the situation. Kindness is a reflection of God’s love and we can all use some of that.
Good evening friends. Tonight we are reflecting on this past year and WOW…what a year. Definitely a year for t-shirt recognition…
Or here in the US we had a toilet paper crisis….even now I don’t understand that and now its all paper products are scarce.
Putting aside all joking, this has been a rough year. The isolation had been detrimental to our elderly, people who are social butterflies have not done well, jobs have been lost and the tensions in our homes is high. But on the flip side there has been some good with it all. We have learned that those who are able can in fact work just fine from home. Some people’s stress level has lowered and they have rediscovered themselves, and gotten reconnected with their families and some have reconnected to or just now connected with God. I have always been a believer that God will get your attention one way or another and while, I do not believe God caused this virus, I do believe God will use circumstances around us to help us learn or relearn to refocus on Him. In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he explained that there would be times of suffering but that the Lord would always rescue us…maybe not how we envision to be rescued but rescued nonetheless.
All through the scriptures, we are reminded of the importance of a firm foundation which allows us to stand firm and that foundation for Christians is Jesus Christ. He is the rock that can not be broken.
So I encourage you tonight to stand on the rock we know is firm and stand tall. We will get through this mess, all of it, together, and hopefully somewhere we will recognize God’s might and love as He pours it out for us. Click on the link below and listen/watch the video of a version of Christ the Solid Rock. The song is beautiful but the videos of nature are amazing. I think you will enjoy it and be encouraged by God’s beautiful creation. And as always, remember to be kind.
God reminded me today to “Sit – Breathe – Relax – Love – Be Kind”. We all have those days when someone just pushes all the wrong buttons. I don’t have those days often but they usually come about when someone…rather when I feel someone is being …no I am not going to say that word… so I will say when someone does not use the intelligence you know they have. And when that someone is someone in your family…well family is different and can be more frustrating because you know exactly how they operate. But then I think about how I frustrate God and He definitely knows exactly how I operate. I am sure He does a lot of Sit – Breathe…well, you get the idea.
He teaches us how to treat others in any capacity that we encounter them, then He reminds us through the lessons of the Fruit of the Spirit how people need to be treated. If we are given a choice of being intellectually right versus allowing our heart to show kindness in how we behave…then being kind should always win out over being right. And like my Pastor said in the bible study on Wednesday, it’s the trials and situations that we face that strengthens us so we can survive and hopefully bring others along with us who are watching us and how we behave and then they want to survive as well because with all the frustration we were still kind.
It is through His grace that we are saved and while we ourselves can not save anyone…we can show the benefits of God’s love and salvation by being kind, loving and supportive. As we are currently going through odd and difficult times, allow His strength to cover any weakness you feel as you breathe in His love. Then you can breathe out His grace for you and others around you. And together, you and God, will have all the strength you need for any situation.
I leave you with a little humor…that says a lot. Have a great evening and new day tomorrow.
Good evening friends. These past two weeks have definitely been a bumpy ride for a lot of us, with some of us going down roads we really were not ready to go down. But God reminds us that even though we can not see Him and sometimes can not feel Him, we have assured faith that He is there walking with us.
It is faith and God’s love that fills us with Hope.
We know that while we suffer on this earth, God himself will restore us and bring us peace.
God will restore you and make you feel His strength and bring you peace and comfort…regardless of your deepest pain.
I leave you with this prayer of restoration, comfort and peace. Hold fast to God’s hand and He will carry you when you can no longer stand.
And I remind you as always of the majestic gift of kindness. Even when we think we have nothing left to give, a gentle smile may be the only kind thing that person has seen that day. Always be kind.
For the Love of 