SCAREDY CAT, SCAREDY CAT

The LORD is my light and my

salvation; whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the strength of

my life; of whom shall I

be afraid?

Psalm 27:1

It's been a long time but very clear in my mind putting up with name calling. When in the very young elementary years, being called a SCAREDY CAT wasn't unusual. It usually occurred when someone older was daring me to do something I feared or really was afraid to tackle whatever the challenge. Adults usually get past such name calling but often are challenged none-the-less minus the name calling.

In Scripture, we meet folks who had to face their own fears. Most of their fears we can understand. Some of those fears may not always have been clear. For instance, David as a shepherd had to kill some fierce animals in order to protect his sheep. As an adult, we see David fleeing for his life from Saul. Did David love God? He certainly did love God but in his humanity still faced times of fear.

The above verse was written by David. If fear had come into David's life, he was quick to say how he came to see it. From what we see of David, he didn't park himself in the middle of fear, staying there until the cause passed over. He saw such circumstances in light of how he viewed the Lord in his life.

When we rely upon our Lord as our light, He can guide us through any circumstance. Our Lord will save us in the direst of negative events. Finally, David saw the Lord as his strength...strength when at one's weakest.

We are living in a culture of fear. Even TV ads try to scare us with health threats including new out breaks of whatever, safest cars to drive, right candidates to vote for and don't forget wars all over the place. No matter the scare tactics of Satan, we see in II Timothy 1:7 that “God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Father, we are so grateful for Your guidance, protection and wisdom in our every circumstance. Help us to rest in You despite what our culture presents from one day to another. Use us in these days to be encouragers. In Jesus name....Amen

CHANGE ME, LORD

But we all, with open face beholding

as in a glass the glory of the Lord,

are changed into the same image

from glory to glory, even as by

the Spirit of the Lord.

II Corinthians 3:18

In today's culture, it's easy to look around at others, often Christians, judging regarding changes they need to make in their lives. We can dwell too often on the shortcomings of others instead of looking in our own spiritual mirrors.

In 1977, Evelyn Christenson wrote a book that totally blew my mind only next to the Word of God itself. I have a very old copy of it that book that I still pull out every now and then. Because my first few readings of this book had such an impact on my life, I still learn from it every time I read it. The title of the book is “Lord, Change Me.” It's such an old book, and I'm not even sure it can be purchased in a regular bookstore anymore but might be ordered.

Evelyn had been a wonderful conference speaker in prior to 1977 and to my knowledge continued to do so for several years. She wrote even more books on the subject of prayer. This book had prayer scattered throughout but the main subject of the book had to do with Evelyn and her coming to the recognition of needing the Lord to really change her instead of her family and friends.. When people like Evelyn do a lot of teaching, they can get lost in subjects and lose their depth with the Lord. Evelyn came to that recognition of that in the 1970's and was devastated, but determined to get on track with the Lord.

Evelyn went before the Lord over several days and weeks. She was to the point of being willing to totally give up all conferences and writing if it meant her getting back to the relationship with the Lord where He could make real changes in her life. She was saturated with the things of God, but she realized that she wasn't saturated with God Himself.

That can happen so easily. We are faithful to read our Bibles in a scan-like way, pray the usual memorized prayers, faithfully attend church, giving and service. We know about God and His expectations but perhaps fail to really know Him intimately. He so wants a close relationship with you and me. We must be willing to let Him change us into His will and image. I've heard people say that no one really likes change. This kind of change, however, can turn our lives upside down for the Lord. He would be so pleased.

Dear Lord...I know my life isn't what it ought to be for You. My desire is to be changed more into Your image but I can't do it myself. I must have Your power to make the kind of difference in my life that is needed. Help me to not look at changes others need to make, but those that I need to change. Thank You for Your love, patience and forgiveness. In Jesus' precious name.....Amen

 

SO VERY BLESSED

Blessed be the LORD, Who daily

loads us with benefits, the God

of our salvation!

Psalm 68:19

At the beginning of this calendar year, I came to a decision. For the first New Year, I was without Brian and for most of 2022. It had been most difficult adjusting to being alone without the earthly love of my life. I can't tell you the family, friends and neighbors who stepped up to see to my well being in every way. God used each one of them in different ways that led me to reaffirm what I already knew....that God is still on His throne and has promised to never leave or forsake me.

Many days seemed darker because of emotional difficulties and a phone call would come or mail from some folks I didn't even know very well. I loved being in my house, just looking around at all that was so familiar. I had never hung one thing on the walls of our house. Brian had always done that because it just wasn't my thing. It felt good seeing those things.

By the middle of Januy, it dawned on me one day how very blessed I am despite missing Brian so very much. I was being blessed all over the place but rarely tracked any of those things. I decided to make a BLESSED notebook. It started with January of this year.

You and I are blessed all the time and often just chalk it up to daily circumstances. I'm amazed at the things I've written in my BLESSED notebook. I put down the date and then write only one or two brief sentences that describes a special touch from the Lord I want to remember.

In the beginning of my book, I copied several verses from Psalms that contains at least one reference to blessing. Many of my blessings would make no sense to anyone and might sound very much on the strange side but were blessings to me such as: “Neighbors brought me some good potato soup for supper.” Some might refer to special blessings from a sermon or just in reading ones Bible.

All in all, I'm amazed when thumbing through my notebook on perhaps a difficult day how I'm blessed and brought to remembrance the wonderful goodness and love God has brought into my life and using others to do the same. In this Thanksgiving season, we shouldn't be counting our blessings just in one holiday time. We can be doubly blessed by staying aware of God's goodness and blessings each day even if we can't begin to write them all down.

Bottom line is that we are so very blessed in so many ways every day of our lives, and not just on one day in November.

Thank You Father for the way You bless us every day of our lives. Forgive my not having a spirit of gratitude for all You do in my life. I'm so blessed to the point I lose track of all You pour into my life every day, not just on a holiday. I love and appreciate you. Thank You Jesus for Your loving sacrifice and I pray these things in Your sweet name....Amen 

LET THE SON-SHINE IN

Ah, Lord God! You have made

the heavens and the earth by

Your great power and outstretched

arm. There is nothing too hard for You.

Jeremiah 32:17

Fall is dwindling here where I live but there is still some beautiful color along the highways and the mountain hillsides. Visitors come from all over the country to take pictures and just inhale the Fall air. They are mostly gone now getting ready for the holidays.

I was sitting in a parking area that had a wonderful view of mountains near and far where folks were parking there as well. I saw there was often some disappointment because there didn't seem to be as much color on the mountain sides nearest to us. Some would wait awhile and then reluctantly take pictures half-heartedly.

I had sat there for awhile prior to some tourists arriving and had noticed something very interesting. The mountains we were looking at looked as green as could be. It was a rather dull day with darker clouds hovering. When the sun managed to peek through in small ways on the seemingly green areas, those areas lit up with the beauty of Fall colors. When the sun withdrew, things were dark on the mountain sides again. It was the warmth and beauty of the sun's rays bringing out the Fall beauty...perfect for picture taking.

How often do our lives loose their luster and beauty of our spiritual walk. Problems of all types come into our lives and can bring a dullness in us that we might not even notice. Our sunshine is different...it's our SON-shine. Our lives can be colorful and beautiful when we walk in the light of Jesus and maintain a close relationship with Him. So....let the SON-shine in.

Thank You Father for Jesus and all He means in our lives. Help us to love and appreciate Him more. May we allow Him to so shine in our lives that He will be seen in us. In His precious name...Amen 

 

KEEP GROWING

As you therefore have received Christ

Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

rooted and built up in Him and

established in the faith, as you

have been taught, abounding in it

with thanksgiving.

Colossians 2:6,7

I recall as a little kid that we had the best of neighbors. One of my favorites was old Mr. Rennie. Everyone in those days were”old” in their 60's. He always had a huge garden and in the summer I would go to his backdoor and ask if I could eat a tomato. He had taught me how to pick just the right ones for eating. We would both get a tomato and then sat on his back porch steps and each ate our tomato's...with salt of course.

When I would see him just sitting on his front porch, enjoying a tall glass of iced tea during warmer days, I would stop in front of his house while on my tricycle and simply ask, “Mr. Rennie, whatcha doin'?” I can't tell you how many times he would answer me with the same words, “I'm just watchin' the grass grow.” I always just took for granted that it was exactly what he was doing without questioning the purpose of it all.

Lately, I've been thinking about the personal growth of Christians in general, of which I are one. At this time, Fall has all but fallen and growth of anything in nature is coming to almost a standstill. Mr. Rennie wouldn't even be able to watch any grass grow with all the weather changes, let alone sit on his front porch.

My prayer for us is that in these cooler, more confining days, we will make every effort to continue to grow in the things of the Lord. Perhaps more indoor time can be spent in the Word, reading healthy materials, praying, or contacting folks we know are in need of some attention. People speak of wanting to know God's will for their lives when everyday of life God gives us is His actual will. His callings for special activity will come, but our growth should be a very daily thing.

Remember: We can't let the grass of the world grow under our spiritual feet.

Thank You Father, for Your patience with us and loving us beyond measure. Keep us growing in You, knowing that's Your will for us....because of Jesus...Amen

CLEAN ME UP

But if we walk in the light as He

is in the light, we have fellowship

with one another, and the blood of

Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us

from all sin.

I John 1:7

Because of a Bible study I had been working on, the subject of soap came to my mind. I can recall our only bath soap was Ivory Soap and it was 99.44% pure. It smelled terrible but hey, it floated. From there new soaps came on the market that folks just had to buy...Lifebuoy, Dial, Lava (for my mechanic dad) and now so many brands, it's hard to decide. It depends on what company has the best ad on TV.

Looking back now, one of the things I liked in that simpler time was that Saturday night was bath night. The wash tub from the back porch was brought into the kitchen for bath night. The rest of the week, all necessary body parts were washed from the sink. Today, soap companies have convinced folks they have to bathe or shower at least once a day and maybe twice. People in our country have always been an easy con for companies with a good claim or two.

There is one product however, known from back in eternity. It isn't promoted by some earthly company. With all of our earthly cleansers, none are of any permanent use. Clothes get dirty again as do bodies. It's a never ending process. Not so with the cleansing provided by a Heavenly Father and His Son Jesus. We were born dirty with sin and no earthly product can clean that. It's a cleanser that keeps cleaning us over and over despite our leaning toward sin.

Huge companies would refer to such a product as a kind of soap. However, we lovingly know and refer to it as “the blood.” It doesn't just insure us a Heavenly home but to peace and fellowship in the now of our lives.

What can wash away my sin...nothing but the blood of Jesus! Don't even need the wash tub off the back porch.

Dear Father, blood in our day isn't discussed anymore because there is so much of it due to sin and wrongdoing. I pray we will never grow weary of speaking of and loving the blood Jesus shed for each of us...in His precious name...Amen 

FEAR GALORE

For God has not given us a

spirit of fear, but of power

and of love and of a

sound mind.

II Timothy 1:7

Perhaps you haven't noticed the fear mentality we live with in our day. We are bombarded with fear right and left. Unfortunately, most folks buy into it all. Fear breeds fear. Fear of all sorts gets passed around. Soon we are basket cases and can't figure out why.

On TV we are hit right and left with fear. Ads on TV expose us to disease we never would have thought of, but we are told we had better buy their product or it could be tragic. TV will show us drugs we HAVE to have and see your doctor about them. There are vitamins that meet all dietary requirements. Take those and we will be healthier, sprier than ever. 

When we are bombarded with fear all the time, if we aren't careful, it can take root. Fear can become a part of everything we do and most everything we are. Think of things you have seen or heard on the media of late that we might take in and not realize it. Satan is very sly in his approach to us. Sometimes, we make his job easy. In many cases, he doesn't even have to park on our doorstep. We fall for what our culture batters us with, no questions asked.

When it comes to fear, we must always consider it's source. It's not the big companies looking to make mega bugs, nor politicians seemingly out to destroy the country we love. Those things are just tools Satan uses to keep us tense and fearful. There are times in life's situation that may be cause for concern. However when it comes to fear, we tend to feel totally out of control and at another's mercy. Scripture tells us we are more than conquerors in this life of ours. It's our decision to keep our eyes on the Father and not on fear. He has equipped us for victory.

Father, the world and it's fears seem to gnaw at our minds consistently. May we keep in mind Your gifts of power, love and sound minds and cling to those things. Help us to stay focused on You and Your will. In Jesus' name...Amen

 

IF

...Everything is possible for

the one who believes.

Mark 9:23

Having taught ladies for over 60 years, there are things I had to learn along the way about what I was or wasn't doing right. In this process, one of my biggest lessons learned was that the lesson I was preparing had to start with my own personal lessons learned ahead of teaching others. Such was with my most recent lesson.

Jesus could do anything. He was a Powerhouse in so many ways especially in meeting the needs in the lives of others. In the Gospels we find His ability to drive out demons from tortured individuals, such was the case with a particular father. He came to Jesus for help and it would seem he really believed Jesus could heal his son. In talking with Jesus one on one, he plead for help from Jesus saying: “If you can do anything......” He continued asking for Jesus' compassion on their .behalf.

There was something in the man's plea that Jesus noticed right away, because He replied, “If You can?” He then gave that wise counsel in the words we see above. It would seem that the key word in question was the word IF.

IF is a word that is very iffy if you know what I mean. We use it all the time in our common everyday language without thinking about it. I'm not going to try to try to list those instances as they are too many. For that father, his situation, however, was not an everyday event. He was desperate. IF is almost a word not just of begging but a word that can cause a situation to go in most any direction.

Spiritually speaking, IF cancels out confidence. We want to be people of strong faith but IF often gets in the way. How often have we prayed, “Father, IF it be your will....” It's like giving God an out. He is going to work His will in our lives for our good and His glory and it will never come about as a result of an IF. There are times and places for the use of that word, but certainly not in our spiritual walk. We can still come boldly to the throne of grace with no if's, and's or buts and aren't we glad.

Thank You Father, for Your patience with us. Help us to increase our faith so that we never question any of Your abilities but rest in Your strength and love. We are so grateful for Your loving care and seeing to our good with no IFs. In Jesus name...Amen

 

'TIS THE SEASON

No, it isn't time to go Christmas shopping as of yet, but it's certainly around the corner. By now we know that seasons come and go. We learned early in our education that there are four weather-type seasons in our year...spring, summer, fall and winter. We have seasons in sports that rarely overlap although even they seem to be bumping up against each other.

We anticipate our weather seasons depending on the individual climates they present. No one wants a sled in July or other such mix ups. We pay close attention to weather reports, especially when living in certain parts of the country that tend to have negative weather events.

Jesus was about to ascend to Heaven. He had been with His disciples and some others for some days and now a much anticipated time was about to occur. Jesus knew much more about this special time than did the observers who knew little of anything about what was about to happen...the coming of the Holy Spirit. In His conversation in these moments, He said something very insightful in Acts 1:7...

And He said to them, “It is not

for you to know times or seasons

which the Father has put in His

own authority...”

The disciples were especially anxious to know everything that was about to happen regarding coming days. Jesus would tell them about the Holy Spirit and their coming ministry, but just before that, He wanted them to not be anxious about times or seasons. That all rested with God. It's so like us to feel the same. No matter the times, God doesn't have to fret regarding coming events, weather forecasts or any other future happenings because He's in charge of it all....and aren't we glad.

We praise You Father that we don't have to fret about coming days. You meet us around every corner and we are grateful. In Jesus name...Amen

 

CHEW, CHEW, CHEW

Finally, brethren, whatever things

are true, whatever things are noble,

whatever things are just,

whatever things are pure,

whatever things are lovely

whatever things are of good report,

if there is any virtue and if there is

anything praiseworthy---

MEDITATE ON THESE THINGS.

Philippians 4:8

Hmmmmm.....I wonder as we read our way through Scriptures, how often we pause to meditate on a verse or even a phrase. There may be a phrase we have slid over for years, and it's there every time we read. When we've been in Sunday school and church for years, and come to know the Bible fairly well, we can be careless and miss out on some real treasures.

For me, another word for “meditate” is the word “chew.” I married a man who really knew how to chew his food. I noticed that with one bite of food, Brian gave that food several chews before swallowing. He said it insured getting all of the nutrients out of the food, plus enjoying the taste.

Isn't that what we should be doing in our Bible reading? We don't have to speed through a chapter or even a few verses. If the Spirit stops us at a certain place in our reading, He probably wants us to meditate (chew) there for awhile to get all the spiritual nutrients out of the passage possible. It can't hurt to stop in our reading and chew awhile!

Thank You for Your word, Father. May we glean all the good stuff from each verse we reading without hurrying through our reading. Holy Spirit, don't give up on us...keep teaching us. In Jesus name....Amen