MERCY, MERCY

The LORD is merciful and

gracious, slow to anger,

and abounding in mercy.

Psalm 103:8

You and I should be so very grateful forthe mercy of God in our lives. We are told that for our wrong-doing, justice is getting what we deserve. However, we also know that mercy is not getting what we deserve from God regarding our personal sin. You and I often don't even consider the everyday sins we might commit. To God, sin is sin....big or little. Because of Jesus' sacrifice we not only have salvation but the mercy of God. We must never take advantage of God's precious mercy. Just some things about this mercy in Psalm 103:

God's mercy can't be measured (11). It is too high and deep to be measured.

God's removal of our sin also can't be measured....east to west (12)

God's pity for each of His children is even more than what earthly fathers are capable of (13)

I am especially so grateful that God knows me inside and out. He knows my physical being, remembering that in the end, I am mere dust. (14)

Verse 17 is almost a grand finale verse:

But the mercy of the LORD is

from everlasting to everlasting,

on those who fear Him, and His

righteousness to children's children.

I praise You Father for Your merciful patience with me. In my weakness, You provide Your merciful care and patience. Thank You for Jesus' mercy and Your Spirit's teaching and leadership. In gratitude....Amen

 

OUR GOOD LISTENER

For I know the thoughts that I

think toward you, says the Lord,

thoughts of peace and not of evil,

to give you a future and a hope.

Then you will call upon Me and

go and pray to Me, and I will

listen to you,

Jeremiah 29:11,12

God's people were taken into captivity and we see Jeremiah at this particular time being a spokesman for them. The people as well as Jeremiah were ready to be finished with captivity and ready to go back home. God indicated to them the years they would spend in captivity, but they were more than anxious for it to be at an end.

In chapter 29, Jeremiah went to God in prayer and prayed a wonderful prayer on behalf of the people. After he had poured out his heart to God, God responded to him. God spoke right to the point, some of which is found in the above verses. For some reason, I have really liked this chapter in Jeremiah with interaction between him and God. I can't imagine Jeremiah's frustration and yet God's response was so loving and assuring even though Jeremiah still had no resolution to the situation.

There is something I often look for in my Scripture reading when God speaks. So often, He will begin a sentence or phrase with the two words I WILL. I don't know about anyone else but there are times when people have assured me that they would do something on my behalf and didn't come through. I also have to consider the times I have come up short in the same way with someone in need. Those two words indicate a promise whether we consider that to be true or not. When God says He will do something, it's as good as done.

I think also that we have often found ourselves in our own personal times of captivity. I realize we haven't been carried off to Babylon for 70 years but our captivities can seem a lifetime when not resolved. Captivity for us is any negative situation we find ourselves in that seems to have no answers or finish line. For some folks, captivity might be a health situation, financial disaster, loss that crosses any number of areas and on it goes. There are times we feel as helpless as Jeremiah and the people of that day.

When in that kind of fix, what do we do in the middle of all the impossibilities? Jeremiah prayed a wonderful prayer that was very respectful and we see God's answer. God hadn't forgotten His people. He was thinking about them, looking forward to good things. We may not feel in our circumstance that God ever gives us a thought. How wrong can we be. He also assured Jeremiah that He listens to every prayer. No matter what we find ourselves enduring, God is present...thinking about us, seeing our future with good things and listening to our every prayer. We are such a blessed people.

Thank You Father for Your loving attention toward us in both good and difficult times. May we be people of prayer, all the time knowing You are the best listener ever. Thank You for Your personal attention toward each of us. In Jesus precious name...Amen

 

LITTLE IS MUCH

Bless the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all His benefits.

Psalm 103:2

It didn't seem like much at the moment, but it was one of those wonder moments that would have meant nothing to anyone but me. Recently, I had to go have lab work done in anticipation of my six month checkup with my doctor the end of the week. I ventured out on Wednesday morning hoping to get it all finished while still hoping to make it to our Wednesday morning Bible study at church.

My timing was questionable at best because of the flood of others who show up for such tests first thing in the morning. I could just see it....parking lot with no close up spaces except for out in the boonies of the lot. The waiting line for registration I imagined to be at least twenty people which would be the usual. It was just the facts of what I had seen in time past.

I was right about the parking lot. It was really full and there was no way I'd find a handicap spot. I went ahead and pulled up into that area with the blue squares on the concrete of the parking spaces. So I did a quick cruise anyway and almost hit a pickup as it decided to pull out in front of me, leaving me a wonderful parking space...I was thrilled and quickly thanked my Lord for His favor. I went on into the registration area and there were only three people in front of me in the line. That was nothing short of a miracle. I was in and out in a jiffy. Before leaving, I took a casual look to see what the line up for service looked like. I counted 25 people and growing. If I had arrived just a little later, it could have been a mess.

In my car I was almost in tears of joy. It was all God's timing and doing and I was rejoicing. It would have all been very small in the eyes of others. There's an old song I have loved for years entitled..”.Little is Much When God is in it.” We need to brush out the cobwebs of our spiritual memories and remember those seemingly little ways God has cared for us not just in the big ways but in the smallest of ways. When God is in the small things, they suddenly take on very huge meaning. Oh how He loves you and me!

I praise You Father, for all the little things You bring my way that bless me and often aid me in ways I need. You are always looking out for me and I'm so grateful. Your little things in my life seem to grow into giant proportions and I'm so very grateful for Your love in my life...In Jesus' precious name.....Amen

KEEP GROWING

I am the vine, you are the

branches, He who abides in Me,

and I in him, bears much fruit, for

without Me, you can do nothing.

John 15:5

My sisters and I were attending our Dad's funeral in California. In that time, we drove around a lot just viewing the sights. As I recall, my aunt, who was hosting us, stopped at someone's house. The nice thing about our visit to a friends home was that we girls just walked around the well-landscaped yard.

My aunt caught up with just as we approached a beautiful fruit tree. The grapefruit hanging on that tree was something none of the three of us had ever seen. You would just want to grab one of them off the tree and dig in.

Much to our surprise our aunt came up to us and asked how we like the lemon tree. LEMON TREE??? She had to be wrong. People don't see lemons that size no matter how classy a grocery store is. These pieces of fruit looked like grapefruit in every way...they just couldn't be lemons, but they were.

As it turned out, not only were they lemons but she pulled one off of the tree and just began peeling it. She handed each of a piece. It smelled like lemon and looked like lemon sections except they were huge. We knew what would result with taking a bite....puckered up faces. Nope...it was like biting into delightful lemonade, sweet and refreshing.

Because those lemons had been left to ripen and mature on the branches, those lemons flourished. Like with anything else though, when pulled from the source, a lemon's life, and growth stops and dying begins. Apart from it's source of sustenance, it would never grow to it's full potential.

What about our spiritual maturity? Have we taken advantage of our life source? A believer can be saved enough for Heaven, but what about now? If we don't keep a strong connection with our Father, we can become small and sour in our testimony before others. God wants us to stay fully connected to Him so we will grow and mature in Him beyond any of our expectations.

Father God, thank You for the privilege of having a close connection with You. Help me to want to grow and mature in You, not for my glory but for Your glory alone. Forgive me for the times I pull away from You...draw me back, keep me close. I love you..In Jesus precious name....Amen 

GREAT THINGS

The LORD has done great

things for us, and we

are glad.

Psalm 126:3

Recently, I read the above verse and for good reasons, and I felt very convicted by it's message. Thanksgiving has been THE time of year we are supposed to take time to count our own personal blessings. Supposedly, such blessing counting only includes just the previous year.

During the course of a year, we may feel a kind of gratitude off and on depending on the blessings that have come our way. The writer of this above Psalm is writing out of joy. At that time God had brought back captives back to Zion. That was really a big deal for those folks who had been away from their homeland for such a long time. Their response to returning was that of joy and singing in celebration of being free and in their land.

That was a really big event for those folks who had known captivity for such a long time. I'm sure God was thrilled with the adoration of the people. We can look through Scripture and read of God's goodness to people in so many ways.

We may know nothing of their circumstances and joy. They had known captivity for years. We may never know that kind of captivity but we've known our own captivity times. When in captivity, there always seems that there is no way out.  The above verse alone doesn't give us the sizes of our problems. It also doesn't address anything small.

Standing alone, a simple statement comes from the verse. In fact that statement is written two times in both second and third verse: “The Lord has done great things for (them) us.” We can't just think of God's goodness in terms of the past. He didn't just work for those captives but continues to do great things for us right now. I'm determined to be more aware of God's goodness in my life. I want to be more grateful for the great things He does in my life everyday while taking note of the numerous ways God shows Himself in what we would consider the smaller blessings of life.

Dear Father, You show us Your love for us in so many wonderful ways both in huge events and the every days of our lives. Thank You for loving and caring for us in so many ways that we sometimes overlook. In Jesus' precious name...Amen 

 

ALWAYS NEAR

Be strong and of good courage,

do not fear nor be afraid of them;

for the Lord your God, He is the

One who goes with you, He

will not leave you nor forsake you.

Deuteronomy 31:8

It's almost unimaginable what Joshua was facing. Moses was gone and Joshua found himself stepping into the sandals of Moses to lead God's people into the Promised Land. God gave him many words of help and encouragement that could have been hard to absorb in those moments. Most of those recorded words we now have in our Scriptures aren't quick for recall, but the above verse is one believers have hung onto for a very long time.Over the last several months, I have been and will continue to be one of those believers who clings to the promise of Gods ever and ongoing presence in my life. There are two key words in this verse to note....leave and forsake.

Leaving in most cases refers to a temporary absence. It indicates a person leaving will usually return at some time. We may leave for work, leave on vacation, leave for church or a military person coming home on leave. The word usually refers to a going and coming process but still indicates a time of being away.

Forsaking is a totally different word. Forsaking indicates a permanent leaving with no return in sight. Forsaking is often a quick exit from one's life, be it a job, family, friends and is usually done in the middle of great hurt, anger or severe offense. I've usually heard the word with respect to family members but can apply in other areas. Just about the only forsaking I have known as being a good thing is when a person forsakes sin and wrongdoing in their lives.

This precious verse is found twice in the Old Testament that I saw and it referred to Joshua. However, the verse is repeated in part in the book of Hebrews. In all three places, we believers are promised that God is going to be a constant presence in our lives every moment of our being . He is a party to our every tear, disappointment, time of joy, words of praise, physical pain and loneliness. It's another of God's I WILL statements we can claim all the way into Heaven.

Father, help me to relax in the knowledge that You are with me at every moment of everyday. I pray I won't ignore Your presence but will recognize Your being such a part of my life and that I'm never alone. In Jesus' precious name...Amen

WALK THE WALK

Therefore, we were buried with Him

through baptism into death, that

just as Christ was raised from the

dead by the gory of the Father, even

so we also should walk in newness

of life.

Romans 6:4

We all learned to walk at some point. For parents, our first steps where celebrated and the news of it spread to friends and family members. It's an activity we rarely give any thought to. In 1956, President Eisenhower began programs stressing physical fitness. Race-walking had become somewhat of a sport prior to that, but with this new emphasis on fitness, ordinary walking became a major means of exercise.

There is no doubt that ordinary walking can be a healthy thing for the human body. Lots of emphasis in our day is given to physical fitness, diets, etc. but for many people, physical fitness has almost become a religion. Walking gets us to where we want to go whether from one room to another in our houses, shopping at a mall or casually walking in one's neighborhood.

There is another kind of walking that may be more important than our casual walk in a park. The walking I'm talking about has to do with our walking WITH God in close relationship. Notice I stressed that word “with” because it's an important word. Recently I brought attention to that concept in a lesson I was teaching in Sunday school. It had convicted me in the sense that there are times I don't walk with God, I walk ahead or even in back of Him. His desire is to have us walking right with and along side of Him. There are times I get ahead of Him with my own plans or ideas. Other times I may be lagging, bringing very little to the relationship to really being with Him.

Our spiritual walk will take some effort on our parts. It takes drive and dedication but the Holy Spirit sweetly strengthens and encourages us in our walk. As God's children we are called to walk the walk and talk the talk lovingly with enthusiasm as we take each step with Him.

Father, I love You and want to be in consistent walking with You because You are the most important person in my life. In Jesus precious name...Amen 

 

REMEMBER???

Do not remember the former

things, nor consider the

things of old.

Behold, I will do a new thing...

Isaiah 43:18, 19a

Although now in a new year, it would seem that the month of December always gives us gives memories to carry into a new year.. There are some memories historically speaking that bring back memories for those of us who might be of some age. Although l, a very little girl at the time, picked up on the fact that something was very wrong.

When the news came regarding the attack on Pearl Harbor, our military in Hawaii, despite winter weather, there were a few women in the neighborhood that met in someone's yard. I remember seeing ladies cry. I had never seen that before. I knew I cried because I was little but they were big people who were crying. I caught the word “pearl” and thought someone had lost her necklace. In those days, most women had pearl necklaces. Something was very wrong...that was for sure.

There are sad times and events in all of our pasts we can readily recall. God's people in Isaiah's day were no different. They had seen conflict as a people and God spoke to them in the above verse. No matter the destruction, war or personal conflict, God didn't want them to dwell on those things...the former things. Things of old can be crippling depending on how we hang on to them. In the next verse, God assured them that He was going to do a new thing. I don't know how many times He has done that in my life. For Him to do that, I have to be willing to let go of the worst of memories...those former things.

Whether it be Pearl Harbor, 9/11, divorce, financial disasters or loss of a friend or loved one, the initial sting of it all may linger for a time but God stands ready to do something new in our lives. I am seeing that in my own circumstances even though I still face them with frequent tears. Through those tears, God has allowed me to see some new things.

If you weren't born in the 30's or 40's, Pearl Harbor is only a fact of history to you. Fewer and fewer remember that day and oncoming war. Many allowed this event to embitter them for a very long time. Bitterness doesn't heal and fortunately many folks came to realize that. Whatever our major, life shaking event, in and through it all, God wants to do something special in us, something unbelievable...something new.

Father, help us to hand over personal trauma to You knowing You want to do something new in us that will glorify You in every way. Keep us free in You and available for Your use. In Jesus' name...Amen

,

HANDS FOR GOD

Whatever your hand finds to do,

do it with your might; for there is

no work or device or knowledge

or wisdom in the grave where

you are going.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Recently, there was an interesting picture on my computer screen. It was a picture of the hands, one on top of the other, that were hands of someone up in years. I don't remember if they were the hands of a man or woman. Although we have them, I doubt we think of them very often. We don't know what we'd do without them unless we had none or hands we have are damaged beyond usefulness.

My hands look a little better than the ones in the picture but have obviously aged mostly thanks to arthritis. I got to thinking of some of the things I've done with my hands that I never gave a thought to. My list would probably be much like anyone reading this. My hands have played with clay, dolls, colors and color books as well as handling and reading I don't how many books. My hands have cooked many a meal, seen to the privilege of holding my three babies, typing by the hour on every kind of writer beginning with no electrics. I have played piano's and organ's in more places than I can count. They have held any number of Bibles from which I have been blessed and taught others.

I have a picture on my bookcase from my wedding album. It's a common picture taken at weddings with the hands of the bride and groom resting on a bouquet. I have a twin picture of that from a totally different time. Bev took a picture of my holding Brian's hand in the hospital before he went to Heaven...a span of years from beginning to the end. How I miss that hand of his holding mine.

God has blessed us with the privilege of using our hands to serve others whether saved or unsaved. Jesus' hands were severely damaged as He hung on a cross for you and me. I can't imagine where we would be without those precious hands, bleeding to cover the sins of mankind. We can't serve as much or as well as He did, but we are called to always offer and give helping hands to relatives or friends in need. I look at my hands now, grateful they are functioning well for their age. No matter our ages, we have the privilege of extending our hands to anyone in need but only for God's glory.

Dear Father, how grateful I am for your wonderful hands that have held me close, guided when I just didn't know where to turn, that have provided for me in every way. Your hands have had to discipline me on occasion and I'm the better for it. Thank You for having Your hands cupped over my life every moment of my life. In Jesus' precious name...Amen 

BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS

Even to your old age, I am He,

and even to gray hairs I will

carry you! I have made, and

I will bear; even I will carry

and deliver you.

Isaiah 46:4

So blessed in God's Word every time I pick it up and read in it. His promises are so appropriate no matter the circumstances but especially thinking today about age. I didn't realize I would see myself with the number 85 behind my name. That's a lot of years, some of which I know I wasted in not always walking in God's will. Despite it, He has loved, forgiven and chosen me to be where I am in the great now.

I've experienced a lot of birthdays. Some of them weren't pleasant but most were. I didn't have a lot of parties like many folks have for their children in these days. Gifts might have been at times no more than a color book, crayons and maybe a small stuffed animal. Yet, it was great.

In November, 1999 our church was having a revival and on the particular Sunday was the last service. I found myself almost consumed with listening to the evangelist as he spoke and things began stirring in me I had never sensed before. Although that church is different now, I would be able to show you where I was sitting, the aisle I stepped into and the bright sun shining through the clear glass window. I had no family there but knew this was something I had to do and did.

That, in my life was the greatest birthday any living person can experience no matter their age. That birthday gift will take me to Heaven where birthdays will never be necessary or missed.

Thank You Father for guiding in my life through Your Spirit and for Jesus who made my spiritual birthday gift a reality. In His name....Amen