Parental Sacrifices

Most of the mothers who read this post are exemplary at doing their best, even if your children criticize you. Your courage, tenacity, unconditional love, tears, disappointments, struggles, etc. are appreciated, even if your children do not notice or appreciate what you experienced on their behalf.

You endured countless hours of sleep deprivation, sibling squabbles, sacrifice of your time and energy and resources, interruptions of your limited private time - even while using the bathroom, and couple time with your spouse.

You juggled your time between your vocation, home, and the massive amount of hours spent on supporting your child's/children's/grandchildren's hobbies and civic and school activities, all the while attempting to be a supportive wife, church member and community activist.

I applaud you and thank you on behalf of our society, which is reaping the good morals and example which you lived out in front of your children. Keep up the good work. You fathers too may have contributed to this wonderful gift to our world, and we thank you as well.

We are in good company, however. With all of our sacrifices, we do not come close to the amount of suffering Jesus experienced in order to supply us with the free gift of salvation. God provides this blessing for everyone willing to recognize their need for a Savior, repent of their sins, and call on Jesus' name (Romans 3:23, 6:23, 10:9-10).

Jesus endured horrendous abuse and the painful and mortifying crucifixion on Calvary's cross to pay the penalty of our immoral, self-centered and prideful rebellion against God. We deserve eternal suffering in hell, but He gave us everlasting joy instead.

Prayer:

Father God, we can never thank You enough for coming to earth as our Emmanuel, in order to bring us to Heaven with You. We love the fact that You find joy in the death of Your Saints, because it makes us feel like You are sitting on the edge of Your throne, just waiting for us to come spend eternity with You (Psalm 116:15). You even rejoice over us with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).

We often feel like a martyr, because of all that we endure during our lifetime. However, nothing we experience comes close to what You suffered to pay the penalty of our sins. We are so sorry, Lord God, that Your abuse and execution came as the direct result of our ungodly behavior. Teach us to walk righteously in this world. Bless our efforts with our children, and draw them ever closer to Your heart.

Thought for the Day:

The most difficult job on this planet is to serve as a parent, and to experience the disrespect, complaints, raised eyebrows, smirks and even disobedience our children dish out to us from time-to-time; yet, the rewards of having a loving child are greater than anything else this world has to offer.

Undeserved Forgiveness

We often refuse to forgive, because we are adamant about the fact that the person who abused, insulted, and/or wounded us does not deserve forgiveness. That is probably true, none of us deserve forgiveness for our intentional or unintentional actions.

Yet, while we were still sinner, God forgave us, and set an example for us in our treatment of others (Romans 5:8). We all deserve hell, because we are filled with sinful thoughts, words and behavior both of our own, and also inherited from generations all the way back to Adam (Romans 5:12-22; Psalm 51:5; Job 14:4; 1st Corinthians 15:22).

There is a "selfish" side to forgiveness. If we forgive others, this allows God to forgive us; yet, if we refuse to forgive, we tie God's hands, and prevent Him from being able to forgive us (Matthew 6:14). No one wants to forfeit God's forgiveness.

Therefore, it is wise on our part to quickly forgive those who insult or misuse us. We can make every effort to live in harmony with others, and to conduct our behavior from a spiritual perspective, rather than a personal one.

When we refuse to forgive, we fall short of God's grace and a root of bitterness springs up in our soul and affect others in our life, as well as eventually crowding out the seeds of righteousness, which Jesus gives us at salvation (Hebrews 12:14-15).

God's Word encourages us to live with compassion for each other's meanness, foibles and shortcomings, just as in Christ, God forgives us. This focus makes it easier for us to forgive another's behavior and words toward us (Ephesians 4:32).

Prayer:

Father God, teach us to erect boundaries between us and those people who are not safe; yet to continue to show them compassion, and to respond to them with Your unconditional, agape love (Matthew 5:44). Thank you for loving us unconditionally.

Make us a vessel of Your peace in this world full of strife and discord. Show us how to heal the issues that lay between us and those who hurt us. We do not want bitterness to boomerang back to us, and to stop our spiritual growth and hinder our joy.

Thought for the Day:
Forgiveness does not involve forgetting the slight or wound we received - the painful memory may visit us again and again; however, each time it comes back to our mind, we can choose to forgive, just as God chooses to forgive us. 

Ordering Our Steps

The Psalmist felt like we do sometimes, and wished he had wings like a bird so he could fly away and find rest (Psalm 55:6). He also wanted to escape to the mountains (Psalm 121:1-2), and hide under the shadow of God's wings (Psalm 91:1-4), etc.

Escaping trauma in this world is such a common desire that advertisers even use it to sell their products. They promise to zip the harried housewife away from life’s stresses, through products like enchanting bath crystals.

Of course, our chores and trials still await us if we do take a vacation - long or short - to relieve our stress, but taking breaks from our routine is a healthy practice. Short respites from the routine renew our energy and elevate our mood.

Some ideas include: walking outside in nature during breaks at work, taking the kids to the park to run off some energy while we peacefully sit on the bench and watch over them, escaping to our porch with a soothing cup of tea and local honey, enjoying a hobby, sitting in the recliner and propping up our feet, etc.

When our soul is overwhelmed by negative emotions such as: frustration, depression, resentment, inner clutter, anger, unforgiveness, etc. we cannot feel the joy of the Lord anymore, and the dance goes right out of our steps.

By eliminating and preventing outer clutter, we keep more organized, and we free our soul of dead weight. This enables us to dwell in peace within, instead of dissatisfaction. Our day is more successful when we listen to God's Spirit.

Waiting on His direction, as we do each task, allows us to hear His advice for quicker or more creative ways to do a simple chore. We accomplish so much more, much faster by doing everything God's way and in His perfect timing.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to order our day according to the direction of Your Holy Spirit. Remind us to take short breaks out in nature, and to have a place for everything in our home and to keep everything in its place. Help us to find short-cuts to make life easier and more efficient.

We rely on You to make us see that a casually spotless home and work space is much easier to work in, and frees us from the tyranny of clutter and the demon of perfectionism and obsessive-compulsive behavior. We want to walk in Your plans for our day and to accomplish all that You call us to do.

Thought for the Day:

God gives us His wisdom to perform our daily duties and chores, so that we have more time to serve Him in areas where He needs us the most; He enhances our peace within by helping us to control the clutter in our soul, home and work space.

Going Along to Get Along

Relationships at home, vocation, church, friends and with extended family take a great deal of work. We get weary of conflict, disagreements, struggles and the effort that it requires to live in harmony with others.

There comes a time in many relationships where we get stuck in the "blame game", even years after the incident occurred. We get "historical" on each other. We fail to forgive and move on, we may hold a grudge, and we use the facts of the incident in future arguments.

One reason this occurs is because one or both participants never received an apology from the original incident. Then, if something similar happens, the original hurt compounds the current feelings and the feud continues.

When we fail to take responsibility for our part in the original incident, we damage our spiritual and emotional growth and our chance for a deeply committed relationship. As we humble our self and feel regret for our part, we can apologize for what we said or did.

Full compliance with each other's opinion and desires is not the answer. Yet, neither do we need to have a winner and loser every time we have an impasse. We can pray together to find a third alternative that we both agree on, about the decision we are making.

This way we do not compromise the deepest part of our self, and we do not abandon our core beliefs, or lose our integrity. Yet, we learn each other's preferences, needs, goals, etc. by listening intently and even reading between the lines sometimes.

We dwell with each other with understanding, and serve one another as Jesus served His disciples. When conflict arises, we attempt to see it through each other's eyes, to realize how the decision is affecting each of us, and to appreciate one another.

We both feel fulfilled in a relationship like this, respect each other's strength, have patience with one another's weaknesses, and endeavor to face life's hardships as a united force, instead of allowing the trial to sever our friendship.

Each person can make their own decisions that are best for their individual needs, to agree to disagree if necessary, and to give each other the space to be the unique person that God created, that He is perfecting, and that He called us to be.

Prayer:

Father God, when we live together in one accord with Your Saints and by Your Trinity, we find peace and joy in the midst of our love for one another. We have no need for boundaries or conditions, for excuses for our thoughts or feelings, and for blaming each other for the issues we are facing.

Help us to accept each other with all of our faults and foibles, and to support one another in fulfilling our needs and convictions. Help us to be honest, and not to sugar-coat the issues or to hide our true feelings from one another. Teach us to honestly express how we feel, not to attempt to control the outcome of any decision, and to live in the center of Your will for our life together.

Thought for the Day:

As we take a searching inventory of what is going on in our soul - our mind, emotions and choices - and journal our innermost thoughts, impressions, and desires, we come to understand what we truly need and want; then, we can honestly communicate our feelings to our self, to others, and to God in prayer.

Secure in Our Savior's Love

When we call out to Him, the Lord provides for all of our needs. Our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors are watching, and they give Him praise for His goodness to us. (Isaiah 41:17-20). He never fails us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5).

We are secure in His everlasting love and kindness, and we have no lack of any good thing (Psalm 23). His love for us endures continually. He wants the best for us, and thinks the best of us, because we are in Christ and Christ is in us.

God is patient with us, defends us when people and powers and principalities come against us, and He provides for us. When we trust Him alone, He matures us in our faith, blesses us constantly, and comforts us during any trouble.

Our Father's love abides in us, changing us from the inside out. When we ask, He gives us Jesus' divine nature, teaches us to discern the mind of Christ within us, and leads us in His safe and secure, everlasting way.

God's love teaches us not to demand our own way, to give and to forgive, to be led by His Spirit rather than by our own human reasoning or prejudices, and to think the best of everyone. We do not meet a stranger, just a potential friend.

We also learn to love our self as Christ loves us, and to love others as we love our self (Mark 12:30-31). So many of us are wounded from past experiences, and we do not believe that we are lovable or valuable enough to be healthy, happy and blessed.

Yet, the peace and joy of the Lord accompany our salvation, and we live in harmony with God's plans for our life. This intimate union with Him is our greatest treasure in life and guarantees our eternal place in His family.

Prayer:

Father God, help us to realize that we are unique individuals who have value, and the need to be loved and nurtured by our efforts as well as Yours. We do not need to look to others for that love or to put undue expectations on them to fulfill our needs. You have our life under Your control, when we submit our goals, desires and plans to Your will for us.  

Your love is patient and kind, it does not envy or boast, it is not arrogant or rude, it does not insist on its own way, it is not irritable or resentful, it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth; Your love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things and never fails us. Teach us to love as You love (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

Thought for the Day:

Jesus died for the lost, the broken, the forlorn and the persecuted; and His love compels Him to willingly serve as our brother, Savior and King.

What Good is the Bible

On what do we base our understanding of truth, which forms our view of, and purpose in life? Do we accept worldly philosophy and popular cultural beliefs, or the Word of God that has stood the test of time?

Archeological discoveries, fulfilled Biblical prophecies in current events, scientific findings, scholarly studies, increased technology, etc. all point to the Truth of God's Word. Many who set out to prove that the Bible is false, discover its truth.

In these end times, before the return of Christ for His Bride, more and more people are dropping out of church, failing to make Bible reading a priority, going to Sunday worship but not evening Bible studies, and some even despise the Word of God (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

There will come a time when there will be a famine in the land of hearing the word of God (Amos 8:11-12). It only makes sense for us to make our personal devotion time, as well as attending Bible studies, as a huge priority in our life right now.

God calls His Church to focus on His Truth, to share His Gospel with anyone who will listen, to faithfully serve in a ministry, and to endure any hardships accompanying evangelizing our sphere of influence (2 Timothy 4:5).

We are called to treat God's Word as hidden treasure, and to seek wisdom and understanding from it; then, we will comprehend what it means to "fear" the Lord, and we will find deeper understanding of who God is and what He wants from us (Proverbs 2:3-5).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Word gives us undeniable truths, such as the virgin birth, the resurrection of Christ from the dead, the Divine inspiration of the Bible, Your sovereignty, and the penalty of depravity, in addition to facts about our eternal destination. Thank You for Your Word and for Jesus, slain to pay the consequences of our sins, who was chosen before the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20).

We continue to exist because of Your mercy and grace. We thank You for the capacity to learn, the capability to search for truth, and the free will to choose what we believe. Expose worldly fables for what they are, open the eyes of those who seek You with all of their heart, and help us to find our truth in Your Word rather than in human philosophy.

Thought for the Day:

If we will line up our worldview with God's Word, we will strengthen our soul, feed our spirit, and find truths that will help us to heal our body, which will all help us now and last for eternity.

Faithful Servants of the Living God

Jesus was falsely accused of crimes, which He did not commit. These lies were perpetrated by the Jewish leadership who were riddled with guilt by Jesus' words, and jealous of His spiritual power and popularity with the people.

They stirred up the crowd when the Roman official found no fault in Jesus. The crowd chose to save a guilty man and send innocent Jesus to the Cross. This occurred in order to fulfill prophecy and to pay our sin debt.

As our advocate, Jesus now sits at the right hand of God, interceding for us (Romans 8:33-34). Unless it will bring glory to God, no one can deliver us to those who falsely accuse us; and if they do, God works it all out for our good (Acts 25:11; Romans 8:28).

Humility is always the best way to diffuse a tense situation (Proverbs 15:1). When someone falsely accuses me, I try to remember that as long as God knows the truth, the false opinion of others makes no difference in my life.

Like Jesus, I do not need to use one breath in my defense, because God is my judge (Romans 14:4) and Jesus is my defense (1 John 2:1). We do not need the approval of anyone on this earth. It is nice to have it, but it is not necessary.

We never attempt to please our self only, but to consider the needs of others, so that they may trust God also, and be saved (1 Corinthians 10:33). Yet, if we strive to please people only, we cannot adequately serve God (Galatians 1:10).

We do the will of God from our heart as servants of Christ, and live as an example to our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors (Ephesians 6:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:4). Our goal in life is to live as a praise to our Father God and to Jesus, whom He sent.

Prayer:

Father God, You give us Your Word full of wisdom for guidance in our daily living. As we read the life-giving instruction and testimonies between each page, we learn to live with compassion for our self and for others. Your Godly wisdom helps us to make wise judgments through discernment by Your Spirit.

Teach us to see life from both sides of the same coin, and to give people the benefit of the doubt. Remind us to gather all of the facts before we make accusations or form judgments about others, and to accept each other with all of our faults and insecurities.

Thought for the Day:

We condemn our self by our unbelief (John 3:18); however, no one can legitimately bring any charge against or condemn those whom God has chosen and who walk in His ways, because He justifies us by the blood of Jesus.

God's Perfecting Work

The events publicized in the news get worse month-by-month, year in and year out. They strike fear in the soul of the faint-hearted, and energize the proactive to endeavor to revolutionize the status quo. However, there is so much in today's society that we cannot change. 

So many people have health issues rising from the toxic result of fear over current events (Luke 21:26). In our human strength, we make a valiant effort to control life, to manipulate circumstances, and to ignore issues that do not directly affect our life.

We push the niggling fear, which constantly taunts us, into our subconscious mind, not realizing that it secretly affects us daily. This negative emotion aggravates other negative emotions, which arise in our heart, until we explode like a volcano.

In an attempt to foster peace in our heart, we control our home, relationships, schedule, choice of vocation, material possessions, clothing, the impression we make on others, the level of intimacy we have with our family and friends and co-workers, and even the color of our hair and nails and teeth.

Yet, insecurity and anxiety still threaten to choke the life right out of us. Those who never experienced spiritual revival in Christ will quake in their shoes; however, God's perfect love expels all fear from our body, soul and spirit (1 John 4:18).

His opinion of us is the only one that really matters, and He knows the truth about the issues in our life. His Holy Spirit regenerates our spirit, sanctifies our soul, and at Christ's coming will glorify our body. We already enjoy the mind and divine nature of Christ (Galatians 2:20; 2 Peter 1:4; 1 Corinthians 2:16).

God's love for us gives us a new focus, regardless of our situation in life. We keep our mind centered on Him, walking in His Spirit and allowing Him to work in and through us. We have nothing to prove, not even to God. He loves us just the way we are.

Prayer:

Father God, You free us to love others as Christ loves His Church family. We do not live according to the expectations of our self or others, but we follow Your Spirit and walk in Your perfect plan for our life (Ephesians 2:20). Through Christ in us, we love others, even our enemies and those who unlovingly and spitefully use us (Matthew 5:44).

We have no need to adopt a religious façade that we show to the world, because You expect us to worship You in truth - hiding nothing from You, because You are already intimately acquainted with us and know us better than we can even know our self. Thank you for flooding our soul with Your peace that has nothing to do with earthly concerns.

Thought for the Day:
God's unfailing love frees us from the degradation of this world, and awards us with His Spiritual fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control and faith; therefore, we come as we are - warts and all, brokenness and triumphs, human limitations and unresolved conflicts until He transforms us into a perfect child of God with all the fullness of Christ within us.

- Ephesians 1:23, 4:13; Colossians 1:28; 

Healing Power in Our Beliefs

Trusting in the Lord, instead of depending on our human understanding sounds like "mind over matter." However, there is the power of life and death in our thoughts and words (Proverbs 18:21). This applies to our healing in our body, soul and spirit.

It all boils down to our faith and our belief system, which affects our attitude and our healing process. Researchers have "placebo" groups in every test they perform with a new drug. Many people who take the "sugar" pill are healed due to their beliefs.

Doctors and researchers often give placebo "medications" and "sham" surgeries, in order to test the theory of our beliefs affecting our healing. This practice is proof that our mind is a powerful tool for healing our physical ailments.

Positive changes in our beliefs - both conscious and subconscious - affect our thoughts, emotions and actions, which then impact our body's ability to heal. Faith activates our endorphins and dopamine, which change our neural pathways in our brain in order to heal.

Having faith in God's faithfulness - a fact that He proves to us every day of our life, partaking in the joys of a caring and praying family and church family and friends, receiving hope from God's Word, and surrounding our self with encouraging people will all affect our biochemical ability to heal.

If our constant focus is on "healing" our illness, we continue to struggle; however, if we focus on walking in God's will each moment of the day, our Great Physician is going to arrange circumstances to show us what to do to heal, or He will heal us supernaturally.

Positive beliefs also lower our stress level, which is a major contributor to inflammation in the body, and inflammation contributes to our level of pain and illness. Trusting in God reduces stress and prevents inflammation, especially if we include a "clean" diet along with developing our intimacy with God.

Prayer:

Father God, You marvelously created our body to work in harmony with our spirit and soul - our thoughts, feelings and choices. Teach us how to balance these three aspects of our existence with Your Spirit in order to live a healthy and productive life and to effectively work in Your Kingdom.

We know that You placed a boundary around our life, and that You will take us home when we reach that place in our life; however, we do not really need to live in a sick body until we reach that point. Give us Your wisdom, as well as the discipline to cut out unhealthy food choices, and to decide to help our health instead of feeding our taste buds.

Thought for the Day:

If we trust in God with our whole heart, and stop depending on our human understanding, we can walk in health in body, soul and spirit, especially if we maintain a chemical-free lifestyle and eat a diet dependent on healthy choices.

- https://www.amymyersmd.com/start-here/

Unreserved Devotion

If we will seek God with our whole heart, we will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13); yet, seeking God is a lost discipline in today's society. Even Believers only give Him a cursory moment of their time when they really need something.

Others believe that God is too busy to care about them or their life, so they ignore Him. Yet, there is no better relationship to cultivate than intimacy with God's Trinity. The Father, Son and Spirit want to actively abide in our life.

God loves us unconditionally and completely, and asks nothing in return from us than that we love Him with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength as we keep His commandments - not the whole law, but only His ten simple requirements.

These directives are more for our safety than for His pleasure. They are boundaries, which keep us out of trouble and protect us from harm. They are guidelines for our thoughts, words and actions.

The Ten Commandments give us an idea of what God considers important behavior from His Saints. We experience God in the depths of our spirit and soul in such a way that exceeds superficial and intellectual knowledge.

He wants to fill us through our entire body, soul and spirit with all of His fullness, until we experience the richest measure of His presence and are flooded by His Spirit (Ephesians 3:16-19).

This unreserved devotion reaps His blessings and keeps us from experiencing so many trials and conflicts in our life. We bow our knees to the Father of Jesus, and ask Him to adopt us into His family for eternity, and to fill us through our entire being with all of His fullness.

Then, He grants us strength in our inner being to have faith in His glorious riches and to ask Jesus to dwell in our heart by His Spirit. This allows Christ to root and ground us in His love, so we can comprehend with all the Saints the length, breadth, width, depth and height of His love for us (Ephesians 3:14-19).

Prayer:

Father God, when we stray from Your presence, caught up in worldly pursuits, pushing You out of our over-active life, and grieving Your Holy Spirit, restore to us the treasure of Your presence within us and draw us ever closer to Your precious heart. Lead us back onto the path You charted for us before we were ever born (Ephesians 2:10).

We give You full access to our spirit and soul, and ask You to mold us into the image of Jesus, with His divine nature, as we access His mind within us and continually walk in Your ways. We love You with our whole heart, and we refuse to depend on our human perspective and understanding. We glory in Your presence in our life.

Thought for the Day:

God is only a prayer away from each of us, and He desires our fellowship as He draws us ever closer to His heart; we trust in His love, grace and provision for us throughout our lifetime.

A New Perspective

Seeing things through the eyes of a child is eye-opening to say the least. Jesus admonishes us with His words to repent of our sins and to consider life from the perspective of a little child (Matthew 18:3). We are never too old to have that child-like perspective on life.

We all have our "little child within us" that we were, are, and always will be. We simply need to spend some quiet time accessing that fun-loving, creative, innocent, and maybe even wounded part of our self.   

We continue our healing process in body and soul when we surrender that vulnerable part of our self to God. He is waiting with open arms for us to run to Him and be glad (Psalm 5:11). He has our best interest at heart, and He cares about us (1 Peter 5:7).

As a younger Christian, I used to attempt to snatch God's blessings from His hand...impatient and insistent. One day He cautioned me, "Just be still and know that I am your God. Just wait on Me and My timing." (Psalm 46:10, 130:5)

Ever since then, I followed this advice, and He always gives me what I need, when I need it. As I walk in His presence through all of my chores and responsibilities all day and night long, He blesses me continually with His help, as well as good and beautiful things to enjoy.

For instance, right now, my entire backyard and half of my front yard are FULL of wildflowers that are such blessings, even though many people might call them weeds. However, to quote our five year old grandson Charles, "Look at all of the beautiful flowers."

We, with all authentic Believers - past, present and future - make up the temple of God (Revelations 21:1-4). He dwells within us individually and corporately, giving us every good thing from His storehouse of blessings as we wait on Him (Micah 7:7).

Prayer:

Father God, when we come into Your presence for salvation, You first heal our spirit through rebirth and regeneration; then You sanctify our soul; and eventually You glorify us with an immortal body. We spend our lifetime, as well as eternity, in Your glorious presence, enjoying the riches of Your love for us.

When we come to faith in Christ, we are no longer refugees and outsiders, but You adopt us as Your children into Your eternal family (Ephesians 1:5, 2:19-22). You unite us in You, with Believers from all over the world, as well as throughout every generation, just as Jesus is one with You (John 17:20-21). We rejoice in our salvation, and delight in You, and in Your love and care for us.

Thought for the Day:

We nourish our love for God by living in His love, obeying His direction for our life, and daily looking for signs of His love and mercy toward us, which provide us with eternal life.

- Jude 1:21

Compassionate Mercy

Mercy and Judgment are two sides of the same coin. God never sends judgment on any nation or people unless He first sends warning. If we fail to heed His warning, and we continue in our purposeful sin, we end up in judgment.

God is kind, compassionate, and forgiving to us; and He encourages us to follow His example as we relate to the people in our life. God had mercy on us, and we have mercy on one another (Ephesians 4:32).

However, when someone hurts us, we want to strike back. We struggle to forgive the offense, until we realize that forgiving does not have to include forgetting, which is almost impossible for the human soul to do.

The memory of the painful affront may linger in our heart; yet, we can still make a conscious decision to forgive the offender, just as God readily forgives our sins against Him.

God actually asks us to be loving, compassionate and forgiving, in their time of need, toward those who offend us. We can reach out to them in the name of Jesus, and bless them in ways that God directs us to do for them.

Whether the assault is a major event such as rape or physical abuse, or if it consists of habitual, smaller impositions such as lies and betrayal, we can still forgive. The key is to remember that we are not perfect either.  

Forgiveness means to pray for those who hurt us and to show them kindness (Matthew 5:44). We can only do this through God's love for them, which dwells within us. It is only by sincerely wishing them the best, that our healing is complete.

Prayer:

Father God, make us a vessel of Your peace. When we are mistreated, we ask You to give us ideas on how to bless our abuser. Even though they wound us, use us to help our offender to heal. Help us to erect boundaries around our life to protect our self from further assaults from them, but to remain open to Your direction in regards to them.

Remind us that bitterness is a boomerang that harms no one but our self. Teach us that those who wound us are often not even affected at all by our resentment and anger toward them. However, remind us that these negative emotions affect us physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally. When You ask us to bless those who persecute us, keep our heart soft enough to submit to Your leading.

Thought for the Day:

God does not require that we like or remain close friends with our offender, and we can erect boundaries around our self to keep the person from crossing over them in order to remain safe from further abuse; however, our overall peace, joy and health depend on our forgiving those who use and abuse us.

A Mountain of Emotion

Researchers have proven that nature has positive effects on our emotions, thoughts, mental health, and physical health. I literally experienced this to a great measure, when my husband took me on a birthday excursion to the mountains in Southern Illinois.

I cried with joy when we entered the lush green environment full of deep valleys and high peaks. Then, I cried with grief when we left them an hour and a half later, because our visit was much too short. My soul craved more mountain time.

When we walk in nature, or watch nature videos, our stress levels decrease, because our parasympathetic nervous system calms us down during our interaction with trees, mountains, flowers, bodies of water, and watching wildlife.

Lush landscapes raise our confidence that our life will flourish, as we spend time in their order and fruitfulness, giving us hope. While nature restores our mental and emotional perception and abilities, we feel more energized, our mood improves, and our brain is more alert.

Even our physical recovery time is enhanced and shortened by contact with nature. Many hospitals fill their lobby with plants, and offer courtyards for staff, visitor and patient enjoyment. We often bring gifts of flowers and plants to those in the hospital.

Nature tends to instigate slow, deep, rhythmic breathing that sends peaceful vibes to our mind, body and emotions. Water in nature, along with trees, plants and flowers will improve our attention span when we are tired, allowing our productivity to increase.

Fountains heighten our feelings of joy as we watch their pulsing manipulation of water. A starlit night, comets, shooting stars and a bright moon will also restore our mental and emotional stability. A cool sunny day brightens our mood, depletes our concerns and fosters hope.

Through studying a variety of people, researchers proved what I experienced in the mountains. Nature definitely reduces negative thoughts, as well as lessens anxiety. With each step in the verdant greenery, our cares diminish and God's peace causes our breathing to slow and our joy to increase.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for creating such beautiful nature for us to enjoy. All creation gives testimony of Your existence, and no one has an excuse for not believing in You. Remind us to experience the joy You give through Your handiwork in the sky, on the land and in the water (Romans 1:20).

Remind us to take the time to walk in nature, and to give live plants and flowers as gifts to our family and friends. This allows Your creation to restore us in spirit, soul and body. We know that the rocks will sing Your praises if we fail to do so (Luke 19:40); so help us to understand the importance of nature in Your order of our earthly existence.

Thought for the Day:

Our grief is diminished by our contact with nature, and some aspects of nature will even produce a smile or a deep-throated chuckle; that is why people send plants and flowers to those grieving a loss, and why working in the garden or playing with our pets will diminish our stress level.

True Wisdom

Have you ever paid attention to the wisdom of the world, in comparison to Biblical wisdom? I bought some herbal teas that have worldly wisdom on the tab of each bag. When I read them, I have to laugh half of the time, and I am disappointed in it the other half.

They struggle in their attempt to sound wise and to make profound statements, but their profundity is limited to humanism, and based on what we can do with our finite willpower and understanding, which is temporary at best (Proverbs 3:7).

Biblical wisdom is powerful and living (Hebrews 4:12). It gives us sound, infinite, timeless advice on which we can base our life both now and for eternity. This astute knowledge gives us the insight to trust in the Lord with our whole heart, and not to depend on human philosophy.

Bible truths help us to submit our daily schedule to the Lord, so He will direct our path (Proverbs 3:5-6). Proverbs, Psalms, and Ecclesiastes teach us Godly wisdom for daily living. They inspire a righteous and moral life.

They also instruct us on how to live with consideration and respect for our self and others, and they motivate us to eliminate strife and stress from our life as we pursue peace with every one in every situation (James 3:1-18).

The way to gain Godly wisdom is to honor the Lord (Psalm 111:10). His wisdom teaches us humility, mercy, sincerity, honesty, availability, serenity, compassion, and genuine behavior. There is no hypocrisy, selfishness, pride and rebellion left in us (Ecclesiastes 7:12, 19).

Continually ingesting, memorizing and living by God's Word, gives us Godly instruction, caution and guidance on how to succeed in this life (2 Timothy 3:15). We come to understand the hidden mysteries and the real treasure in the scripture, which directs our steps and gives us advice to share with others (Colossians 2:2-3, 3:16).

Prayer:

Father God, when our ways please You, you give us Your wisdom, knowledge, peace and joy. Your righteous ones speak wisdom and mention only those things which are just and right (Psalm 37:30). You give us the full riches of complete understanding and teach us Your mysteries - especially Christ in us, who is the wisdom or God, and in whom are hidden all the treasures of knowledge (Colossians 2:2-3).

You call us to walk away from the humanistic penchant to chase after the wind and to struggle with the task of storing up our own treasures in this life (Ecclesiastes 2:26). We do not want to be wise in our own eyes, but to honor You and to walk away from negative thoughts, words and deeds (Proverbs 3:7). Even the simple truths of Your Word are wiser than any worldly wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:25; 30).

Thought for the Day:

God liberally gives us wisdom if we ask for it; this is a priceless treasure by which we live with discretion and precision that protects us, teaches us, and helps us to prosper; Christ is our whole life, as well as our holiness, regeneration and redemption.

- James 1:5-7; Colossians 3:3-4; Proverbs 4:5-7, 8:12

Why am I so Angry?

I had a temper problem and did not understand why? My outburst were like a volcano - quick and powerful. I did not realize the deep scars I was leaving on those in the way of my eruptions, until I came face-to-face with someone who did more than complain about them.

After 22 years, my first husband divorced me…mainly because of these emotional tirades. I did not curse or belittle anyone, but I did YELL at the top of my lungs! He said he could not handle it anymore.

I tried to explain that the same emotional make-up in me that allowed me to laugh hysterically at his jokes and attempts at humor, which he loved, was the same emotional drive that caused me to express my angry feelings, but this did no good.

Two years later, my new husband came to the same impasse in our marriage; yet, he was willing to help me to unravel the reasons behind my anger.

We discovered two culprits:

1. I had years of pent up anger fueling each eruption.

2. I only got angry when someone diminished the importance of my needs when I calmly expressed them; or if they made a decision that affected my life, without giving me to chance to have a part in the details of the choice.

This gave us something with which to work. I attended several sessions of Transformational Prayer, and God revealed some deep-seated wounds from my past that I had no conscious memory of, but were buried deep in my subconscious mind.

( https://www.transformationprayer.org/ )

Then, my current husband cared enough to change his behavior. He started taking my issues seriously, even when he saw no value or importance in them. He realized that I had a perspective as a woman that he did not have as a man.

He also stopped making decisions, which affected me, until he discussed them with me first. At times, we discovered an impasse, and we prayed together for God to reveal a third option on which we could both agree. This is a mainstay for the success of our marriage.

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for revealing the root causes of my anger and for giving us these solutions, which made a huge difference in our relationship. Our love and understanding for one another grows deeper each day as You taught us to play together, as well as to pray together about the issues of each day.

Having more fun times to share also improved our relationship. Thank You for caring so deeply and for giving us Your Word to teach us how to have healthy, personal relationships with one another and with You. We are so grateful for Your presence in our life, and for our union with Your Trinity each moment of it.

Thought for the Day:

Biblical Tips on Resolving Anger Issues:

·       Psalm 4:4 - When we feel negative emotions, we need to go to a private spot and reflect on what is causing them, so that God can reveal to us the reasons behind them.

·       James 1:20 - We use anger to protect our self when we are hurt, afraid, rejected, unappreciated, disparaged, or neglected; but anger does the opposite, because it opens us up to believe the devil's lies and to fall into his destruction. Forgiveness is the key to relinquishing anger.

Deeper Devotion to God

God's Word makes it clear that if we love the world, and the things of the world, more than we love God, our Father's love is not in us; therefore the Apostle John encourages us not to love this world or anything in it (1 John 2:15).

Living a Godly life requires that we focus on living a holy life. However, in today's society, with all of the glitter and glitz, it is so easy to get sidetracked. We start out by dabbling in sin, but we end up as sin’s slave.

Holiness and sin cannot dwell together in the same person. The weeds of this world threaten to choke the very life from us. We get entangled in them, and they trip us up and hinder our walk with the Lord.

Thankfully, when God sent His only begotten Son as an offering for our sin, the Law of the Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus set us free from the Law of Sin and Death. Now, we simply walk in this freedom, because the Son has truly set us free (Romans 8:1-3; John 8:36).

The difference between people who are chaff and those that are wheat is found in our choices. Wheat typifies those who are not only convicted of sin, but who are also actually converted from sin and who live transformed lives.

We can refuse to live as the slave of sin and choose to be the bond slave of Jesus instead (1 Corinthians 7:22). This gives the Holy Spirit permission to sanctify our thoughts, emotions and choices, and to set our feet on the narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14).

There is only One Way to obtain freedom from any addiction to this world. That is through the leadership of the Holy Spirit within us. He will permeate and perfect us until we live for God alone, in the abundance of His righteousness, peace and joy (Romans 14:17).

Prayer:

Father God, never allow any love for the world to dilute our love for You. Keep us unspotted from the world and overpower us by Your love until we crave our union with You more than any attachment or addiction to things of this life. Help us to walk in Your Spirit, so that we will not fulfill the lusts of our flesh (Romans 5:15-25).

Thank You for conforming us to the image of Christ, because our spiritual identity will insure our eternal destiny. We want to serve You with every breath of air that we breathe, every thought that we think, every word that we speak, and every action that we perform both today and always.

Thought for the Day:

The Master Gardener promises that in the end, He will separate the chaff from the wheat, and burn the counterfeit in the eternal flames of hell; this is a daunting thought, which makes us realize the importance of our commitment to Christ now.

God's Plans for Us

Considering the love of Christ for us never fails to bring us to our knees with gratitude and adoration. The events in His life, which He endured to pay for my sins, causes me remorse every time I think, read or sing about them.

His love is multi-faceted, because it is wide, long, high and deep - four dimensional (Ephesians 3:18). This fact amazes and humbles me. His love completely surrounds us, and there is nothing or no one that can take it away from us.

The apostle Paul goes on to say that although Christ's love is incomprehensible, He also fills us with our portion of all of the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:18). This is equally as amazing to me as His all-encompassing love.

We gradually grow to trust in God's love, mercy, grace and provision for every area of our life - great and small. We are so grateful that He gives us the gift of faith to accomplish everything to which He instructs us to do for Him (Matthew 17:20).

God never leaves or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5). He calls us to walk in obedience to His will for us regardless of our talents and knowledge, because His anointing allows us to carry it through. No task is too menial or great.

Our faith is proven by our works, and our fruitfulness for the Kingdom of God becomes an indication of our salvation. Yet, it is vitally important for us to use discretion in what we agree to do, because we can over-extend our self right out of the will of God.

God's Spirit leads us each moment of the day to accomplish the greater works, which He planned for us to do even before He created this earth or knitted us together in our mother's womb (Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Spirit in us is infinitely greater than the boundaries of all of our human abilities. You allow us to accomplish supernatural feats for Your Kingdom; and You plan divine appointments, which allow You to use us for Your glory.

We want to remain in the center of Your plans for us, and not to deviate into sinful or humanistic activities to which You have not ordained for us to accomplish. We can do nothing worthwhile apart from Your power (Hebrews 13:20-21); and we end up resentful, and we lose our peace and joy when we do.

Thought for the Day:

As the Holy Spirit sanctifies us, we live in the center of God's will for us, and we avoid immorality of every kind; we live wisely and take every opportunity to walk in God's Spirit, to continually sing praises to His name, and to give thanks to Him for everything which He does for us throughout our day.

- Ephesians 5:15-20; 1 Thessalonians 4:3

Patience and Its Perfecting Work

I have noticed that in today's "drive-through" world, we really lack the virtue of patience. We give-in too easily to impatience; however, we can find real joy when we allow patience to have a perfecting work in our thoughts, emotions and choices.

I used to hate the need for patience in my daily activities; however, once I started embracing the situation, with all of the frustration, wasted time, irritations, etc. and focused instead on allowing patience to perfect me, my whole attitude changed, and even my face and body language relaxed.

                                                         

"Let patience have her perfect work" (James 1:4-8) is not telling us to "be" patient or to "get" patience. It is simply telling us to submit to God and to "allow" patience, which is a fruit from the Holy Spirit, to do its perfecting work in us (Galatians 5:22-23).

This allows us to abide in God's rest much more often (Hebrews 4:10-11). We trade the negative emotions disturbing our attitude with God's peace and joy. Then, we sit back and patiently watch to see what the Lord does with our circumstances.

The more we strive toward perfection the more our flesh draws us back into sin and rebellion. We can only walk in perfection as we rely on the promises and Spirit of God (2 Corinthians 7:1; 2 Peter 1:4). Our obedience to God is both inspired and empowered by His Spirit within us (Philippians 2:12-13).

This takes all of the stress out of life for us. We walk in freedom and joy, with God's peace in our heart regardless of the irritating circumstances; knowing without a doubt that God has a seed for a miracle planted in the midst of every trial.

Prayer:

Father God, teach us that the Christian walk is not about self-effort, but about submission to You first and foremost in all areas of our life. We concede to Your plans in everything we think, say and do; and You direct our path (Proverbs 3:5-6). Remind us that our part in our spiritual walk is simply to surrender to the work of Your Holy Spirit in our life.

We are but a lump of clay, and You are the Master Potter (Jeremiah 18:1-6; Isaiah 64:8). You are our Alpha and Omega and You give us Your living water as we thirst for You alone (Revelation 21:6).We walk in Your ways now, and we will serve You for eternity in Your new heaven and new earth (Revelation 21:1).

Thought for the Day:

Attempting to create for our self a perfect world, we try to discipline our self to walk in good works and obedience to God's Word; however, this self-effort is often fruitless and counterproductive; by trusting in God to save us, and to perfect us in every way, regardless of the circumstances of our life, we enter His rest and remove all stress from our life.

Devotion and Commitment

Christianity is not a ticket to heaven without any personal responsibility. Jesus made it clear that He has expectations for His followers: leave all and come follow Him (Matthew 19:21), take up our cross and die daily (Matthew 10:38), etc.

He calls us to live and act and have our existence in Him (Acts 17:28). We do this by walking in His Spirit and doing only the activities which He directs us to do. Christ is our whole life (Colossians 3:3-4).

God may call us to include social charities, hobbies, sports, etc. into our life, because many of these activities unlock our opportunities to share Christ with people that we may never meet, except for the common bond of these mutual undertakings.

However, in today's disposable society, it is easy to toss God out or to push Him aside when our life gets too full. Satan's goal is to distract us away from our time with God. We allow the "good" things we do to become the enemy of God's plan for us.

We are too busy with non-essentials. The tyranny of busyness often consumes us and lassos us away from our covenant to commit our whole life to God. Dedication takes effort, discernment, simplifying and prioritizing.

Once we make time, however, the benefit of worshipping God with our whole body, soul and spirit is what draws us closer to His presence in us, and develops a more intimate and loving relationship with Him.

Our union with the Trinity enables us to function by His power, wisdom, compassion, dedication, and focus. God desires for us to totally commit our life to Him. We gain so much more than we give up.

Prayer:

Father God, remind us that many aspects of life on this earth - seemingly good and worthwhile activities - are made of wood, hay and straw; while You call us to focus more of our time on eternal matters that are made of gold, silver and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12-13).

Help us to establish the discipline of praying without ceasing - having an attitude of prayer with every thought, word and deed during each moment of our day - so that we walk in the center of Your will. Then, You will sprinkle our days with epiphanies and "God moments", ease our load, encourage our triumphs, and give light to our path.

Thought for the Day:

In order to accomplish a dedicated and committed life in Christ, we first have to sort through the excesses in our life and rearrange our schedule; we start by eliminating the less important temporal activities, which generally consume our time.

Carrying Our Burdens

Our human psyche is not designed to carry the burdens of life. Mental illness and emotional breakdowns, burn-out and physical illness from stress and worry prove the truth of this statement. Our central nervous system will not tolerate the encumbrance.

That is why Jesus offers to yoke up with us in order to help us to carry our load in life (Matthew 11:29-30). We fling our burdens with all of our might onto His capable shoulders, and feel the weight immediately lift from ours (Luke 19:35).

No remnant of worry, struggle, suffering, trauma, disaster, concern, obstacles, problems, affliction, etc. is ours to carry alone. God cares about our finances, vocation, family, marriage, health, personal feelings, church life, etc. and has a perfect plan for us in it all (Ephesians 2:10).

The Lord of all lords and King of all kings is infinitely interested in every aspect of life and eternity that concerns the welfare of His children. He is a good, good father, and we are loved by Him. He will never, ever leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

We are not the savior of our world, Jesus is; we do not have to allow the good things in life to become the enemy of the best things. We are not called to burn out by lighting our candle from both ends in an attempt to fill in all of the gaps of this modern church life.

We are to bloom where God plants us and to do things according to His direction, not according to everything that we see that is being neglected. Less is more in the Kingdom of God. We simplify our life and function in His calling for us, and we leave the rest up to Him.

Prayer:

Father God, we cast all of our cares on Your capable shoulders, and we thank You for allowing us to yoke up with You. Your help and direction prevent us from burning out and they infuse us with Your power and anointing to do only that which You call us to do (Ephesians 2:10). Everything else is sin, because it is not done in faith, but in our human strength and effort.

Teach us that You do not call us to fill in all of the gap in our world, caused by the lack of commitment in the Body of Christ that is prevalent today. Remind us that You have a perfect plan for our life, and as we serve You with our whole heart, and pray to the Lord of the harvest, You will provide the workers to partner with us in the ripe-for-reaping fields around us.

Thought for the Day:

Habitual worry, eating toxic foods, nursing negative emotions, depending on worldly media and technology to replace face time with God, obsessing over stressful aspects of life, etc. all contribute to our ill health; therefore, casting all of our concerns on Jesus' shoulders and walking by His Spirit in the center of His will is the happiest place on earth.