Go to the Wing~

Psalm 57:1


Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me: for my soul trusts in You: yes, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over.

What are we to do until the calamities of life be over? Where are we to go? Where should we be when they finally pass?

We must make our refuge in the shadow of God's wings. According to dictionary.com a refuge is, " a place of shelter, protection, or safety or anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape." If I may suggest a slight edit to the fine people at dictionary.com? Please add that a refuge is also "Someone" Who offers aid, relief , and escape.

If this part of the Holy Scripture evokes an image of a bunch of fluffy little defenseless chickies running under their momma's wing when they get scared, or are cold, or just want to snuggle, you would be correct.

God's wings are broad, tender, and provide everything dictionary.com says and more.

When your kids do stuff they shouldn't do--go to the wing.

When your hubby or wifey is acting all special--go to the wing.

When your bank account is running low--go to the wing.

When your health is uncooperative--go to the wing.

When family relationships become strained--go to the wing.

When you are in a bad mood--go to the wing.

When there is bad news after bad news about the economy--go to the wing.

When crazy stuff happens in our society--go to the wing.



GO TO THE WING!!!

Wait a minute!!!! Forget everything I just said. Do not go to the wing, people. You should already be living there. To live under God's wing is to live a life of prayer.

There have been times in my life when I neglected to pray. I was busy, tired, apathetic, whatever you want to call it. And then when the pressures came, I had to work to get past the feeling that my prayers were bouncing off the ceiling. I had to re-engage my relationship with Him. He was there all the while, but my faith muscles were so weak. Hefty heaping helpings of Genesis to Revelation helped me re-build, but it would have been so much better not to get flabby in the first place.

And then there were times when I was nesting daily under His loving protection and care. He was so very close to me and I to Him that, for example, when I received the dreaded call that Rayray had been in a car accident, I did not have far to go to get help!

God will always be there when we need Him, but it is so much better to build a relationship with Him on a daily basis. "Give us this day our daily bread," was written for a reason. If you neglect to fill yourself spiritually, you will find that you are empty when you need it most.


PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Sometimes life, as beautiful as it is, is one big series of ongoing pressures. You tell us in Your Word that Your wings are available to us. There's plenty of room for everyone, so we come today to You today and ask for shelter. Your cooling shade offers us relief, and we need it. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

The Calamities Will Pass~

Life has all kinds of troubles and disappointments, and God knows it, which is why He included this verse in the Bible.

Psalm 57:1

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me: for my soul trusts in You: yes, in the shadow of your wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be over.

Years ago Hormone was on the school bus headed somewhere, but I do not recall where because what he did on that bus ride is what I will never forget. He took the lid from his Gatorade bottle and finger flicked it out the window to see how far it would spin. It hit a windshield, and the owner of that car followed the bus all the way to where it was headed and said that whoever lanced the lid had cracked his windshield. Hormone fessed up, and I found myself embroiled in the middle of an angry driver, an angry principle, and a very panic-stricken teenager.

At the end of the day, and because God is so very very good, the driver finally admitted that his windshield was already cracked and that he was using the lid incident to cash-in. What a huge relief! Hormone still got in trouble, but at least the calamity passed.

And that is where I want our focus to be today. The calamities of life pass--they end. We get breathers, people, which is good because too much time at a heightened alert of "what else could go wrong?" will give us ulcers!!!

No matter what calamity you're facing today, take comfort in knowing that it will not be around forever. Does it disappear on its own? Does it wind down seamlessly? Does is just evaporate from one day to the next? We'll see:)

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Thank You that You know that we humans are calamity-prone. Some of it is our own doing, and sometimes others drag us into stuff, but we take You are Your word today and thank You that the bad stuff passes. We can't wait. In Jesus name, AMEN~

Love Protects~

All this week we have been looking at love in action. It requires us to dig deep and make difficult decisions. Which begs the question--How hard is too hard?


Let's put our difficulties in perspective for a moment. I never ever want to minimize the load you are carrying, or the depth of your struggle or heartache, but it is my hope that when we all stop and consider--really consider--what Jesus did for us that somehow it will encourage us to move forward step by faith-filled step. If He can do it, and if He says that His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), then we can do it too, and we need to take Him up on His offer to help us.

As you contemplate today who it is that you need to never give up on, put your needs on hold for, and burn to ashes the laundry list of stuff they have done to you, always keep in mind that God will never give up on you, He put your need for eternal salvation ahead of the life of His only boy, and according to Hebrews 8:12 "The slate of our sins is forever wiped clean."

God clearly understands what He has called us to do because He has already done it. And, on top of it all, He helps us. We have zero excuses. There's also one final entry on our playbook about what love is and does.

Love protects.

For my buddy that meant, primarily, her husband's reputation. She allowed no one--not her mom or dad or friends or co-workers or smelly kids to utter one disparaging remark about her man. Interestingly enough, before she got all biblical with her love, she was the first to talk trash, and it backfired. Some of those closest to her thought it was ok to say that he was a jerk, and reminded her of it every chance they got. But they overlooked one very miraculous thing. During the process of loving her man, God did something AMAZING. He restored to her broken heart a new and fierce love like she had never experienced before. "Yenise, is there something wrong with me? I love him more than ever before." We laughed ourselves silly, but I will never forget those words.

Nevertheless, it was insulting to her that people were pointing fingers and insulting her husband. At one point that meant asking him for forgiveness for all the mean things she had said that had somehow emboldened others to do the same. Some of us bristle when we think of the hell he must have put her through and yet she asked him for forgiveness? Yes, oh yes!

We have finally arrived at the answer to our question. Is it worth it? Is not giving up, putting others first, forgetting the wrongs, and protecting the ones we love worth it? One very happily married couple still going strong who regularly remind me that they are on one perpetual honeymoon would answer without hesitation--YES! Amen:)


PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Win-win is always the perfect way to describe our relationship with You. You have taught us how to love, but You know we can't do it without Your help, so You open wide the gates of heaven and give us everything we need to do it. And then You bless us in amazing ways. Glory Hallelujah! In Jesus name, AMEN~

Don't Keep Track~

What an absolute gorgeous day God has blessed us with today. And even if it's cold and dreary where you are, this will cheer you up.


Romans 8:38-39

Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God always says what He means and means what He says. Dissect that verse and it means there is no where you can go to hide or escape from God's love and NOTHING can get in the way of it getting to you. Likey like that? NO! Lovey love that!

And that, dear ones, is one of the truths my gal pal meditated on as she set forth to love her man.

Part one was never give up. Part two was put herself on the back burner for his needs, and part three says this:

Love keeps no record of wrongs. Another version of the Bible says that love doesn't keep score of the sins of others.

One of the most important things I think we all learn in our relationships is to never ever bring up the past. If someone is truly sorry, then throwing it in their face whenever there is an argument is highly counterproductive. The temptation to remind someone of their wrongs is ever present, but could it be that by keeping no record or score opens the way for (1) one to truly forget about it and (2) forgive as well? We have all had those moments when we knew we could have gone there and said, "Remember when you did so and so...?" But we all know what it means to fight fair. Keep your mouths shut! I am preaching to myself now, people!

So my friend stopped keeping track of every lie, of every hurt, of every wrong. Up to that point her list had been longer than the winding roads in Bucktooth, Tennessee! And the irony is that the more she thought about it the longer the list grew. But no more. Just like we talked about tying all your worries onto a helium balloon and letting it float up to God's tender care, she did more or less the same. She made the list irretrievable. She wrote it all down--every last thing she could think of how he had disappointed her, betrayed her, failed her, dishonored her...And as she put a match to that very precise and concise record keeping, she promised God that since it would be impossible for that list to re-materialize from the ashes, she wouldn't even try. Excuse me while I take a moment to cry.


PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Your Word is true and powerful and effective. Help us all catch a vision of what life could be like if we did what it teaches. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Put Others Ahead~

Good morning all you gorgeous and loved children of God :)


Repeat after me:
God loves me with an immeasurable love. This enables me to love others--even the unlovable!


Step one is to never give up. Step two is to care more for others than you do yourself.

For my buddy that meant putting her need to be angry and vindictive behind his need to be loved and forgiven . Read that again. This is clearly not an easy or attractive option, nor is it natural. But she was already armed with two important truths that helped her. She did not want to be bankrupt nor could she give up. So when love demanded that she put herself on the back burner while she loved her husband back to his senses, she did it. She also discovered something remarkable along the way. The more she prayed for her man the more she realized that it is impossible to be angry or have hatred toward the person you are praying for. That's a great lesson in and of itself.


So on days when she felt like burning all his clothes, she did his laundry instead using his favorite detergent. On days when she felt like taking a knife to all four tires, she surprised him instead with a set of four new Goodyear radial something or other that shocked him so thoroughly that later she had to ask God for forgiveness because she momentarily relished in the thought that it would have been great if he would have fainted over the surprise and needed forehead stitches.



Your loving someone might look different, but I bet you know exactly what it is you could do to show love.
Love is clearly just not those fuzzy warm feelings, people. It is also making decisions, and sometimes those decisions are extremely difficult to make. Why? Because it requires so much sacrifice. Is God asking us to do something He hasn't done? Dear dear children, He gave us His one and only son. Is there any greater sacrifice than that? Let us use this truth as a mighty springboard to get us moving in the right direction.


PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Putting others needs ahead of our own is not always easy, but thank You that Jesus did so. Strengthen us with the supernatural ability to love others so that we can have a surplus of Your goodness and joy in our lives. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Love Never Gives Up~

The things we do for love.


My husband's grandfather's dog of 18 years passed yesterday. Cookie was found resting comfortably in the same spot where she would sun herself every morning. I had just seen her Sunday, with her gray muzzle and gray soulful eyes, but honestly, with the vigorous way she was wagging her tail, I would have never guessed she would pass away by the next morning. The vet says it was probably a heart attack. Who knew? The thing is that Jorge's grandpa, Rigo, is now bedridden and living with my mother-in-law. But while he was spry and active until his mid-eighties actually, he loved loved loved Cookie to the point to where my husband even considered her to be an Auntie.

So out of respect for Rigo and his love of Cookie, my mother-in-law suggested the dog be buried in the back yard of their family house in Hialeah. And my husband, because and only because of his love for his grandpa, who doesn't even have a clue, agreed.  May Auntie Cookie rest in peace.  And this is the kind of stuff one does for love. Sigh and Amen~



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday we were left wondering what loving the unlovable looks like and is it worth it. Keeping in mind that God says that love covers ALL wrongs, not just some, or even the majority, but all of them, my buddy hunkered down and accepted as fact that if God says it can be done, then she will do it.



Step One

1 Corinthians 13 is the love chapter. It clearly defines what love is. But before the point by point description we get these powerful words in verse 3, "No matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love." (For the purposes of these DEVOs I am using The Message version of the Bible).

The word bankrupt evokes a strong image. Basically means I have nothing, am left with nothing, I am nothing. In order to avoid becoming bankrupt, we have to understand how love operates.

Verse 4: Love never gives up. Other versions say Love is patient. If ever there were an understatement, that would be it. So as she set out to supernaturally love her unlovable man, the first step was to never ever give up.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank You that love never gives up. You are so unbelievably patient with us that even when we mess up time after time after time, You bring a fresh start each and every day. Oh that we would be so gracious to others. Wait a minute! We can be because You help us. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Love Covers all Wrongs~

Yesterday we saw how it's loving the difficult and unlovable that gets us credit. We left off with the question, "Is it worth it?"

Consider this real-life story~ (Names have been omitted to protect privacy)

A beautiful young wife and mother started having difficulties in her marriage. Her husband became withdrawn and verbally abusive. She eventually found out he was seeing someone else. It devastated her completely, and she immediately considered divorcing him. No one would have blamed her, but she dug deep and remembered some life-changing truths she had learned about love. Love is not just butterflies in the belly and sweaty palms. Love is not just chewing each other's gum and slow dancing to every song Conway Twitty ever sang. Love is radical at times. So much so that it once compelled an innocent human being to carry a cross. So, rather than exercise her right to be angry, she, with the help of Almighty God, prayed this prayer:

"God, I do not have the ability to forgive this betrayal on my own. I do not even have the ability to love this man anymore. My pride is hurt, my life is ruined, my children will never be the same, and my dreams are over. But, since You live in me, rise up and take over and give me supernatural strength to love him and forgive him. In Jesus' name."

The reason I know about that prayer is because I was there when it happened. It's a powerful thing, people, to witness

1 Corinthians chapter 13 come to life! It truly was one of the most sacred moments I have ever witnessed. Side note: I will never forget the look on Hormone's face as he watched his bride, Lis, walk up the aisle, and I will never forget her radiant face as she looked toward her groom. It was sacred as well, but it was an effortless love.

When my friend prayed her prayer to love and forgive, it was a struggle. She could barely get the words out. But whenever someone puts their legitimate right to be angry and hurt aside for the greater good of reconciliation and forgiveness, that is truly something inspiring to witness. Now before you get all offended and say you would never etc...let's examine this further.

She could have chosen to pursue her divorce, and in fact, several of her happily married friends insisted she do so. "You can never trust him again!" they yelled. yada yada yada...

While all her buddies would most certainly experience being cuddled up in bed eating popcorn and watching a movie with their spouses, she would be all cuddled up with her pride. Pride, I am told, makes for a lonely companion.

Her friend's kids would have their dads at graduation, parties, weddings, but what about her? Her pride would be there, but maybe her ex-husband's girlfriend of the week would be there too.

One way to stop the erosion of her life and her children's lives was to put a stop to the madness by loving her husband. Did he deserve her love? No! Did she feel like giving it? H--E--Hockey Stick--Hockey Stick--NO!

But Proverbs 10:12 says that love covers all wrongs, all transgressions, and all offenses. So she called on the living God of her soul to empower her to do something she could not do, and thus began a day-by-day process of loving her undeserving spouse.

What does loving the unlovable look like? Why should we do it, and again, is it worth it? Mañana :)

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, It is amazing what we can do when You help us. In fact, Philippians 4:13 says we can do ALL things through Christ Who strengthens us. Strengthen us today with Your power and wisdom to do the right thing. In Jesus name, AMEN~

Loving the Unlovable~

A post Valentine's Day greeting to you all :)


I bet that those of us who spent time with someone really enjoyed their company. And I am not just talking about couples. My colleague spent it with her grown sons and aging mom. Another friend spent it with her husband and her parents.

But look at what Luke 6:32 says:

“If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that...?"

Even though love is awesome and great and God's idea and a tremendous blessing, there's more to it than just lavishing it on those we find easy to shower with our affection.

Yesterday's verse about abiding in love includes including those we find unlovable. That's where the real challenge is, but when we do that, that's when we get the credit. This raises some interesting questions. Let's look at just two for now.

(Q) What kind of credit do we get?
(A) When we live in love we are assured that God then lives in us. It is precisely the act of loving the unlovable that proves to others and to us that it must be a God-thing. I have often said that the ONLY reason I did not slap so and so or send so and so to the nether regions is because Jesus is in me. If He were not in me, I might even be in jail by now. I am not joking. You didn't think you had the power to love all on your own, did you? Because you don't. It's Jesus in you that empowers you to turn the other cheek, forgive, be patient, be kind, put your own need to be loved on the back burner while you love someone back from the brink etc....What's the credit again? The reward? God is in you, and when He is in you, He is for you, above you, beneath you, beside you, around you, surrounding you, and totally into you. It's a complete and utter saturation of perfect love that is immeasurably long and deep and high and wide, and He expects you to share it. I LOVE IT! (And guess what? God loves everybody but He is not in everybody***). (And guess what again? There are more rewards to talk about).


(Q) Is all this love worth it?
(A) You tell me.

We have unleashed a giant. More on this next week.



PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Is it worth living life the way You ask us to? Is it worth loving the unlovable? Yes, it is. Give us Your strength because sometimes it's hard. We think back to a verse from a few weeks ago and ask You to quiet us with Your love and sing a song over us. No matter how grown up we think we are, we welcome being cradled in Your loving arms. At this very moment we receive Your presence and thank You for it. In Jesus name, AMEN~









***We will explore this further as well :)

Living in Love~

Yesterday we talked about love being all God's idea. It's a wonderful thing isn't it?

There's all kind of love too. I saw the most adorable commercial of a little girl painting her dog's nails blue. She must have been five years old, and her dog was a huge Great Dane who took it all in stride--even when she put a bonnet on him as a finishing touch--"because of love..."

And then there's the love we have for friends, parents, children, spouses...

And all that love compels us to do stuff. Last night, shortly before midnight and because I tend to be impatient and not like surprises, I declared to an almost-asleep Jorge that we were celebrating Valentine's Day, "Right now!"

I loved my gift, and he really loved his. This past Christmas I gave my nephews remote controlled helicopters. Jorge loved them so much that when one of my nephews recently spent the weekend with me, Jorge hogged ALL the playing time from him to the point to where little Alejandro cried. Yes! Real tears. "Tio, he wailed, let me have a turn!" Tio did not give up the copter.

So I got him one to celebrate Valentine's. Even at that late hour Jorge was all excited. He unwrapped it and promptly put it to charge.

All that brings us to point number three from yesterday.

"When we live in love we live in God and God lives in us."

What if for the rest of the year I did not do another nice thing for Jorge? What if I didn't tell him that I loved him until next Valentine's? What if I withheld my affection, my companionship, my compassion, my forgiveness, my body...? God takes up residence in us when we dwell, abide, and pitch a tent in love. What exactly does that mean? To dwell in love means that by faith you are constantly aware of God's love, as is evident by His giving us His son, and therefore you live to love God and others through actions.

That was a mouthful!

Loving Jorge is relatively easy, and Jorge assures me, that even though there is a video of me last night greedily opening my gift and screaming out that I will never share, that loving me is easy (most of the time). Guess what, people? I will get little credit for that. But loving someone unlovable? That's a different story. Tune in tomorrow.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, It is a good thing that there are those we find easy to love. If all love were difficult, then life would be unbearable. Pour Your wisdom into us as we continue to learn about Your love. We pray this passage from Ephesians 3 today over ourselves and those we love and those we should love:

Out of Your glorious riches, strengthen us with power through Your spirit in our inner being so that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith. And being rooted and established in love, may we have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and wide and deep is the love of Christ because to know this love surpasses knowledge and it will fill us to the measure of all the fullness of God.In Jesus name, AMEN~

(If you are currently praying for someone to have a heart transplant, this prayer is a beautiful addition. If you are praying for someone who is struggling in their emotions or mental health, this prayer will soothe their soul. If you are praying for someone who needs to understand God's love so they can turn around and love others, this prayer is the perfect kickstart).


 

Love is in the Air~

"Love is in the air, everywhere you look around..." and rightly so. So what if the cynics among us have reduced Valentine's Day to just another excuse for commercialism ? Any time someone makes an effort, even if it's scheduled, to show their love for someone else is a good time.

I know these types of holidays are monetary bonanzas for retailers. And it seems as though every store I have visited is not only squeezing in candy hearts and teddy bears on their displays, but shamrocks and Peeps too--in anticipation, of course, of St. Patrick's Day and Easter.

Have you ever, wondered, however, where love started?

1 John 4:16
"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in His love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them."

If God has always been and forever will be, and if God is love, then love has always been and forever will be. It was His idea, and it is a great thing.

Breaking it down:

1.God loves us a lot. How much? Enough to send His one and only Son to die for us. I love each of you, and I would do just about anything for you. But give my one and only son Hormone for you? Wouldn't do it--not willingly. Sorry:(

2.When someone gives their Son so that we can enjoy our life on earth and eternal life simply because they love us, that love is powerful enough to be trusted.

3. When we live in love we live in God and God lives in us.

Number three is where the real fun begins, so we'll explore tomorrow.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank You for love. It is a beautiful thing, and we are, first and foremost, unbelievably blessed because You love us. Help us to understand the magnitude of what it means to be loved by You. Why, we just realized that Jesus was the original Valentine. Thank you. Amen~

All Your Eggs in One Basket?

Have you ever heard the expression, "Don't put all your eggs in one basket?" It basically means that we should have a back-up plan in case the first plan fails. It's a wise saying, but it does not, I repeat, does not apply to our having faith in God.

Last year I met a lively young newlywed whose husband, much like Hormone, is working out really hard to make it to the big leagues. Her husband, however, has been plagued by several injuries. So this young lady decided to help God by inviting other gods to help her husband succeed.

"God can use all the help He can get," she told me. "So, I regularly invite all these other energies to help my husband."

At moments like those I must stifle the urge to scream. I very calmly explained that faith in a God Who needs help is not much faith at all.

"I find it rather unnerving, personally, that God is somehow insufficient for all I need. I believe that that kind of faith is counterproductive."

She replied, "He's so busy with everything else on the planet. I am sure He appreciates it."

I countered, "Do you really want to know what I think?"

"Yes," she quietly whispered.

I immediately thought back to 1977 and how every week, promptly at 8:30 AM, the bus from Forest Hills Baptist Church would pick me up, no matter what the weather, to take me to Sunday school where I learned three things that I fired off in rapid fire succession:
(1) Thou shall have no other gods before Me.
(2) My grace is sufficient for thee.
(3) Is there anything too difficult for Me?

God is supreme, He is more than enough, and nothing is hard for Him. He does not need help. We do not have to divide our already limited time and energy wondering if we should seek other sources for help or comfort.

There's a dude in the Bible named Asa who could teach us all a lesson.

Asa was the king of Judah, and I like Him because he was an unapologetic follower of God. One of the things he did as king was get rid of all the perverts and all the idols. Asa enjoyed peace and prosperity in his kingdom for many years, and during the time of peace he was wise in strengthening the army and fortifying the cities. At one point he had nearly 600,000 "brave fighting men." That's a lot of folks for way back when.

Nevertheless, an powerful enemy eventually came against Asa and look at what 2 Chronicles14:11 says: Asa cried out to the LORD his God, "O LORD, no one but You can help the powerless against the mighty! Help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You alone."

Three cheers for Asa! Yeah yeah yeah!

He cried out to his God, realized the only One Who could help him was God, and declared that his trust was in God alone.  Later on in verse 12 we read that God struck down the enemy that came against Asa.
Could it be that when we give credit and glory and honor to the One who deserves it, He strikes down our enemies?

Is God our only God today?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Just like Asa we say to You today that no one else can help us. It's You or nothing. Help us, Lord, for we trust in You alone. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

More Than Enough~

Sometimes people question whether I truly am incurably positive, or if I am faking it.


I can assure you that I am not faking it. I believe every last word God has written, and I avail myself of the guidance, wisdom, joy, hope, peace, love, faith, and blessings that come from applying its principles and praying it into my life.

Is my life perfect? NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!

But I am on a faith journey that has taught me that every single thing in my life is overseen by a loving and good Father Who is working it all out for my good, and one day, before you know it, I will be living in paradise. That is why I am incurably positive.

In the meantime, meaning my life on earth, I am on a mission to spread the love of Jesus to anyone and everyone who will let me.

If someone were to call me and ask for prayer over something and I were to say, "Ok, but it might not do any good," or "Ok, but that problem has reared its ugly head before--just learn to live with it..." what kind of a DEVO writer would I be? What kind of friend? What kind of prayer partner?

Rest assured, people, when I face troubles and when you face troubles, we can run to God Who has never ever thrown His hands up in the air and wondered what He is going to do to help us.

Here's a great verse:

Jeremiah 10:12
It is He who made the earth by His power,
Who established the world by His wisdom,
and by His understanding stretched out the heavens.

He has the power, wisdom, and understanding to help You with whatever You need; I don't care what it is.

Prayer: Dear Lord, It is wonderful to know that You are more than enough for whatever we face. Some of us are in the middle of praying for heart transplants for our significant others. Some of us need a financial breakthrough. Some of us feel helpless as we watch our young adult children make decisions on their own. Some of us are struggling with family relationships. Some of us need physical healing, and others need peace. Whatever our need today, we know that You have the means to help. HELP! In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Trust in the Lord~

Let's begin by giving a well-deserved shout out to Marco Rubio. Time magazine recently labeled him the "Savior" of the Republican Party, and Rubio rightly tweeted that, " There is only one Savior, and it is not me #JESUS."

Time magazine probably wasn't implying that Rubio was the actual Savior, but let's be honest. That word immediately prompts a specific image and thought about what Jesus did and Who He is, and Rubio is wise not to allow even the slightest association with the sanctity of THAT name to his own. Kudos kudos kudos!!!

Anyway...

Yesterday I received a call from a dear friend. She is an amazing, funny, compassionate, deeply devout, godly woman who radiates impossible amounts of sunshine.

When she was 17 she was diagnosed with lymphoma. At 39, it was breast cancer. At 41, it was thyroid cancer. At 49, it was ovarian cancer. And yesterday she called that the cancer is back again. This time it's in her abdomen.

She called for prayer, and I, who am rarely at a loss for words, almost went mute. Almost...

What, dear Lord, can I say to this young woman, whose daughter, by the way, is getting married in May of this year?

Honestly, I think we all sometimes struggle with the notion that praying is a waste of time. But, it is precisely at times like these where we must not allow the overwhelming disappointments and tragedies of life to keep us away from our only Hope. That would be the ultimate tragedy!!! So with our little mustard-seed faith, we prayed. This is not the first time we have cried out to God about this (but I hope our last), and we were bold and shared exactly how we were feeling.

When all was said and done God whispered a beautiful passage to our hearts.

Proverbs 3:4-5
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will show you which path to take.

When we finished praying we both accepted as fact that God indeed will reward her trust and lead her down the path of the best and most effective treatment.

Those really are comforting verses, and they can be applied to anything and everything in life.

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, There is so much we do not understand about life. So much suffering, disease, heartache. But we take a step of faith today and declare that we trust You. We also seek Your will for ourselves and our families. Show us all which path to take because Psalm 25:10 says that, "All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness." In Jesus name, AMEN~

On Time~

Sometimes these DEVOs get a lot of feedback, and yesterday was one of those that prompted a lot of comments from ya'll. Yeehaw!


Here are some:

"A new heart? That would be so nice and a welcomed relief."

"Someone who would actually help me as opposed to making my life more difficult?"

"My children could and would actually listen and recognize that the boundaries we have in place are for their own good?"

And on and on it went...

And the answer to all those questions is YES!

I did a little research on the internet and found out that the average heart transplant takes about four to five hours. Doesn't seem like a long time considering what's at stake.

I know what you're thinking; you wish it would only take four or five hours to see the new heart in your loved one. Sometimes we do see immediate answers, but more often than not, everything in life is a journey.

When a woman is pregnant, the process takes nine months to see the glorious baby. Any sooner than that might even complicate matters.

I am not suggesting that every single prayer request takes nine months to get answered. What I am saying is that there is a perfect time to see the answer, and we must not give up until it comes.

Ecclesiates 3:11
"He has made everything beautiful in its time..."

God does it when the time is right. In the meantime, your prayers keep you in peace and God's hand steadily at work.

And remember one very important thing--If you don't pray about it the answer will always be NO!

PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Now that we know what You can do, we are eager to see it and the sooner the better. Yet, we also understand that You are doing serious, life-changing work and that takes time. It is sometimes difficult to accept your timeline, but we all understand that we are "pregnant," and we want the delivery when all conditions are just right. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

A New Heart~

Greetings :)

Today’s DEVO is written in response to a similar complaint I have received from a few of you.


“My significant other is no help. He/she is selfish, uncaring, cold-hearted, uninterested in our children, no longer tender toward me, rude, downright nasty, has no desire to pray with me, for me, or over me…I feel so alone…

I sort of lumped all the complaints into one long ramble because at the heart of this matter is, well, the heart.

One of my absolute, hands down, favorite verse of all time is found in Ezekiel 36:27-27

”And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart.”

I almost want to cry whenever I read that verse because it teaches us so much. At the core of many of our problems is a cold-hearted heart. A cold heart is selfish, and its way is the only way. Many of us try to change the heart of those around us, but it’s in vain people. GOD is the one Who gives a new heart. Knowing that He is the one who performs heart transplants takes the load and pressure off me and you. Many many times, particularly when my kids were adolescents, I prayed for God to change their heart toward me and my husband—to be kind hearted in their response and wise in their choices. When you pray for God to give your loved one a new heart, have the faith today that He will. And it will be a heart that is tender and responsive. Isn’t that a beautiful depiction?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, What a beautiful verse and a beautiful promise. You are a skilled heart surgeon, and many of us need someone in our life to receive a new heart. Maybe we even need it ourselves. We invite You to perform this surgery because living with those who have tender and responsive hearts will bring many blessings. And remind us that we can’t change anyone, but when we pray, You always do Your thing. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Back to Life~

Regarding yesterday's DEVO, one of you lovely folks asked me what the part in the verse that said, "...God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus," meant.

It means that when we die, those of us who know and accept Jesus as the One and only Savior of our souls, will live again just as Jesus did. Each of us will live again and have an eternal blast. Can you imagine no anxiety ever? Or boredom? Or abuse? Or injustice? Or suffering of any kind? What about perfect love? Perfect peace? Perfect joy? (No need for hope because everything we have ever hoped for will be fulfilled).

Are you having trouble wrapping your head around the awesomeness of that?

Read these next words carefully.

1 John 5:20
"The Son of God has come, and He has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and He is eternal life."

PRAYER:
Dear Lord,
Sometimes it is hard wrapping our finite brain around the infinite goodness You have prepared for us. But by faith we believe that You give us understanding and enough understanding to know You. We do have fellowship with Jesus because we pray to Him and read the Bible, but even so, help us grow stronger every single day so that we may live a life of hope until the day we no longer need it because we are with You. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Sorrow ~vs~ Despair

Let's take a moment today to support one in our DEVO group whose father passed away last Friday. Her father is living a glorious and great life right now, but the separation remains difficult for the family left behind.


This brings up a good talking point: What is the difference between sorrow and despair?

Sorrow is grief and pain, and we experience it the most when someone we love dies.

Despair, on the other hand, is the loss of hope.

We DEVO readers have learned that we will have sorrow, but we will never despair.

I Thessalonians 4:14 Do not grieve like people who have nothing to look forward to, as if the grave were the last word. Jesus died and broke loose from the grave; God will most certainly bring back to life those who died in Jesus.

There is a difference between the way those of us who have hope grieve and those who don't have hope grieve. You and I know that the grave is not the last of it, but truly only the beginning. I love how this version of the Bible says that Jesus broke loose from the grave.

Oh yes He did, and because He did, you and I will never despair. We will have sorrow, and that is part of life. But just knowing that each day we live brings us one step closer to those who have gone on before us who are now fully alive in heaven, fills our hearts with joy and expectation.

Ask yourself, if you had the ability to yank your loved one out of paradise and bring them back to this earth to live again, would you do it?

PRAYER:

Dear Lord,
Thank You that Jesus broke free from the grave and now we have eternal life. Eternal life is something so awesome that the Bible says we are incapable of understanding it. Good! Because we truly want it to be beyond-words amazing. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Faith~

Greetings :)


Do you think it would be cruel and/or ridiculous of me to expect a toddler to cook dinner then clean up afterward? What about asking an elderly person in a sick bed to drive themselves to the doctor? How about insisting that Rayray sing the national anthem at the Super Bowl?

All the above are unreasonable expectations. To this day no one even knows if Rayray can sing. She has not once ever sung in front of her father or me, and that one year she was in the school choir was one big lip-syncing fest. The only reason she even joined was to go on the end-of-the-year trip to Disney. As the trip approached, an overzealous mother almost had it cancelled over a ridiculous accusation, and Rachel was in spasms for days worried that all her effort would be for naught, but I digress.

Back to unreasonable expectations. We read over and over again in the Bible that in order to please God and receive answers to prayers we must have faith. How unreasonable would it be for God to expect faith from us knowing that as humans beings, seeing is believing. We have all, at one time or another, wondered if God hears us, is aware of our need, if He even cares, if He's powerful enough to help us.

Before we go on, let's define faith.

Hebrews 11:1
"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

Faith is hope that God is going to get involved and make it right even when you see no evidence of His presence. And again, He requires it in order to act on our behalf. But how do you know you have enough and how much is enough?

Look at these other verses.

Matthew 17:20
" I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."

Mark 9:23-24
“Everything is possible for him who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

In these verses we see the win-win situation that is always ours. God expects our faith, but He doesn't demand an exact or outrageous amount. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed. Google mustard seed, and you will see that it is the size of a period at the end of a sentence. And even when we do believe, we can still ask God to help us overcome any unbelief.

God asks for our faith, and no matter how small, He will accept it and make it grow.

I know that as time goes by my faith grows. As I receive answers to prayers, I am strengthened to see more answers for other prayers. I can say the same about each of you. Something within each of you compels you to read these DEVOs and say the prayers at the end. Something within you is telling you that these moments spent nourishing the soul make a difference. That something is faith. How do we know we have faith? Because I wouldn't bother writing these DEVOs and you wouldn't bother reading them if we didn't believe that God exists and that He is here to help. And all it takes is a little itty bitty amount, and we all have at least a mustard seed-size faith. Did you know that the mustard seed when planted will eventually grow into a 20 foot tree? That's where we're headed folks. Glory!


PRAYER:
Dear Lord, Thank You that it only takes a little bit of faith to please You. Nevertheless, take our faith today and help it grow. We want our faith to grow as big and strong as a mustard tree so that we can encourage others around us--starting with our own families. In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Expect the Best~

A happy heppy hippy hoppy huppy afternoon to you all:)


And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him. Hebrews 11:6

Last night I took a concealed weapons license course. This gal, whose code name is Agent 775, hosted the event at her home, and I thank her for the fine hospitality, sandwiches, beverages, and cake:)

It was very interesting, to say the least, but one thing the instructor said stands out in my mind. When someone asked about what they should do if someone attacked them from behind etc... he said, "Pray for the best;expect the worst."

"NO!" I screamed inside. And because I am a trained spy (in my mind), I acted like everything was fine and decided to address the matter today.

What he said goes against every single thing you and I stand for.

When we pray do we expect the worst? Or do we expect the almighty Creator of heaven and earth do something awesome?

If you and I are praying for God's best--God's provision of health, protection, guidance, income, joy, peace, hope, faith--let's not expect illness, danger, misdirection, poverty, anxiety, hopelessness, and fear. Let's actually believe for the best.

Ask yourself what you expect from God when you pray. Do you expect everything to change for the better? Do you expect rewards from Him like the verse says He is willing to give, or do you expect a penalty, which is the opposite of a reward?

It all comes down to faith. Why do I even bother to include a prayer at the end of every DEVO if I don't believe God will answer us with the very best answer? By the way, what exactly is faith and how do we know we have enough? We'll talk about it tomorrow.

Let's pray~

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, We come before You today expecting the best of the best from You. Not because we are good or deserving, but because You are good and desire to bless us. We need so much from You, and we are eternally grateful that You have an unlimited supply of every single thing we need. Thank You, in Jesus' name, AMEN~


(Each of us is in a different place in our life. Some of us may need help with a relationship, wisdom for dealing with a child, or help with anxiety etc... No matter what you need, please use our prayer time at the end of the DEVOs to include your own personal requests from God).