Declaring God's Word

Psalm 91:2,14 "'This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust him...The LORD says, 'I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name.'"

Greetings,

Twenty-five years ago my first born, Hormone, started pre-k  4.  I quickly learned that organization was the key to keeping my sanity intact.  So the night before,  I made sure his uniform was clean and laid out, that I had a healthy breakfast on hand, and that all his little homework  papers were duly signed and carefully tucked into his backpack.

For the most part, keeping everything in order  served me well.  Then Rayray joined the ranks of pre-schoolers, and she threw several kinks in my preparations.  I never knew if she wanted to wear a hair bow that day or which one.  It was a bigger deal then it seems because one time in the middle of the school day, she decided she wanted her kitten barrettes.  She was so upset that her teacher actually called me and asked me to bring them to her.  (I did, and I still have them as a reminder that I was a nice mommy!).

When both kids were in elementary school, I started working again, further complicating our morning schedule.   Sometimes the car was on empty, I needed cash for a field trip, or I needed to make a quick trip to the store for snack day.  

Some days were good and some days were hectic and frenzied.  But every single say was blessed because there was always one final thing we did before we headed out the door, without which I felt we were all only partially clothed - not completely ready to face the day.

NO MATTER WHAT, my kids were  not allowed to leave for school without us declaring, "The Lord alone is Jorge, Yenise, Jorgie and Rachel's place of safety."

How does God respond when we declare this? "I will protect those who trust in My name."

Crazy terrible things happen every day, prompting us to think that maybe prayer doesn't make a difference.  But that is not what the Bible teaches. "The persistent prayer of a believer can accomplish much and have tremendous power" (James 5:16). That settles it: Nothing is going to stop me, nor should it stop you, from declaring God's Word.   When we do that, it is an invitation to the Lord to activate His power in our lives. 

PRAYER: Dear Lord, You and You alone are our place of safety.  We declare that You are our refuge.  None one of us has the power to protect ourselves, our families, our homes, our income, or our businesses without You.  Cover us in Your strength and in Your peace.  Thank You for Your willingness to always help us.  We are secure, in Jesus' name, AMEN~  

Listen AND Apply~

"But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves" James 1:22.

Have you ever been fooled? I have, and it happened regularly at my high school, Shamrock, in Georgia.  Back in the early 80s it was all the rage to refold the used aluminum from a rectangular piece of Wrigley's doublemint gum, reinsert it into its paper wrapper, and offer it to poor unsuspecting folks like me.  It was impossible to tell the difference between a real piece and a fake, and I always fell for it.  Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me?  Then shame and more shame on me.

However, being fooled by snarky pubescents with a phony piece of gum has no life-long implications.  On the other hand, thinking we can hear about God's salvation, wisdom, encouragements, and commandments and then walk away without doing anything about it spells trouble.

The above verse says that only listening to God means we are fooling ourselves - we are deceiving our souls.  So much more is required.  We must do what God says.  To reap  a blessed, protected, guided, provided-for life that is replete with faith, joy, peace, love, and hope, we have to act.

Years ago when I had a thyroid problem, I went to an endocrinologist.  She came up with a course of treatment, which I discussed with her and then read on my own.  Thank God that I didn't have to do anything else.  Simply by listening I was healed!

Not!  I had my blood tested, an ultrasound done on my neck, followed by a needle biopsy, and a follow up plan that eventually required surgery. I would have only been fooling myself if I thought that I did not have to follow through with the doctor's treatment.

We have to follow through with our Lord, and it starts with prayer.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We do not want to only listen, we want to do what Your Word says.  Our lives are better when we pray, trust, and exercise our faith.  We slip out from under the weight of depression when we express gratitude daily.  Our families thrive when we are rich in forgiveness, patience and understanding.  Our co-workers are blessed when we show self-control and kindness.  Our marriages are immeasurably blessed when we pray for each other, treat each other with respect, and serve one another.  Every single situation or problem we face benefits tremendously when we apply Your Word.  HELP US LISTEN AND APPLY! In Jesus' name, AMEN.

Changing Our Focus~

John 14:1 "Do not let your heart be troubled, afraid. Believe confidently in God and trust in Him, have faith, hold onto it, rely on it, keep going and believe also in Me" (The Amplified Bible).

Greetings,

Jesus spoke the above-word to His stressed-out disciples because in 24 hours He would be crucified.  They did not fully understand what was happening, and needed comforting.

Many of us need comforting as well. I, for one, am struggling during this election season to keep the faith in and keep the fear out.  

Changing our focus is the answer!

We are to hold onto and rely on faith and trust in God and Christ.  No matter what, we are to "keep going," which is another way of saying that we must continue heading in His direction. 

Amen to that! When we head His way it's because we are focused on Him, praying to Him, reading His Word, even singing praises to Him.  The best part of all is that by doing all this, we leave our troubled heart in the dust.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We reach out to You today to receive comfort for our troubled heart.  So many things in this world scream for our attention, but we focus on You today.  We hold onto to You today and thank You that You give us peace, protection, hope, and joy.  We believe in You and will continue to head in Your direction every single day.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.  

Worth it~

Greetings,

I finally decided that an old, Hunter green armoire that has been sitting in my garage for three years is headed to the Goodwill.  I am not going to go through all the trouble of stripping the paint and refinishing it in a blue/gray patina like I wanted to.  It's just not worth the effort.

"What is worth the effort?" you ask.

Strengthening our FAITH.

Hebrews 11:1 "The fundamental fact of existence is that trust in God, faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It’s our handle on what we can’t see" (Message Version).

Our foundation must be firm or everything will wobble.  And the way we strengthen our faith is through prayer and reading the Bible.

And remember, God's truth in this verse is not that life becomes bearable. Rather, an inherent trust and enduring confidence in the power, wisdom, and goodness of God makes life worth living!  Amen!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We choose faith.  We confidently believe in Your power, wisdom, and goodness AND in Your desire to share it all with us.  Faith helps us when we can't see the answers to prayer, and it sustains our souls as we wait upon You.  By faith we believe  today's prayer has also strengthened our foundation.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

Grow Up!

Luke 2:52 "Jesus matured, growing up in both body and spirit, blessed by both God and people" (The Message Version).

When my children were little we would have them stand against the wall and mark their height.  It was always fun to see how much they had grown. But when Hormone started his growth spurt, every month for several months in a row, he grew approximately a 1/4 inch.  I have many wonderful memories of all of us, including our first dog, Puppish, running to the wall every few weeks to see if this phenomenon would continue.  Hormone eventually maxed out at a smidge under 6'5" tall, but  just wearing a pair of socks put him at that height.

That marked wall is still in my bedroom - I refuse to paint over it - and I love looking at it.  But this morning when I caught a glimpse of it the above verse came to mind.  Growing physically is important, but so is spiritually.  It leads to blessings from God and people.

God is proud of us when we hold our tongue, turn the other cheek, give to those in need, speak the truth in love, forgive freely, practice patience, put on a smile for the world, keep our anger in check, dispense grace and mercy in generous doses, and serve others.

All of the above starts to happen as we grow in our walk with Him, and it's important because it makes us better people.  Better people have better relationships, and that leads to a better quality of life.  This is why it is so important to grow up.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Everything You encourage us to do and be is always about making our lives better.  You ask us to grow up so You can bless us.  Help us to let go of any behavior that is counterproductive.  In Jesus' name, AMEN.  

God's Angels Throw a Party...

Greetings, 

People have parties for all kinds of reasons: Birthdays, anniversaries, engagements, pregnancies, holidays...

I myself have celebrated the day I met my children's significant others, the first date Jorge and I had - March 28, 1985 - and once we even had a little get-together in honor of my son-in-law's arrival to our great nation!

But there is one type of party that is so significantly grand that all other parties pale in comparison.

Luke 15:10 "God's angels throw a party every time one lost soul turns to God" (The Message Version).

When even one person changes their old way of thinking and doing things and lives their life in a way that shows this beautiful change and seeks God's purpose for their life, the angels CELEBRATE!

I can just imagine the gold confetti, shimmering white balloons, angel food cake, of course, fireworks, and tears of happiness. They celebrate because they know things are going to be better, blessings will flow,  and joy will abound. Most importantly, one more soul has gone from death unto life and will join them in the eternal goodness and presence of the Lord.  Sin and sorrow will be gone forever. Amen.

The day you and I turned to God there was an angelic assembly in our honor, and one of our missions in life must be to pray so the angels can have as many parties as possible.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that the angels had a party for us.  One day we will see just how spectacular it was.  Right now we pray for those who are struggling to turn to You.  Draw them near so they too can have positive change and divine guidance for their lives.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~   

The Main Course

Good morning,

Yesterday I called a dear and sweet mighty woman of God whom I have known for over 40 years.  Her name is Rosita, and she was my pastor's wife in Georgia.   She is in her eighties now, but she has not slowed down a bit.  She is widowed,  but her granddaughter and two great grandsons, ages seven and one,  live with her.  She provides most of the child care as a means to help her granddaughter get back on the right track,  and as you might imagine, it's not easy.  

When she answered the phone she was at the grocery store with a neighbor whom she pays by the hour to help out with these kinds of errands.   I could tell she was in a hurry, and then she said, "Yenise, mi hermanita, necesitas orar por algo? Si puedes  esperar, te llamo mas tarde."  In the middle of her hectic schedule she asked if I was calling to pray about something,  otherwise she would call me later.

***

Luke 10:38-40 "Jesus entered a village and a woman by the name of Martha welcomed Him and made Him feel quite at home.  Her sister, Mary, sat before Jesus hanging on to every word He said. Martha was pulled away by all she had to do in the kitchen.  Later, she interrupted saying, 'Jesus, don't you care that my sister has abandoned the kitchen to me? Tell her to help me.'  Jesus said, 'Martha, you're fussing too much and getting worked up over nothing.  One thing only is essential, and Mary has chosen it  -  it's the main course, and it won't be taken from her.'"

***

In other words, it is more important to attend to the soul than anything else.  

Even though I was making a social call, I was moved by Rosita's willingness to drop everything, if necessary, and pray for me.  I thought about her all day long and was blessed as a result.  I pray that I can become the kind of person who has her priorities in order and will always be available when someone needs me. I pray that I will always even have the foresight to ask if someone needs prayer when they call.  I pray that I will never be too busy in the mundane duties of life to overlook someone else's need.   

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for this powerful passage of scripture that teaches us that Christ is the only essential thing we need. Everything else can wait.  Make us sensitive to the needs of others around us so we can be blessed as well.  We love knowing that when we welcome Christ as the main course, nothing and no one can take that away from us.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~

The Most Important Preparation

Good morning, 

At this very moment thousands of South Floridians, myself included, are preparing for Hurricane Matthew.  My shopping list is ready, and as soon as I send this DEVO I am headed out the door to stock up on water and fill up my car with gas.  When I get back, I will focus on the yard by taking down hanging plants and picking up all of Hershey's toys, which, we have been warned, can become dangerous projectiles in hurricane-force winds.  What a lovely way to spend a Tuesday!

But the most important thing I will do in all of my preparations is pray  -  specifically, Psalm 91 (The Message version).

"God, You are my refuge. I trust in You, and I am safe.  You rescue me and shield me from deadly hazards. Your huge outstretched arms protect me and my family, and under them, we are perfectly safe. Your arms fend off all harm.  I fear nothing, and no harm will even graze me or those I love. I will stand untouched because You are my refuge, my home. Harm can not get through the door. Thank You that You have ordered Your angels to guard me and my family wherever we go.  Their job is to keep us from falling, and we will walk unharmed.  Thank You that You give me and those I love the best of care.  In Jesus' name, Amen."

The words of the Bible are so comforting, and God knew that Psalm 91 is exactly what we all needed to hear today.  May you pray this prayer and be strengthened in your souls!