Embedded Messages

You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married. And they shall call them The Holy People, The Redeemed of the LORD; And you shall be called Sought Out, City Not Forsaken. Isaiah 62:4, 12 (New King James Version)

Two phrases stand out in this passage that are incredible for me to read and necessary for me to believe. They are “The Lord delights in you” and “You shall be called Sought Out.” For most of my Christian life I would have read this passage and thought of the words as only being spoken to and about the nation of Israel. Originally it was, but on this side of the cross any who are redeemed of the Lord can and should accept the words for themselves.

Some of us struggle with the concept of such acceptance because we limit our view of God to what we have experienced with people. We are stuck with a mindset that says we are undesirable, unwanted, unnoticed, forgotten, forsaken, and alone. We matter to no one. Lies? Yes. Believed anyway? Absolutely. We weren’t created with that message but it was written on our heart and mind at some point or at many points.

Yesterday was a day of connecting a present emotion with the same emotion from my past. Two things showed me the connection….identical emotion and identical reaction to the emotion. After spending the day battling feelings, God helped me to see that my primary emotion driven belief was one of not mattering to people. He then helped me to remember it was the way I felt in childhood when my parents would drink or be in bars. I remember having a sadness I never shared with others. I never talked about it. I didn’t tell my parents how I felt. I didn’t tell friends how I felt. I simply withdrew until a more pleasant experience happened. Now as an adult, when I experience that belief and sadness I default to withdrawal. It is natural for me but harmful for relationships. It prevents the very closeness for which I hunger.

As I see this pattern, my hope for freedom and change has to begin with what God says. As I learn to trust His words and allow them to take up residence in me, the aspects of my relationships with others will be effected for the good.

Father, may Your words speak louder than the lies embedded in me. Amen.

Your Love (Psalm 139) - Oslo Gospel Choir
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAZrV1pS2Ek&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

What He Will Never Say to Me

The virgin of Israel has fallen; she will rise no more. She lies forsaken on her land; there is no one to raise her up. Amos 5:2 (New King James Version)

The words stood out to me as read this verse. As important as it is to see what God says about me and to me in Scripture, it is just as important to see what He does not and never will say about me or to me. I have had my times of falling and will have more times in this life, but He will never say to me that I will not rise again, am forsaken, or have no one to raise me up. I rejoice in that truth.

I know the feeling or perception of rejection and I know the sting of loneliness but none of it comes from God. He is my present help in time of trouble. He is my rock and defense. He will never leave me or forsake me. He knew me and called me by name before I was even conceived. When I fall, He lifts me up. When others walk away, He is ever present. When the disappointments of life hit, He is my shelter and watch guard.

How often I need the reminders as it is all too easy to crawl into holes of dangerous mindsets and futile thinking. It is easy to take my eyes off my one true Hope and Security…..Jesus Christ.

I do not write these devotionals to try and convince people (or myself) that I have it all together. Instead, I write them with the full acknowledgement and awareness that I have a long way to go as do the ones who read them. I find it possible to acknowledge that ONLY because I know that God will never leave me in my brokenness, failures, and sin. He has not lost one ounce of love for me or stepped back by even a fraction of an inch. I have not exasperated Him or drained Him of His mercy. My relationship with individuals has suffered at times, but not my relationship with Him. I am secure, not because of me but because of Him.

As I read through the Old Testament and I take in God’s words to Israel that sound harsh at times, I rest in this age of grace. I don’t take it lightly and I don’t abuse it because it is free. I embrace it. The God who created me and loves me stands watch over me and cares for me.

Father, thank you for what You say and don’t say to me. Amen.

What Faith Can Do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTNBWv33-QI

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

I Cannot Ask for More

Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good, His love endures forever. Jeremiah 33:11 (New International Version)

Due to my own insecurities and such, relationships can often be a struggle for me. Discontentment and discouragement find their way into the fibers of even my closest friendships. Yesterday, I asked the Lord to show me the reason for this. To show me what it was I was seeking. He was quick to respond and I was quick to see. It came down to a longing to be loved more by others. It didn’t matter how much I was already loved, I wanted more. More communication, more attention, more affirmation, more nurturing…more. Although it was a hard truth to acknowledge and confess it was a truth that gave birth to a precious truth for me.

While I may desire for others to love me more (show me more love), I can never say that about God. God’s love is complete already and He is unable to love me any more than He already does…..100%! Nothing can take it from me. Nothing can separate me from it. Nothing can diminish it or increase it.

While I cannot ask God to love me more than He already does, I can ask Him to help me receive His love more than I do. To see it, sense it, and live out of the abundance of it. To let it impact my life more fully and thus change me. That realization brought me full circle back to my dilemma with people.

It is not a matter of people needing to love me more but rather me needing to acknowledge the love that is already there. Although people are limited in their love and ability to show it, I must come to see , sense , appreciate , and receive what IS available. To allow their love to fill the places God intended it to fill and yet not confuse it with being a replacement of God’s love (which is limitless).

The hole and ache in my soul can only be filled by God and when I look to people to do the filling THAT is when the frustration, confusion, and struggle begin to surface. I don’t want to live the rest of my life like I have lived the past number of decades and I won’t if I let God show me my own heart as well as His heart. Change comes with truth and obedience which are always connected to God.

Father, I needed to hear the truth from You. Now that I have heard it, help me to live in that truth and in Your love. Amen.

How Can I Keep From Singing? - Chris Tomlin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-GPpx9oINsI&feature=related

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

A Portrait of Love

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (New King James Version)

A Bible study discussion last night centered on the subject of love. Feeling loved as well as contributing to others feeling loved. This morning, I am reviewing the definition of love as found in 1 Corinthians 13. The first three verses let me know actions without love (though noble) are really empty and amount to nothing in God’s eyes. I imagine the reason for that is because something besides love can drive the actions. Ever have someone do something nice for you but their demeanor clouded the whole thing? Ever have someone tell you they loved you but their facial expression, physical poise, and sense of distance left the words feeling hollow? Ever find yourself going through the motions yourself?

As I read through verses 4-7 I am acutely aware of God needing to teach me to truly love others. Each phrase seems opposite of what I know to be the condition of my heart many times. If I were to slip my name into each of the phrases it would sound foreign to me, “Pam suffers long and is kind; Pam does not envy; Pam does not parade herself, Pam is not puffed up; Pam does not behave rudely; Pam does not seek her own, Pam is not easily provoked, Pam thinks no evil; Pam does not rejoice in iniquity, but Pam rejoices in the truth; Pam bears all things, Pam believes all things, Pam hopes all things, Pam endures all things.” It would sound foreign because I find myself being impatient, envying, focusing on myself, behaving rudely, wanting my own way, taking things personally, thinking the worst of others, embracing false perceptions, disbelieving, doubting, and giving up. I see relationships driven more by wanting my needs met rather than true interest in the other person.

If this were the end of the story I would walk away discouraged, defeated, and disheartened. I didn’t list those things to self condemn. I wrote them to reveal and acknowledge what I need to bring to God and see where I need His help, grace, and molding in my life. He is the ultimate Lover! 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 is a portrait of Himself and it is the pattern by which He desires to paint my portrait. He knows that in my flesh and on my own I am incapable of living and walking in love. He knows that my selfish motives and areas of neediness can often get in the way. For that reason, I call upon Him and fall upon Him.

Father, You aren’t just loving, You are love. Teach me to love! Amen.

Work of God Speak - Mercy Me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsoiI8XhpmY

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

An Inexhaustible Supply

But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. Psalm 86:15 (New King James Version)

God will many times use the physical world to teach me spiritual truths which include aspects of Himself. This morning, His visual aid to me is our little dog, Chloe. We purchased her from a Humane Society in Tennessee about a year ago and have come to appreciate her as a valued member of our family. We have seen her over come timidity in many areas and celebrated her progress of over coming more as time went on. When confronted with her timid moments we responded with compassion and patience rather than anger or disgust. We understood she had a history we knew nothing of and we took that into account when her weaknesses surfaced.

This morning as I remembered progress made, God reminded me of my gracious attitude toward Chloe before and after she over came fears and intimidations. Instantly, He urged me to see Him as having the same demeanor toward me before and after I have over come an area in my life. He desires for me to lose the view of Him that He thinks the worst of me in my weaknesses. That His patience will run out long before I stand in victory. That I have somehow exhausted His supply of longsuffering and mercy. The untruth of such thinking is one of the reasons He included the words “full” and “abundant” in today’s verse. He carries more than enough of His character and attributes into His relationship with me.

He knows my history and every reason behind every weakness. He knows where I still need growth and development. He knows that my perspective of others and myself can still throw me for a loop. He knows I often feel I am not doing things right or moving fast enough on this journey. He knows that I have mixed feelings about the people in my life and still struggle to find the balance between looking to Him and looking to others for the meeting of needs. Yet, His knowledge of me does not diminish His compassion, graciousness, longsuffering, mercy, or truth. It might diminish those qualities in others but not in Him.

For those of us who have lived our lives with skewed thinking, wrong perceptions, and distorted views, this is a truth that must be received and reviewed on a daily basis. It will not stick after just one time of seeing it. I am in need of hearing it today and I will be in need of hearing it again tomorrow and for each tomorrow after that until I know that I know that I know I finally have it!

Father, You keep showing me the truths that I am desperate to grasp. I need the reminders and I need You. Amen.

By Grace Alone
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6lhilgWXIE

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

The Way of Love

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3 (New International Version)

There are times when I want to pull away from everyone I know. My mind makes a decision to not answer phone calls, emails, or letters. It is called shutting my heart down, resisting the urge to need anyone, and safe guarding myself from disappointment, dissatisfaction, discouragement, and depravation. But God is letting me know that is not the way He would have me live. That is living out of my flesh instead of out of my spirit. It will grieve Him and do no one any good whatsoever.

God’s Word tells me to love others. I must allow His command to be more than words on a page and a sound in my ear. On a practical level, loving one another means I keep myself open to fully receive others as God brings them across my path. I welcome their conversations and listen to what their needs are. I ask God to show me ways to minister to them and allow His Spirit to infuse me with the love, desire, and ability to do so.

It also means setting aside the thoughts of who I would like to be involved with and watching for how God intersects my world with the ones of His own choosing. It becomes a time of anticipation rather than frustration. It also becomes a way of life whereby I receive abundance from Him and become a conduit of encouragement to others as I give to them what He has graciously given to me.

Will He encourage me through others? Absolutely! Will He allow others to be His conduit of grace to me? Most definitely! But He will choose the person and the timing. His desire is that I learn to rest in His hands and in His ways. Not squirming! Not sulking! Not closed off! But rather open to all that He intends this day to bring forth through me and to me.

Above each activity and each moment I need to display the words, “His ways are higher than my ways. His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. His plans are good. His love is enough. He is God!” Learning to live in trust and cooperation with Him and sensing His presence and His smile throughout my day is what will make today unique, powerful, and precious. May I go forth with praise on my lips, joy in my heart, and arms open wide to give and receive.

Father, thank you for the way that only You can redirect my thoughts and actions. I bow to the wonder of You. Amen.

Worship Song - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMpbm2p-1mo

Fixing my eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith!

Filling the Cavern

"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" John 7:38 (New American Standard Bible)

My innermost being. That place in me that is like a cavern of hunger and thirst. That part of me that I long to have filled. Jesus offers me (and you) a river of living water that flows in the depths of my internal world. That place was not made empty by my past experiences of life. It was in me before I took my first breath. Created in me by God to be filled by Him alone. That place in me that hungers and thirsts for significance, identity, love, acceptance, affirmation, and approval.

Some try to fill their voids with success, wealth, notoriety, accomplishments, possessions, positions, or education. Some, like myself, seek to fill the void with significant people. What we find in the end is that whatever amount of life’s “fill dirt” we shovel in, it never seems to reach the bottom or last long. I find that even the effects of the most special times and conversations begin to wane moments after they have taken place. My answer is to then go on a search for more and in the end my search is both futile and disappointing.

Jesus tells me that I am significant, loved, and valued because I am His. He speaks those words over and into my life, even though I have sought for it in other sources. This morning He is showing me how much of a bondage this is for me. Bondage to my needs. Bondage to my thoughts. Bondage to my search. At the same time He is reminding me that He came to set the captive free! I am that captive and I am in need of the freedom He offers.

Acknowledging the problem and seeing the root of that problem is only the first of many steps I am beginning to take. Recently, friends have told me I am persistent in my quest to find God’s love sufficient and to live out of that love. They are right. Of all the things I long for in this life, that is the ultimate desire of my heart. What encourages me the most is that I know it is God’s desire for me as well.

Father, my search has accomplished one thing…..it has pointed me to You. Show me how to let You fill up my innermost being with Your living water and presence. I am in need and I bring that need to You. Amen.

He Knows My Name - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXsiWoyjw60

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.
　
　

Unchanging and Inexhaustible

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. Isaiah 40:28 (New King James Version)

When life happens and people leave, if we are not careful, we can come to believe that everyone eventually will see the need to back away from us. We will live with a wavering trust of those who actually care and really do love us. Something in us keeps saying that when they know us well enough and discover the truth about us they will abandon us. Our weaknesses and failures will cause them to grow weary and tired of us. Their involvement in our life will end. Their opinion of us will change. Their love will stop. When those thoughts become our “truth” we stop living life as it is meant to be lived. We close ourselves off to receiving or giving love. We live in a shell of pain and loneliness that is not only unnecessary but ungodly as well. When we put those same perceptions on God we are in even bigger trouble and distress.

Today’s verse lets me know how far from the truth such thoughts are. The everlasting God does not grow faint or weary of me. The Creator of the universe does not grow tired of me. The LORD is not giving up on me. I do not understand His love, His ways, His persistence, or His unchangeableness. How could I? I do not even understand people who demonstrate His heart. How they can love me in spite of what they know about me? How they can love me even when my actions and attitudes disappoint, frustrate, or anger them?

Whether it is God or people, I must come to the point of realizing true love is not based on my performance. It is not something I can earn but rather it is something I must receive as a gift. Those who truly love me demonstrate what God’s love is like. They don’t excuse my sin, they don’t ignore my wrong choices, they don’t dance around the issues. They let me know when I am doing well and they let me know when I am doing wrong. Their words, body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice become teachers to me.

The longer I experience genuine love from God and others, the more I desire to walk in that same untiring, inexhaustible, unending love myself. I long for the day my own compassion leaves them confused in a good sense.

Father, please help me to no longer interpret my relationship with You and others through the grid of past hurts and disappointments. Help me to grasp the extent of Your love and theirs. Help me to trust with abandon and love with Your kind of love. Amen.

Love That Won't Walk Away - Kathy Troccoli
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZioqjmmtK3U

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Living in the Nevertheless Moments

Nevertheless He saved them for the sake of His name, that He might make His power known. Psalm 106:8 (New American Standard Bible)

I stand amazed at God’s nevertheless moments. They follow actions that deserve anything but love, mercy, and grace. Israel had sinned against God, forgotten His wonders, rebelled against Him, bowed to false gods, and blatantly walked in opposition to Him. There are times I don’t fare much better. For me, they are times of harboring wrong attitudes, holding on to the very things God wants me to release, dwelling on the things that have nothing but negative consequences, withholding forgiveness, walking in distrust and fear. While there are moments of victory and growth, there are also times of failure and defeat.

Those are the times God’s nevertheless moments are so astounding. He continues to work in my life as clay on His potter’s wheel. Not because I deserve it, but for His own name’s sake and to make His power known. I can’t begin to understand it but that does not stop Him from demonstrating it. Accepting God’s free gift of salvation was easy. Receiving His continual free gifts of love, mercy, grace, and forgiveness is harder. I somehow want to connect conditions and boundaries on it. I can’t fully grasp the abundance and availability of His heart actions and therefore miss the delight of reveling in them.

This morning, I am once again looking to Scripture to help me see how I can begin to open the doors of delight. Rather than focus on my shortcomings and failures, Psalm 105 gives me a list of alternative choices. Each one will help to shift my mind and my heart in necessary directions. This list is as follows: give thanks to the Lord, call upon His name, tell others what He has done, sing praises to Him, talk about His wonders, seek Him, seek His strength, seek His face, and meditate on His wonders, marvels, and judgments.

My focus and conversations need to be on God. This doesn’t mean there won’t be issues to walk through. It means my focus needs to be on what He can and will do as we walk through those issues. Once again, it is not up to me. It does not all rest on my shoulders. In the midst of my failures, hurts, disappointments, sin, and wrong choices, He always has a nevertheless truth!

Father, You keep nudging me to live beyond the places I have found to be so comfortable and familiar. I hear Your call to trust, abide, and rest in You. Thank you for the nevertheless of today. Amen.

All I once held dear - Robin Mark
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SI6_4KxTg2k

Did you miss a past devotional? There are now over 800 previous devotionals housed on this blog site. Read them according to date, theme or book of the Bible. Copy them for a personal notebook. Share them with others. Enjoy!

His Unremovable Love

"For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, but My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and My covenant of peace will not be shaken,“ says the LORD who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10 (New American Standard Bible)

My present journey began in the spring of 2004 with the realization that God’s love was not dependent upon what I was doing. That journey continues with precious, continual reminders that His love will never be removed regardless of my attitudes, actions, and weaknesses. The security of that truth wraps itself around my spirit on an ongoing basis. I thrive under it, I revel in it, I rejoice over it, and I remain awe struck by it! As God pours out His love, peace, and compassion on me, I am changed.

This morning an “even then” list is formulating in my mind and it is having a powerful effect on me. When I fail Him, even then His love remains. When I live out of my flesh instead of my spirit, even then His love remains. When I look to others to give me what only God can give me, even then His love remains. When I give in to the things He desires to free me of, even then His love remains. When I react and respond to others in a non Christlike manner, even then His love remains. When I place my wishes and will above His own, even then His love remains. When I attempt to walk in my own strength and ability, even then His love remains. When I allow something or someone to take precedence over Him, even then His love remains. When negativity marks my mind and my mouth, even then His love remains. When I hold on to that which He asks to be released, even then His love remains. When I fear circumstances more than I trust His ability to carry me, even then His love remains.

It is not a sentimental, stoic, abstract kind of love either. It is a love that will intervene, correct, discipline, and instruct. It is a love that sings over me and under girds me. It is a love that wants the best for me and will not allow anything to come into my life without passing through His own hands and heart first. It is a love that will introduce and remove all the things necessary for my growth and His glory. It is a love that remains and I wouldn’t want it any other way.

God is the only One who patterns this kind of love. Some individuals give me glimpses of it but only He can display it on a never ending basis. Only He can put traces of it into my own heart. Therefore, I look to Him and follow.

Father, I spent decades misunderstanding Your love for me. Thank you for the clarity and consistency of that love. May I live out the rest of my days marveling over You and Your ways . Amen.

Love That Won't Walk Away - Kathy Troccoli
http://youtube.com/watch?v=6uQGr4fa2Z0

If what you are reading is touching your spirit and increasing your thirst for God then you are one of the reasons I write these devotionals. I want to extend a personal invitation to you to join my email devotional family and allow me to send them to you directly! Simply send an email to shattuck7@sbcglobal.net and request to be added to my devotional list. It would be my honor and privilege to do so.

A Pleasure Filled Choice

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 (New American Standard Bible)

Have you ever had a verse come alive on you? You may have read it or heard it numerous times before but it just sat on the pages of your Bible and you remained unmoved by its message. I am finding that for myself, God usually has to do some preparatory work in me before His Word becomes the living, breathing revelation He has intended it to be. Often times I have to see my own heart need before His Word will take hold of my heart and do its precious work in me.

Such was the case yesterday. The darkness of the morning hung on me through out the day and into the evening as God slowly revealed a fear I was housing. That fear was that in the midst of everything He was disappointed in me and that led to many thoughts of hopelessness and condemnation. The one thing I wanted more than anything else was to be free of that perception of God. People could tell me otherwise but it took God’s Word to finally open my eyes to a fundamental truth about Himself.

During a study with some friends we came across Ephesians 1:4,5 which says, “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” The part that came alive to me was the small phrase “good pleasure of His will.” I knew that God chose me before the world was made but I needed to take in the truth that He derived pleasure in His choosing. It was a choice filled with good will, kind intentions, benevolence, delight, pleasure, and satisfaction! That was the case even though He knew every aspect of my life….weaknesses, sinfulness, and all. He didn’t HAVE to choose me, He WANTED to choose me!

I needed to see that none of that was based on what I would someday do for Him and it is still not based on what I do. It is not about performance, although obedience brings blessing. It is about living in relationship with Him and growing in the grace and knowledge of Him. Disappointed in me? Not hardly. While my actions, words, thoughts, and choices do not always please Him, I am secure in His love and delight of me. I am reveling in the truth of that this morning and much is changing because of it!

Father, I tremble with joy over Your love for me. I am responding to Your delight and pleasure. How great and gracious You truly are! Amen.

Indescribable - Chris Tomlin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=7PTvr755V8s

Driven By Love

Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life. Isaiah 43:4 (New American Standard Bible)

When someone is precious, honored, and loved by you, the sky is the limit when it comes to what you would do for them. Theirs is a relationship you not only treasure but one which you maintain and keep well guarded. When something seems “off” you take steps to correct it and when necessary do whatever it takes for there to be reconciliation and peace. That is the very thing that drove me to make a phone call last night. Something seemed strained in a relationship that has become precious to me and fear of losing it moved me to action. As it turned out, my friend wasn’t upset with me in the least. An area of stress in her life was being misread by me. I had once again assumed the worst. As we spoke I regained a sense of peace and security. When I hung up the phone, I was filled with a huge sense of relief as well as a deep desire to uphold her in prayer. While God and I will spend the day confronting some of my insecurities and fears that make their way into relationships, I have awoken this morning rejoicing and reveling in this one I highly treasure.

God is using that experience to show me a reflection of Himself. Relationship with His children is a top priority for Him. Because we are precious, honored, and loved, He continually reaches out to us in order to draw us to Himself. This morning could be a “fill in the blank” kind of day and the verse could be read as follows: “Since you are precious in My sight, since you are honored and I love you I will ____________________.” Oh the things we could write on that line!

He daily loads us with blessings and benefits. He graciously forgives our sin. He corrects and chastens us. He instructs us in the night seasons. He shepherds us. He keeps His hands and His eye on us. He brings about His plans and purposes for our lives. He convicts us of sin. He speaks to us and probes our hearts. He crosses our path with significant people. He gifts us with talents and abilities. He uses us in profound ways. He stays with us. He transforms us. He guards and guides us. He hears and answers our prayers. He keeps His word to us. He showers us with grace, mercy, and loving kindness. He comes to our defense. He accepts us.

The phone call to my friend last night was one way of saying, “You mean the world to me!” All of God’s actions say the same. As I embrace that truth I am changed!

Father, thank you for a love like yours! Amen.

Stubborn Love - Amy Grant
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bajcq1jz15M&feature=related

His Invitation

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3 (New King James Version)

I cannot always explain it but I can definitely tell when it comes upon me. That uneasy feeling that something is wrong. A list begins to formulate in my mind and before I know it I house thoughts of failure, condemnation, shame and a sense that I am not doing anything right. I am not doing enough. No matter where I look (be it in my prayer life, Bible reading, family life, relationships, or daily responsibilities) I draw the conclusion that I am letting myself, others, and even God down. Then, like a child who is handed a huge ball of yarn and expected to untangle it, I stand bewildered with no idea of where to start or what to do. It is the sense of knowing something is wrong but not knowing how to begin to fix it.

At times like this I know two things: the enemy is at work and my Father is inviting me to once again rest in Him. Those thoughts that lead to condemnation, self loathing, failure, and disgust are Satan’s calling cards. He wants nothing more than to see me wrap myself in the mental images he presents to me. God, on the other hand, lets me know peace comes through fixing my eyes on Him and trusting Him. He is bringing to mind the truths of hiding in Him, being sheltered by Him, resting in Him, relying upon Him, and abiding under the shadow of His wings.

This morning, God is inviting me to do some reviewing of basic, necessary truths. He loves me with an everlasting love. He lavishes me with forgiveness and acceptance as seen in the father of the prodigal son. He sings over me. He nurtures me just like a doting mother and father would do. He supplies all of my needs and delights in doing so. He is for me. He is not angry with me, merely tolerating me, or disappointed in me. He is not comparing me to His other children. He delights in being my Father and in me being His child.

He knows the thoughts that have been playing in my mind and He longs to set me free from them. The answer is not to just do better. The answer is to draw near to Him and allow Him to reassure me of His heart for me. The result will be peace, joy, and satisfaction. None of which can be manufactured on my own or apart from Him. They are His gifts of relationship and are found only in Him. He is saying, “Come aside with Me for a while. You need to once again allow Me to nurture and strengthen you. You need to once again see My perspective of you and your life. I am here. Come to Me.”

Father, I need the reminders of You this morning. Settle my heart and redirect my thoughts until Your perfect peace over takes me. Amen.

The Voice of Hope - Lara Martin
http://youtube.com/watch?v=qbk1TGe5k0Q

Bonded for Life

Now, therefore, when I come to your servant my father, and the lad is not with us, since his life is bound up in the lad’s life….he will die. Genesis 44:30,31 (New American Standard Bible)

The past few days have found me reviewing the story of Joseph from Genesis 37-45. Each time I read it, God brings a different treasure to light. Today’s gem sparkled dramatically as my eyes landed on the phrase, “his life is bound up in the lad’s life.” What a beautiful description of a father/son relationship! For that word ‘bound’ has the same meaning as the word ‘knit’ we find in I Samuel 18:1 when “the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David.” Both words come from the Hebrew word Qashar and mean to bind, tie, bind together, bind fast, and bind to oneself. It is where we get the phrases, “close-knit family” and “soul mate.”

In the past, these biblical examples of extraordinary relationships would have been limited (in my thinking) to human interactions. It would have awakened in me the realization that an ache was present that no person was presently relieving. But today I couldn’t help but see that this is exactly the longing of God’s heart for each of us. Hosea’s words state it beautifully, “I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love.” When we become God’s child through faith in Christ, we are bound eternally to Him. His life is bound up in ours and His soul is knit to ours. For any who have longed for closeness and intimacy, this realization is profound!

Each of us was created with a need for love, acceptance, nurturing, and inclusion. What we derive from other people can be wonderful but it is a mere sampling of what God offers to us on an ongoing, personal level. And yet often, God has to first woo us to Himself and convince us that He can be trusted to be that personal and that close to us. It will be especially difficult if a person’s life has been filled with a lot of hurt, disappointment, and rejection, because the relationships we have had can be used by the enemy to distort our view of God.

God’s answer? Let Him show you what He is really like and the places in your life that need His touch. Each time you hand to Him what you have painfully carried, He graciously receives it and helps you to become the recipient of His love, compassion, acceptance, and closeness. He wants you to live out of His bond with you!

Father, each time You show me this aspect of Yourself and what our relationship is meant to be like, I am touched and amazed! May I grow in the knowledge of my soul-tie with You! Amen.

Seeking Him

Seek the LORD and His strength; seek His face continually. Psalm 105:4 (New American Standard Bible)

Someone once made the comment that I appear to be looking for something and haven’t quite found it yet. Their words struck me because they seemed to see this as a weakness. Yet, God assures me in His Word that seeking Him is not only a necessity but an invitation He extends to each of us. He knows our tendency to seek many things from many sources other than Himself and He longs for our searching to finally be directed toward Himself.

I found it interesting that there are two different Hebrew words used for “seek” in this verse. The first means to resort to and enquire of and the second means to desire to find. Both are necessary, for Jesus said to abide in Him, ask of Him, and love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind. He gave the ‘how to’ of today’s verse.

While God will not always show me what He is doing or why He is doing it, He longs to show me Himself. He longs for me to live each day with the realization of who He is and what His heart and character are like. I know what it is like to be passionate about knowing someone and being known by them. I know what it is like to want another person to affirm, accept, and welcome me. God invites me to bring that same passion to my seeking of Him. To pour my heart and life into knowing Him, being transparent before Him, and receiving His love and affection toward me. It is only as I do THAT kind of seeking that I will find myself anointed by His strength and might.

As I enter a new day (and a new year) my heart’s cry is that He would reveal Himself to me in more poignant ways. He does not limit the ways He will do that either. His Self revelations will come through His Word, music, other believers, books, nature, circumstances, solitude, and Spirit. He is an open book to any who would dare to look upon the pages of His heart. He doesn’t play a game of Hide and Seek with us, but rather seek and find! I rest and revel in that truth!

Father, I have often wearied myself with a searching heart. I now seek You and am assured I will find you and know You as I seek You with all my heart, soul, and mind. I love You and seek You with abandon. Amen.

Believing and Abiding in His Love

And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. I John 4:16 (New King James Version)

To know and believe God really loves us is to think it to be true, to be persuaded it is true, and to place confidence in its truth. Nearly four years ago, I came to understand that God’s love is not dependent on what I am doing. In other words, my actions and behavior are not the basis for His love. That had a profound effect upon me. It shook up my belief system and caused me to take a hard look at the many misperceptions I had about God and the Christian life. It birthed changes in me and broke through self imposed limits and walls. My “box” mentality gave way to spacious places in which I was free to move about and explore. It opened up honest dialogue between myself and God. Knowing that He required truth in the inward parts changed my prayer life. Secure in His love, I could begin to voice questions, doubts, and misgivings. True feelings and honest thoughts could now be shared with Him.

Taking in the truth of God’s love is one thing but God invites us to go further. He wants His love to become our place of abiding on a daily basis. To tarry in the knowledge and have it become our continual reference point. Come what may, it must be our plumb line that keeps us centered and focused on Him. Without it we drift and become victims of difficulties, rampant emotions, and tactics of an enemy who wants to devour and destroy us. Physical, financial, emotional, spiritual, or relational hardships must continue to be placed under the canopy of God’s love for us. We must anchor our souls to it, fix our minds on it, and live within the reality of it on a continual basis.

Easier said than done? Absolutely. But worth it! It is what strengthens me when I am weak, wounded, or weary. It is what renews my hope when I am floundering. It is what assures me of forgiveness and mercy when I have really blown it. It is what redirects my steps when I have wandered. Each time I crawl into the truth of His love and embrace it for myself, I am anointed with a security that no one else can give to me.

I am still learning and still growing but it is being done in the context of God’s love, heart, and thoughts toward me. Whether I am in valleys or on mountain tops the truth continues to set me free!

Father, thank you for a love that never changes, never walks away, and never diminishes. I open my arms and my heart to all You give to me. Amen.