Thursday's Thought

I am a soldier in the army of my God. The Lord Jesus Christ is my commanding officer. The Holy Bible is my code of conduct. Faith, prayer, and the Word are my weapons of warfare. I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire. I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity. I will either retire in this army at the Rapture or die in this army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out, or pushed out. I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable.

If my God needs me, I am there. If He needs

me in the Sunday school, to teach the children, work with the youth, help adults or just sit and learn, He can use me because I am there! I am a soldier. I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or pepped up. I am a soldier. No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me, or lure me. I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name, and building His kingdom! No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards, candy or give me handouts. I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to. I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around. I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside. I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit. When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win.

My God has and will continue to supply all of my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ. Devils cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money

cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me. I am a soldier. Even death cannot destroy me. For when my commander calls me from this battlefield, He will promote me to Captain and then allow me to rule with Him. I am a soldier in the army, and I'm marching claiming victory. I will not give up. I will not turn around. I am a soldier, marching heaven bound. Here I stand!

Will you stand with me?

Guess what? If you've accepted Jesus Christ as yor Savior you're already enlisted! Question is, which part of the service are you in:

1. Active Duty: Serving the Lord faithfully, daily, and on duty 24-7?

2. Reserve status: Serving only when called upon or twice a year, Christmas and Easter?

3. Guard status: Backing up the Active Duty group? or

4. AWOL! Absent without the Lord?

THINK ABOUT IT!!!

Friday's Feature

Philippians 4:8-9

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. ⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

This passage of scripture tells us where to focus our minds so that we can experience the peace of God. But so often we let things slip into our lives and into our way of thinking that cover it. It matters what we let go on in our heart—and in our head. Choosing to dwell on sinful, rebellious, worrisome, fearful, bitter, dark thoughts will bring the opposite of peace. According to the Philippians passage, thinking on things that are true, pure, right, holy, friendly, proper, worthwhile and worthy of praise—that’s what will bring an “ah, peace” into our lives.

I love The Message translation ... check it out...

^8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

Another of the many reasons we tend to let our thoughts scatter is that we are so busy, busy, busy. Sometimes our lack of peace is a self-inflicted. The truth is, we have just enough time, energy, sanity—everything we need—to do everything God has called us to do. And if we have more than we can do without feeling like we’re going nuts, guess who’s added to the to-do list. We have!

But it’s also true that soul-peace has nothing to do with the calendar. You can be in the middle of a ridiculously stressful time and still experience the peace of God in the most profound way. It’s not about what’s on the calendar, or even about the struggles we’re facing. It’s all about where Jesus is in our lives. He is the source of peace. He is our peace.

It’s not just knowing about the peace of God. The passage in Philippians says when we dwell on those good things, “the God of peace will be with you.” WITH you! So it’s not trying to muster up peace, good thoughts, good deeds on our own. No, it’s resting in His presence.

Thursday's Thought

Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? Ecclesiastes 7:13

God often seems to place His children in places of deep difficulty. Leading them into a corner from which there is no escape. He creates situations that human judgment, even if consulted, would never allow. Yet the cloudiness of the circumstance itself is used by Him to guide us to the other side. Perhaps this is where you find yourself even now.

Your situation is filled with uncertainty and is very serious but it is perfectly right. The reason behind it will more than justify Him who brought you here, for it is a platform from which God will display His almighty grace and power. He not only will deliver you but in doing so will impart a lesson that you will never forget. And in days to come, you will return to the truth of it through singing. You will be unable to ever thank God enough for doing exactly what He has done.

From Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman, Edited by James Reimann

I wanted to share this devotional with you today because It so encouraged me and was just what I needed to read today. I figured It might be just the thing for you too. We need to dig deep in our spirit man, take courage and continue to trust God. He knows all about every one of us, our shortcomings, failures and strengths ... AND He has the perfect plan already in place for you and for me.

Remember, where you find yourself today is exactly the right place even though you don't understand it! God has you there for a reason. Trust Him! He loves you more than you can begin to grasp!

Wednesday's Word

Psalm 23:1 (NIV)

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Stress is a familiar and faithful companion. It doesn't matter where life takes us, we will encounter stress. And unless we learn to manage and deal with that stress - God's way - we will find ourselves trapped and an easy target for the enemy.

I was recently reminded of the story of the farmer who frequently advertised for hired hands for his large farm. Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic because of terrible storms known to be frequent in the area. As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals. Finally, a short thin middle-aged man applied for the job. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked. "Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man. Although puzzled by this answer, the desperate farmer hired him.

The farmer was delighted with the man's consistent hard work. Then one night, the howling wind blew in from offshore, signaling the approach of a monstrous storm. Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rused to the hired hand's bunk house. "Get up! A storm is coming!" he yelled. The man rolled over and firmly responded, "No sir, I told you, I can sleep win the wind blows." The farmer was furious and was tempted to fire him on the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm only to discover that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarps. The cows were in the barn, the chickens were in their coops, the doors were barred and the shutters were tightly secured. Nothing could blow away. The farmer understood what his hired hand had meant. He, too, returned to his bed to "sleep while the wind blew."

Spiritual discipline that begins with diligent preparation in all areas of our lives is the best stress management I know of! We have to be diligent in being ready for the storms in all areas - mental, emotional, physical and spiritual.

Truly, Jesus, is our best example of stress management for He, too, slept while the wind blew. You remember that story, I'm sure. It's found in Matthew 8. The disciples were in a panic because they were in the middle of the lake when a huge storm came up, but Jesus was sleeping! He was resting easy!

Admittedly, I am often terrible at this "sleeping while the wind blows" thing. I often walk a thin line between being productive and having my life spiral out of control. I have repeatedly tried to defy my God-given need for rest, thinking that I'm somehow "above and beyond" both the exhaustion and its consequences. Stress screams at me, "Get busy! You have so much to do!" Stress dances like the devil with a blue dress on as I keep on "doing" instead of "being". I've realized that when I'm tired, it's much harder to handle stress. Just as ninety percent of income goes farther when we tithe ten percent, so does our energy when we tithe it in rest.

Hmmm, I surprised you with that little sentence about tithing, didn't I?! There's a whole sermon in that part of this writing, but I'll save it for another day. I do want you to ponder that, though ... do you tithe in all areas? What about your time each day?

Tuesday's Tab

If you're anything like me, you don't like to wait. If you've known me very long you know that I am by nature very impatient. Sometimes I forge ahead, repressing all the warning signs that this may not be the best path for me. When we do that - go forward without God's direction, it usually does NOT bring us happiness and joy, but more often it brings emptiness and longing for more. Through doing it in our own strength we have put our desires above God's plan, and we all know that's not a good thing to do. God has a plan, and His plans and His reasons are beyond our understanding. Our part in the plan is simply to trust and obey. (Isa 55:8-9)



The enemy will do anything and everything he can to keep our faith from growing. He wants us weak and susceptible to attack. As we grow and mature in Christ, the protective wall of faith guarding our heart grows taller, thicker and more resistant to attack. The lack of trust and reliance on God not only makes us more susceptible to the enemy's attack, but it simply keeps us from growing and maturing in God.



We can't just go off and do it "my way" and expect God to come along and "fix" everything that we mess up in the process. Look at James 4:13-16 [NIV] ...



Now listen, you who say "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money. Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say 'if it is the Lord's will we will live and do this or do that.' As it is you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil."

Oh, I know we SAY we trust God, but when it comes down to an emotional situation, will we turn to God and trust Him, or will we try to control the situation ourselves. Yes, I know it sounds easy -- just trust God -- but when you have trusted yourself for so long it is sometimes hard to break that cycle of self-assurance. Maybe when you hurt you go shopping, work more hours or retreat to your favorite "safe" place. All of these actions are fleshly outlets for your pain and self reliance, and they are distractions from truly facing God's plan. God's plan is greater than the pain you are currently experiencing. Things and people will ALWAYS eventually fail us, but God will never leave us (Deut 31:8). Joy is found when we trust in and are obedient to God's plan for our life - even when it's in the middle of the storm. Joy comes from trusting an unknown future to our all-knowing God.

God wants us to put aside everything that keeps me from hearing His voice. When I'm in the middle of emotional turmoil this is really hard for me to do. I tend to try to distract myself with things or other people instead of being still and listening for Him to direct me. God wants our intimacy with Him, and in this place of intimacy we will learn to trust Him and lean on Him ... regardless of the situation. Just remember, intimacy with Him doesn't necessarily happen quickly. Learning to trust doesn't happen in the snap of a finger. It's not a microwaveable situation! Remember Job ... through his perseverance we know what God worked for Him.

Don't be impatient with God. Let Him work His plan in and through you. Let Him be God all by Himself. He's God ... and we're not.

Monday's Meditation

Zephaniah 3:17
The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Have you ever been so delighted you just broke out in a song? Maybe you even found yourself skipping a little - okay, so maybe you didn't skip but you definitely had a spring in your step!! Can you imagine God breaking out in a song because He's so delighted with you? You can't? Really! Look at the verse above again. He does! He takes such delight in you that He sings! Wow!

I'm sure His song is powerful and strong, yet unimaginably beautiful, pure and sweet. And He is singing that song over you! You ask again, "why?" Because He delights in you - because He loves you - because He's thrilled that you and He have a relationship. Aw come on, remember when you first fell in love with your spouse. Remember how thrilled you were to have him/her in your life. Remember how delighted you were - how in love you were - how all the songs on the radio seemed to fit the two of you! Now imagine God feeling that way about you! He does. He really does. You make His heart sing with joy!

Oh, I get it - you think there are things in your life - past and maybe even present - that would keep Him from delighting in you. No, my sweet friend - NOTHING can come between you and His love for you. All you need do is grasp the fact that everything you need to delight Him is already in you. His mercy, grace, love and presence are already yours!

Wow! Isn't He amazing!! Now keep this in mind as you go through your day today and just think ... God is so delighted with you that He's singing over you today!

Thursday's Thoughts

1 Thes 5:18 NLT

No matter what happens, always be thankful, for this is God's will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.



I read recently that there is a fruit called the "taste berry" in Africa. This amazing fruit actually alters your taste buds to the point that everything you eat after the taste berry seems good and sweet. Wow! I can think of several places I've eaten on the mission field where I could have used that!

Think about this...
Gratitude is the "taste berry" of our Christian life. It produces contentment and a sweetness in life that flows from a grateful heart. Gratitude is not a feeling but a choice of our will, and it leaves very little room for discouragement and discontent.

One of the greatest enemies we have as believers is a lack of contentment which is usually the result of discouragement. We fall into the trap of relying on our circumstances for satisfaction. The reality is that there is NO source of contentment in this bankrupt world. Contentment is an inside job!

I love to study Paul and his life. He so seems to mirror so many of us. He had every right to be angry with God. He had been faithful. He lived a life of sacrifice and persecution for Christ's sake. Yet, the undertone of gratitude in Philippians chapter 4 is evident. It is an attitude that Paul intentionally chose to have. Did you know the word 'content' means 'contained'? Paul trained himself to focus on inner resources for contentment rather than his circumstances. And those inner resources were being replenished continually as he constantly depended on God and grew stronger in faith. He CHOSE to be grateful, to praise God - no matter what! Paul knew he could trust God and count on Him to come through for him.

We need to let this life-changing truth sink in to our little finite brains, get it in our gut - that there is a money-back guarantee on every single promise of God! There is no guarantee like the guarantee of God!

Gratitude also produces perseverance and strength! Did you ever consider this ... God trusts us with the trials, and it gives us the opportunity to choose gratitude! With our trials He 'grows' us. Wow! I should be about 100 feet tall by now, how about you? I've caught myself repeating the little catch phrase "I know God promised to never give me more than I can handle, but sometimes I wish He didn't trust me so much."

When trials come and life seems hard, we cry out for God to deliver us from the problem but many times His plan is to deliver us in the problem! O yeah, it's easy to practice gratitude when everything's going great, the sun is shining and our nets are full of fish! The real test of gratitude is in the middle of the greatest storms when the darkness rolls in and hurricaine force winds begin to wreak havoc!

Trust grows from making the choice to practice gratitude - even in the storms, and it thrives in the heart of acceptance. God is still in control! He's still God all by Himself! His ways are not our ways. We can't always understand His process, but we can always trust Him.

Wednesday's Word

As for God, his way is perfect... Psalm 18:30 NIV


I'm one of those people who likes to do it MY WAY...and when that doesn't hapen I'm not a happy camper. How about you? But how do you react when you can't do it YOUR way? Do you pout? Do you lay down on the floor and kick and scream - do the temper tantrum thing? Or maybe you just jump up and down on the inside---where nobody sees. You just know you are right. You want your own way, and whatever works - you'll do. Frank Sinatra sings in the background, "I've done it my way," as you hum along and have it YOUR way!

Well, get out the CD player-here's a new song for you (and me) to hum. "I'll do it HIS way!" Can we hum to that one? It's really difficult sometimes, but He's there to help us and I promise it'll all turn out better if we do it His way instead of OUR way. When things don't go YOUR way, try going HIS way, and you will go in peace with the approval of your Lord.

Tuesday's Tab

Psalm 136 - His mercies endure forever!

I know His mercy endures forever, even on days when it seems I'm alone, no one understands, and it feels like God has turned off His hearing aid, put His cell phone on mute and blocked my number from coming through! I'm choosing to recall His enduring mercies, even when I don't feel like it. Expressing my gratitude doesn't minimize my tough situtions. Neither does it discount that life can be difficult with physical, emotional, mental and financial challenges. Instead as I practice recalling His mercies, I find myself overflowing with His daily benefits - all by choosing to live with a grateful heart. I'm not alone because I see God's persistent mercy in my friends, co-laborers and family who live with chronic conditions and lingering pain.

To Him who cradles me in His arms through my pain filled nights
His mercy endures forever
And wakes me up every morning
His mercy endures forever.
To Him who protects me through my potassium crashes
His mercy endures forever.
And lifts my head from my self-condemning shame
His mercy endures forever.
To Him who sends me my GIGs with messages of encouragement
His mercy endures forever.
And lifts my spirit through His messengers of love
His mercy endures forever.
To Him who entertains me with my little Buddy's shenanigans
His mercy endures forever.
And delights me with little things throughout the day
His mercy endures forever.
To Him who gives me strength to work through the pain to fix meals for my family
His mercy endures forever.
And helps me to come together with believers of like faith at church
His mercy endures forever.
To Him who daily collects every single tear that I shed
His mercy endures forever.
And teaches me to be long suffering with those who irritate me - including myself
His mercy endures forever.
To Him who has slowed me down from the busyness of life
His mercy endures forever.
And paces me for living only in the present
His mercy endures forever.

O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good (all the time)
AND
His mercy endures forever!

Tuesday

Monday's Muse

Hebrews 11:1 NIV
Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

Ever wish you could strengthen your faith; that you had more faith; that you could get rid of all your unbelief? Here are some ideas to help you do just that!

• Be consistent in your Bible reading - Remember the Chinese saying that there is a good dog and a bad dog fighting in each of us. The one that wins is the one we feed the most! We weaken our doubt by strengthening our faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. (Rom 10:17)
• Always turn to God with your unbelief - Mark 9:14-29 tells the story of a man who did just that when he brought his demon-possessed son to Jesus. He cried out, "Lord I believe, help my unbelief." Jesus didn't reprimand him for his unbelief. Instead He healed his son!
• Focus on God. Magnify Him - not your problems. (Psalm 34:6) We need to be aware of what God promises and what He doesn't. He doesn't promise to remove our mountains for us, but He does promise to help us make the climb AND make it with us. We have to consistently and persistently make the choice to focus on Him - not our situations.
• Fellowship with faith-builders. Stay away from the doubters in your life. We struggle enough with doubt on our own. Don't fraternize with the nay-sayers and doubters. Just as joy is contagious - so is doubt!! Instead keep company with those who encourage you and build your faith! (Ecc 4:12)

O Magnify the Lord with me. Let us exalt His name together. (Psalm 34:3)

Friday's Feature

My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. Psalm 119:28

Do you ever feel just plain weary? Weary - beyond tired, beyond exhausted, beyond impatient, beyond strained and stressed - just weary?? I do! And it's in those times that we feel most vulnerable to the attack of the enemy. It's in those times that we wonder, "O God, are you really with me? Where are you? I need some assurance that you will deliver me from this." We become like the children of Israel and lose sight of all that God has brought us through. We forget that He has promised to be with us even unto the end.

I'm so grateful God knows what we're feeling and what we need at all times. His Word is food for my hungry soul and rest for my weary motherboard! And I'm thankful that He does NOT grow weary, but He is our source for strength, for peace, for everything that we want and/or need.

I'm reminded of Isaiah 40:27-29 ... (NLT)
O Jacob how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.

As His children we have full access to His throne, and He is faithful to make a way for us.