This Christmas...

2nd Timothy chapters 3 and 4 truly speak my heart as a mom...Study the word, moms...preach and teach it...in season and out of season.   Speak the truth to your little ones and not so little ones in LOVE....Do not let them leave your home and go into the world as children who will be driven and tossed about like a wave is by the wind.

All Scripture is given to us by God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness.  

Jesus Christ is the Great I AM...the Becoming One.  He becomes for us and for our children when we believe, whatever we need.  Give them Jesus.  Give them a mom who abides in the vine.  Give them a mom who draws her life and her strength from Him.  Give them a mom whose love for her Savior deepens daily and whose joy and strength come from Him.  Spend time with your God,  moms...depend on Him moment by moment and then watch your precious children do the same.

Having obeyed the word of your God, you will look back on this time in your life with joy and will see that faith TRULY is the substance of things hoped for... the evidence of things not seen and by it the elders obtained a good testimony as will you.

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.---3 John 1:4

How to Handle Heartache and Sorrow...

We all will face sorrows here on this earth...the difference is we either face them with Him or without Him. As a believer God works all things together for your good.  As a believer you know that He uses our trials to make us more like Him.  With that said the following verse might seem like a strange verse to begin a devotional on handling sorrow but read on...

"Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ"...Galatians 6:2

Bearing one another's burdens is so beautiful to think on...the only way we can actually do it is in living a life surrendered to the Spirit of God.  There are so many verses in the Bible that speak to this but the bottom line for all of them is to put on the Lord Jesus Christ...put on Jesus...His nature and His character and then walk in His love. 

The more I live this life the more I see that the only solution is to fix our eyes on Christ and pour our lives out for others...just as He did.  Anything I am not sure how to handle in this life...all I need do is look to Him who lived the perfect life and yet was tempted in every way to see what to do.  What an example He gave us!! Jesus had no other agenda but His Father's in heaven.

I am struggling and have been struggling with deep abiding heartache and sorrow...the only answer is Christ.  How did He handle sorrow? He was a Man of Sorrow and acquainted with grief.  He bore my grief and sorrow on the cross. He poured out His life for me and for you. He was despised and rejected...and yet He was not overwhelmed in His sorrow as I often become.  In fact, in His greatest sorrow He poured Himself out for us in the greatest display of love mankind has ever seen! He suffered for us and died so that each one of us would have the opportunity to live forever with Him! So what is the difference between how I handle sorrow and how Jesus handled sorrow...I think it is pretty obvious...even in His sorrow Jesus' concern was for others. On the cross burdened with the sin and grief of all the world, His focus was for the thief beside Him, for His mom's well being, and for forgiving those who were crucifying Him. Seeing His example and KNOWING His love for me how can I wallow in my own sorrow.  In fact, He tells me to cast my burdens on Him because He cares for me...His word tells me that He has borne my sorrow and grief and that He is my strong tower and refuge.

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” --Matthew 11:28-30

Lord, give me Your strength even today to live for You despite my circumstances.  Help me to look to You and as I look to you change me and conform me into the image of Your Son.

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.--2nd Corinthians 3:18

Broken Cisterns

Often, I go through my day looking and hoping in wrong things.  My heart looks for fulfillment and joy where it will never be found.  As it says in Jeremiah, I hewn for myself cisterns...broken cisterns that can hold no water and I forget the fountain of living waters!   I wonder as David did in Psalm 42:

Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?

In my self-sufficiency, Father,  I am in distress...every hand of misery comes against me.  But, You, my God, because I am Your beloved...You bow down toward me and speak to my heart  You draw me to Yourself with gentle cords of love. You remind me to come...to cast all my care upon You because it is only in You that my soul finds its rest. 

So I bring you my heart and lay it bare before you.   Ahhh...then I remember where my help, my hope and my expectation are found....they are found only in You.  As I seek you, my heart is filled with what it has searched and longed for in the wrong places.  My soul is filled with your lovingkindness and your songs of deliverance surround me.  You, Father, care for my heart...You want my heart...You want all of me and desire only my good both temporally and eternally.  You, are my Savior, my Lord and my God...You are my all in all.  My eyes lift to You in earnest expectation.  In You, O God,  I will not be ashamed...Be magnified in my life.    

My expectation is from Him...

My soul waits silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.--Psalm 62:5

You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in Your word.--Psalm 119:114

My God will withhold from me no good thing...

The young lions lack and suffer hunger;
But those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing.--Psalm 34:10

For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
The Lord will give grace and glory;
No good thing will He withhold
From those who walk uprightly.--Psalm 84:11

My God is sufficient...

Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.--1 Corinthians 1:25

Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,--2nd Corinthians 3:5

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.--2 Corinthians 9:8

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.--2 Corinthians 12:9

Crushing the Critics by Doing Good...

For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men—--1 Peter 2:15

To My Beloved Daughters in Him:

THIS. IS. A VERY INSTRUCTIVE VERSE.  This one has kept me from sin and wrong speaking more times than I can count.  Girls, our single greatest evangelistic tool is how we live our lives.  So often people will speak ignorantly and foolishly...they will judge wrongly.  A foolish man in the bible is one who is disobedient to the word of God...He is a non believer. He is willfully ignorant of God's truth, but attacks it anyway.  We are to silence them not by what we say  but by doing what is good and what is right.  We are to do as it says in verse 12 of this same chapter...We are to have our conduct honorable among the Gentiles so that when they speak against us as evil doers, they may, by our good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

Wow...crush the critics not by words but by doing right. Give your enemies no foothold...walk blamelessly before your God in uprightness of heart. It secures you in His will and stops the mouths of the lying and the foolish.  Don't fret..it only gives them power and causes you harm.  Keep your upright course.  Let your light so shine before men that they will see your good works and glorify for your Father in Heaven.  

Here is something you probably already know...this is not easy.  It is not easy to have your good called evil...to have your words twisted and your deeds maligned.  No one likes to be hated without a cause but therein is the encouragement.  Our Jesus was despised and rejected...His words were twisted and His deeds maligned.  Look to Jesus then for your example.  See how he reacted...

For this is commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully. For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps:

“Who committed no sin,
Nor was deceit found in His mouth”;

who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Christ suffered that we might live.  Shine your light so others might live.  There are no true offenses against you...they are against God.  Your life is not about you..it is about glorifying Him in and through it all so that you can lead others to Christ.  The key verse for me from this section of 1 Peter 2 especially when going through this kind of trial is this one:

 "but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously" 

I am never to look to and desire the praises of men...I am to desire the praises of my God.  I am not to get entangled in foolish disputes in an attempt to clear my name. They take the focus off of God and place it on me...so instead of seeing Christ in me others just see me.  They keep the focus on earthly things rather than heavenly things and distract from the task at hand.  I am to commit myself then...all of me...to Him.  I am to surrender to what He has for me.  It is not my job to worry about my critics. It is His.  My job is to do good and keep my conduct honorable.  

These verses above from 1 Peter 2 and the ones below from Psalm 37 are gold to be treasured and obeyed.  As you follow your Lord's example, He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noon day and you will delight yourself in an abundance of peace.  

Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him,
And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off;
But those who wait on the Lord,
They shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
But it shall be no more.
But the meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in abundance of peace

"Raphaph"

Be Still...

Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth!--Psalm 46:10

God's sovereignty over the affairs of men…Be still or in Hebrew "raphaph" is such a good reminder for me when I am in the midst of the seemingly endless fleshly battle that I fight entitled  "What I 
Want That I Am Not Getting"  The word "STILL" OR "RAPHAH"  means TO SINK, RELAX, LET DROP, BE DISHEARTENED, DESIST FROM YOUR WAR….

I questioned disheartened till I thought about it a little more…Biblically the heart is the seat of the will…so take the "heart" or your passionate desire to get what you want…disarm yourself of self...and remember that He is God…He is sovereign…cast all your cares upon Him because He cares for You….Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

My Jesus...

My Jesus gentle, humble, meek and full of compassion…
My Jesus, who condescended to come in to this world as one of His creatures.  
My Jesus who willingly gave His life so that I could live forever in Heaven with Him.  
My Jesus, my strong Deliverer. 
My Jesus, my Rock, my Stay and my Support….
My Jesus, the One whose way is perfect and who makes perfect all that concerns me…
My Jesus, the One who performs all things for me.  

My Jesus is FULL OF COMPASSION…

My Jesus condescends…He bends low…He stoops…He heals the brokenhearted…He makes the crooked places straight and He makes a way in the desert.  

A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;--Isaiah 42:3

He will feed His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs with His arm,
And carry them in His bosom,
And gently lead those who are with young.--Isaiah 40:11

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”--Matthew 11:28-30

Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.--Isaiah 53:4

I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord
And the praises of the Lord,
According to all that the Lord has bestowed on us,
And the great goodness toward the house of Israel,
Which He has bestowed on them according to His mercies,
According to the multitude of His lovingkindnesses.
8 For He said, “Surely they are My people,
Children who will not lie.”
So He became their Savior.
9 In all their affliction He was afflicted,
And the Angel of His Presence saved them;
In His love and in His pity He redeemed them;
And He bore them and carried them
All the days of old.--Isaiah 63:7-9

But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.--Matthew 9:36

And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.--Matthew 14:14

And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.  When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.--Luke 7:12-15

When Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him and fell at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, "Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. ( John 11:32-35)

For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.--Matthew 18:11-13

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!--Matthew 23:37

When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”--Luke 7:13

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,  saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. --Luke 19:41-42

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.--2 Corinthians 8:9

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.--Hebrews 4:15-16