In Christ - I am able to sleep without fear

I am able to sleep without fear...

Psalms 3:5 I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the LORD sustains me. 

Psalms 4:8 I will lie down and sleep in peace, for You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety. 

From Daily Guideposts, 2009, June 18 –

“I flicked on my flashlight and looked at the clock; it was only midnight.  I plumped my pillow.  My mind was spinning out of control with ‘what ifs.’ Earlier that day my mare had given birth to Wind Dancer, a gangly-legged, floppy-eared red mule – my dream mule.  The owners of the guest ranch where I worked had let me electric-fence a separate pasture away from their huge herd.  It was the safest – and only – option available.  But I knew the dangers of newborn colts and electric fences.

“I rolled on my back, my eyes open wide. What if Wind Dancer gets tangled up in the wire with the current shocking her?  What if a deer runs through the fence and knocks it down and Wind Dancer escapes?  Maybe I should check on them.  As I sat up in bed, my German shepherd groaned loudly, as if to say, ‘Ahem, I’m trying to sleep.’

“’Exactly, Tess, I’m trying to sleep too.’  Or was I?  I had created a drama of ‘what ifs,’ and nothing had happened – everything was fine. 

“There was one thing I hadn’t done.  Lord, I’m worried about this electric fence, but there isn’t anything else I can do. Please guard and protect them.  Immediately God’s peace flooded my spirit, and within minutes I fell asleep.

“The next day I watched Wind Dancer zipping around the pasture.  As soon as she approached the electric fence, her mom blocked her way.  I pulled up my green plastic lawn chair and watched.  Every time that red mule neared the fence, the mare herded her away.

“I guess I’ll never know if God gave the mare wisdom or if it was conditioning or instinct or His angels, but I did learn that when I gave my dramatized ‘what ifs’ to God, I could finally sleep.”

Rebecca Ondov

What are you stressing about today?  Is something keeping you awake at night?  I have a long list at the moment – moving into a new home – finding carpet that I can afford – packing up everything and getting the town house ready to rent – will I be able to make both payments? – our Banquet is tomorrow night and we’re madly dashing about trying to get ready – the list goes on and on.  I know I have to put my head on the pillow tonight and trust God to work it all out – in His way and in His time.  And ready or not the Banquet will happen – I will get moved – and life will settle back down.  One day at a time – sometimes one moment at a time – trusting God to walk with me through all of life’s challenges!

__________________________

Sharon Pearce, Director

Silent Voices International

In Christ - I am blessed

I am blessed...

Deuteronomy 28:2-14 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God:  The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock--the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.  Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.  The LORD will grant that the enemies who rise up against you will be defeated before you. They will come at you from one direction but flee from you in seven. The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. The LORD your God will bless you in the land He is giving you. The LORD will establish you as His holy people, as He promised you on oath, if you keep the commands of the LORD your God and walk in His ways.  Then all the peoples on earth will see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they will fear you. The LORD will grant you abundant prosperity--in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your ground--in the land He swore to your forefathers to give you. The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.  The LORD will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the LORD your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.  Do not turn aside from any of the commands I give you today, to the right or to the left, following other gods and serving them.

Psalms 1:1-3 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. 

Psalms 65:4 Blessed are those You choose and bring near to live in Your courts! We are filled with the good things of Your house, of Your holy temple. 

Ephesians 1:3  Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

 KPRZ – Encouragement for Today/May 12, 2011/Lysa TerKeurst

"Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4 (NIV)

Devotion:

I am a magnet for strange.

Seriously.

Recently I was outside with my three dogs soaking up the sunshine. After being in snowy Pennsylvania the weekend before, I needed the warmth of the Carolinas to soak deeply into my bones. Southern girls don't do snow in the spring.

Anyhow, back to the sunshine and dogs. We got a new puppy named "Willow" for Christmas. Well, our other dogs Champ and Chelsea aren't sure what to think of precious, little three-pound, Willow.

She annoys them. In every way.

I thought it would be a good investment for the dog relations in our home if I spent time with them outside to help them all feel the love. So, I sat on the ground and loved on each dog.
They enveloped me in a flurry of wet kisses, fur, and stinky dog breath. I was having a ball. And they were all getting along. Bliss.

Until...Willow came and sat on my lap. Claiming the prized location of closeness with me, I don't think she realized the signal she was sending. Champ suddenly backed up and growled. His tail stopped wagging. And he was not happy.

"Oh Champ," I reassured him, "Willow is a baby. Be nice."

More growling.

"No sir! Champ, be nice. Come here. I can love on you while Willow sits in my lap," I reassured him once again, while rubbing behind his ears.

He seemed to be happy again, and licked my cheek.

More bliss.

But then, out of the blue, he walked beside me, looked straight at Willow, lifted his leg, and drenched me in tee-tee!

What in the world!? I couldn't believe what was happening.

After recovering from my shock and changing my clothes, I Googled it.

Some say Champ was marking his territory. "That's MY mama!"

His strong expression of "MINE" was a stark reminder to me of just how disgusting a heart bent on self can be. Champ couldn't enjoy all he was experiencing in the moment, because he was so laser focused on the one way he felt slighted.

SELFishness! ME! MINE! MINE! MINE!

Several years ago, God challenged me to recognize and refute selfishness by seeing — really seeing all that I've been given. And never looking at a blessing I was given as something just for me. I always make myself think two things...

1. Thank You God for entrusting this blessing to me. I know it is a gift from You.

2. How can I use this as an opportunity to bless someone else? The blessing will be more rewarding if it's not all about me.

Do these things come naturally? Not at first. Not in a 'me first,' Mine! Mine! Tee-tee on others kind of world.

But we aren't called to live according to the norm, doing what comes naturally.

We are called to rise above. Be set apart. Be different. Be pure in every way. "Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure" (1 John 3:3).

What blessing do you have that might need to be shared today? What blessing do I have that might need to be shared today?

Right in the midst of what we're doing today, how can we graciously and purely represent Christ as we RE-present Him everywhere we go?

Good stuff to ponder as I washed my smelly outfit that day.

Dear Lord, thank You for every good and perfect gift You have given me. Help me to put others before me and to have a heart to see them as You do. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

If you have pets, you know how they can teach us SO much about our own behavior and attitudes!  My cats are always teaching me something – it cracks me up when they do something and I can totally see how it applies to my life!  I’ve never had one “tee-tee” on me – but I’ve had them “tee-tee” other places to let me know how unhappy they are.  Learning to share doesn’t come easily to animals – nor to us humans.  When we have something that we really enjoy, it’s hard to graciously give it to someone else. That’s not the case in every culture – I’ve been in homes in Romania, Russia, Zambia and India where you really have to be careful about how much you admire something, because they’ll just GIVE it to you.  It’s humbling – I can’t think of the last time I’ve done that!  God has blessed us with SO much – and we need to see everything He’s given us as a gift to be shared.  Our blessings aren’t  just for us – they’re for all those people we rub up against every day.  Take a look around you and see who God might want to bless through you today – and then do it!  Sharon

In Christ - I am forgiven!

I am forgiven...

II Samuel 12:13  Then David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against the LORD." Nathan replied, "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die."

Hebrews 9:11-15 But Christ came as our High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption .  For if the blood of bulls and goats and ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more, then, will the blood of Christ, Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!   And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.

Colossians 1:14 In Whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 

I John 2:12 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. 

I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

Caution: Mind at Work

Luann Prater

"'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'" John 8:11 (NIV)

"’Hey!  I want a do-over!’ she screamed. The sun was clearly blinding her as she struck the volleyball with her fist to serve.  She didn't see the serve fly straight into the hands of the opposing team. It was interesting to watch the reaction of her teammates. Some agreed to offer her grace, others muttered, ‘Tough stuff! Too bad!’ Middle school volleyball resembles a story that Jesus lived.

“In the middle of an ordinary teaching day Jesus shared a revealing truth about our Savior.  The Pharisees interrupted His lesson by dragging in front of the crowd a woman who had been caught in adultery.

“This woman had obvious, visible sin in her life.  She was caught red-handed.  It was easy for the lawgivers to snatch this life and display it before the crowd.  They had their motives for bursting onto the scene, but Jesus flipped their intentions upside down.

“When these puffed up leaders asked Jesus if this woman should be stoned, ‘Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger’ (vs. 6b, NIV).

“Did you catch His reaction to the confrontation? Silence. His mind was at work, but His mouth was not.  We learn from scripture that Jesus asked His Father in heaven about every decision before moving forward. Why would this situation be any different?

“We've probably all heard that pausing to count to ten before getting angry can diffuse an argument, but I want to park here a minute to see what Jesus did.

 “Jesus' agenda had just been altered by a bunch of self-righteous leaders. He was preparing to teach truth, and now He had the opportunity to live it. Instead of a quick response He hit the pause button while the Pharisees continued the barrage. Jesus was in no rush to respond.

 “As He bent down, I imagine Him offering up prayers. He saw that broken woman, He heard that accusing crowd, and yet His focus was on truth. The verse tells us He didn't just stand up, He straightened up. Jesus knew about body language before it was hip to study it. The power of this visual communication meant that He was about to say something that would pierce their hearts.

 “Many scholars have guessed Jesus was writing on the ground all of the sins of each of the accusers there.  His words, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her" (vs. 7, NIV), must have been the first glimpse of light this woman had seen in a long time.  Finally, someone saw value in her beyond the bedroom.

 “Can you imagine the flood of emotions filling her at that moment? She witnessed hope in the middle of her circumstance. Jesus then straightened up to speak to her.  He declared that He did not condemn her but she must leave her life of sin. She was given a do-over!

 “Have you ever wished for a do-over in life? I have. I've been that woman who had no hope. I'm a witness: Jesus is the master of second chances. Throughout the Bible He not only raised the physically dead, He resurrected the spiritually and emotionally dead as well. 

“Romans 3:10 tells us, ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’ (NIV). Jesus wants you to see that you are not alone. If you look around and think that everyone else has it all together, this story is for you.  No one is righteous, not even one!  Everyone has their sins, some are just more visible than others.  But Jesus knows your heart.  He knows your struggles.  He sees what plagues your life.

 “Where are you in this story?  Are you the adulterous woman looking for hope?  Are you the leader looking to condemn?  Are you part of the crowd standing silently in the background?  There was only One in this story without sin and He offered grace.

 “Jesus gave us the perfect example of how to live the truth.  Quietly seek the Father's guidance. Think before we speak. Then straighten up and live redeemed.

 “He has come to give you a second chance; a do-over. Will you listen to His voice?”

I hope you’ll listen – and that you’ll accept His gift of grace if you’re the adulterous woman looking for hope.  I hope you’ll repent if you’re the leader looking to condemn.  And I really hope you’ll choose to stand up and speak out if you’re part of the crowd standing silently in the background. Jesus’ message was for all of them – and all of us.  Can we remain overwhelmed by our sin if we really listen to His words of forgiveness and compassion?  Sure – it might be difficult to believe – but Jesus is the Son of God – GOD – speaking these words – and His word can be trusted – always.  Can we remain blinded to our own sin when confronted with the truth of Jesus – that everyone is a sinner – that we all need the same forgiveness He was offering this woman?  Can we stand silently by while others judge – and would even kill – someone caught “in the very act” of sin?  Jesus’s words should change us – restore us – transform us – empower us – to live for Him – speak for Him – and to rest in His amazing grace!  Sharon