Obedience, Our Outward Expression Of Love For God

Obedience is our outward expression of our love to God, it displays our love relationship with Him. He identifies our love for Him by our obedience. Yes, it's by grace (unmerited favor) and through faith that we are saved, but faith requires obedience in action ~ without faith, there is no life. Without faith it's impossible to please God. If we love Him, through obedience (faith in action) then He seals us with His Spirit, forever ~ the Spirit of Truth. We are His, His Spirit lives in us!

John 15:14-21 says,
"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever ~ the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love Him and show myself to him."

Jesus says that those who obey His commands are the ones that love Him. He says that those who love Him, the Father will, also, love and God rewards our obedience by showing Himself to us.

How can we know we have come to know Him?

1 John 2:3-6 says,
"We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, 'I know Him, ' but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did."

Obedience, to God's Word, walking as Jesus did, is the outward expression of our love for God, it displays our love relationship with Him. The lack of obedience is a love issue!

When we come to that moment of truth, that point of decision of whether to obey God or not, it will show what we truly believe about God. We will not obey unless we believe Him and trust Him and we won't believe and trust Him unless we love Him, which requires recognizing the depth of His love for us and we cannot recognize His love for us and love Him unless we first know Him.

God's commands give us a new knowledge and understanding of Him and His character as He draws us and reveals Himself to us. As we come to know His Word, His commands, we come to know Him, more intimately. As we come to know Him and love Him, we will obey Him and come to know Him by experience; if we do not obey Him, it indicates that we do not know Him.

Jeremiah 7:23 says,
"Obey me, (our part) and I will be your God and you will be My people. (His part) Walk in all the ways I command you, (our part) that it may go well with you." (His part)

Deuteronomy 28:1,8 says,
"If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow His commands I give you today, (our part) the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth~ The Lord will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to."(His part)

Deuteronomy 28:15, 20 says,
"If you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all His commands and decrees I am giving you today ~ The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking Him."

Obedience is the difference in success and ruin!

Luke 6:46-49 says,
"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears My words and puts them into practice. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete."

Obedience is important! It's our love language to the Lord! It's the difference in rock or sand! Is your house built on a firm foundation, are you saved by grace through faith (obedience in action) or is your house built on sand, you do not hear God's words and do not put them into practice!

Faith without action is dead. Faith requires the action of believing God to the point of obedience. Without faith it's impossible to please God!  Obedience expresses our love for God and displays our love relationship with Him to others. Others see God in our obedience. As we follow Him we experience Him working in us and through us in many ways. To follow God requires the total surrender of the will. May God bless you as you seek Him, may you find Him and understand the depth of His love for you, then you will obey Him fully!

In Matthew 12:50 Jesus said,

"For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

We have to know His will to do His will and those that do His will become His family! 

To Go With God Requires Sacrifice and Change

As believer's we all look forward to God speaking and giving us the big assignment. The problem is that when God speaks and gives us an assignment it always requires big changes! We, often, don't want to move out of our comfort zone, but to follow God we can't stay where we are.

Since a God assignment is always only what God can do, it will look too big, as we look at our ability and resources, but if we choose to believe God will do what He says He will do, in us and through us, we will respond in faith. We will have to make big adjustments to follow Him in obedience.

When Jim and I felt God was calling us to return to Homer, Alaska to help plant a church, first we had to believe it was God speaking to us and that He would do what He said He would do, to respond in faith. We, also, had to believe God could use us to be apart of what He was planning to do. We had no experience, but only God's call. It was big deal! We would have to leave family and friends behind, move 4,933 miles away from where we were. We would have to believe God would provide for us to make the move, as well as provide housing and jobs. There were alot of adjustments to make. He told us where we were going, but we had to trust Him to provide housing and jobs when we got there.

We felt led to pay off all our bills before going and to have a moving sale to down size. By making these adjustments, we were putting faith in action. We were believing and acting on that belief that we had heard God speak and that He would use us to be apart of what He was planning to do. We always want to move from the hearing of the assignment to doing it, but there are always adjustments to make and God always brings the character up to the assignment.

Abraham had to make huge adjustments in what he was doing to follow God. He was living in Ur and would have to leave all his goals and dreams he had there behind. He had to leave family and friends, huge sacrifices were made to do God's will. There was much he had to do before, actually, setting out for the place God said He'd show him. He would have to decide what to do with what he was leaving behind and prepare for travel that which he was taking with him. Adjustments take time!

Unlike us, Abraham didn't know where he was going! Ever set out to go somewhere, but didn't know where you were going? This wasn't a surprise birthday party, "Cover your eyes, we're going for a short ride, open your eyes!" This was leaving for life, and moving to a place you didn't know, to do what God you'd never done before; trusting God to reveal His will, one step at a time! This was a big deal!

To go with God requires faith! Faith requires action, believing God will do what He said He'd do and that He can do it through you! It requires big changes, total surrender and it requires obedience, no will of your own, but simply to follow His desired will. We all want the big assignments, but are we really willing to make the big sacrifice, to move out of our comfort zones, to leave so much behind?

Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Gideon, the disciples, Paul, etc. all had to sacrifice and leave what they were doing, their plans, their goals, their lives and make huge changes to obey and follow all God was asking them to do. God given assignments require big change, you can't stay where you are and go with God. Doing God's will, will have great costs and require big sacrifices, but ask anyone who's done it and they will tell you, it was worth it all!

To go with God is to know His Presence and to witness God doing what only He can do! God shows you Himself, in ways you've never seen Him! You get to see Him as Provider, because God always provides for what He's doing! The sacrifice is a great, but the blessings far out weigh the sacrifices! May God bless you, as you seek to follow Him in full surrender to His will!

The Wow Factor, Beyond Our Ability And Resources

When Moses agreed to join God in a task that was far beyond his own ability, He got to experience God doing something only He could do! (But so did those around him) His brother Aaron, Pharoah and his army, the Egyptian people, the Israelites; all got to see God at work in and through Moses, doing something only God could have done. Mose was just the channel through which He did it! Moses was God's mouthpiece, His hands and His feet!

Pharoah experienced what only God could do through the signs and miracles Moses did before him; as well as the plagues, which God turned on and off at His will. God would announce the consequences for not letting His people go and it would happen just as God said.

The Egyptian people experienced God through the going and coming of the plagues, but, also, being plundered by the Israelites. God said they'd plunder the Egyptians when they left; the women were to ask for clothing and articles of silver and gold. Don't you wonder, after the Israelites left, if the Egyptians asked themselves, "Why did we give them all that?"

The Israelites were told by Moses, what God said He was going to do before He did it and then got to experience God fulfilling all He said He was going to do. They experienced more harsh treatment at first, but God had mercy on them. They experienced the plagues happening to the Egyptians, but not in their own towns. (Think about that a minute! That's amazing in itself) They experienced the Egyptians giving them clothing and articles of silver and gold, as God said they would. They, also, experienced God opening up a road through the Red Sea and walking across on dry ground, as the Egyptian army was pursuing them; at God's command the waters returning to their place taking the Egyptian army out with it. There was the manna and quail and water from a rock. Clothes that didn't wear out! Moses and the people around him were impacted as they experienced God doing only what He could do. They experienced God's Presence with them!

People, often, look at God's people today and may see them doing nice and kind things; but, how is the world going to get excited about God, if we aren't joining Him in any activity that is beyond our own ability and resources? When people see God at work, and come face to face with Him, by experience, they believe! They come to know Him as the Living God, present with us!

Are we at a point of faith and obedience in our Christian walk that we would be willing to abandon our life, our wants and dreams, to join God in what He's doing to save a lost world, that only He could accomplish through us? When God's character is revealed to the people around us, by experience, they will believe and be saved! Are they coming to know Him by His living presence in our lives? Are we allowing the wow of God to be seen in us?

God is doing something in my life right now that only He could do! He is impacting those around me for His glory! He is doing the unimaginable, the unexplainable, that could only be of God! People have tried to explain it away, but you can't ignore the impact of the unimaginable! He is impacting lives! He's impacting me! I am in awe of His amazing love and what He's done for me! When God is experienced people's lives are changed! I will never be the same! It's impacted my sister, my niece, my cousin. It's impacted my friends! (Not me, God, God is doing the impacting!)

I want to spend the rest of my life, in full surrender, joining God, in what only He can do, but I need God's help to do that! If you're like me, I can want to be a living sacrifice, but be found crawling off the altar. It will requires faith to join God in His activity, it will always be bigger than us, it requires faith. Faith requires action! God's work will not be something I dream to do for God, it will not be in my ability or with my resources, but in Him, alone. Daily, I will need to look for His activity, to be able to join Him in what only He can do! It will mean laying down my life, my dreams, my self centeredness and focusing on His will, what He's doing, being God centered! It will mean adjusting my life, daily, to Him!

I cannot cause a person to be inquisitive about the things of God, but when I see someone asking questions, like my mail lady and my cousin, I know God is at work, doing what only He can do; He's drawing them! (I need to drop what I'm doing and be apart of what He's revealing to me that He is doing!) When I see someone like my sister and my niece on fire for God, young in the Lord, digging in the Word and asking questions, I know this is God at work, something only He can do! It's my invitation to drop what I'm doing and to join Him! He's doing it, not me, He alone is glorified!

A life sealed in God's Spirit, walking in obedience to His truths and in complete surrender to His will is a powerful life! Ordinary people like you and like me, are extraordinary because of God in us! We are here as a living testament that God is alive and came to save the lost. We are to be a channel in which His love and forgiveness can flow to a lost world! Have we heard the call or are we, distracted by many things?

As a believers in Christ, we are the armies of the Living God! Our response to our daily struggles speaks louder than our words, it tells others what we really believe about Him! What do our actions and responses to this life tell others we really believe? Do we really believe God can do something in us and through us, that goes far beyond our abilities and resources? If the people around us are only seeing what we can do, they are seeing us, not God! Experiencing God, through us and in us, doing what only He can do, brings the "wow factor" right into the lives of others and they will never be the same, when they come face to face with the LIVING God!

Are we moving beyond self centeredness to make ourselves available to do what only He can do? Is our love relationship with God impacting the lives of those around us! It should be, what happens in worship doesn't stay in worship! God's Presence in our lives should wow those around us and cause them to question the hope we have in Him! People are looking for hope, for answers! Truth and Hope are a person, we need to let His Presence in us, been seen by others! It will be life changing!

In A Crisis, A Decision Will Be Made

God has the right to expect His children, who have an understanding confidence in Him, to be the reliable ones, when the storms of life hit! We are to be established, rooted and built up in Him, grounded in Truth. (Truth is a Person, Jesus Christ)

When a storm blew up on Christ's disciples in the boat, that was being tossed on the raging sea, their circumstances caused them to fear they would perish. But the truth of their circumstances, was (Christ) who is Truth was in the boat! Jesus was with them and Jesus stood and calmed the storm! He asked them, "Do you still have no faith?" The truth of their circumstances wasn't as it appeared to be!

A crisis will reveal, quickly, what we rely on! If we've been practicing worship and trusting in God in our day to day smaller struggles, a crisis may shatter our life and even take us to the breaking point, but not break us. If we have found God to be our Sustaining Power in our smaller difficulties, a Refuge, and a source of Strength; then like children practicing for a fire drill, when the "Big Fire Burns" (the crisis) then we know where to go! We've got a practiced response; we know who to turn to and have come to trust Him to hold us fast!

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:7-8,
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God, not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

In this passage above, Paul speaks of this extremely valuable message of salvation by grace, through faith, in Jesus Christ that has been entrusted, by God, to His children who are weak and fallible human beings, ("jars of clay"). Paul's emphasis, though, is not on the perishable container (us), but it's priceless contents, which is God Himself dwelling in us, the believer. Though we are frail, God intends to and can use us right in the middle of the storms of life, a crisis, to be a living testament to others of the power of His Spirit in us. He doesn't give us strength, He is our Strength! He sustains us! He doesn't give us rest, He is our Rest! Paul's every intention was to for this message to be proclaimed, at all costs!

Knowing this power is not of ourselves, should keep us humble and motivate us to abide, daily, in His Presence; to come to Him for that needed spiritual renewal. God is our source of power; it's our responsibility to allow others to see God through us, by how we live. The question is: What does our life say, in this moment, about who He is? What do our actions say, to others, about what we really believe about God?

Paul goes on to encourage us in verse 16, "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though, outwardly, we are wasting away (our physical bodies are dying), yet, inwardly, we are being renewed day by day." (This is the Spirit's power working in the believer to renew us spiritually). He continues in verse 17, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." (Though we may feel we are at a breaking point, at the end of our rope, we are not at the end of our Hope! Though our mortal bodies are subject to sin and suffering, God will not abandon or forsake us.) Verse 18: "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (Christ's victory over death has given us eternal life. All of our trials and humiliation are only opportunities for Christ to demonstrate His power and Presence in us and through us, even more so, in our frailty and weakness!) The real truth of our situation lies in Christ. It may appear all is lost, but with Christ in the equation, all things are possible!

When a crisis knocks on the door of God's children, our first response should be to find shelter in the shadow of His wings. We can run to Him! He can bring peace and praise, to His children, who place their confidence in Him, right in the middle of the most difficult of trials!

Like Paul and Silas, though having been severely flogged and put in prison with their feet in stocks, our first response in crisis can be to be a sacrifice of praise (they could sing praises of His steadfast love), we can too! They were confident that they would not be forsaken and had no fear of death; for they knew, with all their hearts, for them to live was Christ and to die was only to gain! Their songs of praise rang through the prison walls and their faith unleashed God's Sovereign Grace in all it's power! The unimaginable, that which God takes great pleasure on bestowing on those that love and trust in Him took place! He showed them the power of His Presence, a spiritual marker to never be forgotten! An earthquake shook the foundations of the prison and all the prison doors fell open and the chains fell off of all who were inside! The jailer fell at their feet and was begging to know how he could be saved that day and God was glorified!

Throughout all history, from creation to the present, Old Testament and New, God's redemptive plan to save a lost world has been His theme! What overwhelming love, for Him to give His only Son to die in our place, to save us, who were in that moment, still His enemy, who really wanted no part of Him. Unimaginable really! For those who turn to trust in Him, He places His Spirit within us! Our calling, (now, having been bought with a price, the blood of His only Son), even in "these jars of clay" is to carry His message of salvation, in the power of His Spirit (in the midst of our weakness) and yes, even in crisis, to a lost world!

Crisis? A storm of life? Crisis comes from a word that means "decision."Every crisis, every storm will bring us to turning point, a point of decision: Who or what will we rely on and put our trust in? For the child of God, let Him be our every confidence! Abiding in the Vine, who is our every source of strength, will bring daily spiritual renewal and rest. It is Him who will carry us through to the other side!

If you are enduring a storm or crisis today, may God bless you and keep you and may you know, with all confidence, Him as your very present Help in trouble and as your Rest! May your first response be to run into His loving arms! And though crushed, may you only be moved to worship the One you've come to know, by experience, loves you so completely!

God's Call Requires Faith!

The sun has not yet raised it's fiery head above the Tetons, this morning. There's stillness and silence, as the world, in my neck of the woods, is still asleep. My phone is not ringing, there is no one knocking at my door ~ the day hasn't yet begun. This is the most precious and important part of my day! A love relationship with the Lord is the most important thing I will ever do in my life!

The quality of my love relationship will determine the outcome of my entire day ~ whether I will choose God's perspective or mine. Will I choose to walk in obedience to His Word or in my own way? It will make a difference in how I value my relationships with others and whether God is seen in me or not. It will impact how I will choose to use my time. I only get one chance at this 24 hour day, it will pass, quickly, and I won't see it again. How will I choose to spend it?

This time with the Lord, isn't about me, but about aligning myself with God, my Father, and His plans and purposes ~ to draw near, to worship and to know what's on His heart, what He's doing today! What I may think is important and may choose to focus on, may not be important at all. God knows all things! If I don't align myself with Him, I may spend the whole day working and planning for something that may never happen!

God speaks to me through His Word, they are instructions for life! When I walk in His commands I find freedom, I reap many blessings by walking in them. I show my love to Him by keeping them and He promises to love me and show Himself to me, because I am obeying them. (John 14:21)

This morning, God's been speaking to me about that place we reach when God has spoken to us, like He did with Joshua at the walls of Jericho, Moses at the burning bush, Gideon at the wine press; it's that place we reach, that turning point, that point of decision, that shows what we believe about God. Let me explain.

Point of decision: Would we have had the faith to tell a whole army to walk around the walls of Jericho and believe they would fall down at the sound of the trumpets? God said it, but then Joshua was brought to a point of decision: Would he believe God and act in faith? Would he give the order?

What about Moses? He had fled Egypt after killing an Egyptian. Now, he's being asked by God to return to Egypt and tell Pharoah that God has instructed me to tell you are to let His people go. Moses had to decide if he believed if God would do all that He said He would. God's plan was to save Israel out of slavery. Moses had to decide if He believed God could do it through him. He struggles with it: "I'm not eloquent." and later in the conversation he begs God to send someone else. Moses wavered, as he contemplated this God size task. He realized it was way over his head, but he did choose to believe God and stepped in faith.

God approached Gideon at the wine press and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?" Gideon had to decide if He believed God could use him to save Israel. Gideon even asked, "How can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Mannasseh, and I am the least in my family." The Lord answered, "I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites together." Gideon had a choice to make, was he going to believe God or turn away in disbelief.

We can find many examples throughout scripture. When God speaks to His people and calls us to be a part of what He's doing, we are always going to come to that point of decision, that will show what we believe about God. Do we really believe God will do what He says He will do and do we believe God can use us to be apart of His plan?

What we do next, says more about what we believe about God, than what we believe about ourselves!
Every time God speaks to me, I come up against the decision whether I will believe God and act upon that belief or whether I will doubt and walk away. Will I believe God and take action, the step of faith to obey or will I choose to turn and go my own way in disobedience?

God spoke to Jonah and told him to go to Ninevah. Jonah heard God, clearly, but he turned and ran in the other direction, he sailed for Tarshish. God disciplined Jonah! It took Jonah being swallowed by a big fish to get his attention! What will it take to get ours?  Then Jonah obeyed God and went to Ninevah and did all God asked him to do.

Has God spoken to you? Has He asked you to be apart of something He's doing? Maybe you have a call on your life, God spoke to you, but you are avoiding what God asked you to do? Maybe, God asked you to be a part of something that's God sized, bigger than you! What you do next will show what you really believe about God. When God invites us to be apart of something He's doing, it will always be something only He can do. We will realize, that we cannot do what He's asking us to do ourselves. We have to decide if we believe God will show up and do what He says He will through us.

God's invitation to be a part of what He's doing will always test our faith. Faith requires action. Without faith, it is impossible to please God!

If you walked away from God in disbelief, make it right. Ask God's forgiveness and go back to the last thing God asked you to do. God keeps His promises! Take courage, move against the fear and step in faith! I'm praying for you!

These aren't once in a life time decisions, we make them everyday! Ask yourself today, what do your thoughts and actions say about what you believe about God? Do they proclaim His Faithfulness to a lost world or do they proclaim Him unworthy of your trust?

Sockless, Barefoot For Life!

God continues to bless my socks off, taking care of me in "unimaginable ways" just as He promised! We have an understanding, according to His instructions, I'm to tell Him, alone, of my needs and He supplies!

This evening, I was returning from running some errands in Rexburg, about 35 minutes away. I was on a route that has 65 mph speed limit, but my steering wheel, recently, started shaking when I hit speeds of 55-60. I had my tires balanced about 3 months ago, when I had my oil changed, but obviously, it's not  gonna wait till the next oil change. I knew I needed to call and make an appointment. I need new tires and now seems like the perfect time to purchase them, with the tires needing to be balanced. But this week, I've felt God's restraint; I heard His, "Wait."

So, I asked the Lord tonight on the way home, "I know you said You wanted me to use the money  You've already given me needs to go toward medical bills." I need new tires, I don't want to be illegal, please send me the $500 to get them. (I called to set an appointment to have the tires balanced and they gave me an appointment at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.)

When I got home, I was unloading the car, when I got a telephone call. The person on the other end was calling to tell me that they felt led to call me and tell me they were putting a check for $500 in the mail tomorrow and wanted to let me know! Lol. I told them about my conversation with the Lord on the way home and we both rejoiced in God's goodness! God supplies all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus!

Our Heavenly Father knows what we need, before we even ask!

Matthew 6:25-34 says,

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

I'm not special! God takes care of ALL His children! ALL His children are special because He is our Father! That's what makes us special! We obey God's truths and He keeps His promises!

Every promise has a premise! The premise is our part, the promise is God's part! We do our part and God fulfills His part! The premise (our part), in this passage of scripture, is we are not to be anxious for tomorrow; about our life, what we will eat, drink or wear. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness! This is our part! What's the promise?  The promise (God's part) is "and all these things shall be added unto you." We are to seek Him and His righteousness and are not to be anxious about our needs, but trust God for them, because He promises to provide them! (if we do our part)


No one knew my need tonight, no one knew about my prayer request, except for God, alone. Lol. He let me know tonight, ahead of my 8 a.m. appointment, that I set for tomorrow, to have my tires balanced, that HE was providing for the tires I asked Him for!

We serve a great God! His love for us is far beyond what we can think to fathom! He promises to provide for His children, those that love Him, who seek Him and His righteousness, who trust in Him!
He is God, He is able to do the impossible, the unimaginable, those things that only God can do!!! He is the Promise Keeper, our Provider, the Lover of our Souls! He takes great delight in His children and HE is worthy of glory, honor and praise! His love is far beyond what we imagine! He is Faithful! His love will never fail or run out on us! He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love!"

If you're reading this, I'm praying for you to understand the depth of God's love for you! We get that, and it will be life changing! We will know Rest, because Rest is a Person.

Ephesians 3:18 says,
"And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is."

Romans 8:39 says,
"Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God's Perspective Is Vital!

The alarm clock rings, another day lies before us, God's perspective is crucial! God knows all things, every day of our life was written in one of His books before it came to be! Our circumstances, especially in difficulties, can be overwhelming, at times; we can become confused and lack understanding feeling like, "God what's happening, what's going on?"

Job may have felt this way! Job was a blameless and upright man. The scriptures say that he feared God and shunned evil. God had greatly blessed him! Yet, all the sudden his world was turned upside down!

Job 1:13-22 says,

One day when Job's sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing nearby, and the Sabeans attacked and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the sky and burned up the sheep and the servants, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and carried them off. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters were feasting and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, when suddenly a mighty wind swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!" At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised." In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Wow! Worship was Job's first response!)

If all this wasn't enough, in chapter 2 Job was then also "afflicted with painful sores from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He took a piece of pottery and scraped himself as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, 'Are you still holding on to your integrity? Curse God and die!' Job replied, 'You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God and not trouble?' In all this, Job did not sin in what he said."

Job was wrestling with what was happening to him; he didn't have God's perspective. But I don't think Job's wife's perspective was very helpful to him do you? Of course, Job's friends thought they knew God's perspective, they told him to confess the sin in his life, but Job could not find any sin to confess. Job was surrendered to God's will, but God's perspective would have brought peace and rest through the storm. Read chapter's 1-2 and get a little of God's perspective as to all God was doing in Job's life. God had a purpose! He was testing Job! This perspective would have been helpful for Job to know upfront!

Jim's passing from death to life was of no surprise to God! It was to me, even though he'd been sick, I must have been in denial; I didn't expect for him not to return home. I was numb, in shock, but I did the only thing I knew to do: I ran into the arms of God morning and night, again and again and sought His perspective, His wisdom, His counsel that I might adjust to all He was purposing to do in me and through the circumstances. His Spirit bore witness to me, daily, through His Word, as I continue to seek to adjust to all He was and is purposing to do through my circumstances.

God's perspective is vital in our day to day lives! It's the difference in peace and confusion. When we don't understand what's happening to us, we can go to God and ask Him to show us, to give us His perspective, wisdom and insight.

When we face difficult circumstances the Spirit of God will take the Word of God and speak truth to us; God will give us His perspective if we will draw near. Ask and God will respond, He will speak to us through our circumstances and His Word. God knows what His purposes are. What's important is for us to know, so we can adjust to what God's doing! A life that's fully surrendered to God will not ask, "Why?" but will ask: "Father, how do I need to adjust to what you are doing in my life right now?"

Job's first response, being one of worship and complete surrender, is awing, but what Job needed was God's perspective, so he could adjust to what God was doing. It would not have taken away the grief of the loss, but it would have brought peace and understanding in the middle of the devastation. God's perspective is vital! 

God whispers before we rise, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, come away with me!" His Spirit in us is His deposit of His love and a witness to our own spirit that we are sealed in Him for glory! Will He not want us to ask, in surrender, how we can adjust to what He's doing in our lives today? 

If God has spoken to you today through this, respond to Him in prayer! Prayer is a relationship with the Living, Eternal God and oh, how He longs for you to come to Him with everything! I'm praying for you! May you know God's peace today! Peace is not a place, it's a person! He is our Peace and our Rest! We find them in Him!

Review:

1. Seek (intimate, love relationship)

2. Ask

3. Adjust

If God chooses not to tell you what He's doing, at this moment,  rest in His love, know He has a purpose for His silence; continue to seek Him and abide in the love relationship. If you are abiding in His Word, walking in obedience to His truths, He will instruct you in His will and in His ways, you can rest in His care!

Getting Something Different When You Pray?

Have you ever found yourself praying for something and find God giving you something different than what you ask for? Maybe, you continued to pray and God continued to give you something else. This morning I was reading in Mark 2 and a man got something different than what he asked for from Jesus. Jesus had just healed a man with leprosy at the end of Mark 1 and so chapter 1 begins,

"A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached the word to them. Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus, because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son your sins are forgiven."

These four men were the best friends that this guy could have, they were, obviously, motivated, had no plans of giving up and were as creative as need be in getting this man to Jesus. They had a "whatever it takes attitude!" Their determination shows that they believed Jesus could and would heal him, if they could just get him there. The scripture says that Jesus saw their faith and said to the paralytic man, "Son your sins are forgiven." They came seeking for the man to be healed, but what did Jesus give him? He forgave his sins! What we know without this passage specifically saying so, is that the man on the mat had faith too and believed, because throughout all scripture, Old and New Testament, faith was required for your sins to be forgiven, to be counted as righteous. Jesus could have said, "Be healed," and the man gone away healed, (well), able to walk; but Jesus gave much more than was asked for ~ Jesus forgave his sins and the man went away healed and forgiven! Wow! He came to Jesus paralyzed and WALKED AWAY, but with eternal life!

Do we take the time to pay attention to what we're praying for and what Jesus might be trying to give us that's better? Maybe, we're asking God for something and don't seem to be getting it, but are we paying attention to what happens next, after we pray? Do we take note of what's beginning to happen? Are we tuned into what God might be trying to give us? It may be different than what we've asked for, but God might be trying to bless our socks off and we're only focused on what WE want. When we pray, we need to wait on God's response. Are we really paying attention to what God is trying to say to us? Or is the answer we want, the only one we view as a real answer? Prayer is not a one way conversation, prayer is a relationship. We, often, make it about ourselves, but it's about much more! Prayer is about a relationship with a Living God. If we take the time to learn what's on God's heart to do and pray about that, we will see God answer our prayers! When our hearts become one with Him, the passions of His heart will become our own and our prayers will be in line with His will!

John 15:7
"If you remain in me, and my Word remains in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you."(With every promise comes a premise; the premise is our part and the promise is God's.) God promises "if you remain in me and my Word remains in you" (that's our part), if we do our part, God promises, "ask whatever you wish and it will be given you." (His part) We are focused on what we want, but when we remain in the Lord and His Word, it will change "our wanter" and will align our desires with His; therefore, He can say, then, "ask whatever you wish and it will be given you."We will want what He wants!

Psalm 37:3-4 says,
"Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Notice here, that the premise, (our part), is to delight ourselves in the Lord, and then (His part), His promise, "to give us the desires of our heart," can be fulfilled. Desiring to be with the Lord, delighting ourselves in Him, takes a right relationship with Him. A life without sin, will desire to draw near to Him and we will take great delight in Him. Sin causes us to flee from Him, to go the other way. Again, when we are delighting in the Lord, it will be because our hearts are as one with His and He, then is able to say that He will give us the desires of our heart. Why? Because our hearts will be in unity with His!

Get close to God, spend time with Him and in His Word, become one with Him. I encourage you to keep a spiritual journal, because God will speak to you through His Word and when God of the Universe speaks to you, reveals truth to you, you will want to write it down to remember what He said. When a verse, a word or phrase or a whole passage of scripture stands out to me, in my daily reading, I don't just keep reading, I stop and meditate on it and think about how God's speaking to me through it. I ask myself, what changes I need to make to align myself with God's word and I respond back to Him in prayer. Then, I seek to apply what He's just spoken to me about; I make the needed change in my life and I record it in my journal.

God speaks through His Word, but are we listening? We, often, bound into the throne room of God Almighty, the Maker of Heaven and Earth and tell Him what to do, giving Him advice on how and when, as if we were god, ourselves. We allow time to control our lives, often, leaving little or no time for the love relationship with our Creator. We make our apologies and run off, believing more is better, filling our lives with so much we are weary and worn. Yet, the God of the Universe has a purpose and plan for our life, a plan for us to be apart of His redemptive plan to save a lost world! (But we, often, believe what we are doing to be more important.)

If we are aimlessly distracted by time and think more is better, Satan is winning the war! He's convinced us that we and everything else is more important than a relationship with God. I just have to wonder, what's going to be important when this life is over? This life and all we're working toward will be gone, it will be over! Will we have chosen the most important?

I John 5:1- 5 and 11-12 says,
"Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out His commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And His commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God."

"And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

Has God spoken to you through this today? What's He desiring you to do, what does He want your response to be? If He's spoken to you, will you respond to Him right now in prayer? How He longs to know you, more intimately. Prayer is a relationship! A love relationship with God is the most important thing you will ever do with your life! He invites you to come! What could be more important?

What God wants to give you is unimaginable, more than you can think to fathom! We cannot even think to ask all He wants to give us!

Ephesians 3:20-21 says,
"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."

Only the Spirit of God knows what God wants to do in and through your life! Want you let God give you what He wants you to have? Trust Him, He's trustworthy! You can rest in His goodness! He wants to bless your socks off! To know Him, intimately, is the greatest blessing of them all!

The Lover Of My Soul!

Chessie, my cockapoo and I took and evening ride on the ATV tonight. Lol. I think, maybe, I enjoyed it more than she did, she's still a little afraid of it, but began to relax, after awhile. The valley is so beautiful and green this time of the year, with all the irrigation sprinklers in the fields and the mountains on all sides. I couldn't help but think as I saw all of God's beautiful creation around me, how grateful I am for His amazing love and the many ways He shows it and Himself, to those that love Him. How do we know if we qualify as, "those that love Him?"

Jesus said in John 14:21,
"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."(Jesus said that we show our love for Him, by obeying His commands.) Has God shown Himself to you? He says He will if we do what?

God chooses to reveal Himself, by experience, to those that love Him, that keep His commandments. The more He reveals the depth of His love for us, the more we grow in our love for Him and in our faith. As we grow to recognize Him as "the lover of our souls" and "the keeper of all His promises"we will be able to surrender in our trust, more and more, to His will and His ways.

Mark 9: 17-32 says,
17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”
19 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”
20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.
21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”
“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”
23 ” ‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”
24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the evil spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”
26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”
29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”
30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” 32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it.

Jesus emphasizes and encourages this father in the importance of believing, He says, "Everything is possible to him that believes." I can still relate to this fathers response, how about you? "I believe, but help though my unbelief." I'm grateful for God's patience and long suffering, that He understands our frame! Yet He, lovingly, continues to provide opportunities for us to grow in His knowledge and grace; giving us those opportunities to practice and grow our faith!

Hebrews 11:6 says,
"And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him." We want to please Him, we want to trust, but when we fall short, He is there to help us back up.

Romans 8:1 says, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Praise the Lord, the Father sees us through Jesus' cleansing blood!

We long to please Him by our faith, but our love for Him isn't perfect, nor our understanding of the depth of His perfect love for us; if it was perfect, our love would cast out all our fears and we would trust Him, completely. I am learning to rest in His perfect love and allow Him to do what I can't, to transform me and mine.

Zephaniah 3:17 says,
"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."

When we feel we're faltering at times in our faith, we can keep reading His love letters to us, that can be found in His Word. As we recognize more and more, with each passing day, the depth of God's love for us, as the Father reveals Himself and His love to us, as we walk with Him, our faith and love for Him will grow, as will our desire to obey.

He is the lover and transformer of our souls! If we really believe He is God, it will change how we live!

Philippians 1:6 says,
"Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Praise the Lord!

It's been 7 months today since my husband, Jim went home to be with the Lord, to his new heavenly home! God's love is so amazing, He is so faithful ~ He is still enough!

May God bless you! If you're reading this, I'm praying for you!

What's The Secret?

I've been asked a number of times to share the secret to "the secret place." How to have a passion for God's Presence. Many find it a struggle to spend time with the Lord and His word. The problem isn't lack of time, it's desire and that can be fixed. Let me explain!

When dating, people don't struggle with time spent with, they are consumed with desire to be together without anyone forcing them to ~ they are drawn like magnets to one another. They are so in love that there's a longing to being together and they count every minute they are apart. Their relationship is all important and everything else loses it's place, they find the time! Why? Because they are in love! If we are struggling to get into His Word and to spend that "quiet time" with the Lord that He longs for, it's our "LOVE relationship" that's hurting.

God never meant our time with Him to be difficult to do ~ sin got in the way! Adam and Eve enjoyed this love relationship with the Lord, right up until the time they sinned and then they ran and hid themselves from the Him. God's love, that they'd known, had not changed, their's did. He came seeking them, but they were no where to be found. He called out to them! Our sin breaks our relationship, it separates us from God. (Just as it would in a dating relationship.) A love relationship is broken by a lack of love; setting it right, brings the relationship back to oneness and unity. So, confession and forgiveness should be a part of our love relationship with the Lord. Hiding His truths in our hearts will help keep us from sinning against Him. He hasn't meant for His commands to be burdensome, but out of His love for us, has given them to set us free!

The secret, to "the secret place" is not to focus on the pressure of having to have a "quiet time." The secret to the secret place is to focus on "loving Him with all your heart mind and soul" ~ fall in love and no one can keep you away! It will be a consuming desire! You won't wake, feeling the dread, "I have to read my Bible."You will look forward to your time spent with the Lord, with expectation and it will go far too quickly, just like a couple dating and in love. Your struggled 20 minutes, will grow with longing, into an hour becoming far too short and the more time you spend with Him the more you'll desire. The more you seek Him, the more you will find Him and love Him, the more you will want Him. It was never meant to be a forced effort!

We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), the more we recognize the depth of His love for us, the more we will fall in love with Him. So, ask God to show you the depth of His love for you, for you to be able to grasp that alone, will be life changing! The key isn't a forced relationship, it's falling in love with Him over and over again! Read His love letters to you, they can be found in His Word! He loves you so much, He longs for you to know Him, more intimately, to know the depth of His everlasting love for you!

Jeremiah 31:3 says,
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with loving kindness.”

1 John 4:9-10
"This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."

There's a progression of things that happen when we really recognize the depth of God's love for us ~ not only will we fall, deeply, in love with the Lord, but we will be able to love others more completely. We will put Him first, above all else, because we love Him so much! The more time we spend with Him, the more we will see our sin. We will drop those things from our lives that hurt Him. Our sins will fall away, as we hide ourselves in His truths, because we love Him and desire to please Him. We will become less self centered, as we become more God centered. As we become more God centered, one with the Lord, we come to know the passions of His heart and they become ours. We will have a growing passion for others to know Him too. What happens in worship, doesn't stay in worship, the radiance of His love will go with us. We will be fruitful, because God in us, will be seen by others and they will see our love for Him. We will live with new purpose, confidence, security, peace, love and true joy ~ all that those around us long for! We will have an impact on the lives of others in big ways, with little effort, because our life is being transformed each and every new day by the "Living God" and they will see it. Because we are abiding in His love and in His truths, we will be ready to give an answer for the hope we have in Christ. We will desire to do His will, above our own. Our dreams and wants, will become secondary and we will want to be a part of what He is doing, His plans and purposes. We will come to know His voice and He will show us His will and we will become more confident in walking in it. He leads one day at a time and one step at a time, we will learn to trust that and be able to not have to be so "in control." We will find our security and our peace in Him, and be able to know His rest and much more!

A passion for God's Presence comes with "loving Him with all your heart, mind, soul and strength."

Psalm 42:1
"As the deer pants for the streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God."

The secret to the secret place is falling in love! We will abide because we are in love! And we fall in love when we realize the depth of His love for us!

Psalm 91:1
"He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." ASV

Discover the secret to the secret place and you will abide there, you will long to be with Him, you will run into the Father's arms each morning with longing and great expectation! Why? Because He loves you! Read His love letters, my friend, ask Him to give you a knew perspective ~ to show you the depth of His love! This is the problem, we don't realize how much He loves us or that He really can be known so intimately! I'm praying for you! Keep seeking!

Those Things Only God Can Do!

The sun is setting on another day in the Tetons, God's blessings continue to flow and I'm so grateful for all He's done for me, the seen and the unseen! I'm still in the process of selling the vehicles (2 down and 1 to go) and still preparing for a possible move; seeking His will and His timing, as I move forward day by day, looking to Him for guidance in each step. Ministry is still written on the tablet of my heart and I'm looking to Him for instructions as how I might join Him in His work, but still feeling bogged down, at times, with the temporal things, the estate stuff.

God provided a buyer last week for Jim's Convertible PT Cruiser and blessed my socks off when God gave me $1000 more than I thought I'd get, being in area with a cooler climate. God prepared a man's heart, he knew what He was doing. He said, "I don't take advantage of widows." God, also, provided a buyer for my ATV last night, which I am praising the Lord for! I realized after they left that there seemed to be $200 more, tucked in, than we had settled on for the cost. I called, immediately, to tell them about the mistake, but I was told, "No, Sheryl, that's separate, that's for you." God never ceases to amaze me! He continues to provide for me just as He promised, in "unimaginable ways!" I am in awe of Him!

I thought God had a buyer for Jim's ATV, as well, last night. A man looked at it on Thursday and called me on Friday to say he wanted it and could we finalize it on Monday. But he called last night at 6:00, just at the time we were suppose to finalize the deal, to say that he decided he needed something smaller to fit his business trailer. God has taken care of every detail, He's left nothing out; this is a purposed delay, He will provide, in His timing, for this need too! (Timing is everything!)

Though, I'm looking forward to moving beyond the focus of what to do with all these temporal things, my greatest joy this week was seeing God at work in someone that I've grown to care, deeply, about and been praying for. We can know when someone is being inquisitive about spiritual things, that God is at work, drawing them! It was such a joy, to drop everything and to be available to answer the questions God was working in her heart. Oh, how it makes my heart soar, to watch Him opening someone's spiritual eyes and giving them understanding! God has provided the opportunities, twice this week, for us to spend an hour together at a time and another for 30 minutes, just to talk about spiritual things. Those questions about how we come to God on His terms and the difference between Christianity and religion thrill my heart! You know God is at work when you hear, "This was a great conversation! I'm learning alot I didn't know or understand. I went to church, as a child, but I must not have been listening."Wow! That's something only God can do!

1 Corinthians 2:14 says,
"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."

Only God can draw a man or a woman to Himself! He alone gives understanding of His truths and the insight to recognize our sin and need for a Savior! This was something He was already doing, nothing I did or could do, but oh, what a joy to be able to join Him and to share the answer to those questions from His Word. I have no power to change a heart or to save a soul; to give understanding or to transform a life, but when God sets out to do this, He completes it! I'm so excited to see God's love at work in this one that doesn't even understand the depth of His love for her yet!

Where is God at work around you? Who's asking questions and seeking answers? When we see God at work, changing a heart, drawing them to Himself, that's our invitation to join Him! (What a blessing it is to watch Him transform a life and remember when it was me! When somebody recognized Him at work and gave of their time to answer my questions and to show me His love!)

May God bless you this week as you seek to join Him in what He's doing around you! These are opportunities for eternity, I don't know about you, but I don't want to be so busy with the temporal things, that I miss out on what really matters for eternity! Have a great 4th!

God Beckons Us To Come!

As we rise to meet the dawning of a new day, the most important thing we will do is to meet with the Lord and to align ourselves with Him, His truths and His will! We can only live this day once and it could be our last; we can waste it being caught up in ourselves or we can walk with Him in it and for His pleasure! This one thing is the most important thing we can choose to do! It won't bring regret, but a new confidence and peace.

God's heart cry to His people in the Old Testament as written Deuteronomy 6:4-5 beckons His people to Him:
"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength."

Jesus repeated this in Mark 12:30 in the New Testament and called it the "greatest commandment." Do you love the Lord, your God with all your heart, soul and strength?

Everything in our Christian life rides on this relationship! This rises above all else! The quality of our relationship with Him opens the way to understanding and knowing His truths, His will and experiencing Him working in us and through us! This one act, this one focus will help us in bringing all else under His Lordship! It's a choice we will make daily, whether we want to or not! Whether consciously or unconsciously, we will choose, each day, whether we will put Him in first place!

John 15:5 says, "I am the Vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."

Without God working in us we can't do anything to bear fruit for His Kingdom. He is the impact in our lives that impact will be seen by others.

Psalm 5:3 says,
"In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait with expectation."

Psalm 33:20 says,
"We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our Help and our Shield."

Lamentations 3:22-25 says,
"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore, I will wait for Him.' The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him, to the one who seeks Him."

May God bless your day as You seek to put Him first, to meet with Him "in the cool of the day" and then walk with Him, continuing that fellowship and talking to Him through out the day. What great joy it brings Him when we put Him first, seeking to bring all else under His Lordship, making Him our one Stronghold.

"The Lord is the Stronghold of my life ~ of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1b

"The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah." Psalm 46:7

He is Hiding Place, our place of Deliverance!


"You are my hiding place; You preserve me from trouble; You surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah." Psalm 32:7

Whatever, your day holds, He is enough! He is Your song of deliverance! You can sing in the shadow of His wings!