Devotionals for the Heart: For when you're searching and praying for peace

Need Peace?
A devotional by Kerry Sue Teravskis

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”—Luke 2:14 (NIV)

We sing songs with these words. We read these words. We want these words to be a reflection of our life. We want peace. We want God’s favor. We want peace in our homes, at work, school, in our personal lives. Above all else, we just want peace.

Is it only the quiet we crave? The silence of the forest, the roaring of the ocean waves, the absence of people? Are we so busy with our daily to-do lists that time away from it all is most desired? Is that what we equate with peace?

Or is it much deeper?

This word “peace”, in the Greek is “Eirene” and it means peace—literally and figuratively. It also means a state of national tranquility, exemption from war, peace between individuals, harmony and security. According to the Blue Letter Bible, there is a connotation of prosperity, there is peace, and there is peace. There is peace after the small children go to bed, and there is peace on a larger scale when the weapons of war are laid down and a peace treaty is signed. There is peace when forgiveness is sought and given. There is peace when we lay down our desires to God and allow Him to have full reign in our lives.

If we look closely at Luke 2:14, God’s peace is for those on whom His favor rests. It is not a one-size-fits-all type of peace. We all crave this peace, but there is a condition: God’s favor. God’s pleasure. It does not say God’s love. We know from John 3:16 that God so loves the world that He gave His only Son to die for our sins and in turn we receive eternal life with Him. His pleasure is another matter.

For years, I have sought to find passages in the Bible that speak of God’s pleasure. This has been a quest for me ever since I came across Ephesians 5:10 (NLT), that tells us to carefully determine what pleases the Lord. The Apostle Paul is telling us to search for this pleasure. We can find it by searching the Scriptures and seeing what God has to say to us as we read His Word.

First and foremost, we have the best definition: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Hebrews 11:6 NIV).

It’s about faith. It’s about belief. It’s about belief in God and God alone. It is not about me, my ways, my stubborn tenacity, my selfishness. It’s about letting go and letting God. It’s about seeking Him and pleasing Him in the seeking. This starts with our believing He is good, kind, compassionate, loving, for us and everyone.

Simple as that.

But it is not always that simple for us to understand and apply to our life because we tend to complicate things. We allow our selfishness to be in the driver’s seat of our lives because it is hard to trust anyone, let alone God, whom we cannot see. But to have this peace we crave, we need to please God with our faith in Him. When we do this then we can receive His peace—and I would say, in abundance.

This begs the question for those of us who know Jesus Christ but are not knowing, nor feeling His peace. Perhaps we are wondering, “What am I doing to cause this lack?” I believe that it boils down to pleasing God and asking ourselves these questions: Have I stepped away from trusting God in all areas of my life? Have I allowed Him in most areas, but not all because I’m not ready, not willing to fully give that over, or because the very thing that gives me pleasure is actually a stumbling block to my having His favor rest upon me? Is this why I don’t have peace?

This is what I’ve learned: When I find I am in turmoil in life, I need to pause and look at my heart and my eyes. Are they on the Lord and in His Word? Am I genuinely seeking God even though I do not fully understand, but fully trust Him?

It is here, on our journey, where we can find, receive and rest in God’s peace.

Let’s Pray: Father God, I need You. I need Your peace and I recognize that I do not have peace because of me. Because of my holding on, my wandering heart, my stubborn rebellion, my independence, and not letting You have full reign in all areas of my life. I fully, finally and completely, give You all. Everything. And I thank You for the peace that is mine because of this step of obedience. Please give me Your perfect peace. In Jesus’s name I pray, Amen.

Song of Reflection #1: “God and God Alone” by Steve Green. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #2: “I’ll Give You Peace” by Sandi Patty. Listen to it here.

Song of Reflection #3: “God's Favor” by Donald Lawrence and The Tri-City Singers. Listen to it here.

~*~
Author Bio:

As a wife and Marmee to three adult children—two of whom are married—and a new grandson, Kerry Sue’s life is very full. She met her husband in college and served on the mission field with him for a few years before settling down back in the States to raise their family. 

Kerry Sue’s family was a homeschooling family for 20 years and they enjoyed it immensely. For the last 26 years they have lived on a small farm in Northern California where they have raised many farm animals, along with growing and preserving their food. Kerry Sue’s family farm has been a great source of enjoyment and a place to host many family gatherings. She maintains an open-door policy for dear friends—old and new.

Following and serving Jesus Christ is an integral part of Kerry Sue’s life as well as her family’s. Whether it’s singing in the church choir, teaching children or leading and lecturing at a women’s Bible study, Kerry Sue loves to demonstrate her love for Jesus by giving to Him in service. She’s been a blogger for more than 10 years, a Bible study writer for six years, and a devotional writer for more than four years.

Kerry Sue feels led to write about finding God’s Sovereignty in our suffering because of her own journey of more than five years with broken feet. She hopes to to encourage others with her faith walk and real-life stories.

~*~
Connect with Kerry:
Blog: https://www.sovereignblog.com/home
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kerry.teravskis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ksteravskis/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sovereignblog

Devotionals for the Heart: Sheep

Speaking of Sheep…
A devotional by Patrick E. Craig

Is there anything more wonderful than watching kids grow, being there when they succeed or fail, or just want to share an accomplishment? I have a granddaughter, Rebecca who danced in The Nutcracker many years ago – she played one of the little sheep and she was the one who got to whack the wolf on the nose.

Don’t we want to make sure that our kids and grandkids always get to whack their wolves on the nose? How many prayers and tears and supplications are sent heavenward on their behalf? We send them out into the world and yet we want to protect them from it. We do everything we can to teach them about the dangers and pitfalls, and still, they stick their fingers in the fan. We want to keep them safe and secure and help them to grow up and live a “normal” life, and yet we don’t understand what a “normal” life really is, do we?

Our Heavenly Father knows what a normal life is, and He understands that it is not the life to which we so desperately cling, fighting tooth and nail to have everything we want, being dragged kicking and screaming into old age and ultimately death. Our God knows that we live in what C. S. Lewis called the Shadowlands, and that the real life, the real story of humanity will begin, when He has wiped away every tear, burned up this old heaven and this old earth, and established a dwelling place for us where sin, death, and the grave will not be found.

He is so determined to see that we are able to share that life with Him that He sent a Lamb, His only Son, to hang upon a tree, and become a curse for all of us, that we might escape the curse of living for self, and enter a realm where all glory and honor is given to Him, and in return He will share all the wonder, and knowledge, and wisdom that He is, with us, His precious lambs.

"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." ~John 1:29 (KJV)

~*~
Author Bio:

Patrick E. Craig is a lifelong writer and musician who left a successful songwriting and performance career in the music industry to follow Christ in 1984. 

In 2011 he signed a three-book deal with Harvest House Publishers to publish his Apple Creek Dreams series. His current series is The Paradise Chronicles. The first book in the series, The Amish Heiress, a romantic suspense novel, was published by Patrick's company, P&J Publishing, in August of 2015 and remained on the Amazon Top 100 best sellers list in three categories for seven months.

The second book in the series, The Amish Princess, a historical romance novel, was released in December of 2016 and was on Amazon's Hot New Releases for over a month. Harlequin recently purchased the print rights for both books for their Walmart Amish series. Patrick also just released Cracking The Indie Egg—A Recipe For Publishing Your Own Book and it is available in most major digital bookstores.

Patrick and his wife Judy, make their home in Idaho. They have two married children and five grandchildren. Patrick is represented by the Steve Laube Agency.

~*~
Connect with Patrick:
Website - www.patrickecraig.com
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/PatrickECraig
Twitter - https://twitter.com/PatrickECraig
Amazon Author page - http://tinyurl.com/n6sfagg

Devotionals for the Heart: Peace

Perfect Peace

A devotional by Susan Lindstrom 

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble but take heart! I have overcome the world.” — John 16:33 (NIV)

I stand at the back window staring at my current trouble; a large pond that spans not only the width of our yard but the neighbors on each side of us as well. And it’s growing by the minute. At least the ducks swimming in it look happy.

This is a rare occurrence and only happens when we get a consistent rain over three inches. So, when it does happen we jokingly name it ‘Lake Lindstrom’ and think we are pretty clever to have skirted the high taxes that come with real lake front living. The jokes on us though as the rain continues to pound the roof and the water drainage next to our home overflows seeping into our septic system, which backs up into our pipes so if we do anything that requires using water, there is nowhere for it to go, because it’s full. Right up to the brim.

And there’s not a thing we can do about right now. We just have to wait until the water recedes and the drainage can flow freely again. We’re told it was an error in judgement when the house was built 45 years ago and will require a lot of money to fix it. A lot, as in more than we have. I wonder why it slipped the previous owners mind to not mention this little detail.

Whatever, it’s our problem now.

It’s an odd feeling knowing you can’t use the water inside your home. Kind of like tent camping in a permanent structure. I tried pretending it was a hundred years ago, you know, before indoor plumbing, but I can’t ignore the fact that I’m already spoiled with modern conveniences and there is no outhouse to run to.

This isn’t the first time, it’s actually been a few springs now so we have learned the fine art of being frugal with our water usage. We also have learned who our real friends are, the ones that let us come over to shower and rack up their water bill. It may be the best kind of friendship, or maybe it’s pity.

But today is day three and there is more rain on the way. It’s getting harder to ‘take heart’.

I know that eventually this problem will get resolved and I’ve lived long enough to know there’ll soon be another to take its place. A saying comes to mind, "We are either coming into a problem, in the middle of one or coming out of one." 

And even though it would be awfully nice to have a trouble-free life, it’s unrealistic. Jesus actually tells us to expect it and to deal with it. But He doesn’t leave us hanging with the how-to, He wants us to do life together. He wants us to have peace in the midst of trouble, His Peace. It is, after all, one of the amazing gifts from the Holy Spirit. It shows us God’s character and is an attribute that calls us to be like Him. The peace He so lovingly gives us is a state of tranquility or quietness of spirit, the total opposite of stress and worry.

Yes, those two troublemakers that slip in when I’m not paying attention, causing knots in my shoulders not to mention the ache in my heart.

I know I can’t control the water situation but I can control my thoughts. And coming to Him in prayer I choose to rest in His Peace and to trust in His Power and Wisdom to make all things work together for our good.

Thank you, Lord.

I pray that whatever trouble is going on in your life that you choose to turn it over to El Shaddai, The All Sufficient One, the One that is bigger than your troubles. 

Accept God's gift and take heart in His Perfect Peace.

Now, I wonder if the ducks would mind if I joined them?

~*~
Author Bio: 

Susan Lindstrom is not an award-winning writer yet unless you count that ‘best story’ award in third grade but stay tuned to see what God has planned!

Writing has always been a passion but raising a family, running her sewing and design business, involvement in women’s ministry and teaching Sunday School has kept her plenty busy.

Now retired and an empty-nester she trusts in God’s amazing timing and has jumped in to embrace this new adventure of writing.

Her first book is for children and will soon be released. It's the first in a series of real-life adventures focusing on the fruit of the Spirit.

She grew up on both the East and West coasts and now calls the beautiful state of Wisconsin home. She’s a wife, mom, and grandma to 10 children.

Susan listens to a wide variety of music, loves live performances and believes that laughter is the best medicine.

When she is not indoors writing, reading or pretending to clean the house, she’s outdoors enjoying the beauty of God’s Creation.

She’s a proud member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW).

SaveSave

Thankful Thursday: Earth is NOT Our Home

It's Thursday and I'm thankful that Earth is NOT our home.

"Why?" You may ask. Allow me to explain.

I don't think you have to look far these days to see signs of trouble. It's clear that with the state of the world and human affairs today, life is getting more complicated and more unpredictable. Mother Nature is having mood swings (hot weather in months that are supposed to be cold, cold weather in months that are supposed to be hot) and people are getting more comfortable with disrespecting each other. It's sad.

Lately, I've realized that I've been so busy trying to establish myself as a career professional and secure a place for me in this world that I've forgotten one Bible based truth: Earth is NOT our home.

So where is our home? If you're a believer in God and a follower of Jesus Christ then you know that Heaven is our true home. As Christians, we are just passing through which is why God advises us in His Word (The Holy Bible) to not get too comfortable here on this planet Earth.

According to The Message Bible, God advises us, "Friends, this world is not your home, so don’t make yourselves cozy in it. Don’t indulge your ego at the expense of your soul. Live an exemplary life among the natives so that your actions will refute their prejudices. Then they’ll be won over to God’s side and be there to join in the celebration when he arrives" (1 Peter 2:11-12, MSG).

I love the Bible book of Hebrews, especially Chapter 11 of Hebrews. I call it “The Faith Chapter” because it shows us how our spiritual forefathers like Abraham followed God without question. They had full faith in where He was leading. Abraham literally packed his bags and took his family on a journey to a destination unknown just because God said, “Go.”

I want to have the faith of father Abraham to the point where my life is summed up simply as, “God sent, she went!” I want to follow Him to the ends of the Earth. I want to serve Him with all of my heart and be a willing and true vessel for His purpose. I want to be one of His servants who He uses as an instrument of His peace. I want to, as St. Francis of Assisi said, be used as an instrument of God’s peace. Honestly, in our modern times on this Earth, I think it is a prayer that every Christ-follower should pray to God.

Let’s read St. Francis’ prayer. He said: “Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.”

A lot of times when life on Earth makes me overwhelmed, discouraged or too depressed to pray, I ask God-fearing friends to pray for me. One of those friends is an older lady who wakes up early in the morning every day to pray for everyone on her prayer list. Recently, I reached out to her in my distress and her answer to me was simple. She told me, “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus Christ.” And honestly, it upset me because it felt like she was bypassing my pain with Bible-based advice and for the rest of the day, I silently stewed, thinking that she doesn’t know what I’m dealing with or she wouldn’t say that to me. I’m hurt! I’m in pain! I’m overwhelmed! I’m oppressed and depressed and THIS is what she tells me? BUT God started working on my heart and I realized that though her advice seemed simple, it was the perfect answer because only God can give me perfect peace.

It’s like this song by Laura Story:

So my dear friends, as this world gets crazier and the weather becomes more unpredictable and you’re feeling too overwhelmed to function, keep your eyes on Jesus Christ because only He can give you perfect peace.

Please remember that if you believe in the Creator of the Universe (God), Earth is NOT our home. We are, like our spiritual forefathers mentioned in The Faith Chapter, “waiting for the city with permanent foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Hebrews 11:10, ISV).

Heaven is our home. It’s a place free of sin and sorrow. No more death, depression, oppression, despair, injustice or inequities. The day is coming when God will make everything right. Until then, let us as my prayer warrior church friend says, “Keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

God bless you!

Love,

Alexis

Words of Faith: Jane's story about preparing for battle

Battle Preparation
A Words of Faith story by Jane Kirkpatrick

Prepare for the battle. At the end of my prayer time in late 1985, I asked as I always did, “Do you have anything to say to me?” Sometime a name came to mind and I’d call or send that person a card. Often a melody or lyric brushed my day. Once, a butterfly landed on my knee as a reminder that God was with me. But Prepare for the battle? I’m pretty suggestible (we writers have active imaginations) so I don’t even read about new diseases for fear I’ll develop the symptoms. I asked my prayer question several times in the weeks ahead and the phrase remained: Prepare for the battle.

My husband and I had just left our jobs (he a builder, me a mental health director) and moved to a remote piece of 160 acres of rattlesnake and rocks in Oregon along a wild and scenic river. We’d stepped out on a cloud of faith, believing we wouldn’t fall through. But it hadn’t been easy homesteading: acquiring electricity, harnessing a spring, building a house, even digging a phone line seven miles, twice because it didn’t work the first time. We lived seven miles from our mailbox and eleven miles from a paved road. I hadn’t seen those challenges as battles.

How does one prepare for a battle of uncertainty? Put on the “full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:10-20). I reviewed my prayer journal noting all the times I’d been worried or made requests and how God had provided. I spent more time in scripture. Psalms 66:12 says “…you brought us to a place of abundance.” That felt reassuring. I read biographies of people of great faith and spent time in Hebrews 11 with the stories of Noah, Abraham, Sara and beyond. They didn’t all receive the promise in this lifetime the scripture says but God is faithful and they were blessed.

Life went on over the next months. We had a flood that messed up fences we’d just put in. Equipment broke down. A favorite dog died. I commuted to a job that took me away three days a week. Still no battle.

Then on a brisk day in March of 1986 my husband and I flew our small plane with an instructor for required biannual reviews. Our friends who had helped put in the phone line flew with us. Nancy was seven and a half months pregnant. All went well until we began our descent close to home to an uphill airstrip over a cluster of trees and a town. I said to Nancy, “We could lose an engine here and be fine because we’re so close to the end of the runway.” In that instant, the wind sounds changed. We began to float toward fir trees. “Jerry, the trees?” I said. Then I heard the sound of locust branches scraping the bottom of the plane. I still thought we’d make it -- I could hear the engine humming -- when the wing clipped a spruce tree and we pitched forward. We were going down into power lines and houses.

I saw a white light and thought, “So this is how it ends.” I felt calm; worried only over my husband and friends. I didn’t even pray.

We crashed in the street. I felt a thousand beestings all at once over my foot and the shattering of bones in my arm that had plunged into the instrument panel. Nancy’s husband shouted her name. She gagged a response. I looked at the bloody face of my husband and knew this was the battle.

But God had prepared us. We had surgeries, months of recovery with Jerry’s broken ankles, hips, sprained wrists, facial cuts; my shattered foot and arm. But God brought abundance. My parents came to take care of us. Nancy delivered a full term baby girl. Ken wasn’t hurt at all.

I could pray for others during this time, but not for myself. I think I was angry that if God could prepare me for a battle, why didn’t God stop the fight? Then one day I read in 2 Chronicles 20:15: "Do not be afraid or discouraged… For the battle is not yours, but God's." Ah, sweet peace.

When I sometimes begin to feel separated from God, fatigued by life’s battles, worried over what is or what might be, I remember that time. Theologian Paul Tillich reminds us that in life we must come to terms with three things: that we are mortal, that we control nothing, and that life is uncertain. I still ask my question; but I rest knowing that God goes before, during and after the battle and gives me peace.

~*~
Author bio:

Jane Kirkpatrick is the author of 31 books including 26 novels based on the lives of actual pioneer women. This Road We Traveled (Revell, September) received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly, concluding with “This is more than one woman’s story of courage and faith; it is the story of a family that journeys, grows, and heals together. Kirkpatrick’s vivid, rich prose will keep readers in awe and on the edges of their seats.” 

Jane has won the following awards: Carol Award, USA Best Books Award, WILLA Literary Award and the Wrangler Award. She is a two-time finalist for The Christy Awards and the Oregon Book Award for fiction. Portions of this “Prepare for the Battle” story were published in her memoir Homestead (Whitaker). Jane lives with her husband of 40 years and two dogs in Central Oregon. 

~*~

Connect with Jane:
Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Google+ ~  Pinterest ~ Jane's Blog ~ Jane's Website

SaveSaveSaveSave

Holiday song: I Need A Silent Night

Thankful Thursday: A Lesson in Trust

It’s Thursday and I’m thankful for God teaching me a lesson in trust.

Learning how to trust God is a lesson I take on a daily basis. Not just trusting Him with the basics: to wake me up in the morning, guide me throughout the day and lull me into a good night’s sleep. But learning how to trust him with the BIG things in life: career, relationships, bills that need to be paid. And learning how to be grateful for the SMALL things in life: finding my favorite pens at the store (the multicolored "Profile" series by Paper Mate), hearing my newest favorite song on the radio or YouTube (“I Need You Now” by Christian artist Plumb) and spending free time with family.

Learning to trust God, as easy as it seems, is not always simple. It’s not simple when you don’t know what’s going to happen next in your life and are trying not to worry about tomorrow. But like a card I bought from a Christian bookstore years ago says about having a relationship with God, “TRUST is a MUST” and it’s completely true. I may not always be able to sense God’s presence or feel Him near or know exactly what He has planned for me but I MUST and WILL continue trust Him with my life, dreams and future because only He can provide me with a “peace that passes all understanding" (Philippians 4:7) and "keep me in perfect peace" (Isaiah 26:3). And how do you get that peace? You receive it by placing your TRUST in God.

Today, I am especially thankful for the devout Christian people/artists and inspirational pictures God leads me to find online, all of which encourage me to trust Him more. So if any of you, my dear readers, are struggling with trusting God, I would like to encourage you by sharing a word from Christian author/speaker Lysa TerKeurst and by showing you a photo I found on a blog post by Ashley Larkin called "Anxiety's antidote":

Lysa TerKeurst says (Facebook status on her professional page dated 4/25/2013), Soak in these words tonight before you go to bed:

- God is the solution for every single one of my troubles
- God is within me and perfectly equips me to know what to do
- God is with me therefore there is nothing I’ll face alone
- Evidence of His constant work is all around me if only I will choose to see it

And here's the picture with words to ease any anxiety you may have:

~*~

Always remember, GOD is in CONTROL and HE works ALL things together for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28). So press on dear readers (and I'm talking to myself here too), have faith in God because He won’t EVER fail to provide you with everything you need in this life, starting with a trust in Him.

God bless you!

Love,

Alexis

Thankful Thursday: The Blessing of Friends Who Pray

It’s Thursday and I am thankful for the blessing of friends who pray. 

Life is beautiful but it can also be so hard, especially when you don’t know what’s around the bend. But if you have faith in God and continue praying to Him, you will be at peace in the midst of any storm. The Bible says in Isaiah 26:3, God will keep in "perfect peace" all who trust in Him, all whose thoughts are fixed on Him. GOD is willing and able to be your Provider, Protector and Navigator throughout your journey on Earth. God will even send people into your life who will pray for you, sometimes without you asking.

Such was the case when one of my friends who is a chaplain, we’ll call her GD, called me yesterday to pray. The conversation started with an update on how my first, 7-day fast from Facebook went and I told her that I completed the fast (and to my surprise, stuck to it for the entire 7 days) but I had not yet heard anything “spectacular” from God. Prior to my fast, I had shared with GD how I was expecting answers, like doubtless direction from God at the end of this fast—After all I was giving up my time on FACEBOOK! That’s serious stuff as Lord knows thousands if not millions of people in the entire world are addicted to that social networking site! 

I did tell GD how, after the initial 24 hours of my fast from Facebook, it was surprisingly easy to live without Facebook (yes, it IS possible) and I believe that while I did not hear something spectacular from God, my mental health improved (Lord knows the comparison game Facebook that can suck you in, full force, is something crazy) and I felt more at peace. During this time, I realized that I need to fast from Facebook more often which is a commitment I’m planning to make. I also shared with GD that while I did not hear “something spectacular” from God, I did receive reaffirmation through people and events that occurred during that week to reassure me that I am on the right path and that God does want me to do what He’s given me talents for (writing and photography) but I may need to make tents in the meantime. 

Allow me to explain what I mean by needing to “make tents”…When my job in Journalism did not work out, I spoke with one of my Christian mentors (we’ll call her JK) and expressed my disappointment in a shattered dream, frustration in not knowing when or where I'd work again, anxiety (because I have bills to pay) and doubt in what exactly God’s plan for my life would be (wondering whether or not my professional writing/publishing/photography dreams would become true) and to all of this, JK told me, “I am sorry about this shattered dream…Do not apologize for needing a job to pay your bills…the greatest Christian Writer made ends meet regularly through “tent-making” (Paul the Apostle). With every shattered dream—there is a better dream coming.” 

So I shared that advice from JK and GD agreed. She told me that even though I did not hear “something spectacular” from God after the conclusion of my fast from Facebook, God did reveal His will to me through the conversations and incidents that happened throughout the week to reaffirm this simple truth—I am exactly where God wants me to be right now in this life. And that made me happy because that is exactly where I want to be—in the center of God’s will for me. 

And then GD offered to pray for me. The exact words from the prayer, I do not remember but after the prayer, I recall feeling so much better and thankful for the blessing of friends like GD who pray for me—with or without me asking—because sometimes you cannot pray for yourself which is why the Bible tells us to pray for each other, in church we call this “intercessory prayer”. 

If you are at a point in your life when you do not have any family or friends to pray for you, there is HOPE because the Bible says that Jesus Christ is constantly interceding for us before the Father (God) which means He is praying for you! What a blessing I believe it is to have the SAVIOR of the WORLD (Jesus Christ) praying on behalf of His creation (you and me, humanity). What better person to have on your side than the One who has lived on this Earth and been through every human experience so that He has ultimate empathy and compassion for each of our unique situations? 

The New Living Translation of the Holy Bible says in 1 Peter 5:7 for us to, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” Yes, you read that right, there is a GOD who CARES about YOU! And He wants you to be saved and have the hope of eternal life, that’s why He sent you’re His Son Jesus Christ, who is now your Intercessor, to this Earth to live, die and be resurrected into eternal life so that we can have the hope that there is something better beyond this world...So that we could know that our story does NOT end with death because if we followed Jesus Christ when we were alive, we do have hope of eternal life. But that’s another post for another day! 

All I want to say at this point is to re-emphasize how grateful I am for the friends (and family) whom God has placed in my life to pray for me. I encourage you to invest in Bible-believing, Christ-following, praying friends because the benefits are eternal and while life can be hard, it will make your walk easier. 

Waiting on God

Dear friends,

Happy Sabbath dear hearts! :)

Have you ever read a Bible verse or heard a song many times but all of a sudden one day, it makes perfect sense to you? 

A song by Vicki Yohe, "In the Waiting" speaks to me and the message is becoming crystal clear these days because it speaks to where I am in my relationship with Jesus Christ.

I've been upset with God. Admittedly, I've been mad because I have all these questions concerning issues in my life-- past and present-- which I've taken to God's throne repeatedly in prayer but have not thought that God has addressed my concerns. God has been silent. 

Earlier this week, I could not sleep at night and in the back of my mind were the lyrics to one of my favorite songs that I have not heard in a while. The song was, you guessed it, "In the Waiting" and it's performed by Christian artist Vicki Yohe.

Now I've heard this song countless of times since I bought the album on which the song is listed but I never paid special attention to the lyrics because I simply loved the melody. At first, I didn't believe I would find the CD buried amongst my countless collection of Christian albums. But God led me right to where I had placed it. So I recovered it and placed it into my CD player which is on the desk by my bed. I found the song (track 4 on Vicki's album "I Just Want You") and slipped into bed as I began to listen to the beautiful melody. 

Suddenly, I began to listen to the lyrics of the song and I heard God's heart. He wants me to know that it's OK to feel pain, it's OK to have doubts, it's OK to be mad at Him. Another song I listen to says "God isn't afraid of honest prayers" but back to "In the Waiting"...Ultimately, God let me know that being "in the waiting" between where I was and currently am to where God wants me to be is trying of my faith. But I need to take refuge in knowing that God wants me to know that I can rest in being still and knowing that HE is GOD (Psalm 46:10) and to know that just because all I hear is silence does NOT mean that I am alone. Contrary to the lies the enemy (the devil) constantly attacks me with, God is still here and He's right by my side. Even when I feel that I am distant from God or that I'm mad because I'm mad at Him, God smiles and wraps His healing arms of compassion around me and lets me know that it's okay to be here, in the waiting because He's still here with me and He will take me to where I need to be not only throughout my journey here on this earth, but in my spiritual walk (faith journey) with His Son Jesus Christ.

God doesn't give up on any of His children. He's the Good Shepherd and we are His sheep. There's a story in the Bible about how when even just one of the Good Shepherd's sheep goes astray, the shepherd leaves the rest safely tucked away at home and searches for the one lost sheep until He finds them and then He restores the lost sheep to the fold. Read Matthew 18:10-14.

Dear friends, are any of you lost? 

Know that God is searching for you as I write this devotional. Even as you read these words, God has already found you and He's waiting. Yes, God is waiting for you. He's waiting for you to return to Him and is ready and willing to restore you not to what you have been but to what He wants you to be and it's a beautiful picture of God's grace that waits to not only bring a smile to your face with his unlimited blessings which He's eager to pour over your life, but salvation to your soul. Know that Earth in all of its beauty and tragedy is not our home, it's training grounds for heaven.

Someone once told me, "God cares more about our character than our comfort."

God will let us go through trials and tribulations and yes, silence so that He can refine our characters and get us ready for heaven. Remember, we cannot take anything to heaven but our characters. When Jesus comes again, the mortal bodies of His children will take on immortality and we will start the best part of our faith journey with Jesus-- eternity starting in Heaven. God will put a permanent end to sin and all of its cruel effects and the devil and his agents will no longer exist. He will restore this Earth to what it was meant to be and harmony in the universe and between all the worlds will be restored as will God's character. The whole idea behind The Great Controversy is the devil's claim that God's law is unjust, that God Himself is unkind and that the devil's way is better than God's plan. 

Beware dear friends, because God's plan leads to eternal life, the devil's plans lead to eternal death of not only the devil but all who follow him. So as attractive and promising as sin looks, stay away because while you may enjoy the pleasures of sin it will only be for a season and you will pay a price if you do not repent and turn to Jesus. That price is loss of the promise of eternal life.

A Bible character named Joshua (who once lived on this Earth) famously said, "Choose this day whom ye shall serve...but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord" (Joshua 24:15). 

I choose JESUS and I choose to know His peace that comes with being in the waiting.

My prayers are with you. Choose wisely and trust that if you choose JESUS, He will never leave nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5) and when our waiting here on Earth is over, Jesus Christ will be there to usher you and all of His faithful followers into eternity free of sorrow, free of pain, filled with joy and perfect peace and discovery! Yes, God has great plans (Jeremiah 29:11) in store for us beyond this world!

Praying for you,

Alexis