Jeremiah | Kristi's Morning Devotional

April 14, 2018

Follow God – He Provides

Years ago when we were young in faith and learning to listen to the Lord’s voice we had a cowboy preacher, a dear friend, tell us this:

If God says go South, He will provide; If you go North you’ll think you died!

Now that’s not scripture but it is scriptural.

All through the Bible we see examples of the Lord doing just that. He provided for the Israelites in the desert. He gave them manna and quail and water gushed from a rock. Before that, Joseph used the Pharoah’s grain to feed his family during the famine. Noah and his family were safe and dry in the ark.

When the wise men came to see the child Jesus they brought gifts of gold, myrrh and frankinscense. Soon after their departure the Lord instructed Joseph to take his family to Egypt. The Lord had provided what they needed for the trip.

It’s important that we follow with the Lord with a trusting heart.

“Trust the Lord completely, and don’t depend on your own knowledge. ⁶With every step you take, think about what he wants, and he will help you go the right way. ⁷Don’t trust in your own wisdom, but fear and respect the Lord and stay away from evil. ⁸If you do this, it will be like a refreshing drink and medicine for your body.” Proverb 3:5-8 ERV

When we follow His plan for us there may be times of uncertainty but we don’t need to be afraid.

“Turn to the Lord for help in everything you do, and you will be successful.⁴The Lord has a plan for everything.” Proverbs 16:3-4a ERV

God has a plan for each day – it doesn’t really matter what the activities are in the day; He has a plan! Some days His plan is to change our plans.

When we listen, He speaks and when we follow His leading we are blessed!

“Today I am giving you a choice. You may choose the blessing or the curse. ²⁷You will get the blessing if you listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God that I have told you today. ²⁸But you will get the curse if you refuse to listen and obey the commands of the Lord your God. So don’t stop living the way I command you today, and don’t follow other gods that you don’t know.” Deuteronomy 11:26-28 ERV

We have a choice – it would be silly to lean to our own understanding since following Him is the right way to go and His wisdom is perfect.

Trust the Lord today. He loves you and His desire for you is good!

“ I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. ¹²Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you.” Jeremiah 29:11-12 ERV

Go South today – He will provide!!!

April 6, 2018

The Choice is Yours

Have you ever sat alone with your thoughts? Wondering how things are going to be in the future or what you could have done differently to change the past and shape your present?

Maybe you’ve been going over and over the dynamics of a relationship; your education or lack thereof; your financial situation or your health. Too often, you begin to follow rabbit trails in your mind and come to a place of discontentment or disaster.Before you know it you are angry or depressed.

You know how it goes, you have a bad dream where you fight with your spouse or a friend or a co-worker and when you wake up, you’re madder than blazes and it spoils your morning and maybe your day.

I know none of you have had experiences like that but some people have. Some people let their imaginings become real and they are hurt by them.

But what has any of this got to do with anything. Glad you asked because it takes me to this morning’s devotional thought.

“We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 ERV

One version of this verse tells us to cast down vain imaginations. That’s what I was talking about above. When those thoughts of failure, death, desertion, and humiliation come you need to take them captive or cast them down. But how?

“Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That’s the most sensible way to serve God. 2 Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him.” Romans 12:1-2 CEV

and how do you change the way you think…

“Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.” Philippians 4:8 ERV

The news you hear everyday is mostly bad; most of you have a tendency to run “the worst case scenario” when you think of doing something new. But that needs to change.

Yes, it’s that simple. If you don’t like the way the red shirt looks, you change to the blue. If you don’t like the brown boots you change to the red ones. If you don’t like the fishing lure you’re using you change to live bait.

Your thoughts are the data that you input to your mind’s hard drive. They dictate your prejudice, your approval, joy, and your sorrow. You can make wrong assumptions and be destroyed or you can choose to consider God’s word, his thoughts and live in victory.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV

Change – renew your mind to God’s way of thinking instead of your own. Think about what’s good, honorable, pure and true. When those bad thoughts and imaginings come, change them! Change them immediately! Replace them with what God has said about you and your situation.

When you do, the word of God will rule in your heart and God’s word brings peace and light!

Time for a change!!

March 26, 2018

Answering the Call

How many of you can remember the old rotary dial phones? I do. They were a part of my childhood. I really think the first phone I saw was on my grandmother’s desk.

It was very similar to the one pictured here. And there was this cute little pencil with a round ball on top that you could use to help dial the phone. You see we didn’t have a phone in our home until I was in 3rd grade.

Dave remembers having a crank phone with a party line when he was a kid. If you wanted to make a call you had to listen first to make sure no one else was using it.

Things have certainly progressed!

Now, nearly everyone walks around with a phone in their pocket or purse. Voice mail and text messages have given way to personal calls. Phones are more for searching the web, checking accounts, keeping a calendar and GPS navigation than for talking.

Oh the good old days. Hearing someone’s voice and being excited to let all the distractions go and just visit. We couldn’t walk around and do dishes, clean, water the plants, use the computer while we were on the phone. No, we were tethered by a cord and so we generally just sat and visited. We learned about each other – talking and listening.

This morning as I was having my Bible reading I came across a verse in Jeremiah. He was one of the Old Testament prophets that God spoke His message through – God reaching out to the people of Israel giving them guidance and instruction.

“While Jeremiah was still shut up in the open space of the prison, the Word of the Lord came to him a second time, saying, ²“This is what the Lord says Who made the earth. The Lord made it to last. The Lord is His name. ³‘Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’ ” Jeremiah 33:1-3 NLV

Call me and I will answer! How marvelous, we have God’s direct line! No going through phone trees, leaving voicemail or even sending a text. Call me and I will answer!

For the next several days, not sure how long, I am going to be on a private call with my Father. I need to have some time to spend with Him, sitting and hearing His voice. Learning what He desires for me to do and a lot of just catching up.

I want to learn those great and wonderful things that He is desiring to show me. Can you imagine the maker of the universe has asked us to spend time with Him?

I’m taking Him up on the offer. I hope you will too!

January 26, 2018January 26, 2018

No GPS or Voicemail

Have you ever gotten stuck in one of those phone trees – you know the ones, press 1 for billing, press 2 to change your address, press 3 for something else, press 5 for none of the above. They never give you the number to press to get a live person to talk too and then when you’ve been holding for 20-30 minutes you errantly get disconnected and have to call back and start the process over. Has to be one of the most frustrating things ever!

Or what about the GPS that you are depending on to help you navigate an unknown city. Turn here, turn there, recalculating, recalculating, recalculating!

The two verses that we are looking at this morning come from the book of Jeremiah. This book is a history of the Israelites being carried off as prisoners of the king of Babylon, their repentance while in captivity and their return to their Promised Land of Israel.

So what’s that got to with us? All Scripture is truly a letter to us from God. We can learn from what others did wrong to avoid the same pitfalls and failures that they experienced. As we look at these two verses this morning we will see that no matter how far the people of Israel went in their rebellion to God he was always reaching out to them in love.

“0 After Babylonia has been the strongest nation for seventy years, I will be kind and bring you back to Jerusalem, just as I have promised. 11 I will bless you with a future filled with hope—a future of success, not of suffering. 12 You will turn back to me and ask for help, and I will answer your prayers. 13 You will worship me with all your heart, and I will be with you” Jeremiah 29:10-13 CEV

We can learn from the Israelites. God always had a plan for them to be a great nation, His people. He had promised to protect, provide and give them victory but they became distracted and disobedient when they began to worship the false gods of the nations around them. They forgot and then ignored the plan that God had set for them.

Do you remember the very first of the 10 commandments?

“Do not worship any god except me. 4 Do not make idols that look like anything in the sky or on earth or in the ocean under the earth. 5 Don’t bow down and worship idols. I am the Lord your God, and I demand all your love. If you reject me, I will punish your families for three or four generations. 6 But if you love me and obey my laws, I will be kind to your families for thousands of generations.” Exodus 20:3-4 CEV

God’s command to worship only Him was a command for their own good and protection. He knew that if they followed other gods if would be detrimental and He didn’t want to see His people destroyed or depraved as other nations were. But God didn’t want puppets serving Him; He wanted them to serve Him out of love and not because they had no choice. God gave them a free will – the right to choose. Theirs was a bad choice and it led to their captivity.

We have a choice too. It’s important that we make the right ones, when we do we live this life that Lord reminded the people about. It is a life with a future filled with hope and blessing, a future of success and not suffering. God was reminding the Israelites and us that His plan for us is good and if we ask for help He is there to answer.

We don’t need a GPS to follow the plan God has for us we just need to call out to Him and he will direct our path.

“‘Call to Me, and I will answer you. And I will show you great and wonderful things which you do not know.’” Jeremiah 33:3 NLV

When we call out to God we don’t have to go through press 1 for this, press 5 for that and we never get stuck on hold or go to voicemail. We are instantly connected to our loving, heavenly Father. He is always there and will provide the help we need. (Remember yesterday’s verse)

Rest assured God is always there and waiting for us to call.

January 5, 2018January 5, 2018

What Do You Remember

A few weeks back my Mom came to stay for a several days. At 94 her memory isn’t as sharp as it once was but she still has a good memory for someone her age. It’s always fun for me to talk with her about things that we did as kids – places we lived, friends we grew up with and special times we had as a family.

Dad was a blue-collar worker so we never had lavish gifts or big vacations. What we had instead were times of fishing at the lake, picnic lunches from the tail gate of the station wagon and day trips to the National Parks. We fed salt water taffy to the chipmunks in Zion, caught trout on salmon eggs and had rain water pour through the rotted roof of a travel trailer. (big smile) Yes, wonderful memories.

I also have wonderful memories of when our children were growing up and we saw the Lord do numerous miracles in our day to day life. Miracles of healing and provision, miracles of safety and protection. Answered prayers and expressions of God’s faithfulness.

Oh, how I love God’s word! It is such a joy to read it and know that for thousands of years it has never failed or been proven false and God will continue to protect it and bring it to pass. It won’t fail me or my children or my grandchildren.

“Heaven and earth shall pass away but my word shall never pass away” Matthew 24:35

We’re about 1/3 way through Psalm 119 and I hope you are enjoying our study and that the Lord is ministering to you personally as we cover each segment.

“Remember your promise to me, your servant. It gives me hope. 50 You comfort me in my suffering, because your promise gives me new life.
51 People full of pride are always making fun of me, but I have not stopped following your teachings. 52 I remember the laws you gave us long ago, Lord, and they bring me comfort. 53 I am overcome with anger when I see wicked people, who have stopped following your teachings. 54 Your laws are the songs I sing wherever I am living. 55 Lord, in the night I remembered your name, and I obeyed your teachings. 56 This happened because I carefully obey your instructions.” Psalm 119: 49-56

Remembering God’s promises should give us hope and create an excitement in our hearts just like it did for David. I once heard it said that God has never had anyone, other than Jesus, qualified working for Him yet so don’t get hung up on your shortcomings. Look at those who God has used. Abraham was too old; David was too young. Mary Magdalen was a prostitute; Peter denied the Lord and Paul, the Apostle, killed Christians. (Just to name a few.)

We can either get puffed up with pride or become discouraged if we compare ourselves to others but when we see that God gave His promises to common everyday people, just like us, we know that His word isn’t just for a select few or the very elite. One verse that is ringing in my memory this morning is my favorite verse in the Bible. If you’ve been reading my posts very long at all you will know that I am talking about Numbers 23:19.

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

God doesn’t lie – that gives me hope! He doesn’t lie about salvation, healing, peace, joy, comfort, protection, prosperity, wisdom, victory…He doesn’t lie! And what’s more, He tells us to remind Him of His word. Not because He’s old and senile and might forget but because He wants us to boldly trust our relationship with Him.

“Turn to the Lord! He can still be found. Call out to God! He is near. 7 Give up your crooked ways and your evil thoughts. Return to the Lord our God. He will be merciful and forgive your sins. 8 The Lord says: “My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. 9 Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are higher than yours. 10 “Rain and snow fall from the sky. But they don’t return without watering the earth that produces seeds to plant and grain to eat.
11 That’s how it is with my words. They don’t return to me without doing everything I send them to do.” Isaiah 55:6-11 CEV

Moses instructed the nation of Israel to teach their children the things that God had done; deliverance from Egypt, the miracles in the wilderness and the victory of entering the promised land. Then Peter says that it was important for him to remind the believers of all that God had done for them so that they, we, wouldn’t be deceive and fall away from God’s plan.

In Hebrews we are instructed to come BOLDLY to the throne of grace to find help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) That boldness can only come as we stand on God’s word and rely on Him to be faithful and loving. Each time I think of this verse I remember an incident that happened when our kids were small. We live out in the middle of nowhere, and I do mean nowhere; thirty miles from the closest small town and 70 miles from Phoenix. We were farming 900 acres of alfalfa – we had told the kids that on Friday we would go to the Dairy Queen. That was a big deal! We had promised!

So Friday when the kids got home from school they quickly reminded us that this was Friday and we had said we were going to Dairy Queen. Of course we went – tired but we went – we had promised! We didn’t scold the kids for reminding us – they weren’t being arrogant or demanding – they were being kids and we had promised so they expected that we would have kept our word.

If we as natural, earthly parents make promises and keep our word to our children should we think that God in all His power and glory would do any less? If He didn’t want us to believe that He was faithful, then He shouldn’t have included promises in His word but He did and He IS!

When I remember God’s word, His promises and how He has provided in the past it causes me to sing. Just this last week, while I was out on a walk, I had been battling discouragement in a particular matter. As I focused not on the problem but on God’s faithfulness, I began to recall times in the past when God had “come through” and shown Himself faithful. There were so many times – large and small. It didn’t take me very long before I was singing praise to God.

“Ah Lord God! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:” Jeremiah 32:17

Nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing. Nothing is too difficult for thee!!

Put God in remembrance of His word today!

January 1, 2018January 1, 2018

No Shame!

Have you ever felt like you were all alone in your journey? No one to support you or to encourage you. It might seem like you’re doing this all on your own; at times you feel weak and like you really don’t want to go on. You’re ready to quit but don’t!

It’s ok to be honest with God? Today’s verses are heart-felt and filled with honesty.

“I lie here like a dying man. Say the word, and I will live again. 26 I told you about my life, and you answered me. Now, teach me your laws. 27 Help me understand your instructions, and I will think about your wonderful teachings. 28 I am sad and tired. Say the word, and make me strong again. 29 Don’t let me live a lie. Guide me with your teachings. 30 I have chosen to be loyal to you. I respect your laws. 31 I follow your rules closely, Lord. Don’t let me be put to shame. 32 I do my best to follow your commands, because you are the one who gives me the desire.” Psalm 119:25-32

I Samuel 30 tells a heart wrenching story. King David and his men had been out fighting and when they returned to their home town of Ziklag they found it had been burned and all the women in the town taken captive; their wives, mothers and daughters. They were distraught and the Scripture says they all cried loudly and they wept until they were weak and could weep no more.

These men, mighty warriors, were so overcome with emotion that their bodies were physically and mentally exhausted and they had no more tears – they were hopeless. Have you ever been there? Almost but not quite to that extent but almost! I can imagine the questions – why God, why? This isn’t right!! WOW! David’s men were ready to stone him they were so sad and angry. Now watch what David did…

“…The men were talking about killing David with stones. This upset David very much, but he found strength in the Lord his God…8 Then David prayed to the Lord.” I Samuel 30:6-8

One version of this verse says David “encouraged” himself in the Lord. In the midst of trouble, he didn’t go seeking advice from Dr. Phil, Oprah, Fox News, his local pastor – he went to the Lord. And the Lord answered him and told him how to overtake his enemies and recover their families and not one life was lost.

I remember one time in particular that I was at a very low point. Things were not good and I was at the end of myself. I was a basket case. I left work and drove to the beach. A friend of mine had told me it was ok to be honest with God; He knew what I was thinking whether I spoke it out loud or not. So there, overlooking the sand and waves, I began to cry.

I told God that he was failing me. I told Him that I had been praying and asking for things to change and He wasn’t answering. I think I even cussed a time or two as I was telling Him how HE was letting me down. And then I got quiet and told the Lord that I knew that He wasn’t the problem. That I had walked with Him long enough to know that He was always honest and that He could never fail – I knew that. So I asked Him to show me my failure and how He wanted me to be going forward.

Peace came. The situation didn’t change immediately but from that day it began to get better…

Back to Psalms. This segment of the chapter conveys heartbreak and disappointment but what it doesn’t do is blame God for the problem. It seeks him for the answer. If we find ourselves blaming God, then He becomes our problem and it makes it very hard to find the right answer. God is the only “right source”.

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and incomprehensible things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3

In distress and trouble what’s your first reaction – cuss or pray? Cussing doesn’t help – it’s not the answer. Praying brings us to God’s presence and then the Holy Spirit can bring us the answer that we so desperately need. That’s what David did – he let the Lord lead him and he was able to recover everything the enemy had stolen. We have an enemy, a very real enemy. His name is Satan and he tries to steal from us but once we recognize who the enemy is, God will give us wisdom in how to take back what has been stolen.

Jesus said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10

When Jesus was tempted of Satan, He countered each temptation with “it is written, it is written, it is written”! If Jesus needed to use the word of God, shouldn’t we do the same? We can’t fight with our own weapons, we won’t be successful but when we use God’s we are promised victory.

One of the last things we find in these verses in Psalms is that if we follow God’s word we won’t be put to shame! Follow Him carefully – He’ll never lead you astray.

December 22, 2017December 23, 2017

The Gift of Consistency

I’m so glad that God is “User Friendly”.

Yes, I was finally able to get on my computer the other morning after the update was complete but then I had to plug in passwords, click through all the tutorial promptings to finally arrive at the sites that I use and enjoy. Updating computer software and changing programs – ugh! And I just realized that I will be going through it all again in a few days. Our computer is 4 years old and our son-in-law Stephen will be bringing me a new computer when he comes down at Christmas. Yikes!

But God…
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8

He’s consistent and He’s current. What God stood for in 33AD He still supports today! No need to get a new system – no need to learn a new program! The same passwords, codes and keyboard shortcuts that worked then, work now!!! I’ve heard folks say, “you never know what God is going to do” but if you read His word and get to know Him you’ll have a real good idea. You might not know the exact path He’ll take in providing you your answer but you can rest assured that whatever He does it will be based on His gracious and loving character.

“God is no mere human! He doesn’t tell lies or change his mind.” Numbers 23:19 CEV

“Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don’t know and can’t find out.” Jeremiah 33:3 CEV

The sun still rises in the East and sets in the West. The tides still ebb and flow. The stars and the moon follow the same path through the sky. The seasons still change and God’s love never changes.

“My dear brothers and sisters, don’t be fooled about this. 17 Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same. 18 God decided to give us life through the true message he sent to us. He wanted us to be the most important of all that he created.” James 1:16-18 ERV

The King James version says that in God there is no variableness or shadow of turning! Thank you Lord, you are always the same!!! Great is Your faithfulness!!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside!

The gift of God’s love that you received last year, last week, yesterday – will be the same today, tomorrow and next year!

Enjoy the gift!

December 16, 2017December 17, 2017

The Gift of Memory

My Christmas tree is probably like yours; decorated with ornaments that have been collected over the years. I love angel ornaments!

Each year as I hang different “angels” on the tree I remember fondly the friends that have given them to me. And as they are hung in a special place I pray for that dear friend or family member.

I was thinking this morning, if each ornament were a picture my tree would be filled with images of those I hold dear all year long! You know God has done that – He has drawn our picture in the palm of His hands.

“But the Lord says,
“Can a woman forget her baby? Can she forget the child who came from her body? Even if she can forget her children, I cannot forget you.

16 I drew a picture of you on my hand. You are always before my eyes…” Isaiah 49:15-16 ERV

He not only holds us in His heart but He keeps our pictures close so He can always be looking at us! See He is a loving father. If heaven had a mantel all our pictures would be on it and He would be glad to show them off to the angels.

When our children were still at home I made three new Christmas ornaments each year, one for each child and when they grew up and left home each of them received a box of ornaments. I’m not sure if they still have those, to be honest some weren’t very good, but there was a memory attached with each one.

But the thing about God’s memory is what He chooses to forget. He is omniscient so He knows all things, things from the beginning and the events of the future. He knows it all. However, He allows himself the opportunity to forget.

“Here is the new agreement that I, the Lord, will make with the people of Israel:

“I will write my laws
on their hearts and minds.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.

34 “No longer will they have to teach one another to obey me. I, the Lord, promise that all of them will obey me, ordinary people and rulers alike. I will forgive their sins and forget the evil things they have done.” Jeremiah 31:33 & 34 CEV

How can He do this? Why does He choose to forget? God can do this because he’s God and the answer to the why is because he is love! We’re told in I Corinthians 13, the love chapter, that love thinks the best of a person at all times and that love doesn’t hold on to things that someone has done wrong. That is a perfect description of God the Father. His memory is filled with the good we’ve done and He has removed our sin as far as the east is from the west.

So I ask you to exercise your memory today. Follow God’s example and wipe from it those times that you’ve been wronged and chose to think the best. Remember with a heart of love today and take time to thank the Lord for the way He sees you. Smile, he’s drawn your picture on his hands.

December 5, 2017December 5, 2017

The Gift of the Plan

Yesterday I showed you how the Lord has always used His words to bring things to pass. He has always had a plan. In fact, He is the master planner!

When I was in the business world, back in the dark ages before smart phones and computers, I operated my life from the pages of my Day Planner. My life as wife, mother, home school teacher, administrator, ministry coordinator and my social commitments would have been in disarray had I not written everything down. It was then that I was reading in Proverbs, the book of wisdom, that the Lord showed me this verse.

“Roll your works upon the Lord [commit and trust them wholly to Him; He will cause your thoughts to become agreeable to His will, and] so shall your plans be established and succeed.” Proverbs 16:3 AMP

By giving the Lord my plans each morning, I let Him direct my steps and I know it saved me time, effort, and anguish. This is when I learned to say “no” to some things. I learned it was important to seek God’s counsel before I accepted invitations and new responsibilities. I learned to trust the Lord when I needed to do personnel evaluations and suggest alternate ideas of operation. I learned to hear God’s voice prompting me to encourage and support those who needed help and hadn’t asked for it.

I learned to trust God’s plan!

“With all your heart you must trust the Lord and not your own judgment. 6 Always let him lead you, and he will clear the road for you to follow.” Proverbs 3:5-6 CEV

Did/do I always get it right? No, but what I learned from the times I failed was to listen better next time. God doesn’t make mistakes so if there was a failure it was mine and I needed to be more attentive to what He was saying. I like that the Lord can take our failures and rework them for good.

“I say this because I know the plans that I have for you.” This message is from the Lord. “I have good plans for you. I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you hope and a good future. 12 Then you will call my name. You will come to me and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will search for me, and when you search for me with all your heart, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:11-13 ERV

I’m sure Noah wondered about God’s instruction to build an ark when there had never been rain. Then there was Joseph who had a promise that he would be a ruler and he was in prison. Dear sweet Mary certainly had to learn to trust God’s plan being a young, unmarried, pregnant woman. God’s plans always give us hope and a good future.

Now you may be saying “that’s great Kristi for those folks in the Bible but I’m not sure God has a plan for me”. Glad you said that.

“You were saved by faith in God, who treats us much better than we deserve.This is God’s gift to you, and not anything you have done on your own. 9 It isn’t something you have earned, so there is nothing you can brag about. 10 God planned for us to do good things and to live as he has always wanted us to live. That’s why he sent Christ to make us what we are.” Ephesians 2:8-11 CEV

God’s first plan for us was our salvation and after that He has a plan for us to do good things. Yes, there is a plan and if we stray or lose our way the Lord will help us recalculate and come back to the path.

I’m so very glad that God designed a plan just for me. What a wonderful gift!

November 14, 2017November 14, 2017

Thankful That God Plans Ahead

As I was reading in Isaiah this morning I was reminded of a time many, many years ago when Dave and I and Kim and Koy attended a Cowboy Campmeeting in Prescott, AZ. It was a wonderful gathering of ranch type folks at a campgrounds in the Prescott area. We had arena games for the kids, great food like only ranch wives know how to cook, music and poetry and good old fashioned Bible teaching. Well, Sunday morning we all gathered up under some sycamore trees and different ones began to give praise to the Lord for what He had done in their lives – some pretty dramatic, some more common but I’ll never forget one old preacher who put everything in perspective for me that morning.

He was a preacher, maybe 80 years old, Bill Owen Sr. His son, Bill Owen Jr, was a well-known cowboy artist. Pastor Bill started out, “I would just like to thank the Lord for good planning. You see about 75-80 years ago He saw fit to have this stand of sycamore trees planted from a little seed. He watched over them and watered them down through the years because He knew that we would all be out here on this Sunday morning in August and that we would be giving Him praise. He also knew it was going to be a warm day so He made sure we had these trees for shade. Yep, God is a good God.”

That type of simplicity impacted my life. I decided right then and there that I was going to look at things from an eternal perspective – one where God had always been involved in what was going on around and where He would always be working things out to provide for my smallest need, even my need for shade.

This is what Isaiah wrote about in chapter 25 of his book:

“You, Lord, are my God! I will praise you for doing the wonderful things you had planned and promised since ancient times.
2 You have destroyed the fortress of our enemies, leaving their city in ruins. Nothing in that foreign city will ever be rebuilt.
3 Now strong and cruel nations will fear and honor you.

4 You have been a place of safety for the poor and needy in times of trouble. Brutal enemies pounded us like a heavy rain or the heat of the sun at noon,
but you were our shelter.” Isaiah 25:1-4 CEV

Take a look around today. What do you see that makes you realize God’s been planning this for your benefit? The Lord’s been thinking about you since eternity past and He has made plans just for you.