Category: Provision

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Course Correction

Once again Dave and I are on the road. We are in the mountains camping. We spend so much time traveling; God has blessed us with safety on each journey, we are very grateful and never take it for granted.

As we travel I can’t help but think of all those who have traveled these roads before. Those who came on horseback, in covered wagons and those whose only means of transportation was their feet. Looking at the terrain, considering the weather, the elements and the dangers they may have faced causes me to pause. But then thinking of the joy they experienced in seeing new land that no one had ever been to before, the beauty – the grandeur, the vastness of creation, brings an unprovoked smile to my face. We check the Atlas and follow the roads, they followed the dreams of their hearts!

Then I thought about Abram. At a word from the Lord, he set out for a world unknown.

“The LORD said to Abram: Leave your country, your family, and your relatives and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you. 4-5 Abram was seventy-five years old when the LORD told him to leave the city of Haran. He obeyed and left with his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all the possessions and slaves they had gotten while in Haran.” Genesis 12:1-5 CEV

His obedience birthed a nation. His obedience open the door for Jesus, the Messiah to come. His obedience brought blessing to his life and those who traveled with him.

What road has the Lord asked you to take today? Are you being obedient and bringing blessing to the lives of those around you? Or are you like another man that God spoke to about traveling a new road, Jonah? He chose to be disobedient and his disobedience caused a storm in his life. Satan worked to destroy him as he ran from God. But God…but God intervened, kept him safe in the belly of the fish and set him on the right path.

“But Jonah tried to run away from the Lord. He went to Joppa and found a boat that was going to the faraway city of Tarshish. Jonah paid money for the trip and went on the boat. He wanted to travel with the people on this boat to Tarshish and run away from the Lord…While Jonah was in the stomach of the fish, he prayed to the Lord his God. He said, 2 “I was in very bad trouble. I called to the Lord for help, and he answered me. I was deep in the grave. I cried to you, and you heard my voice. 3 “You threw me into the sea. Your powerful waves splashed over me. I went down, down into the deep sea. The water was all around me. 4 Then I thought, ‘Now I must go where you cannot see me,’  but I continued looking to your holy Temple for help. 5 “The seawater closed over me. The water covered my mouth, and I could not breathe. I went down, down into the deep sea. Seaweed wrapped around my head, 6 I was at the bottom of the sea, the place where the mountains begin. I thought I was locked in this prison forever, but the Lord my God took me out of my grave. God, you gave me life again! 7 “My soul gave up all hope, but then I remembered the Lord. I prayed to you, and you heard my prayers in your holy Temple. 8 “Some people worship useless idols, but those statues never help them. 9 I will give sacrifices to you, and I will praise and thank you. I will make special promises to you, and I will do what I promise.” Salvation only comes from the Lord!” Jonah 1:3, 2:1-9 ERV

If you’ve been running from God make a course correction and follow the path of blessing!

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Can Do Ability

Knowing that God is able gives me confidence to jump into each new day with renewed strength and vision.

What is God “able” to do? ANYTHING! ALWAYS! FOREVER!

He is able to keep, able to save, able to empower, able to heal, able to protect. HE IS ABLE!

“God is strong and can keep you from falling. He can bring you before his glory without any wrong in you and give you great joy. 25 He is the only God, the one who saves us. To him be glory, greatness, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord for all time past, now, and forever. Amen” Jude 24 & 25 ERV

Confidence comes in knowing God’s word. Not just reading it as our little “Christian” duty but truly knowing it and by knowing His word we grow in knowing Him.

Recently I took a couple of afternoons and went through old pictures and letters. Reading those letters gave me insight, a knowing, of the friends and family that had written them. Reading them again after so many years, I could recall specific times and events and hear their hearts.

That’s the way it is with God’s word. Reading it we learn His heart and that is what gives me confidence to know that He hears and answers my prayers. God’s word is His will. Praying His word gives a steadfast confidence that He will ALWAYS answer.

“God has also said that he gave us eternal life and that this life comes to us from his Son. 12 And so, if we have God’s Son, we have this life. But if we don’t have the Son, we don’t have this life.

13 All of you have faith in the Son of God, and I have written to let you know that you have eternal life. 14 We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. 15 And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.” I John 5:11-15 CEV

Trust Him today. He is able. With God we can do it!

“Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.” Philippians 4:13 ERV

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Beginning to Rain

Usually by this time of year we have already had a good number of hard rains. In Arizona we call it Monsoon Season. It starts about mid June and goes until mid September but this year it has been slow in starting. However, yesterday afternoon and evening we had a nice storm roll in.

Nice storm. Is that an oxymoron? How can a storm be good?

It cleanses the air and brings life giving water to the desert. We opened the doors and windows and let in the cool air and enjoyed the smell of rain. Even Glory wasn’t too unnerved by the few loud claps of thunder. What we did have was the rain, a good penetrating rain!

You could also hear the earth soaking it in and see the cactus growing fat, minute after minute. The birds kept us informed on the weather conditions. As the dark clouds were gathering there was a constant barrage of activity at the humming bird feeders. When the fall of rain became heavier, they were gone. As it started to lessen in intensity, they were back. It amazes me that these small creatures know how to prepare for a storm and when it’s over they are right there singing again.

The Lord send us life giving rain when we are going through the dry times. It may seem that we are parched emotionally, physically and spiritually. But then comes the rain…He brings us refreshing and new life. The Spirit of God waters us with a shower of love, encouragement and provision.

“I am the Lord, and I made you. I am the one who created you. I have helped you since you were in your mother’s womb. Jacob, my servant, don’t be afraid. Jeshurun, I chose you. 3 “I will pour water for thirsty people, and streams will flow through the desert. I will pour my Spirit on your children, and I will bless your family. 4 They will sprout like grass in the spring and grow like trees by streams of water.” Isaiah 44:2-4 ERV

“So keep on trying to know the Lord. His coming to us is as sure as the rising of the sun. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain giving water to the earth.” Hosea 6:3 NLV

Thank you Lord for starting my day with Your refreshing. The birds were singing about thirty minutes earlier than normal this morning and so I knew that they too were overjoyed by the cool morning and the moisture that we had received.

I love you Lord, and thank you for the glory that You share with us each day!

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The Birds Were Still Singing

(continued from yesterday) Have you ever noticed how you try to quiet your mind and body for sleep and all the “what ifs” come rushing in? It happened to us that night. It was a beautiful, cool, mountain night. We were tired but as soon as our heads hit the pillows the questions and doubts came knocking.

“The night may be filled with tears, but in the morning we can sing for joy!” Psalm 30:5 ERV

Joy comes in the morning. And it did. I few weeks ago I told a friend that Jesus teaching on His Father providing for the birds is one that I live every day. Every morning I awaken and shortly thereafter I am greeted by the birds singing their sweet song of thankfulness to the Lord. It was no different in the mountains.

Sleep had been restless at best; getting used to the sleeping bags and cot, hearing the noises outside the tent, the thoughts of the days activities. But right before dawn I woke with a smile, there is was, the bugle of an elk off in the meadow. His day was starting with joy and then the mountain birds began their song. Each morning started with these joyful songs and they reminded me once again of my Father’s love and care.

“So I tell you, don’t worry about the things you need to live—what you will eat, drink, or wear. Life is more important than food, and the body is more important than what you put on it. 26 Look at the birds. They don’t plant, harvest, or save food in barns, but your heavenly Father feeds them. Don’t you know you are worth much more than they are?” Matthew 6:25-26 ERV

We determined we would not worry; we would enjoy our time together. We had been looking forward to this camping trip for the last several months and we wouldn’t give it over to worry. We started and ended each day with prayer. We gave praise for where we were, who we were with and that our Father was in control.

We walked – miles each day. We read, I haven’t taken the time to read in ages and while we were there I finished two books and am half way through a third. We played cribbage. We fished…but caught nothing. We laughed and went on site seeing excursions.

Now it was Friday, the day the truck was to be ready. It wasn’t – the new transfer case hadn’t arrived. I will admit it was a bit of a scramble. We had to called the rental car company and get an extension, no problem, and they gave us a weekly instead of daily rate. Call the campground reservation line and get that extended. It’s the weekend and the birds are still singing…

One of the books I read was Vanished Arizona. It was the story of an Army Lieutenant’s wife who came to Arizona in 1874. She came from San Francisco on a steamship around the tip of Mexico and up the Gulf to the Colorado River. Then boarded a paddle wheeler and came up to Colorado to Ehrenburg. From there they traveled by ambulance and on foot to Prescott and then across the Mogollon Rim to Fort Apache. It took months for them to go what now only takes a matter of a couple of days.

Her life was hard. When we would want to complain we would look at each other and say “Just think of what it was like for Martha, we have no reason to complain”. And the birds were still singing.

I was wanting to share this all with you from the mountains but the Lord had me on “radio silence”. Only two mornings was I able to get out with postings. Our signal was so weak. I could get out with a few texts but couldn’t add any emogi’s or they wouldn’t transmit. But I did have my computer and was able to write another chapter in the book I’m working on.

We had a fun weekend doing more of the same. Walking, talking, fishing, playing cribbage and reading. We even got to have a nice warm shower at the bath house. Tuesday came and we got a text. The part had been taken off the truck in Phoenix and not loaded back; it wouldn’t be here until Wednesday.

Our hearts sank. Really? Frustration began to creep in. We weren’t angry with anyone just frustrated. We called the Enterprise and extended for one more day. We already had the camp site until Wednesday so we talked to the camp hosts and told them we may be checking out late on Wednesday, no problem. We found a Mexican Restaurant, that let Glory come in, and had a nice dinner and headed back to the lake.

We got back to camp and started packing up as best we could. Everything we wouldn’t need for the night or the next morning got packed. Tyler, at the transmission shop, told us the truck would be ready by noon. We believed him…and the birds were still singing, a constant reminder of our Father’s provision.

“Don’t worry about tomorrow. It will take care of itself. You have enough to worry about today.” Matthew 6:34 CEV

Wednesday morning we got up to sound of the elk and the birds. God was in control but our minds had so many what if’s. We talked through each one and knew that our heavenly Father would direct our steps and we found peace.

We broke down camp and headed to town. A few miles down the road we had a good strong signal so Dave called Tyler. They were working on the truck. It would be done by 12 or 12:30. Yes!

Thank you Jesus.

We got to Enterprise to turn in the truck. Eight days of truck rental ended up costing us $30 more than a five day rental – thank you Enterprise and PJ. Now on to the transmission shop. We were concerned about the cost! We had received an estimate for the work and it was high. (side note: financial issues have always been a big deal, we have known extreme lack and its not fun) The work was complete and Tyler had our final invoice. He showed Dave the bill and it was $1000 less than the estimate! Thank you, Tyler and Southwest Transmission. I almost cried and Dave jumped for joy.

Now to head back and load up the black truck and come home! Home, sweet home!

To you, our camping story may not seem that big of a deal. You have faced worse, so have we but this time we came through without fear or overwhelming worry. We stayed in a place of trust.

What I want you to know is that God is faithful! That’s who He is! So no matter how large a problem you have in your life you can trust Him to take care of you and bring you through it.

“But whenever they were in trouble and turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him out, they found him.” II Chronicles 15:4 NLV

If you listen carefully this morning the birds are still singing and God is in control!

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Home Sweet Home

Just sit right back And you’ll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip, That started from this little town, Aboard this big black truck.

We left home ten days ago for our camping vacation in the mountains. It was a beautiful morning. We waited late enough to avoid the morning work traffic and headed up the hill. At the bottom of Salt River Canyon we made a potty stop and on up the hill.

We were so excited when we got to Show Low. We were right on schedule. We were only about an hour from the campground and check in was at two. We brought the truck to a stop at a light and heard a terrible grinding, rattle. We felt badly for the vehicle next to us because it sounded as if his truck was falling apart. On through the light we went only to be caught in road construction where we had to slow down again. It was then we realized the grinding and rattle were coming from our truck.

Oh No!!

Dave checked all the gauges and everything was good; nothing running high or low but the noise…Thinking we may have run over something, and it was dragging from the undercarriage or had gotten stuck somehow, we found a wide spot to pull over and thoroughly check things out.

Nothing.

Dave checked under the hood. Everything was fine there too. We kept going, thinking positive and knowing that when we got to the campground we (he) could check things out more. And then there was the squeal or whine…no, this needed attention now so Dave turned around and headed back to a Auto/Diesel shop we had just passed.

The owner came out to help us; he and Dave did a few diagnostics and the mechanic determined he didn’t know what it was and told us about a transmission shop in Show Low. Six miles back in to town.

Before Dave called them we grabbed hands and prayed. We needed to go to the right place and we needed wisdom on what to do. Cancel the vacation? Stay in a hotel? What? Dave made the call and “Tyler” told us where they were located, to bring the truck in and if it died, they had a tow truck.

In those six miles we decided we would call a rental car place to see if they had a van or something that would get us and our camping gear to the campground while the truck was getting fixed.

Yep! That’s what we would do. Thank you Lord!

Now I will tell you, this is going to be a two-day blog.

We got to Tyler and the transmission shop. They were swamped but he heard our tail – from out-of-town, saw all the camping equipment loaded in the truck, knew we had reservations at the campground for the week and he put the truck on the lift to see what was happening.

Transfer case! There was a hole in the transfer case. He could have a new one and it could be replaced by end of day Friday. Thank you Lord! We knew it would be costly but at least we had a plan.

Enterprise Rentals had a truck we could rent but not everything would fit in the bed. No problem, we have a bigger truck. Yes! And they also had a Veteran’s discount that they applied to the rental. Thank you Lord!

It was now four o’clock and we drove back to the transmission shop and unloaded all the camping gear from our black truck and put it in the white truck. Oh my! And off to the campground we went. Needed to have camp set up before dark.

Thanking the Lord for getting us up the hill safely. Not being “broke down” on the road out in the middle of nowhere, having someone who was honest and diagnosed our problem, having a rental truck that would hold all our gear and getting through it all without becoming overly stressed and not letting it ruin our vacation! These were all big things to be thankful for.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.” James 1:2-5 NLT

We got to the campground and were set up completely within an hour and fifteen minutes. Another big thank you. As we sat outside that night, we reminded ourselves that although all this had caught us by surprise God was not surprised in the slightest.

He had a plan and if we continued to keep our hearts right and seek Him, He would get us through it all. We fell asleep that night knowing that we were giving Him control and He would direct our steps.

“Turn to the Lord for help in everything you do, and you will be successful.” Proverbs 16:3 ERV

Day 1: Trust God!

The tale of our vacation isn’t over yet. I’ll finish it up tomorrow.

Not sure what has taken you by surprise in the last few days but I do know that you too can trust God. He’s got the answer for every situation.

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Leftovers

After a long weekend of family and friends my refrigerator is always filled with leftovers. I have this issue of preparing too much food. I never want anyone to go hungry when they are at our house. This last weekend was no different – we have leftovers!

Do you realize we have a whole industry based on leftovers. Restaurants have “to go” boxes; Rubbermaid, Tupperware, ziplocks, Pyrex all make containers to put your leftovers in. Really, so how important are they?

They were important to Jesus.

“Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up toward heaven and blessed the food. Then he broke the bread and fish and handed them to his disciples to give to the people. 17 Everyone ate all they wanted. What was left over filled twelve baskets.” Luke 9:16-17 CEV

What the Father blesses and Jesus uses to meet a need is not insignificant! It’s valuable.

The Bible teaches us that God’s word is like a seed and when it’s planted in our lives it will bring a harvest, sometimes thirty, sixty and even a hundred times as much. Now that harvest may come in the form of joy, peace, wisdom, health, finances, possessions, and yes, spiritual harvest too.

Elijah asked a widowed woman to give (plant) her little bit of oil and flour to make him a cake during a time of famine. She did! The result was she never ran out of oil and flour until the famine was over.

We should always be aware that we aren’t being wasteful but we shouldn’t be miserly either.

We should be grateful for the blessings that God has given us. Make sure we aren’t taking them for granted; accept the blessing, use it but continue to value it so that you can be a blessing to others.

We can give our time, our encouragement, our knowledge of God’s word, finances, food, clothing, hospitality – all of these are blessings from the Lord.

We’re not told what happened to the twelve baskets of leftovers in the story but I’m sure that Jesus had his disciples continue to share the blessing.

Be a blessing sharer today.

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Don’t Forget

We have had a great weekend, the house has been filled with family. This morning I am re-cycling a teaching I wrote a couple years back. I hope it will encourage you as much now as it did then.

How soon we forget the wonderful things the Lord has done for us in the past when we focus on the problems of the present! It’s like spiritual amnesia.

In Exodus 14, Moses was leading the Israelites out of Egypt. The angel of the Lord had passed over the land and all the first born in the homes of the Egyptian households were killed. After this tenth plague Pharaoh finally agreed to let the Israelites go. When he realized they had really gone, he took 600 chariots and pursued them.

How quickly he had forgotten the plagues and the way God had delivered the Israelites. He had forgotten the frogs, the locusts, the hail, the water turning to blood, the darkness – he had forgotten it all and in his anger he pursued them.

Now when the Israelites saw that Pharaoh was hot on their trail, they forgot too. They forgot all God did for them. They forgot how they were spared from the death angel that “Passovered” their homes.

“When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army coming toward them, they were very frightened and cried to the LORD for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here in the desert to die? We could have died peacefully in Egypt; there were plenty of graves in Egypt. 12 We told you this would happen! In Egypt we said, ‘Please don’t bother us. Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to stay and be slaves than to come out here and die in the desert.” 13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t run away! Stand where you are and watch the LORD save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 You will not have to do anything but stay calm. The LORD will do the fighting for you.” Exodus 14:10-14

They forgot that God was defending and protecting them. But God didn’t forget. He told Moses to have them continue forward. Moses was to stretch out his rod and the Red Sea would part so they could walk across on dry ground. And…the rest is history!

For a number of years I worked in an animal hospital and each year we would see the same dogs come in over and over again for porcupine quill removal. The first year I saw it and assisted with the quill removal I was amazed at how the dog’s chest, mouth, muzzle was so filled with quills. Some cases were so severe that we would have to sedate the dog to remove them all. Then Doc said an interesting thing, “we’ll see this dog back again next year for the same thing”, and sure enough we did. You see there was a partial memory loss – the dogs remembered the porcupine and the need to chase and conquer it but forgot the horrible experience of the quills.

Pharaoh quickly forgot the pain of the plagues and only saw that his work force of slaves were fleeing. The Israelites forgot their 400 years of slavery and God’s deliverance and could only see the trouble of the pursuing Egyptians.

BUT Moses remembered GOD!

Today I encourage you to forget all the problems and remember God’s promises.

“So they would all trust in God, never forgetting what he had done and always obeying his commands.” Psalm 78:7

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Tell Me Bout the Good Old Days

We have friends visiting with us for the weekend. They have served the Lord for many years as pastors, missionaries, Bible study leaders and Mom and Dad.

Yesterday, we spent a good portion of the afternoon and evening talking about God’s faithfulness. They shared stories with us of times that things seemed hopeless and desperate. And we shared similar times with them. Each and every time we were able to share with each other had the Lord had moved miraculously and how He provided for all our needs.

God is faithful!

There were stories of the Lord providing financially, others where He brought physical healings and some where the Lord filled our lives with peace and direction. How great is our God!!

We were able to agree that God’s word was always a source of comfort and direction. It brought us strength when we had felt weak and searching for answers. We have seen the Lord provide for us from His goodness and also seen His hand reaching out to our children and our grandchildren.

The stories were testimony to God’s goodness and His love! It’s so important that we look back and recall how it used to be – the good and the bad – because in this we can see God’s faithfulness and His provision. Moses told the children of Israel to retell the stories of how God provided for them from the deliverance out of Egypt to arriving at the Promised Land.

“Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! 5 So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. 6 Memorize his laws 7 and tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning.” Deuteronomy 6:6-8 CEV

We need to be storytellers of God’s goodness.

“My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.5 If any of you need wisdom, you should ask God, and it will be given to you. God is generous and won’t correct you for asking. ” James 1:2-5 CEV

Last night we had joy as we recalled the wonderful things the Lord had done and continues to do. The things we faced as mountains were removed when we trusted God and His word. It’s important that we retell these stories so that others will know of God’s faithfulness.

I had the words of a country song come to mind this morning as I was thinking on last night’s conversation.

“Grandpa (Grandma), tell me bout the good old days
Sometimes it feels like
This world’s gone crazy
Grandpa, take me back to yesterday
When the line between right and wrong
Didn’t seem so hazy

Did lovers really fall in love to stay
And stand beside each other, come what may?
Was a promise really something people kept
Not just something they would say?
Did families really bow their heads to pray?
Did daddies really never go away?
Oh, Grandpa, tell me ’bout the good old days” The Judds

Let’s take the time to tell our grandkids ’bout the good ol days and the faithfulness of our God!

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Beautiful Gifts

I was reading this morning of Solomon and his dedication of the Temple. King David, Solomon’s father, had gathered the treasury necessary for building the Temple but the Lord gave the task of construction to Solomon.

When the Temple was finished and the people were gathered for the dedication, Solomon prayed a prayer of thanksgiving honoring the Lord for His faithfulness and for His promise to “dwell” with His people.  And then Solomon prayed over the people of Israel. Look at what he says.

“When Solomon prayed this prayer to the Lord, he was on his knees in front of the Lord’s altar and his arms were raised toward heaven. When he finished praying, he stood up. 55 Then, in a loud voice, he asked God to bless all the people of Israel. Solomon said,

56 ‘Praise the Lord! He promised to give rest to his people, Israel. And he has given us rest! He used his servant Moses and made many good promises to the people of Israel. And he has kept every one of them! 57 I pray that the Lord our God will be with us, as he was with our ancestors. I pray that he will never leave us. 58 I pray that we will turn to him and follow him. Then we will obey all the laws, decisions, and commands that he gave our ancestors. 59 I pray that the Lord our God will always remember this prayer and what I have asked. I pray that he will do these things for his servant, the king, and for his people, Israel. I pray that he will do this every day. 60 If he will do these things, all the people of the world will know that the Lord is the only true God. 61 You people must be loyal and true to the Lord our God. You must always follow and obey all of his laws and commands. You must continue to obey in the future as you do now.” I Kings 8: 54-61 CEV

Here was Solomon’s reminder to the people. “He (God) used his servant Moses and made many good promises to the people of Israel. And He has kept every one of them!”  God keeps His word. He kept it to Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and the Israelites and He keeps His word to us today.

And here is the key – it isn’t so we can walk around bragging arrogantly about how much the Lord has blessed us but the blessings (gifts) we receive are so the world can know God.

“If he will do these things, all the people of the world will know that the Lord is the only true God.” vs 60

God gives and keeps His word so that all the world will know that the Lord is the only true God! So much in this world changes – you’ve heard it said “everything is relative”. That may apply to man’s plans and programs but not to God.

The word of the Lord stands forever. In our Father, there is no variableness or shadow of turning. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.  God’s love, his truth, his mercy and his grace will endure. What greater gifts can we receive from the Lord than His grace, mercy and peace?

“Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us from God the Father and from his Son, Jesus Christ, as we live in truth and love.” II John 1:3 ERV

“Jesus has the power of God. And his power has given us everything we need to live a life devoted to God. We have these things because we know him. Jesus chose us by his glory and goodness, 4 through which he also gave us the very great and rich gifts that he promised us. With these gifts you can share in being like God. And so you will escape the ruin that comes to people in the world because of the evil things they want.” II Peter 1:3-4 ERV

John and Peter are telling us the same thing that Solomon told the Israelites at the Temple dedication. God promises to do wonderful things in our life, we are the beneficiaries of His blessings. However, the blessings (gifts) are two-fold. They strengthen and encourage our lives but they also serve as a sign to the world of God’s goodness.

God’s gifts are His promises!

Thank you Father! Heaven and earth may pass away but Your word, your promises, will remain forever!

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Is That All There Is?

The last few days I seem to be emphasizing the importance of knowing God’s plan. I haven’t intentionally set out to make that my theme but when the words begin to roll out of my heart and on to the screen they share the common thread of God’s plan for us.

We’ve almost completed the first half of 2019. I know we have one more month until we are really half way through but it’s about this time that folks begin to readjust their schedules and make new plans. School is coming to an end, graduation day has come, the New Year’s resolutions we made are almost forgotten and we begin to plan for summer vacations.

It’s important that we keep God in the planning process.

God has designed us to have a purpose, a plan, a destiny that is so much greater than anything we can imagine! He sees in us a Christ-like quality and desires to use His power to accomplish great things. If we’re living a life that is comfortable to us and one in which “We” can accomplish what we set out to do, we’re settling for less than what God wants to do through us.

“With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of.” Ephesians 3:20 ERV

Let me encourage you to dream bigger and trust God to direct you to impact your world with what He’s calling you to do – God will use you where you are if you trust Him. Our lives have a design and calling to do great things. We have direction; our purpose is greater than the lyrics from Peggy Lee’s song “Is that all there is?

“The plans of the mind and orderly thinking belong to man, but from the Lord comes the [wise] answer of the tongue. 2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirits (the thoughts and intents of the heart). 3 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 16:1-3 AMP

Yesterday I heard a pastor talk about verse three above. (It’s one of my favorite verses) He said that the original intention of the verse meant to “roll off a load”. The example he used was one of a camel who was carrying a heavy burden. The way to get the pack off a camel is for it to get down on its knees and then roll to the side so the burden can be removed.

Making plans without the Lord’s guidance can be a heavy load, one we need to roll off and let Him carry. When we trust Him, He will carry the burden and show us how to succeed. Our lives will take on meaning, direction, purpose and there will be no need to ask “is that all there is” because life will be full and abundant.

“A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good.” John 10:10 ERV

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