A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

We wait and we seek the Lord continually.  We don’t do it just to be rewarded, but God is good to us in return, isn’t He?

As we wait on the Lord, seeking Him through prayer with diligence, with our whole hearts, He is good to protect us and provide for us in ways that are so creative.  How many times have you wondered how things would work out – and God makes a way that you would not have imagined?  It’s happened to me so many times!  His grace and mercy are given freely, and He assures us daily of our place in Heaven with Him when our life is over on earth.

Our God will never forsake us and He sees the work we do for Him.  We find His favor when we earnestly seek Him on a daily basis.  The world around us seems to be chaotic and crazy, but we believe that it’s all part of God’s big plan, so we don’t have to fear the future because we know God’s in control.  We choose God’s peace, love, gentleness and hope.

Will you choose the hope that God gives today?  Look to the Lord – the God of all answers.  He knows the future and He will guide you along if you ask Him to.

Dear Father,  As my Creator, You know me even better than I know myself.  Patience doesn’t come easy for me, as if I have to tell You that.  God, I’m so sorry for rushing ahead when Your hand hasn’t opened the door.  I’m sorry for complaining of boredom when being still is much more than sitting quietly.  You shape my spirit through the still and You mold my heart in the quiet.  Only then, am I ready to follow Your will.  Will You change my perspective of this season?  Will You rekindle my love anew?  For I know the wait is not without reason; may it draw me closer to You.  In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

God bless you as you sit quietly, pray, trust and wait on Him.  🙂

 

 

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A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

I saw the funniest sign the other day – it said:

I’LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS, AND IN THERAPY BY NEW YEARS!

Were you home for Christmas, with your friends and family?  Did you survive?  What does today look like for you?  Once the festivities and traditions are over, where do you go to de-stress and de-compress???  In all honesty, we love our family, but there comes a moment when you need to run away and be alone – or with others you like more.  It’s not an insult to family – it’s just the way it is.

I need to avoid going to therapy by New Years because for starters I can’t afford it.  When I want to relax and breathe deeply, I visit the Chinese Massage place in our local mall.  It’s amazing what a massage can do to get rid of all the built up stress and frustrations that may have latched on to you during the Christmas holiday.

Another good idea is to get some exercise.  When you exercise, it’s a way to rid yourself of all the tension and increase your energy, which is a positive thing.  It’s not good to carry negative energy around with you, so move some and get rid of it.

How about Bible study, meditation and prayer?  Yeah, you knew I’d get around to that, huh?  Well, give prayer a chance – you may be pleasantly surprised by the results and the peace you gain in the process.  You don’t have to pray like the most educated theologian – just tell God your heart in the name of Jesus.  It’s really very simple.

“A Second Cup with Jesus” is a great devotional book!  We thank you so much for reading our poetry and following this blog.  ❤

To go in the dark with a light is to know the light.  To know the dark, go dark.  – Wendell Berry

You know, when we first decorate for Christmas – I’m like a little kid – OH LOOK AT THE PRETTY LIGHTS!  But it seems as time goes by and we approach Christmas Day, the lights lose their appeal to me – and by the time Christmas is over, I’m ready to embrace the quietness and the darkness that follows.  Does that sound weird and depressing?  I don’t mean it that way – I just think there is so much commercialism and hoopla associated with Christmas.  It’s like the bling mania turns back into quiet wintertime.  We don’t see the lights anymore – we lose that distraction and enjoy wintertime and see what a silent night is really all about.

Nobody sang Silent Night at the actual nativity, you know.  It really was a silent night!  Sometimes it’s not until after Christmas we get a better idea of how the actual night must have been.  Of course there was that star – that very bright, shining star!  A choir of angels singing glory to the King – the original carol.  🙂

 

 

A COMMENTARY FROM THE HEART

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.  – 1 Corinthians 1:3-4

O spread the tidings ’round

Wherever man is found;

The Comforter has come.

Comfort:  to cause (someone) to feel less worried, upset, frightened.

Our Father in heaven is compassionate toward us when we are facing sorrow and pain.  He is awake when everyone else is sleeping.  He hears every prayer we pray and wraps His loving arms around us.  He speaks peace to our spirit and lets us know it’s going to be okay.

 True friendship comes when silence between two people is comfortable.  – Dave Tyson Gentry

God knows our pain and He understands when we don’t even know how to formulate a prayer in our mind.  He knows how hopeless we feel and provides indescribable comfort every day.  We are not alone in our troubles, struggles or deep-seated pain.

 Remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.  – Emily Kimbrough

We pray for each other.  We laugh together and cry together as God’s Holy Spirit helps us all.  It means so much to know that a Christian friend is praying for me.  May we support one another in prayer, knowing that God’s Holy Spirit will sustain us with warmth and protection.

Although it’s difficult today to see beyond the sorrow,
May looking back in memory help comfort you tomorrow.
– Author Unknown

God’s precious Holy Spirit is An Added Gift!

No matter how much sorrow and pain touches our lives, we know that comfort from God’s Holy Spirit will see us through until we reach heaven’s shore.  Of course, once we cross over, we will never cry.  There will only be love, joy and peace.  In God’s heaven, perfection will prevail.  🙂

 

ESTHER 4:14 ON 4/14

If at this time you say nothing, then help and salvation will come to the Jews from some other place, but you and your father’s family will come to destruction: and who is to say that you have not come to the kingdom even for such a time as this?  – Esther 4:14

As Christians in America, we have a few choices to make.  Oh yes, we can choose because God loves us enough to give us free will.  Are some of the choices easy to make?  No, they are not.  When we consider whether we should stay silent or speak out, it requires some soul searching and prayer beforehand.  These days being a Christian in America is more difficult than it was in years past.

Our own president said that America is no longer a Christian nation.  Was that wishful thinking on his part?  I believe it was his way of saying that the Christians will be given a run for their money and we should put our money where our mouth is.  If we are true Christians, prove it.  Would you die because you are a Christian?  Many Christians worldwide have already.  There seems to be no outrage in the Christian community over that and I wonder why.

Some of it is that we just don’t know what we can do about it.  We pray for Christians in foreign lands.  Not that prayer is a last resort – it always sounds like that is what we mean, but that’s not it.  We know that prayer is our first line of defense at all times.  We pray without ceasing – over every thought we think and every word we say.

We read Scripture and find out what God would have us do.  Then we read the book of Esther and we have to wonder if God has put us here – at this time – in this place – for such a time as this.  Some will be called to action while the rest of us remain in prayer for them.  Our military and hopefully eventually our government needs to be on board to protect the homeland.

May God bless Israel.  May God bless the United States of America.

For such a time as this.  🙂

 

 

APRIL FOOL’S DAY

https://youtu.be/lWNlKgHR5vs

We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence… We need silence to be able to touch souls.  – Mother Teresa

As most of you already know, today is APRIL FOOL’S DAY!!!

The fool has said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that does good.  – Psalm 14:1

In this text, the Hebrew word is nabal, which refers more to a “moral fool.” Fools do not lack intelligence, rather they are usually the ones who strive for higher education! The atheists, or moral fools, do not want to be held accountable to anyone in this world and will certainly not consider being held accountable to a Holy God. They give in to every whim and fancy with no feelings of guilt for their refusal to be accountable to a Holy God. Nobody will tell them what to do! That makes them foolish in the eyes of the Lord. I don’t judge anyone as a fool because that’s not my job. For me to assume one way or the other is to say that there is not hope for change in that person’s life. I can’t do that. There’s always hope for all our lives. Besides, before I met Christ, I was the biggest fool of all!

I have a message for you, fool. Christ died on the cross for you too! Whether you choose to accept it or not, it’s true.

There is a way to avoid foolishness. Seek God while He can still be found. I enjoy solitude.  The time I spend alone reading or playing the piano is the time that my soul is nourished and my mind renewed.  When I’m alone I can gather my thoughts and organize them better.  My devotionals each morning consist of reading scripture and praying.  The time I spend alone with God is precious to me.  He provides much strength and comfort to my soul and mind so I can carry on.

You can’t find God if you are distracted by the noise of life.  The enemy of your soul would love to get you so wrapped up in the everyday drone of life that you leave devotions behind.  It happens so easily – and innocently.  You miss a couple of days and you say you will get back into the habit of having devotionals – your alone time with God.  Then you miss another day – not on purpose – but pretty soon, you have pushed the devotional time completely out of your day.

Let me ask you a question.  If you did not look at the needle on the gas gauge of your car, how would you know when you need to stop at a gas station?  Could you just assume your gas tank will never need filled again and keep driving?  Well, of course not!  Guess what?  Your soul needs to be filled every day!  You can either fill it with the love of God or believe me, the people in the world will find tons of different things – good or bad – to fill your soul. Technology comes to mind. It is a major distraction for many people.

If you expect to do any good for another human being, then you have to be properly filled yourself .  That makes sense, doesn’t it?

A soul does not grow in the center of fanfare, but in simplicity and humility.  I’d like to challenge you to turn off all the electronics that would distract your mind.  Take a devotional book outside – perhaps out to your garden.  Sit there on a bench and read one section of the book.  Let it sink in – don’t just lightly read through it just to go through the motions – but let God speak to you through what you’re reading.  If you will open your heart – He will fill it.  God is a gentleman and will never force Himself on you.  He waits to be invited into your life and into your morning.  Invite God to share your morning and see what a difference it will make in the rest of your day.

https://youtu.be/zWIsMDsxeBI

Be still – and know that HE is God. ❤