A Minute In It - Many Blessings

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and ask yourself the questions at the bottom of the post.

1-3 God, my shepherd!
    I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
    you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
    you let me catch my breath
    and send me in the right direction.

4 Even when the way goes through
    Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
    when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
    makes me feel secure.

5 You serve me a six-course dinner
    right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
    my cup brims with blessing.

6 Your beauty and love chase after me
    every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
    for the rest of my life.  Psalm 23 (MSG)

Sometimes we need to take a moment and count our blessings. In this wonderful Chapter, there are things that God blesses us with. Read through the text and thank God for the blessings he provides for you.  

"I'm Right Here!!!"

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13 (ESV)

The other day my husband and I were playing Hide and Seek with my grandson. He's a toddler so one of us would go with him to hide and the other would seek. It was my turn to count and then find him and my husband.

As I was standing in the family room, I saw my husband take him into the front closet. I dutifully counted "1, 2, 3, 4, 5" and went to find them. I knew where they were so I wasn't really looking. All the while, I am talking out loud saying "I wonder where they are? I have to keep looking!" As my hand reached for the closet door, my grandson yelled from the stair landing "I right here!" (Apparently, my husband saw me spy their hiding place and moved.)

He couldn't help himself! He wanted to be found by me. He wanted to be together, to play some more and to share the moment.

Who else does this remind you of? God does the same thing. He says that if we seek him we will find him. There is no game here. He wants to be found! He wants to spend time together, to share moments, talk and play. As a matter of fact, he goes out of his way to get us to see who he is. The problem comes when we think we know where to find him so we stop looking. 

Just like I thought I knew where to find my grandson, I didn't really search. I went to where I thought he was; expecting him to be there. But he moved! Do we do that with God? Do we go to the same place every time because we think he's there? Do we even notice when he's not?

The depth of our relationship with him has a lot to do with our response to his call. Are you seeking God? Really seeking him? Or are you going through the motions to play a game and missing out? God is jumping up and down and yelling "I'm right here!" but we miss it because we thought we had him figured out.  But, just like my husband and my grandson, he is full of surprises making it well worth the search! 

I Prefer Safe And Sound

One day the prophet Gad told David, “Leave the stronghold and return to the land of Judah.” So David went to the forest of Hereth. 1 Samuel 22:5 (NLT)

David was safe in his stronghold. It was his safe place. A place where he knew he could relax because he was protected there. And then God shows up through the prophet Gad and says "Go." He told David to leave his safe place and go out to where he was unprotected. He was to go where danger lurked because Saul was always hunting him trying to kill him.

If I were David, I might have spent some time in prayer asking "Can't I stay here? It is safe here. I am comfortable. I have everything worked out perfectly. No surprises. I know how to handle this." And maybe David did talk to God about this new command, we don't know. What we do know is that he went. 

And sure enough, Saul heard he was out and about and the chase began again. Story after story of Saul (and others) trying to kill David but God always worked it out. We know that eventually, Saul dies and David becomes King. We know that God was faithful and kept his promises. All throughout David's life he demonstrated that he trusted God.

But we don't know that about our lives. Or do we? When God asks us to do something and it seems kind of crazy and uncomfortable, how do we respond? Do we ask "Can't I stay here? It's comfortable and safe and I don't know what it looks like to do what you are asking." Or do we respond like David and go. 

Just like with David, God will be faithful to you and keep his promises. What he's asking you to do may sound scary and crazy but when you get to the other side, you'll know that it was the best plan. 

Recognizing Treasure

Even when you are chased by those who seek to kill you, your life is safe in the care of the Lord your God, secure in his treasure pouch! 1 Samuel 25:29 (NLT)

What is a treasure pouch? It is a bag used to carry valuable treasure.  What is a treasure? We are!

Others were given in exchange for you.
    I traded their lives for yours
because you are precious to me.
    You are honored, and I love you. Isaiah 43:4

See, I have written your name on the palms of my hands. Isaiah 49:16

Long ago the Lord said to Israel:
“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love.
    With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. Jeremiah 31:3

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are!           1 John 3:1

For the Lord your God is living among you.
    He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness.
    With his love, he will calm all your fears.
    He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” Zephaniah 3:17

God holds us so very close to him and protects us as we would hold on to and protect a treasure. Our lives are precious. You are loved. You are a treasure. Yes, you.  But, don't just take my word for it.  Ask him yourself.  He'll tell you!

Labor Of The Heart

The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord. Lamentations 3:25-26 (NLT)

It is Labor Day weekend in the United States. So, I decided that this weekend would be a good time to labor around my house. With all the activity in our lives, I don't always get to do a deep clean. We surface clean pretty regularly. We vacuum.  We dust. We clean the counters but we don't always get into the crevices and corners.

Do you know what I discovered? I have a spider on steroids that lives in my house. Corner after corner I found cob webs.  And as I cleaned them up, I thought "Why didn't I see those?" As I cleaned, I wondered "Is my life like this?"

Were there areas in my life that needed to be "cleaned" and adjusted that I didn't see? Are there places that needed to be swept and tidied so they looked more like the home of Jesus than the home of Elaine? Do I get so busy in my day-to-day that I forget to spend some time digging deep into God's Word?

I think just like my house and my spider on steroids, if I am not careful my life can also be overrun with corners that need to be cleaned.  I need to spend more time in God's Word, more time in prayer and more time focusing on the places he wants me to tidy up.  And just like looking around at my clean house, there is an immense joy and satisfaction in my heart after I spend time with God focusing on the places he wants spick and span.

Minute In It - How Well Do You Rest?

A minute in Gods' word will change your life.  Read through the Bible text and ask yourself the questions at the bottom of the post.

The Lord replied, “I will personally go with you, Moses, and I will give you rest—everything will be fine for you.” Exodus 33:14 (NLT)

He lets me rest in green meadows;
    he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
He guides me along right paths,
    bringing honor to his name. Psalm 23:2-3 (NLT)

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:9

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will give rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (NLT)

So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God’s rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 (NLT)

How well do I rest? Do I take time to rest my body, my soul and my mind? How much do I depend on God to provide rest to my soul? Do I take time out to spend time with God for my spiritual rest?

Waiting Is Hard.....Still

Just as Saul was finishing with the burnt offering, Samuel arrived. Saul went out to meet and welcome him, but Samuel said, “What is this you have done?”
Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” 1 Samuel 13:10-12 (NLT)

Samuel: What have you done?
Saul: I saw my men leaving.
Samuel: You were supposed to wait.
Saul: But, you were late.
Samuel: You were supposed to wait.
Saul:  But, the Philistines are getting ready.
Samuel: You were supposed to wait.
Saul: But, I haven't even asked God myself.

Fast Forward to today.

Holy Spirit: What have you done?
Us: I saw all the activity around this.
Holy Spirit: You were supposed to wait.
Us: But, nothing was happening.
Holy Spirit: You were supposed to wait.
Us: But, folks were taking action. I didn't want to miss out.
Holy Spirit: You were supposed to wait.
Us: But, aren't I supposed to do something? Don't I have a role here?
Holy Spirit: Yes, your role right now is to wait.
Us: But.......

Do You?

Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it. James 4:2 (NLT)

This morning I was reading in Oswald Chambers' devotional called My Utmost For His Highest. He said (I'm paraphrasing) that most of the time we don't ask God for anything. We spend a lot of time telling him and complaining but we don't ask.

I started thinking about this.  I wondered how much I talked, how much I complained, how much I listened. Then my mind started wandering to my grandson. He is a toddler and has been talking more and more.  One of the things I realized is that he isn't afraid to ask for things. Even though how he asks isn't always grammatically correct, he asks anyway.

Do you feed birds? (Do you want to feed the birds?)
Do you outside? (Do you want to go outside?)
Do you play downstairs? (Do you want to play downstairs?)

His wording isn't always correct but we understand what he wants and give him an answer. Sometimes, the answer is no; like when he asks to go outside in the middle of a thunder storm. He doesn't understand yet that this is dangerous. But do you know what? Just because we say "Not right now" that doesn't stop him from asking for other things.

Maybe this is what Scripture means when it says "You must become like little children." (Matthew 18:3). My grandson isn't afraid to ask. Even if he doesn't get the answer he wants, he keeps asking for things. It's because he trusts us and knows that we love him.

When was the last time you asked God for something? When you asked, did you think you had to phrase it just right? When was the last time that you trusted his answer even if he said "Not right now."?