Where Do You Go to Find Peace?

February 4, 2013

How can a troubled heart find peace in the midst of turbulence? How can tears find a path to restored joy? Where do you go to find peace? Read more

Simple Things, Simple Thanks

November 19, 2012

Thanksgiving didn’t originate with man. Long before we were born, God set in motion a reason–and an opportunity–to give thanks. Throughout the Bible, God instructed His people to bring a “thanks” offering. Why give thanks? 1 Chronicles 16:24 says, Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.”

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The God Who Will Never Let Go

November 12, 2012

The God Who Will Never Let Go

by

Rebecca Barlow Jordan

Someone cut the power, unplugged your hope,

short-circuited your expectations, and left you wandering in the dark.

And questions rise like ghosts in the night:

Is anyone there? Does anyone care? Read more

Is God Your Employer?

October 22, 2012

Who is your employer? Most of us would name a company, an organization, or an individual unless we’re self-employed. But what if God were your employer? Would anything change? Read more

How to Spread Your Spiritual Wings and Fly

September 4, 2012

Fear of flying ranks high on the list of phobias in our country, no doubt partly because of 9-1-1. But what about the fear of flying “spiritually?” What makes Christians so chickenhearted about spreading their wings? And how can we overcome our fear and find the freedom God wants for all His children? Read more

What If You Can’t See God’s Footprints?

August 27, 2012

My mom graduated to heaven a few years ago. The night before her funeral I was still struggling with not being able to see her just before she died. I looked for God’s footprints in all of it and coudn’t find them, even though I prayed and searched diligently.

That same night a terrific storm blew in–one that literally shook the house with loud thunder claps and lightning bolts that lit up the room in Mom’s house where I was trying to sleep. When the storm finally calmed, I turned on a nearby lamp and grabbed my Bible on the stand. When I opened it, the pages fell to the book of Psalms. I began to read through chapter 77. As if highlighted by lightning, these were the words that especially spoke to me: Read more

When the Encourager Needs Encouragement

August 20, 2012

 

As a young minister’s wife, I learned early on that part of my unwritten job description included “encourager.” And my husband’s first church handed me the uspoken title of “leader” before I ever turned 20.

But there are times when the encourager needs encouragement. Occasionally, all of us experience times when depression or discouragement creep in unannounced.

Is a writing deadline crushing you? Has new technology left you behind? Are you struggling to maintain your responsibilities at work or at home because of increased pressures? Is your energy level running on empty? What do you do when you’re the leader, the teacher, the parent, the grandparent, the friend or the spouse–and you can’t seem to find the motivation or energy to encourage those under your care?  Where do you find encouragement for yourself?

Through the years, I’ve learned to find strength and encouragement in several ways. If you’re the encourager, and you find yourself in need of encouragement, here are three simple ways that might help you, too: Read more

When Life Is Not Fair

August 13, 2012

When have you uttered those four words, “Life is not fair?” How do we respond when that happens? Today is a Guest Post by Sally Philbrick Smith. In the following devotion, she discusses that issue:

Life Is Not Fair

“Mother, you rocked my world when at age six you told me that life is not fair,” confided our adult daughter Carla. “That was the first life lesson that shocked me, and I’ve never forgotten it. Everything at our house was fair in my mind from the choice of cereals to chores.”

Every one of us could name a time when we felt that life has not been fair to us. My mother remembered to her deathbed the shame of being accused of cheating in front of her grade school class. I did not believe my mother was innocent just because she said that she was. I believed her because I knew my mother. I never saw her treat another person unkindly. If the check-out clerk gave her three cents too much, she would return it to the store. If I asked her to tell the person calling on the phone that I was not in, she refused. “I’m not lying for you, Sally. If you don’t want to talk to that person, you’d better run outside quickly.” I wish that I had a nickel today for every time that I was not “in” but ran “out” the door like blazes.

Biblical Examples

The Bible calls Job a “righteous” man. God’s favor was on every part of Job’s life…that is until his servant ran into his house breathlessly one day to tell him the bad news. Job lost all ten children, his crops, barns, animals and all other possessions in a huge storm. Not fair! Is this how God treats His own?

Joseph was chosen by God while still a child living at home. Before he was grown, his eleven jealous brothers sold him into slavery. While serving in Potiphar’s house, Joseph was wrongly accused of rape and spent the next thirteen years in prison. A fellow inmate told Joseph that when he got out, he would plead for Joseph’s release. But he forgot his pledge. Not fair!

Daniel was raised in a God-fearing family of nobility. He was handsome and showed aptitude for every kind of learning. The future looked promising for Daniel until the Babylonians with their fast horses and iron chariots roared into his city. After besieging Jerusalem, these idol-worshiping warriors kidnapped Daniel and other young men of his caliber. He was ripped from his family, home, school, country and everything that was familiar to him. Their goal was to remake Daniel and his friends into Babylonians and teach them to serve their king. He was forced to learn a new language, wear clothes unfamiliar to him and eat food too rich for a Jewish diet. Where is a loving God in all of this? Not fair!

Amy Carmichael

Amy Carmichael left a comfortable life and set aside her own dreams to follow the Lord’s call to India as one of its earliest Christian missionaries. Soon after she arrived, an accident changed her life. She stepped in a hole and badly injured a foot. For the remainder of her life and ministry, this foot caused acute pain and discomfort with every step.

That’s not fair, Lord. She left all to share the wonderful news of the Savior with those who had never heard, and you allowed this to happen to her? What were you thinking?

The Decision We Must Make

When life is unfair, we each have a decision to make. We can say:

(1) I don’t see God or understand anything that is happening. If there is a God, he doesn’t care about me. He’s the ultimate absentee father. People in Malachi’s day thought the same thing: “You have said harsh things against me,” says the Lord. “Yet you ask, ‘What have we said against you?’ You have said, ‘It is futile to serve God. What did we gain by carrying out his requirements and going about like mourners before the Lord Almighty? Certainly the evildoers prosper, and even those who challenge God escape’” (Malachi 3:13-14).

(2) Or, we can choose to stand on what we do know about God and proclaim:

I don’t understand where God is right now. Nor do I know yet His purpose in these circumstances.

What I do know is that He cares for me with a lavish love and wants what is best for my life. He will use this circumstance for my good in molding me into His image. I can’t see His hand right now, but I trust His heart completely.

Isaiah 55:8-9: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” God is a righteous judge. This life is a training ground for the life to come.

The Betrayal Barrier

Dr. R. T. Kendall, the senior minister of Westminster Chapel in London, refers to this as the “betrayal barrier.” It is his opinion that 100 percent of all true believers will go through a period when God seems to let them down. This may be as a new Christian just starting out, or one in the middle or at end of life. Most people bail out or turn their back on God without giving Him the opportunity to “work everything together for good to those who love God” (Romans 8:28). Dr. Kendall believes over 90% of us fail to break through this feeling of betrayal and abandonment by God.

Another Choice

But what about those God-fearing believers who hang on all the tighter to God when things seem out of control? Joseph held fast to his faith and God used him to save the lives of a nation suffering a seven-year-drought. When Job refused the advice “to curse God and die,” the Lord God took note and restored to him over abundantly above all that he could ask or imagine. The Bible says in Job 42:12, “The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the first.” Because Daniel remained faithful, King Darius issued a decree to his vast empire that all must fear, worship and reverence the living God of Daniel.

Close to Home

A close couple friend of ours received the devastating news that the wife had a very fast aggressive cancer. They called to tell us the diagnosis. Though their hearts were rupturing, they stated with quiet confidence: “No one knows what this year will bring. But one thing is for sure. He will be with us and He is enough.”

Another friend of ours was given a death sentence by her doctor. “Well, Lord, I guess I’ll see You sooner than I thought,” she said to herself. Ben, a seventeen-year-old relative is a scholar and athlete. He was looking forward to his last year of high school when cancer came from his blind side and knocked him down. Ben’s response? “I had planned to enter my senior year, but God has me on a different path now.”

How Will We Respond?

Every demand on me as a child of the Living God is a demand on the One who lives inside me. Our commitment to each other goes beyond any circumstances the world, the flesh or the devil can throw at me. Proverbs 24:10 says: “If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small.” Psalm 1 and Jeremiah 17:7-8 tell us how to build our strength in the Lord. We are to send our roots down deep and wide to tap into the unending strength of the Lord. He will walk through the dark way with us and bring us out on the other side. We can claim with the prophet Nehemiah that ”The joy of the Lord is my strength.”

This life is not fair. But for us believers, the next life is totally fair.¹

¹(c) 2012, Sally Philbrick Smith, ”Come Alone with Me” 3, Used by permission. All Rights Reserved. 

This is one of Sally’s longer devotionals, but I felt it had an important message we all need to hear often. Sally’s devotional book is available for $5.00. She has also written two others: “Come Alone with Me,”and  ”Come Alone with Me” 2. Sally’s strong faith is exemplified in her personal stories and devotions. If you’d like to purchase one of her books, you can e-mail her at carlandsally@sbcglobal.net for more information.

A Memorial Day Thanks for Our Veterans and for America’s Freedom

May 28, 2012

 

Freedom–what a precious gift is ours to know! To those veterans who made it possible for us–and others– to live with protection and security, we owe a thankful attitude. To those veterans who gave their lives in unselfish pursuit of justice and freedom, we owe a debt of gratitude.

WE ALL SHARE IN THE BLESSING AND RESPONSIBILITY OF FREEDOM

We all share in this blessing of freedom, and we all pray it will remain. But we must all bear the responsibility to keep it, Read more

Bible Promise for Today: Direction for Tomorrow

May 1, 2012

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NKJV)

What’s Next?

What’s next?  Are you facing decisions about tomorrow? What job to pursue? Whether to keep working in retirement? Who to marry? Which school to attend? What book to write? How to go on when you’ve lost someone close? Which house to buy? Whether to rent? How to raise your children? Where to serve God best? Whether to have surgery? What church to attend? How to make the most difference with your life?

Every day we face decisions. And depending on the seasons of our lives, some are fairly big ones. Where can you find wisdom and direction for tomorrow for all those big and little choices we must make? Read more

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