Refreshing

.......so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Acts 3:19

Recently we have had some much needed rain, albeit it came on a weekend we were away in the caravan for a fly-in. However, Paul and Dan and friends did managed to fly into the valley through the patchy showers and happily, the second day was fine.  This morning when Colin opened the blinds on a beautiful morning he commented that it was so nice to see the garden looking fresh and green instead of tired and dry. So it is.

It caused me to think about the times we run on empty in the busyness of life.  Too often I am guilty of this.  The tasks on my agenda cry out to me and I plunge into the day with a quick prayer and Bible reading which sadly, too often, is soon forgotten.

If we want real refreshing we have to be willing to change our method and give ourselves time in God's presence just soaking up his love, getting our tank filled.  We will need to do as Peter told his listeners "Repent and be converted" in other words, change the way we do things. Repent of our sin of rushing into our day without drawing near to Him who loves us unconditionally, the One who has our best interests always on His mind.  He wants to restore our soul, refresh and revitalise us so that we go out with joy in the confidence that we are loved, encouraged, strengthened and empowered for whatever the day may bring.  It doesn't have to be a long time but it must be quality time where we allow our heart to touch His heart.  He is like a lover waiting for his beloved to come into his arms.

Will you take time today in His presence, coming boldly to His throne of grace to find mercy and refreshing? Just let Him love on you, and love Him right back.  It will be worth it!  You will then go into your day all fuelled up and ready for the journey and the challenges that may come.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Lover of my soul, please help me to give myself the gift of time in your presence at the start of each day so that refreshing may come to me. Amen

Finding Freedom

I have planned this in order to display my glory through Pharaoh and his whole army. After this the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD!" So the Israelites camped there as they were told. Exodus 14:4

For some people (that would be me!), walking across a wobbly suspension bridge can be very unnerving.  I have only been on one a fraction of this length and that was enough.  Sometimes in life we find ourselves in 'wobbly' circumstances and some of them are orchestrated by God for the purpose of bringing us to a higher level of trust in Him, and to display His glory, goodness and faithfulness to us His people. Such times are generally uncomfortable and often we find ourselves floundering and faithless.  The Israelites are a good example of this.

Moses had delivered them from their captivity in Egypt; from a miserable life of bondage which had caused them to cry out to God for deliverance.  Now they were delivered but not completely.  They were in the wilderness camped beside the Red Sea - trapped really.  No way forward and the road behind led back into bondage.  They were in God's hands well and truly, and to be fair to them, sometimes that seems to be a very scary place.  But God had a plan for them and it was all good.  Their reaction though was to accuse, murmur and complain against their deliverer and want to turn and run back to the 'safe' place, the place that they were familiar with even though it was a place of misery and bondage. 

If we are to move into more freedom in our lives, we will have to go through times that stretch us and times that feel very uncomfortable for awhile.  We will have to change the old and familiar places in our hearts and minds, even in our behaviour, for the new places that feel strange and make us feel insecure for a time.  The wilderness is a time of transition from one place to another; this is our adjustment time, a time of testing through which we must pass to find a greater level of freedom and faith.  A time when, after we have passed through to the other side, we will have seen God's glory and maybe others will have seen it too.  Miracles don't happen unless we are in a place where we need one. 

If you find yourself in such a place right now will you look at it as a transition place from 'one degree of glory to another', a time for His purposes? This is not your final resting place! Remember that God allows us to come into difficult places, not to abandon us, but to show himself strong on behalf of those whose hearts are loyal to Him (2 Chronicles 16:9).  Will you acknowledge that He loves you and has a purpose for you (Jeremiah 29:11)?  Don't choose to run back to the old familiar place, choose to come out into greater freedom and faith than you've know before. It's scary but it's safe if you keep your eyes on Jesus.

Prayer:  Lord  Jesus, my Great Deliverer, I choose today to trust you in my uncomfortable place, knowing that you have allowed me to be here and that you will bring me out into a broad place in due time.  Thank you for your great love for me and your promises which are true and faithful.  Amen

Second Chance

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 NKJV

In cleaning house the other day I was in the process of changing attachments on the vacuum cleaner when behind me there was a crash.  Looking down I saw my favourite ornament, the dancing couple, lying in four pieces at my feet. It was broken in the leg area and both heads had departed their bodies.  To say I was sad would be an understatement. I picked up the pieces and looked at the breaks.  They seemed clean and there were no small pieces on the floor so I put them to one side in the hope that my clever husband would be able to mend it.  He did, as you can see from this picture.

To me this ornament symbolises the joy of marriage; yes, it can be quite a 'dance' sometimes, full of tricky and challenging steps. Sometimes we 'lose our heads' for awhile and at times some marriages literally fall apart.  For every married couple the challenge is to stay in step which, like dancing, is often easier said than done.

The main challenge of marriage is learning to live in harmony with another person who may have had a very different background, even a different culture from your own.  Added to that we bring our different personalities and our own values and ideas of how a marriage should work.  Then there are the challenges that children bring into a relationship. All these things can cause problems that can lead, sometimes slowly, other times like a bomb blast, to breaking point.

Sometimes things fall apart and even get very broken in the process but, with God in the equation it is possible to put things back together again.  It does take care and a willingness to work it all out.  One needs to look back to find where the weak areas were that may have caused the marriage to break so as not to fall into the same traps again.

With the right 'glue' of hope, love, forgiveness, humility and prayer a marriage can move from brokenness to wholeness again.  The weak places can become the strongest.  Joseph's words come to mind as I write, "What you (the enemy) meant for evil, God meant for good." (Genesis 50:20). It may be that God will use your experience to later help others in their own brokenness move from hopelessness to healing. He is so good at taking the things that seem like disasters and turning them to good use.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you that you can cause all things to work together for good.  Help me to keep my eyes on you in my most difficult situations and allow you to use them for good purposes; to bring hope and healing to others and glory to You.  Amen

Small Things

A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver. Proverbs 25:11

As I was getting dressed this morning I was musing over an email I received from a friend in England this week.  She commented on my last Daydrops "Pushing Through" saying that she had laughed out loud when she read it because she thought I could be writing about her.  At 80 she still goes to the gym twice a week and pushes through on the cycle.  This made me smile and then I realised that I don't get to stop my workouts for a few more years yet!!  But what am I saying?  Didn't I recently write about staying in for the long haul?!!

Anyway, today I was also thinking about the small things of life.  I hate it when people find out that I don't go out to work because then they ask me what I do all day.  It's very hard to define really but this morning I realised that a good part of my day can be taken up with communication.  It seems such a small insignificant thing really yet it is an important part of my life.  I love to keep in touch with friends near and far and it all takes time.

As the years have passed I find that friends become more precious.  Often a word of encouragement is needed, or assurance of prayer support for those going through difficult times.  To spend an afternoon with a friend is not wasting time, it's building relationship and making memories. 

A word here and there can be reassuring and encouraging, even to people we don't know.  I was out shopping this afternoon, and where we wait to turn onto the freeway there have been extensive roadworks underway for some weeks now to improve the traffic flow.  Two workmen where heaving a road barrier into place and as I turned to drive past them I wound the window down and smiled at them shouting, "Thanks for making a difference."  It was great to see them laugh back.  It was a small thing but I hope it made their day better.

Such a small thing as a word can make such a difference to someone. The little bee in our picture is one of millions, yet his little contribution is so important in the whole scheme of things. His honey may be on my toast one day! Don't underestimate the many small things you do each day.  Hopefully they are making someone's life better.  Look for opportunities to 'make a little honey' along the way.

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, thank you for the reminder that I don't have to rich and famous to be a world-changer.  I can change someone's life with just a small encouraging word or act of love. Help me to look for opportunities to do so.  Amen

Pushing Through

Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,  I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13b-14

When I got 2 minutes into my 20 minute workout on the cardiogym this morning I wondered how I could ever get to 20 minutes today.  My energy level was not as good as usual and this was going to be a challenge.  What am I saying?  Exercise is always a challenge for me!  I might like it more if I could see that it was making a difference to my shape, but I can't.  However, I know that it has to be making a difference to me inside; heart, lungs and vascular system.  Shame we can't see that, it would certainly be an inducement to keep it up in the hard times!  I just have to trust that it's doing me good even though the result is invisible.

It's like the Christian life really.  We all come to times when we think, "What's the use of these prayers and reading the Bible, I can't see it making any difference at all."  Sometimes we just feel like we are not making any progress, but rather we are going through some useless motions.  Is it really worth it? ( Sometimes I wonder that when I'm writing, especially when I see how few people read this blog,  yet I know that even if one person is touched by each devotion I write, then it has been worth it. My part is to be faithful and push on.)

Yes, it is, and you are just going to have to take my word for it..... and the Bible's.  In writing to the Philippians Paul spoke about forgetting the past (our failures) and pressing on to gain the prize that is promised us.  That's the secret.  We do fail, we have times where our spiritual fervour dims, there are days when we just want to jump into our day and not take time to give Jesus any attention, let alone read His word.  Those are the times to push through our lethargy and allow God's word to seep into our soul and set us up for the day.  We need to have fresh 'bread' every day to feed our spirit and allow us to refresh any weary or needy ones we'll meet in our day.  It really is worth it and it does do something even though we can't feel it or see it.

To gain our salvation Christ had to push through many barriers and obstacles including His own lack of strength in those final hours.  Yet, for the joy that was set before Him he endured the cross... Heb 12:2.  His joy was freeing us from Satan's grip.  Our joy is in being free to live for him in loving obedience to His admonition to Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly....Colossians 3:16.

My strategy for pushing through on the workout (and especially this morning) is to become mindful of and thankful for the health and strength I have to actually do it.  Then I begin to pray for all those who I know are sick or not able physically to use their bodies in the way I can.  This brings energy to me as I do my workout in the strength that He gives me day by day... and soon I'm done and feeling pleased with myself.

Prayer:  Thank you Lord for health and strength to do a physical workout even when it's the last thing I want to do.  Thank you that it is making a difference in my body even though I can't see it.  Help me to be faithful in my spiritual 'workout' each morning as I study your word and pray, knowing that it too is achieving eternal results.  Amen

Carried

Praise the Lord, God our Saviour, who carries us in His arms. Psalm 68:19 (NLT)

Having recently flown for over 30 hours to and from Vancouver, Canada , this verse caused me to connect the thought of God carrying us in his arms with flying in those big jets.  Once I step inside that aircraft I put my life into the hands of the crew.  I put my faith in them and trust them to bring me safely to my destination.  I stow my belongings in the crowded overhead lockers, (I can never believe the size of the bags that are allowed on board), then settle down with my water bottle, iPad, earphones and blanket for the journey. (It used to be books and notebooks but my iPad has it all! Thank you dear husband for my wonderful birthday gift.)  I am set for the journey. I read a little, watch a movie or two, I even sleep.  I relax and am carried along.

That is the way we should view our journey with God; the one who carries us in His arms.  We do not get in the aircraft and expect to have to somehow help get that machine off the ground and stay up there.  When we came to Christ we put our trust in Him and were thrilled at the difference our faith made to our lives.  Sadly later, as we 'grow up', we seem to think that so much depends upon us. 

Now we have to be careful with my analogy here, because the Christian life does depend upon a certain amount of energy on our part, e.g. reading the Bible, talking to God, allowing the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us etc.  BUT remember Paul's words, "That's why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ's mighty power that works within me."(Coloss 1:29 NLT).  We do have to press on and press through to make progress in our journey but we should always remember that it is HIS energy and HIS grace that we are working with that enables us to change and grow.

In the times when difficulties come and we feel we can't go on, we need to remember that he carries us in His arms and our friends lift us up with their prayers.  What a great thought!  Don't try to do it alone.

Prayer:  Precious Lord, thank you for your everlasting arms which are underneath me in those tough times and thank you for the faithful prayers of friends who lift me up.  Help me to rest in your love and power.  Amen

Changed

This same Good News.......is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God's wonderful grace.  Colossians 1:6

There is a great market in today's world for motivational speakers; people who are gifted in speech and have the ability to inspire and motivate people to change their lives in significant ways.  To attend one of their conferences usually costs hundreds of dollars for just a day or two of teaching. When people leave those meetings they are armed with a manual that will guide them into making the changes they want in their lives and businesses, but their motivator is gone, moving onto his next meetings.

Believers have a manual for changing lives and it's called the Bible; Paul refers to it as the Good News, and good news it certainly is.  It is the word of God's wonderful grace and it has the power to change our life as we read and digest what it says, so long as we make the appropriate changes in our lives.  However, there is a great difference between the motivator's manual and the Bible.  The Bible is the word of the One who created us, the One who knows how we are wired for life.  Not only that, our manual comes with the best Motivator in the world, the Holy Spirit.  He stays, he never moves onto another meeting.  He's around to guide, teach and encourage us every step of the way.

Colossians 1:6 speaks of hearing and understanding the truth.  Sometimes we don't fully grasp with understanding all that we have when we come to Christ.  The great gift of grace is available freely but often we think that we have to go home and do it all ourselves.  We forget to call on the grace of God which is available for all our needs.  It is the grace of God which changes us, not our own trying.  We don't need to 'get it all together'.  The best thing we can learn is to daily come to God's throne of grace where we can find gace and mercy for every need. Let's do life with His help, it takes all the stress away as we lean into Him and stop trying to 'go it alone'.  He loves us to be dependant on Him.

Prayer:  Heavenly Father, thank you for your mercy and grace and thank you for the Holy Spirit who guides me into all truth and understanding.  Help me to lean more on Him and rely less on my own ability to change.  Amen