"I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST WHO GIVES ME STRENGTH" - Phil. 4:13

"Sometimes I feel so all alone

Sometimes I feel my hope is gone

My situation can't keep me down

Cause there is power in these words I've found"

Nicole C. Mullen "Captivated" CD

Nicole Mullen's song about Phil. 4:13 struck me as I was driving home from Indiana by myself.  Don had driven up with me, but I assured him it was no big deal to drive home without him - or so it seemed!  The reality of it was that there was danger all along the way, and it reminded me as I listened to this song,  of how similar this road trip was to the journey of life.  Some examples:

Circumstances Beyond Our Control - As soon as I left our condo Sunday morning, a huge storm hit right in the middle of Chicago and for 3 hours I was near panic in the pouring rain as cars raced past me.  I felt so shakey and out of control.  There were people who gave up along the way and pulled over, but I was more afraid to do that than to plow along.  I pleaded with the Lord to keep me safe.  "Guide me, oh thou great Jehovah" was uttered out loud several times.  God is in control of our circumstances even when we are not.

Wrong Turns - In almost every large city, I made wrong turns.  I had to decide to face my mistake and to turn around or to make the best of it and go to Plan B.  It was important in each instance to be aware of what I had done wrong, to stop and make the adjustment to get back on the right path.  Sometimes it delayed the trip, but it was always the right thing to do.

Times of Vulnerability - My most dangerous times along the way were when I was distracted and not paying attention  At one point the day before, I had placed my purse on the front seat and then, while talking to a friend, hit the "lock door" button and forgot about it until we closed all the doors and there was my purse with keys on the front seat!  While near panic, I realized I had put the keys in my pants pocket!  Thank you, Lord!  When my mind was somewhere else, or the traffic about me was chaotic, I often missed an exit or a turn.  Quick decisions were often wrong decisions.

People Along the Way to Encourage - I was encouraged along the way to have policemen present to help - happily I didn't need them, but I was grateful they were there.  In one toll booth, I didn't read the signs (another comparison to life!), and it said "coins only" and I arrived at the pot with bills!  The nice lady next door stopped what she was doing and handed me coins and even called me "sugar" so I didn't think I was an idiot!  There were trucks that I followed along the way when I couldn't see anything ahead.  My cell phone had people at the other end and our boys provided hugs along the way.  I listened to Christian music, always being exhorted by the contemporary artists to keep my eyes on the Lord.

One of my favorite Scriptures, and I know I've mentioned it before, is Ezekiel 47:1-12.  It reminds us that health comes from the living waters of the Lord.  I called out to Him many times on the trip, to help me and give me wisdom.  Deadness comes when we think we can do it all without Him.  He had a plan for me on this trip - to hear Him, to follow Him, and to glorify Him - as He does for each of our lives.  The storms of trips and of life make us ever more grateful when the sun comes out and we can see the road ahead.  "Anything which leads us to cry unto God is a blessing to us." Charles Spurgeon.  My trip was blessed!

For further study:  Exodus 15:13, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 23:1-4, Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:21, Isaiah 55:7, Isaiah 58:11, Galatians 5:16, Philippians 3:12, Hebrews 10:23.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

"BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL" - Psalm 103:1

As with so many of David's psalms (songs), these words were written to express what he was feeling.  This was a poem sung by temple workers and written to remember all the good things God has done - He forgives, He heals, He redeems, He crowns you with love and righteousness, and satisfies your desires.  Is that not cause for celebration and praise?  The word "bless" in its original form (barak) means "to bend the knees, to praise or salute".  David's heart and soul were worshipping!

How wise of David - and of us - to remember His great love for us and all He has done.  Unfortunately, too often we remember and mourn our sins, our failures and our disappointments.  Surely David gives plenty of evidence in other psalms of his emotional lows.  Like Jeremiah, he can get pretty heavy with his laments about how hard his life is.  Perhaps that's why we identify with so much of what he's written.

We have a choice every day to celebrate or curse.  The Daily Bread devotional several years ago said "we invite defeat when we remember what we should forget".  David was remembering what he should remember and forgetting what he should forget!  I am doing Nancy Leigh DeMoss's "A 30-day Study in the Psalms" and in it she quotes Martyn Lloyd Jones:

"...defy yourself...and other people...

and the whole world and say...'I shall yet

praise Him for the help of His countenance'".

We have a choice today to live sad, defeated lives or to celebrate God's goodness with David and sing "Bless the Lord, O my soul".  What are your lips saying today?

For further study:  Exodus 15:1-18, Psalm 33:1, Psalm 42:1-2, Psalm 104:33-34, Psalm 142:7, Isaiah 42:10, Matthew 5:16, Colossians 3:16, Philippians 4:8-9, James 5:13

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

This is Lake Michigan and has been my daily reminder of God's goodness and power!

Love,

Holly

"God's mercies are new every day" - Lamentations 3:23

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not

consumed, for his compassions never fail,

they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."

This pillow was a special request for a special friend.  She likes to be reminded every morning as she makes their bed of the blessings God gives her family every day.  Poor Jeremiah was rather like Eeyore in most of the book of Lamentations.  As a wholehearted pollyanna, I can barely read how hard he thinks his life is.  But in the middle of Chapter 3, he finally recognized that God's great love never fails and that He gives new blessings every day!

John Piper says "today's mercies are not designed to carry tomorrow's burdens".  Fenelon says "do not insult today by looking for a better tomorrow".  We lose the blessing of today's gifts by looking to get more tomorrow or by worrying about what we have to face next week.  Our task today is to be grateful for His provision today, to seek to understand His purposes and to not lose the opportunity we have to glorify Him in these gifts.  Do we wake up each morning desiring to be fertile ground for Him or do we wake up fretting over what we can't control?  He has given us TODAY.

The great hymn by Thomas Chisholm "Great is Thy Faithfulness" reminds us we have "strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow".  Look around you - can you speak of God's faithfulness in your day?  Like the psalmist in Psalm 71, are you proclaiming God's goodness to the young around you?  Are they seeing you praise God for His "marvelous deeds" (v. 17) or are they seeing you complain about what you don't have?

What will I do with today's "new mercies"?  Will I consume them like a cupcake and look for my next treat?  Or will I be grateful and bear fruit from the experience?  "This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).

For further study:  Deuteronomy 4:31, Psalm 57:9-10, Psalm 71:17-18, Proverbs 27:1, Matthew 6:11, 34, 2 Corinthians 6:1-2, 9:8-11, Hebrews 3:13, Hebrews 13:8, James 4:13-16.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

THY WILL BE DONE - Matthew 6:10

Our church has had an emphasis on The Lord's Prayer for several months now (see http://www.theeverydayprayer.com/) and we are encouraged to say it every day for daily insight.  This prayer was given to the disciples as a model - an example to follow - that would guide them in conversation with God.

It's important to note the positions we take in this prayer before this statement.  We have first aligned ourselves with a holy and personal God ("Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed by Thy name") in the first two lines.  Next, we agree to make His realm our goal ("Thy kingdom come...").  Just as Israel rejected God and asked for an earthly king, we have in many ways rejected Christ and His teachings - we have lusted after worldly pursuits.  Unless we are yielded to Christ's rule and reign, we aren't submitting to "thy kingdom come".

Only after agreeing to the first two tenets of this prayer, will we be ready to say "Thy will be done...".  For us to submit to doing what pleases Him, we must remember who He is and who we are.  A beautiful picture of that kind of submission is in Matthew 26:36-46.  Jesus, in the garden before His death, in anguish of soul prayed "...not as I will, but as you will".  His submission - when facing overwhelming grief and pain - is an example to us of what our submission should look like.  R.C. Sproul in THE PRAYER OF OUR LORD said:

"We are to come to God and tell Him what we

want, but we must trust Him to give the answer that is

best for us.  That is what Jesus did."

Jesus did yield and showed us the ultimate example of "Thy will be done".

I have a very determined little girl inside of me that says "MY will be done".  It is not in her best interest to win!  Together with Jesus, we must say to "Our Father in heaven...", "Thy will be done".

For further study:  Isaiah 40: 21-26, Matthew 28:20, Luke 22:39-44, John 14:23, Acts 5:29, Romans 6:16, Romans 12:1-2,  Hebrews 13:20-21, 2 John 6

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly