Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always - Psalm 105:4

"Turn your eyes upon Jesus,

Look full in His wonderful face,

And the things of earth will grow

strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace"

Hymn by Helen Lemmel

Happy New Year, friends!  Did you know that the above hymn was written by a blind woman?  She, of course, didn't need physical sight to look upon her Lord...neither do we.  We only have to recognize that there are good things to look upon and some not-so-good things to look upon.  What are you looking at today?  What are you looking for?  I've used this quote by John Lubbock before, but I think it bears repeating

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for."

Ann Voskamp, in her Christmas devotional THE GREATEST GIFT, talks about Samuel as he was "looking" for a new king.  She says "always, always, first the eyes...", meaning, I think that she was agreeing with Mr. Lubbock that it is with our eyes we find what we look for.  Then she says:

Joy is a function of gratitude and gratitude is a

function of perspective.  you only begin to change

your life when you begin to change the way you see.

Oh I am so ashamed of some of the things I spend my time looking for...temporal and worldly things.  Everything in the world causes our eyes to look away from our wonderful Savior.  What we look for and how we see things affects everything we do...our lifestyle, our relationships, our goals, our joy.

Think about Peter (Matt. 14:22-36) and the joy and satisfaction of obeying Jesus in stepping out of the boat and going to Jesus on the water.  "But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and began to sink...".  Oh is that not the story of our lives?

If we look for things that are wrong, we will find them.  If we "look for the Lord and his strength", we will find Him!  Our choice.

For further study: 2 Chron. 7:14, Psalm 34:5, Psalm 121:1, Prov. 4:25, Isaiah 55:6, Zechariah 12:10, Matt. 6:33, John 1:35-36,  2 Cor. 4:18, Phil. 4:8

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior - Luke 1:46-47

Have you ever been in trouble?  Realized you were in pretty hot water and not sure what to do?  Unfortunately I have and I did a lot of maneuvering before coming to the realization I better own what I did.  Our sweet Mary, mother of the Savior of the world, found herself in a very unexpected place...through no fault of her own.  We get our first clue that this is really big when the angel of the Lord says to her: "you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:9).  Whew...at least she's not in trouble with Him!  It was a mystery, but she took this sudden turn of events and took it for what it was...a tremendous privilege and gift from God.   Nancy Leigh DeMoss says about her:

What gave her life significance was her relationship

to Jesus...and it is what makes all the difference in

our lives as well.

Listen to Max Lucado:

Christ grew in Mary until He had to come out.

Christ will grow in you until the same occurs.

He will come out in your speech, in your actions,

in your decisions.

Mary didn't try to cover this up or change the circumstances.  This ordinary woman took an extraordinary assignment and rejoiced!   Have you made a place for Him in your life?  Have you "treasured in your heart" (Luke 2:19) His gifts to you and yielded to the plans He has for you?

Listen to Ann Voskamp:  "There is no need to produce or perform or perfect - simply become a place for God.  That is all."

You don't have to make Christmas happen - He has given us His Son as a gift - receive and treasure!  Merry Christmas, sweet friends, and rich blessings on your 2015! 

For further study:  Ezekiel 36:26, Job 23:12, Psalm 46:10,  Psalm 51:10, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:13, John 3:27, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 1:27, James 1:17.

Love,

Holly

Always GIVE THANKS to God for everything - Eph. 5:20

Good morning and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!  I have been trying to send this blog for weeks now...and I think the Lord finally has my heart where He wanted it -- VERY GRATEFUL!  I think that's where Paul was when he wrote this message...I think that's where his heart was throughout all his writings.  If there was ever someone who had a reason to grump, it would have been him.  He was writing many of his letters from prison...hungry, cold, lonely, destitute...but he wasn't grumping...what was he doing?  Praising God and thanking him with a joyful heart.  That's where I am today - and desire to be every day!  To be fair, it is not always my "default" position.

ALWAYS - This is not a moment-by-moment state - the word means "at all times".  Even when things are not going right...in fact, especially when things are not going right.  I believe gratitude is the defining mark of a believer - one who has hope in an eternal God and Savior.  Martin Rinkart wrote the hymn "Now Thank We All Our God" when he was surrounded by death and destruction. As a 17th-centry Lutheran pastor, his ministry was hard and yet he still found many things to be grateful for.  Nancy DeMoss says "True Thanksgiving comes at a cost".

TO GOD - Paul knew to whom he was thankful.  He was a brilliant man and his faith was strong...He knew the circumstances of his life were not an accident.  In 2 Tim 4:17, he said "...the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength".  He was grateful to God and God alone for that which was hard and that which was good.

FOR EVERYTHING - Listen to Billy Graham:

Thanksgiving for the Apostle Paul was not a once-a-year celebration,

but a daily reality that changed his life and made him a joyful

person in every situation.  Nothing turns us into bitter, selfish, dissatisfied

people more quickly than un ungrateful heart.  And nothing

will do more to restore contentment and the joy of our salvation

than a true spirit of thankfulness.

 

Recently I have seen a number of articles on Facebook giving the characteristics of toxic or unhappy people.  Most of them have to do with an ungrateful heart.  Don't read them if you don't want to be convicted about your grumbling, self-centered lives.  But if you want to have a heart of joy like Paul, acknowledge the ingratitude of your heart and the worldly pursuits we let define our lives.  "Always GIVE THANKS to God for everything" and let the life of Paul show you a way to live that brings joy to your heart and glory to your Father.

 

By the way, I have even more things to be thankful for this week than last - my sweet husband, who recently lost his mother, developed a pulmonary embolism and he has just returned home from the hospital, by the grace of God.  I am among the most thankful.  Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

 

For further study: Psalm 69:30, Psalm 100:4 (notice how you enter His presence), Romans 1:21,

1 Cor. 15:57, 2 Cor. 9:15, Eph. 5:4, Phil. 4:6, Col. 2:6-7, Col. 3:15-17, 1 Thes. 5:18.

 

Love,

Holly

To the one who pleases Him, God gives WISDOM KNOWLEDGE HAPPINESS - Ecc. 2:26

I remember reading Gail MacDonald's HIGH CALL HIGH PRIVILEGE when I was a new pastor's wife and a bit overwhelmed with ministry, marriage and babies.  She had a chapter in there entitled "Serving an Audience of One" and it relieved me so much to know that I would never please everyone - and would probably collapse trying - but there was only One worthy of my devotion.  When we do what pleases Him - as Heb. 11:6 tells us - we are rewarded (I just love rewards!):

And without faith it is impossible to

please God, because anyone who comes to him

must believe that he exists and that he rewards

those who earnestly seek him.

 

Simple faith in who He is is what pleases Him...Isaiah 64:6 says "our righteous acts are like filthy acts"...no, Jesus said in Matt. 17:10: "if you have faith as small as a mustard seed...nothing will be impossible for you."

 

Our passage today reminds us we get some very big rewards when we please Him:  WISDOM, KNOWLEDGE HAPPINESS.  Is there anything you long for not in those three categories?

A.W. Tozer in THE PURSUIT OF GOD says:

 

Let any man turn to God in earnest, let him begin to exercise

himself unto godliness, let him seek to develop his powers

of spiritual receptivity by trust and obedience and humility,

and the results will exceed anything he may have hoped in his leaner

and weaker days.

 

Who have we spent time trying to please today?  Have we been rewarded?  If not, we maybe ought to examine the object of our affection and our devotion!

 

For further study:  Psalm 104:34, Proverbs 15:8, Matt. 6:33, John 8:29, Romans 12:1-2, 2 Cor. 5:9, Col. 3:23-24, 1 Thes. 4:1, 1 John 3:21-11

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly

AMAZING GRACE

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

 

The author of this beloved hymn knew the grace that he was praising.  He had indeed been a "wretch" until the Lord had, in his words, "...come from on high and delivered me out of deep waters".  He later became one of England's most evangelical preachers and hymn writers.  A life changed...truly that is "amazing grace".

 

In the doctor's office the other day, I noticed a magazine cover that was reporting on "The Life of the Amazing Joan Rivers".  With all due respect to a popular comedian, her public face...in my opinion...was anything but amazing.  Maybe she was considered funny...I found her to be rude and cruel.

 

Here is a better description of amazing.  Max Lucado in THE GRIP OF GRACE tells a story of a young monk with a troubled soul.  An older monk came alongside him and said:

 

We'll enter the abbey together and together we'll confess your sin.

No one but God will know which of the two of us fell.

 

That's amazing; that our Lord would pay the price of our sin that we might stand before our God blameless and clean.  He offers it to us free...generously...without limitation.  Why are we so stingy with the grace we extend to others?  Why do we honk when someone cuts in front of us on the highway?  Why do we come back with sassy one-liners when someone criticizes us?  Why do we teach our children to not let anyone cut in front of you?  By the way, that is the enemy who would keep us so rigid that we can't see beyond what we want rather than what we could give.

 

If the grace we receive is so amazing - and it is - then surely we can be more amazing (by His Spirit!) about the grace we extend.  Our world is waiting and watching to see if we will.

 

For further study:  Numbers 6:25, Pr. 21:26, Isaiah 30:18, Matthew 10:8, Luke 6:38, John 1:17, Acts 20:35, 2 Cor. 6:1, Galatians 2:21, Hebrews 12:15

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly



 



What God promises he has the power to do - Rom. 4:21

Standing on the promises I cannot fail

Listening every moment to the Spirit's call

Resting in my Savior as my all in all

Standing on the promises of God

 

Sometimes I wonder how courageous I would be if I really, really, really believed in the promises God gives to us in the Bible.  Do we even know what those promises are, let alone know the power given behind those promises? Paul was reminding the believers in Rome about the great faith of Abraham and how because he believed in God's promises he was considered righteous by the only One that can judge our faith.  There is no other explanation for a father being willing to sacrifice his son (Gen. 22) other than faith that the one who made a promise to him would be faithful to carry it out.

 

I have often been insecure in taking driving trips alone...I'm sure it stems from being a single woman and having car trouble.  We have AAA, I have a cell phone, I don't travel at night...I do all the right things, most of the time.  Several weeks ago, Don and I were going to a wedding outside of our city;  I was driving so he could review his notes...often the case with my preacher-husband!  All of a sudden a tire pressure warning message came on that said I was quickly losing pressure in a tire...19, 16, 14, 9, 6, 2...barely time to get off the highway.  I'm telling you my heart was pounding - and my man was with me!!  By God's goodness, immediately we came to an auto service place and they quickly took care of us. God had certainly provided!  My point is if I had ever taken the time to read the car manuel, I would have known my car had power to warn me of impending danger...in all different places in my car.  I think I would have spent a lot less time worrying about what would happen if I had a flat tire if I knew there was a warning system in place.

 

God gives us hundreds of promises in the Bible...because of His great love for us.  Not only does He gives us those promises, but as we learn from Paul, He has the power to carry them out.  In Hebrews 11:17, the author tells us "Abraham...embraced the promises" when he was about to sacrifice his one and only son.  Was that a courageous thing for him to do...you better believe it!

 

Have you read God's instruction manuel to us?  Do you know how many promises He has made to you about how much He loves you, how he will be with you ALWAYS, how He will comfort you, forgive you, guide you, bless you and hundreds more.

 

I believe I'm going to worry less about things that probably won't happen and memorize more of His promises!  How about you?

 

For further study:  Joshua 23:14, 2 Chron. 32:7, Psalm 147:5, Acts 1:7-8, Romans 1:16, 1 Cor. 1:18, 2 Cor. 12:9, 1 Thes. 5:24, 2 Tim. 1:7, 2 Peter 3:9, Hebrews 10:23.

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly

Shout for JOY to God, all the earth - Ps. 66:1

Cindi Wood, in her Bible study "DESPERATE: Seeking Simplicity...Finding the Cross," honestly admits she is sometimes desperate for her morning coffee.  She tells a story of being in a hotel room and having her coffee maker not work, sprinting down to the lobby to find the hotel's was not working and feeling terribly obsessed only with getting her morning java.  I get that way sometimes...I see only what I want and nothing else.  Sometimes I can live my life that way for a very long period of time...way too long obsessing over something...something other than my Lord.  Cindi says:

You were created with a hungering in your spirit not only

to need God but also to want Him - to want

Him more than you want anybody or anything.  He put

that craving there; it's from Him.

 

God created us to look to Him for all our wants and needs.  When we begin to look to lesser things - even sweet and good things - we will begin to experience lesser satisfaction.  We "shout for joy" for a lot of things - a new granddaughter (we have one!), an NBA championship (we have one!), new houses, new cars...but are we shouting for JOY to Him?  Our psalmist today went on in the following verses to rehearse all the good things he was "shouting for joy" about...all things God had done.  What are you "shouting for joy" about today and to whom are you shouting?

 

For further study: Deu. 4:24, 1 Chron. 16:27, Neh. 8:10, Ps. 37:4, Ecc. 3:11, Jonah 2:8, Habakkuk 3:18, Matt. 6:33, Luke 9:23-26, Phil. 4:4-5.

 

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

 

Love,

Holly