May the Grace of the LORD bless you and keep you

 There was a recent article in our newspaper entitled "Alexa, make me happy".  While it was definitely written a bit tongue-in-cheek, can you believe there are people all over the world talking to electronic gadgets to satisfy their wants/needs?  Maybe it's entertainment, maybe it's information but maybe it's something much deeper than that.  The article states that retailers are actually trying to convince us that if we buy their product, they will "...fulfill us and thereby make us happy".  That's called consumerism and it's a dangerous thing to depend on.  

Hebrews 4:16 says:  "Let us then approach God's throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  God is just waiting for us to come to Him to meet our needs...not try to meet them with status, ambition, family or material things.  I often forget Isaiah 30:18 that "...the LORD longs to be gracious to you".   Do you see the word "grace" in that?  In our pillow today, a paraphrase of Numbers 6:24, reminds us that blessings come from a gracious God...not some electronic gadget!

The Bible is full of references to prayer or,  in simple terms, talking to God.  We don't have to have flowery, long speeches to Him, just a word that shows we believe in Him to meet our needs.  When He gives us a need He fills it!  And, He starts by giving us His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into truth. Don, my sweet husband, wrote a blog yesterday and he said:

"When my prayers become empty and powerless, I should be warned.  In my heart, my loyalties have shifted back to self".  Ouch...the reason we don't have is because we don't go to the Lord and ask for things "...according to His will" (1 John 5:14).     When we are focused on self, we will not be seeking the things of the Lord.  Trust me...I battle daily keeping myself at the bottom of my "to do" list, not the top!

Daily, the love of the Lord and His compassions never fail...they are "...new every morning". (Lamentations 3:23).  Make time every day to talk to your God before you talk to your gadgets! You might be amazed at the power He brings into your life.

For further study: Proverbs 15:8, Ecc. 2:26, Isaiah 58:9, Jeremiah 33:3, John 16:13, 2 Cor. 12:9, Phil. 4:6-7, Titus 2:11-12, James 5:13-16.    

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word,

Holly              

GRATEFUL

 Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth asked this in her book CHOOSING GRATITUDE:  "Is the gratitude that flows out of your life as abounding as the grace that has flowed into your life?".  

Good question.  Must ponder for a bit. 

Act justly, love mercy, walk humbly with God - Micah 6:8

 Sometimes I am stunned by the truth of the Bible and how relevant it is today in 2021!  I grew up in church but I didn't receive Christ as Savior until I was in my early 30s.  For those 30+ years I remember the "search for certainty" and the worthless things I tried to fill my life with.  I was amazed how clear the truth of the Bible was when it was finally revealed to me.  I have never found anything more meaningful than studying God's word.  Truth is defined as "fidelity to an established standard" and I choose to follow the absolute standard of truth set forth in the Scriptures.  From Genesis to Revelation, if our Creator God said it ("...all Scripture is God-breathed" 2 Tim. 3:16), I believe it is true.  Biblical truth does not evolve...culture may, but "the word of God endures forever" (Isaiah 40:8).  If everyone lived by Micah 6:8, I believe the world would be a better place.

For further study: 2 Sam. 22:31, Psalm 119:160, Isaiah 45:19, Zechariah 8:16, John 8:32, John 14:6, John 16:13, Romans 1:25, 2 Timothy 3:7, Hebrews 4:12.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

BE KIND - Eph. 4:32

 HAPPY NEW YEAR, sweet friends.  It is a popular thing these days to start a new year with a word or phrase that you would like to focus on during the year...what the "new" me should try to improve!!!  I don't usually do the popular thing, but for some reason the Lord kept bringing "kindness" to my heart as something He might like me to do better...maybe something the world around me needs more of.  Our grandchildren love the movie "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss.  Hear what one of the characters says: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better.  It's not." 

Oddly enough, in Galatians 5:22-23 passage on the "fruit of the Spirit", "kindness" is nestled in between "patience" and "goodness".  I think that is profound because it takes both of those to produce this character trait.  Do you know that in the Old Testament, there are 246 passages about the "kindness of God"...His very nature reveals kindness to all those He loves.  I think if He is kind than we must be kind. Someone once said "Kindness is how love behaves".

There is a story about the famous African American educator, Booker T. Washington,  President of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.  He was walking through a wealthy neighborhood one day when a resident approached him and asked him if he wanted to earn some extra money chopping wood.  He smiled, rolled up his sleeves and did the humble chore she requested.  A little girl recognized him and revealed his identity to the lady afterwards.  The next day she sent him a very apologetic note and he answered saying:  "It's perfectly alright, madam.  Occasionally I enjoy a little manual labor.  Besides, it's always a delight to do something for a friend."   From HAVING A MARY SPIRIT, Joanna Weaver.

Are there "friends" around you that you could do something for?  My sweet husband in a blog this week quoted D.L. Moody: "our greatest fear should not be failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter."  The Greek word for "kind" is chrestos which translates as "useful".  Is there something we could do today that might be useful to another?  Something that might really matter?

For further study: Psalm 23:6,  Lamentations 3:22, Micah 6:8, Romans 11:22, 1 Cor. 13:4, Galatians 5:22-23, Colossians 3:12, 2 Tim. 2:24, Titus 3:4-7.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

                                                 

                                        

                                                 

With God all things are possible - Matt. 19:26

 This is a very important day in our country.  Election Day is always important but there has been such insecurity and fear for these past nine months that really our choice today is not about person or party, it is about whether we choose to believe in the motto our country has had since 1956....IN GOD WE TRUST.

In my morning devotional today, this was the comment by L.B. Cowman:

"Our capacity for knowing God is enlarged when we are brought by Him into circumstances that cause us to exercise our faith.  So when difficulties block our paths, may we thank God that He is taking time to deal with us and then may we lean heavily on Him."

Today we are called upon to exercise our faith...that faith in the One who created all things (Col. 1:16).  None of the candidates running for public office today will fix anything apart from divine wisdom.  May the prayers of His people call upon Him to exercise His authority and His wisdom to work through these candidates and us to cause His perfect will to be done.

As our pillow says today:  "With God all things are possible".  He is our hope.  He is our peace.  He will give value to all people.  He will guide and reconcile according to His good purposes.  Can we continue to reject His word and His purposes and hope for peace?  I think not.

Do not despair, friend.  It is not too late to pray today for His purposes to be accomplished...for us to be a "blessed nation whose God is the Lord" (Ps. 33:12).

For further study:  2 Chron. 20:20,  Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 30:15, Jeremiah 9:24, Luke 1:45, Romans 13:1, Eph. 2:10, Col. 4:2, Hebrews 11:6.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word and VOTE!

Love,

Holly

Be still and know that I am God - Ps. 46:10

 I'm a little embarrassed to find how many of my blogs over these past 10 years have been on this passage!  I'm afraid it tells you more about my needs than you would like to know!!  Truly, it is one of my favorite verses in the Bible and does show up on the walls of our home.

I love thinking how in the Martha and Mary story Martha was so busy and distracted and how Mary chose "what is better" when she sat at Jesus' feet to listen to his profound words.  Why, I ask myself, do I listen to what I listen to?  Sometimes my own inner voice and sometimes the criticism of the world  How very grateful I am for the Bible and how it teaches me that trusting God is better than trusting anyone or anything else.

The Hebrew word for "know" in this passage is yada and is more than knowing about someone, it is a personal and intimate relationship.  We can know the One True God intimately, if we will be still and listen.  Psalm 9:10 says:  "Those who know your name put their trust in you." Same Hebrew word.  Craig Denison says:  "Continual peace comes from continual trust."

John Piper says:  "He (God) loves to work for people who wait for Him."  I encourage you to read J.I. Packer's KNOWING GOD.  I think you will come away with a better idea of how rich and satisfying a "personal and intimate relationship" with God can be.  We don't have to strive to make life happen for us...if we will be still, wait and listen, He will direct our paths (Prov. 3:5-6)!

For further study:  Ex. 14:14, Psalm 23:2, Proverbs 1:7, Isaiah 26:3, Jer. 9:23-24, Luke 10:38-42, 2 Cor. 10:5, 1 Tim. 2:1-2,  2 Peter 3:18, 1 John 5:20.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly

GIVE THANKS

 I love this time of year!  The air is cooler, the Fall decorations come out and our hearts turn toward Thanksgiving!  And what I love about Thanksgiving is being reminded of the source of all the good things in my life.  James 1:17 says: "Every good and perfect give is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows."

These have been a difficult six months...but we still have so much to be thankful for.  Gratitude is a choice we make...listen to Ann Voskamp:

Have you ever thought that happiness was tied to your gratitude?  I loved listening to Tim Keller preach on Psalm 103 a few weeks ago.  He talks about how important it is for us to "...forget not all his benefits" (v. 2).  In fact, he makes this rather bold statement:  "Every problem we have is that we don't internalize the good things (the Lord) has done."  What he's saying, I think, is that whatever is wrong with your life can be made better if we will keep our eyes on the goodness of God and say thanks instead of being critical or whining about what we don't have.

When we focus on pleasing the Lord who created us and are grateful to Him for what He has already done, we are not focused on what may be wrong or hard in our every day life.  The Bible study I am doing talks about living lives that please Him and one of those things is "...giving joyful thanks to the Father" (Col. 1:12).  Conversely, we see in Romans 1:21 that those who "...knew God but neither glorifed him...nor gave thanks to him" were darkened in their "foolish hearts".  He created us to have pure and grateful hearts...and to be in fellowship with him.

Giving thanks feels like a great privilege I want to embrace!  I make a choice today...and will make it several more times this day...to be grateful to the God who calls me His own, who gave me salvation almost 50 years ago, and is faithful to do His work in me every day...for His glory and not my own!

May you have the joy of being in fellowship with Him as well!

For further study: 1 Chronicles 16:34,  Psalm 9:1,  Psalm 100:4,  Matt. 10:8,  2 Cor. 9:15,  Phil. 4:6,  Col. 3:16-17, 1 Thess. 5:18,  Heb. 12:28,  Rev. 11:17.

Be blessed in your understanding of God's word.

Love,

Holly