Many years ago there was a woman in my circle of life that was just one of those kinds of people that we affectionately call “EGR” people – Extra Grace Required. I mean no ill in saying that; it was the truth. If you knew her, you’d say the same thing, even if you have a sweet disposition like that of Melanie on Gone with the Wind! This poor woman was nearly always crabby. Her face was twisted up in discontent and she’d let you know exactly and specifically what was troubling her the moment she entered your presence. It was for those reasons that people pretty much avoided her.

On the other hand, I have known other people that I’ve gravitated to. There was one woman when I learned she was going to attend a certain event I’d hope to be seated near her because of her kind ways, fun-loving disposition and encouraging words. She talked of the Lord freely and as a part of her daily and moment-by-moment life. I learned by experience that being with her was always a blessing!

In Genesis 30 we find Jacob approaching Laban about taking his wives and children and going home. Laban isn’t real thrilled at the prospect. He answers Jacob by saying, “Tarry. For I have learned by experience that the Lord has blessed me for thy sake.” He wants Jacob to stay with him because he’s recognized that because Jacob was with him, he had received blessings from the Lord. Wow. As I read that the first thought that pops into my head is, “Does my presence bring God’s blessings to others? Or would people rather run when they see me coming?”

How about you? Are people blessed because you’re around? Do they know by experience that the Lord’s Spirit is abiding in you and they’re encouraged when they’re with you? If we have a crabby, critical or caustic attitude we can be very sure that people would rather run from us than retreat to us!

I’m asking the Lord to give me the great exchange today. I’m begging Him to take my ugly sinful nature and replace it with His Divine nature. May, I, like Jacob, be a blessing to others who are near me!

See you in church Sunday!

With love,

When you teach children in church, it’s necessary to digest the Bible passage into small tiny pieces so you can have the details entrenched in your heart. How familiar the story of Noah is to most of us. We think of the animals that came 2 by 2, the arc being built, and the rain that fell for forty days, and the rainbow in the sky, but I’m telling you, that the Lord has allowed me to see some things in this known story as I been studying it to teach to my Sunday school class. They are precious truths that I needed to learn!

This week my Sunday school class will learn about God shutting the door on the arc and then the rains coming. As I studied the passage, I read in Genesis 7:10 “And it came to pass after seven days, that the waters of the flood were upon the earth.” Think about it – all the animals were in the arc. Noah and his family were safe in the arc, and not one other person would heed Noah’s warnings that God was going to send a flood. Now the door is shut, and as I pictured the event I could see the whole Noah family looking upward to the windows of the arc. Was it raining yet? No. Perhaps they even had a hard time looking upward because the sunshine was beaming into their eyes! The next day, perhaps they thought this was the day the flood would begin and God’s promise would be fulfilled. No. The next day the sun continued to shine. Day four, day five, and day six all passed with no rain. Were they wondering when this would happen? I wonder if there marks on the wall of the arc for every day they waited for the rain? Noah’s family was flesh, and I think they had to be wondering when this was going to happen.

Finally, on day seven – drip, tap, splash…the water began to come from the sky. The clouds caused a darkness to fall over the arc, then the darkness was divided by a flash of lightening piercing through the sky. They would write in their journals, “Today, on day seven the floods began. God has kept His promise to send judgment.”

How often I am looking for a promise of God to be fulfilled in my life…in my timetable. I sit in my arc waiting for that promise to rain down, and I begin to question – “Am I misapplying this promise? Is God going to do this now?” But there are no “rain clouds in sight” and I grow impatient.

The Lord reminded me through Noah and his family, however, that He will keep His promise. It will rain, and it will be the perfect time. His promise is sure and He cannot go back on it. So, today, I choose, whether I “hear the flood waters” coming or it’s still clear skies, to rest safely in my arc (the Lord Jesus).

Whatever you’re praying for, it may not be answered until “day seven,” but you can rest assured that God is in the heavens and he will do whatsoever He will please. Psalm 115:3 It will be the perfect time, and He will be glorified in it. Just as He was seen in the flood, it will be evident that His hand has moved in your situation too! Continue to trust Him.

Safe in the arc,

Years ago I did the study, Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby. It was such a blessing in my life. I learned about the ways that God speaks to me and ministers to my heart and my needs.

One truth that stuck with me was the need to connect my prayers with what happens next. We tend to get on our knees and pray, then get up, dust ourselves off, and move on with our day. The Lord is at work around us and wants us to join Him in His work, but we’re mindless of His activity, or of how He is answering the prayer we prayed a few hours earlier.

Earlier this week I poured my heart out to God about needing His enablement and His heart concerning a speaking opportunity I have in a couple of weeks. I had tried to put together a lesson, but felt empty and dry. I came to the Lord in prayer, several times in the day, asking for His mind in the matter.

While texting with my daughter at one point in the day, she mentioned a topic that was somewhat related to what was on my heart to share with the young women I’ll be addressing. “Connect what happened with your prayer,” my husband wisely advised. I did. I went to bed, still uncertain, however, how to put it all together.

At 5am the next morning I awoke and knew very certainly that the Lord was nudging me awake. I slipped out of bed and back to the room where I have my quiet time. I thought of the Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve had walked with God in the cool of the evening. I was thankful for this dew of the morning, and time to “walk with Him” here. Again, on my knees, I cried out to the Lord to speak to me and teach me what I was to teach the women. As I opened His Word, the truths flowed from the pages of God’s Word, first to my heart, then to my readied pen and paper. “The Woman God Uses” is the study He gave to me, and it’s so precious because of how He spoke it into my heart.

The lesson here is this – if I’m truly longing to know God’s heart, I must listen to His nudges and whispers. If He calls early in the morning or in the middle of the night, I must, like Samuel, be ready to answer, “Here am I” and connect what is happening to my prayers. God is always faithful to hear and to answer. May I be faithful to listen and obey.

Are you seeking His face concerning a matter? Think back to each thing that happens after you pray – each phone call, each meeting, each “interruption.” He is at work around you, Friend, and is speaking. Will you hear Him?

Tell me about a time when you heard from the Lord.

With love,

Last evening after supper my husband suggested we ride the Greenbelt Bike & Walking path in Kingsport. We loaded up our bikes onto the trailer and headed off for our first adventure on this trail. We followed the directions we found on-line about a parking area. After unloading our bikes we found ourselves riding on a gravel path – downhill…for a long way! I called out to my husband who was ahead of me, “You know, whatever goes down has to come up!” I knew coming back would be harder than the path we were taking now.

Soon we hit the paved path of the Greenbelt and enjoyed a lovely ride. We saw a little water fall, a riverbed beside us, a family of ducks swimming, and others sunning themselves in the grass. It was beautiful!

We’d timed how long we’d ridden so we could make it back to the car before dark. It was now time to turn around. I kept thinking about the steep hills we’d ridden down. I was riding an old-fashioned bike – the kind with no gears. Pretty soon, I looked ahead and a hill loomed before us, and there I saw a man walking and pushing his bike up the hill (not real encouraging!) Determined to make it, I began pedaling harder. Soon I stood and pedaled – I was riding past the man (albeit, very slowly!), then I sat and pushed, thinking to myself “one more pedal, one more pedal.” Finally I made it! This was repeated a couple more times before we reached the gravel path. Ugh! Now it was even harder.

Slowly, but surely, we made it back to the car. We did end up walking up the gravel path – it was just too steep to climb without gears, but even walking, it was quite a workout. The point was, with the Lord’s enablement and strength, we made it!

The Christian life isn’t about coasting downhill every day, is it? Many television evangelists would tell you that’s what it’s like, but that’s not what the Bible teaches. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous…” Psalm 34:19 There can be many days all bunched together that we literally feel like we’re standing up on the bike and pedaling for all its worth and moving very slowly. Then we get really winded and have to get off and walk. The important thing is to keep moving. I knew if I stopped while on my bike I’d never make it to the top. If you’re going through a difficulty right now, the enemy will tempt you to question God’s ways, his love for you, and will urge you to quit, but he’s not telling you the truth. The truth is that the unrighteous man also has troubles, but the last part of Psalm 34:19 says the Lord delivers him (the righteous) out of them all. The unrighteous man is on his own. However, we have an advocate, praying for us when we’re panting, out of breath, and needing strength. He will see us to the end. Think back to the blessings of the past; answered prayer, God’s provisions, and His mercy and keep on pedaling! Don’t quit – with the Lord’s enablement, we will make it!

Because of Calvary,

Every wise parent knows that you have to give your child the outcome of what will happen if they disobey, but we’ve all heard parents say things lamely in public like, “If you do that again you’re going to be in trouble!” By their careless attitude, we know nothing’s going to happen. The child knows nothing’s going to happen. And even the parent knows nothing’s going to happen – except that they might give another warning in a louder voice. However, when God gives a warning in His Word, we can bank on it – He will follow through with what He says; not because He is a mean God, but because He loves us and disciplines us as a Father disciplining His children.

A part of my daily devotions is to read the Proverb that corresponds to the day of the month. Since yesterday was the first day of September, I read Proverbs 1 and was reminded of a warning given at the end of the chapter. Verses 30 and 31 says, They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. When God wants to discipline us, He lets us have our own way.

Some might think, “What’s wrong with that? That would be great to get my own way!” God let the Israelites have their own way, remember? They complained about the manna He sent them because they wanted meat. So God gave them what they wanted and sent them quail. It made them sick while it was being chewed between their teeth. Later, Israel wanted a king, though that wasn’t what God wanted for them. He warned them what it would be like, but they wouldn’t listen, so God gave them Saul who was exactly as God said he would be and the people suffered as a result. Jonah got what he wanted as did Judas, and we all know the awful results. They got their way that destroyed them (or almost) instead of God’s way that would have been full of blessing.

Okay, so what does that have to do with you and me? How often I want my own way instead of God’s! How about you? Here are a few instances in which we’re tempted to go our our direction instead of the Lord’s:

• If we don’t like a decision our husband’s made or something he is doing, we are tempted to jump ahead of him, take charge and not submit.
• If we need something now and don’t have the money, we’re tempted to put it on a credit card instead of waiting on God to provide it in His way and time.
• If we’re praying for a person that needs to change, we may be tempted to play the role of the Holy Spirit instead of letting God deal with them.
• We may try cover our sin when we know we’re guilty instead of confessing and making it right with God.

The list is endless because our sinful hearts lean that way, but oh, the wonder of letting God have His way instead! He does things in such a marvelous way. He does things exceeding, abundantly, above all we could ask or think! Eph. 3:20 Why would we want our own measly little way instead of that? Oh, may we each seek His way today and see the wonder of an omnipotent God working in our lives!

Let Him Have His Way with Thee

Would you have Him make you free, and follow at His call?
Would you know the peace that comes by giving all?
Would you have Him save you, so that you can never fall?
Let Him have His way with thee.

Refrain:
His pow’r can make you what you ought to be;
His blood can cleanse your heart and make you free;
His love can fill your soul, and you will see’
Twas best for Him to have His way with thee.

Would you in His kingdom find a place of constant rest?
Would you prove Him true in providential test?
Would you in His service labor always at your best?
Let Him have His way with thee.

—Cyrus S. Nusbaum, 1898

With love,