Remember

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Remember.

Take steps,

the way I show you,

to set up a touch stone

a visible reminder

of what I have done for you.

A memorial forever. 

•

Joshua called out the twelve men 

whom he selected from the People of Israel, 

one man from each tribe. 

Joshua directed them, 

"Cross to the middle of the Jordan 

and take your place in front of the Chest of God, your God. 

Each of you heft a stone to your shoulder,

 a stone for each of the tribes of the People of Israel, 

so you'll have something later to mark the occasion. 

When your children ask you, 

'What are these stones to you?' 

you'll say, 'The flow of the Jordan was stopped 

in front of the Chest of the Covenant of God as it crossed the Jordan—

stopped in its tracks. 

These stones are a permanent memorial for the People of Israel.

Joshua 4:4-7 msg

Available

"Consistently trusting in Me is vital to flourishing in My Presence."

-- from Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

There is no peace apart from You.

I know this so well

because I wander so often.

Why I think I can do better,

why I think that You expect me

to do it all on my own,

I have no idea. 

I know that it is only by Your 

precious Grace 

that I am 

saved,

forgiven,

restored,

redeemed,

justified....

Why I think I can 

do anything apart from you,

I have no idea.

I try to be like You

but I can't.

Only You can be You

in me.

Teach me 

how to be available,

available 

to You

for You are all I need.

"The only limitation 

on what God can do 

in you and me 

is our 

availability.

Be available to Christ, 

and His divine dynamic

will be released."

"The Christian life is not about 

our own capacity and ability, 

but about God's; 

not about who we are, 

but who He is; 

not about what we have to offer, 

but what He offers, 

which is all of Himself,

 if only we are as available to Christ 

as Christ was available to His Father."

-- from The Indwelling Life of Christ by Major W. Ian Thomas

Blessed are you

who give yourselves over to God,

turn your backs on the world's "sure thing",

ignore what the world worships;

Psalm 40:4 msg

My help and glory are in God

—granite-strength and safe-harbor-God —

So trust Him absolutely, people;

lay your lives on the line for HIm.

God is a safe place to be.

Psalm 62:7-8 msg

Words to Live By

BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, prosperous, and enviable) 

is the man who walks and lives not 

in the counsel of the ungodly 

[following their advice, their plans and purposes], 

nor stands [submissive and inactive] 

in the path where sinners walk, 

nor sits down [to relax and rest] 

where the scornful [and the mockers] gather.

But his delight and desire are in the law 

of the Lord, and on His law 

(the precepts, the instructions, the teachings of God) 

he habitually meditates (ponders and studies) 

by day and by night.

And he shall be like a tree firmly planted 

[and tended] by the streams of water, 

ready to bring forth its fruit in its season;

 its leaf also shall not fade or wither; 

and everything he does shall prosper 

[and come to maturity].

Psalm 1:1-3

 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?

Any comfort from his love? 

Any fellowship together in the Spirit? 

Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 

Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other,

 loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. 

Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 

Don’t look out only for your own interests, 

but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Philippians 2:1-5

And so, dear brothers and sisters, 

I plead with you to give your bodies to God 

because of all he has done for you. 

Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—

the kind he will find acceptable. 

This is truly the way to worship him.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, 

but let God transform you into a new person 

by changing the way you think. 

Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, 

which is good and pleasing and perfect.

Romans 12:1-2

Deciding in my Heart

I have become so dry. 

So closed in and holding tight to the little I have. 

I have felt a distance between me and God, 

all the while knowing that it was not Him that had moved. 

He never leaves, never forsakes. 

He gave me these verses this morning 

as I came to Him and 

simply confessed the distance in my heart.

 I asked Him to show me,

 to search me and show me 

what had come between us.

 

Repent, all of you who forget me, 

or I will tear you apart,

and no one will help you. 

But giving thanks is a sacrifice 

that truly honors me. 

If you keep to my path, 

I will reveal to you the salvation of God.” 

Psalm 50:22, 23 

I had stopped being purposelly thankful 

and offering Him praise willingly and often. 

I had been focused on all that I have to do 

instead of Who He is. 

But thanksgiving throws open the doors to God. 

We are to enter His courts with praise. 

Enter His gates with thanksgiving 

and His courts with praise; 

give thanks to Him and praise His name. 

Psalm 100:4 

As I read 2 Corinthians 9 this morning 

after God showed me my need 

to return to giving Him thanks, 

verse 7 jumped off the page at me. 

God doesn't want me to give because I have to, 

He wants me to be joyful 

as I come to Him with my thanks. 

And, I have determined to do just that.... 

To regularly give Him thanks, with a joyful heart. 

"You must each decide in your heart how much to give. 

And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure. '

For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.'"

2 Corinthians 9:7

As I was typing this out, 

this next verse just popped in my head. 

So, I share it now as I close. 

What, then, shall we say in response to this? 

If God is for us, who can be against us? 

Romans 8:31

Brand New

I have been made for a purpose!

"...to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 

so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 

Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose 

and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, 

guaranteeing what is to come."

2 Corinthians 5:4-5 niv

Sometimes this mortal tent 

can seem so heavy, 

so constant,

never ending.

But there is more to come!

This is not the extent of it all.

Therefore, I can have joy 

as I cling to the promise of what is to come.

We live by faith, not by sight.

2 Corinthians 5:7 niv

So we make it our goal to please him, 

whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 

For we must all appear 

before the judgment seat of Christ, 

that each one may receive what is due him 

for the things done while in the body, 

whether good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:9-10 niv

Because of what is to come,

I have a goal. 

Pleasing the Lord

should be the goal of my life. 

I am His

and one day I will stand before Him.

What will He say?

And he died for all, 

that those who live 

should no longer live for themselves 

but for him who died for them 

and was raised again.

2 Corinthians 5:15 niv

To live for Him, 

Who died for me,

is the least that I can do. 

He paid the price

and gave His all 

for you and me.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 

he is a new creation; 

the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17 niv

I am a new creation!

Through Jesus 

the old has gone

the new is here to stay. 

We implore you on Christ’s behalf: 

Be reconciled to God. 

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, 

so that in him 

we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:20b-21 niv

"Jesus paid it all,

all to Him I owe!

Sin had left its crimson stain,

He washed it white as snow!"

Filling my Vessel of Earth with Light

For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, 

has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] 

the Light for the illumination of the knowledge 

of the majesty and glory of God 

[as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] 

in the face of Jesus Christ (the Messiah). 

However, we possess this precious treasure 

[the divine Light of the Gospel] 

in [frail, human] vessels of earth, 

that the grandeur and exceeding greatness 

of the power may be shown to be from God 

and not from ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:6-7 amp

•

It comes so slowly,

the realization that dullness has come.

How dry life has become,

void of the crackle of life,

so heavy, and hard.

Looking down,

focusing on the vessel of earth,

dims the Light.

All I can see is the cracks,

the powdery residue drifting all around.

Where is hope?

I'm just a clay pot.

And a broken one at that.

And all around me are broken jars,

bumping into me,

bruising and jostling.

The hunger for Light is there.

I know where the Source is. 

I just have to lift my eyes. 

•

Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul? 

Why are you crying the blues? 

Fix my eyes on God— 

soon I'll be praising again. 

He puts a smile on my face. 

He's my God.

Psalm 42:5 msg

•

I may be a broken jar,

a vessel of earth.

But I am filled with the fullness of Life and Light.

Looking up, He floods my face 

with the Light of His Glory and Grace. 

Filled.

Life abundant.

•

For our light, momentary affliction 

(this slight distress of the passing hour)

 is ever more and more abundantly 

preparing and producing and achieving 

for us an everlasting weight of glory 

[beyond all measure, excessively surpassing all 

comparisons and all calculations, 

a vast and transcendent glory 

and blessedness never to cease!],

Since we consider and look 

not to the things that are seen 

but to the things that are unseen; 

for the things that are visible are temporal 

(brief and fleeting), 

but the things that are invisible 

are deathless and everlasting.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 amp

•

My brokenness is temporal.

He is Eternal, Deathless and Everlasting.

Oh downcast soul, 

look up!

He will fill with Light.

He lifts us up. 

Fix your eyes on Him.

He is the Source

For our knowledge is fragmentary 

(incomplete and imperfect), 

and our prophecy (our teaching) 

is fragmentary (incomplete and imperfect). 

But when the complete and perfect (total) comes, 

the incomplete and imperfect will vanish away 

(become antiquated, void, and superseded). 

For now we are looking in a mirror 

that gives only a dim (blurred) reflection 

[of reality as in a riddle or enigma], 

but then [when perfection comes] 

we shall see in reality and face to face! 

Now I know in part (imperfectly), 

but then I shall know and understand fully and clearly, 

even in the same manner as I have been fully 

and clearly known and understood [by God]. 

And so faith, hope, love abide 

[faith--conviction and belief respecting 

man's relation to God and divine things; 

hope--joyful and confident expectation of eternal salvation; 

love--true affection for God and man, 

growing out of God's love for and in us], 

these three; but the greatest of these is love. 

1 Corinthians 13:9-10, 11-12, 13

•

In the past when I have read 1 Cor. 13 I have always sighed 

and stepped away feeling discouraged. 

In fact, even this morning, when I realized we were reading 

this chapter I felt heaviness and just sighed. 

I could only see what I was not and what I did not have.

Through a few different sources, 

(including vs. 13 in the Amplified Version) 

the Lord reminded me that He is the source of this love. 

I do not have the ability to conjure up true love. 

He alone is the source of real, Godly love. 

Thus, another reason that I need to put my whole trust 

in Him and rely on Him solely and completely. 

Only as I keep my eyes on Him do I become more like Him. 

•

“And we all, with unveiled face,

 beholding the glory of the Lord, 

are being transformed into the same image 

from one degree of glory to another. 

For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

 -- 1 Corinthians 3:18

“And everyone who thus hopes in Him 

purifies himself as he is pure”

-- 1 John 3:3

Returning

This is what the Sovereign LORD, the Holy One of Israel, says:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, 

in quietness and trust is your strength, 

but you would have none of it.

Isaiah 30:15 niv84

•

It doesn't take much, really.

And in the midst of learning new things 

and starting back up in others,

it comes so easy.

Discomfort.

Unease.

Creeping up from the pit of 

my stomach.

Straight to my head

where it rolls around 

enlarging with each circle.

Simple worlds shared by another

sent me reeling.

Why?

Is there something wrong with me?

What should I do?

Then Your words come.

Spoken so clearly and direct.

Straight to my heart.

Quietness.

Trust.

Return.

Yes, Lord. 

Oh, Yes!

•

Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; 

he rises to show you compassion. 

For the LORD is a God of justice. 

Blessed are all who wait for him!

Isaiah 30:18 niv84

Getting to Where I'm Going

"In the same way I was with Moses, I'll be with you.

 I won't give up on you; I won't leave you. 

Strength! Courage! 

You are going to lead this people to inherit the land 

that I promised to give their ancestors. 

Give it everything you have, heart and soul. 

Make sure you carry out The Revelation 

that Moses commanded you, every bit of it. 

Don't get off track, either left or right, 

so as to make sure you get to where you're going.

 And don't for a minute let this Book 

of The Revelation be out of mind. 

Ponder and meditate on it day and night, 

making sure you practice everything written in it. 

Then you'll get where you're going; 

then you'll succeed. 

Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! 

Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. 

God, your God, is with you every step you take." 

-- Joshua 1:3-9 MSG

God is with me! 

He is not ever going to leave or turn His back on me, 

and He's not going to give up on me.

But how many times do I give up on Him? 

How quickly to I turn and give up? 

He guarantees my success, 

promises to be with me always and gives me His Word 

to guide me and show me how to live. 

But I have even more! 

I have the Holy Spirit to lead and counsel and guide me, 

and to pray words for me when I have none. 

I have a part in this too.

 I have to follow and give it all that I got 

and stay in HIs Word and fill my mind and heart 

with all that His Word says. 

But most important, I have to do what His Word says. 

Then I will "get to where I am going. Then I will succeed."

As I read back over the verses in Joshua again,

these words jumped out at me:

"You are going to lead this people to inherit the land 

that I promised to give their ancestors. 

Give it everything you have, heart and soul. "

As a mom, I have a "people" that I am leading. 

At times I feel like we are out in the wilderness,

and the way can get so rocky and scary. 

And I can lose heart. 

I can become half-hearted and lazy. 

But as I read these words today, 

I felt like the Lord was speaking directly to me

and specifically about my mothering. 

"Give it everything you have, heart and soul!"

"Don't be afraid or discouraged! I am with you!"

"I have given you everything you need to succeed,

you just need to fill up with my Word and do what it says."

Father, Thank You for always being with me. 

Only then can I be strong and courageous. 

Thank you for giving me all that I need to succeed. 

I have Your presence, Your Word and Your Holy Spirit. 

And as it says in 1 Corinthians, I have every spiritual gift that I need 

and You will keep me strong to the end. 

Forgive me for the many times that I have turned away, 

that I have not trusted in You, 

that I have been full of fear and empty of Your Word. 

Help me today to choose to stick close to You. 

Thank you for showing me my half-heartedness, please forgive me.

Thank you that You have given me all I need to lead my flock.

Please help me to give it all I have as I fill up on Your Word 

and as I trust in You.

Living by God's Power

So don’t make judgments about anyone 

ahead of time—before the Lord returns. 

For he will bring our darkest secrets to light 

and will reveal our private motives. 

Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. 

-- 1 Corinthians 4:5 NLT

•

For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk;

 it is living by God’s power. 

-- 1 Corinthians 4:20 NLT

~•~

Oh man! I do this way too often! 

Jumping to conclusions about someone, 

for good or bad, and then holding them to that assessment 

(which is completely my own) in all my dealings with them. 

This affects the way I think of the person 

and the way that I talk about them. 

As it says in verse 20, 

I can talk night and day about not judging people, 

but if I don't, by God's power, stop judging, 

my talk is just idle chatter. 

A clanging cymbal. 

(Hmmmm, sounds like another passage 

that is coming up in 1 Corinthians....)

As I sit here, all the various analogies 

of what our relationship with God 

is supposed to be come flooding into my mind... 

He is the Potter and I am the clay,

 He is the True Vine and I am the branch, 

I am the cracked pot and He is the Life and Light that fills me. 

He is my Shepherd and I am His little lamb. 

He is God, I am not. 

He knows all things, I see as through a dark glass. 

I see in part, He sees it all. 

He is the Judge and He is Love. 

As I look at people around me, 

I have no way of knowing the whole story of their lives. 

I have no way of seeing all that led up to someone 

making the choices they have made, right or wrong.

 Only God sees and can judge the motivation of the heart. 

And He does so with Everlasting Love and Mercy. 

Father, I choose to live by Your power. 

Help me to come to you with all things and allow 

You to speak to me and show me how I should live. 

Fill me up with You today. 

Fill me with Your love. Amen.

For I resolved to know nothing 

(to be acquainted with nothing,

to make a display of the knowledge of nothing, 

and to be conscious of nothing)

among you except Jesus Christ (the Messiah) 

and Him crucified. 

And I was in (passed into a state of) weakness 

and fear (dread) and great trembling 

[after I had come] among you.

And my language and my message 

were not set forth in persuasive

(enticing and plausible) words of wisdom,

but they were in demonstration of the [Holy] Spirit and power

[a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me

and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions

and thus persuading them], 

So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men

(human philosophy), but in the power of God.

-- 1 Corinthians 2:2-5 amp

~•~

Where is my focus most of the time?

What I am determined to do or say or give out in my life? 

As I read Paul's words, I knew that I could not 

join him in his declaration of firm resolve

in only Jesus.

Even though he had resolved to present only Jesus

to the Corinthians, he still was filled with fear

and his words were not eloquent or persuasive.

He came in weakness

but he was focused on Eternal Strength.

I confess that I focus so often on my weakness

forgetting about my Eternal Strength.

I pray that God's Holy Spirit is evident in me

as I daily walk among my children 

cloaked so heavily in my weakness. 

I choose to fix my eyes on Jesus. 

Fill me, use me, be glorified in me today.

Reflections from 1 Corinthians 1

This is what I hear the Lord whisper to my heart

as I contemplate 1 Corinthians 1:

As you face this coming day, 

and all that you feel you need to accomplish and prepare for, 

I want you to consider and remember these truths. 

You have been summoned by the will and purpose of God 

to be a wife and mother, friend and daughter. 

You have been consecrated, purified and made holy in Christ Jesus. 

You have been selected and called to be a saint -- one of God's people. 

From Jesus you have received the grace (favor and spiritual favor) of God. 

He enriches you, fills you with His power, 

gives you readiness of speech with complete knowledge and illumination. 

He will establish you to the end, keeping you steadfast and giving you strength. 

Jesus guarantees your vindication, 

He will be your warrant against ALL accusation or indictment 

so that you will be guiltless and irreproachable in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The message of the cross is foolishness to this world, 

but to you who are being saved, it is the power of God! 

God uses the foolish things and the weak things to put the world to shame. 

You have no place to boast in yourself. 

It all comes from Him. 

Your life is from and in Christ. 

So boast loudly and rejoice fully in Me. 

Amen.

Just Breathe

Diving down

Submerging

Pulling in

Closing doors

Shutting blinds

Snuggling down into the covers

Holding on, holding tight

Shhh, hush now there will be time for all that.... Later.

For now, just be

Just wait

Just trust

Just breathe.

Trust, Delight, Commit, Be Still and Rest

Trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) 

in the Lord and do good; 

so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely 

on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed.

Delight yourself also in the Lord, 

and He will give you the desires and 

secret petitions of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord 

[roll and repose each care of your load on Him];

 trust (lean on, rely on, and be confident) 

also in Him and He will bring it to pass.

And He will make your uprightness and 

right standing with God go forth as the light, 

and your justice and right as [the shining sun of] the noonday.

Be still and rest in the Lord; 

wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; 

fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, 

because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.

Psalm 37:3-7 amp

I am so thankful for His faithfulness.

He is so good.

Over and over 

I forget to remember

Who He is

and who I am.

Ever so patiently

He is teaching me

to come to Him,

to trust, 

to delight,

to commit,

to be still

and to rest.

Thank You, Father.

Thank You.

Learning to Stay Close

"Welcome challenging times as opportunities to trust Me. 

You have Me beside you and My Spirit within you,

so no set of circumstances is too much for you to handle.

When the path before you is dotted with difficulties,

beware of measuring your strength against those challenges.

That calculating is certain to riddle you with anxiety. 

With Me, you wouldn't make it past the first hurdle!

The way to walk through demanding days is to 

grip My hand tightly and stay in close communication with Me.

Let your thoughts and spoken words be richly flavored

with trust and thankfulness. 

Regardless of the day's problems, 

I can keep you in perfect Peace as you stay close to Me."

-- Jesus Calling by Sarah Young

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, 

consider it an opportunity for great joy.

James 1:2 nlt

•

I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me 

[I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him

 Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].

Philippians 4:13 amp

•

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace 

whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, 

because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You.

Isaiah 26:3 amp

Light Breaks Through

I have told you these things, so that in Me 

you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. 

In the world you have tribulation and trials 

and distress and frustration; 

but be of good cheer 

[take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! 

For I have overcome the world. 

[I have deprived it of power to harm you 

and have conquered it for you.]. 

John 16:33 amp

•

Jesus paid it all!

All to Him I owe.

Sin had left its crimson stain —

He washed it white as snow.

My vision can be so clouded so often.

So much gets in the way 

so that I can't see You. 

Within, without,

lies, cares, worries, things

block my view

weigh me down

keep me from 

truth

peace

joy

freedom.

I keep forgetting to look.

My gaze rests everywhere

but on You.

I forget You are there.

I think I have to do this

on my own.

Once again I remember.

I lift my eyes.

Light breaks through.

Abundant Life!

From Jesus Calling — May 2

"Living in dependence on Me is the way to enjoy abundant life.

You are learning to appreciate tough times, 

because they amplify your awareness of My Presence.

Tasks that you used to dread are becoming

rich opportunities to enjoy My closeness. 

When you feel tired, you remember that I am your Strength;

you take pleasure in leaning on Me. 

I am pleased by your tendency to turn to Me

more and more frequently, 

especially when you are alone.

When you are with other people,

you often lose sight of My Presence. 

Your fear of displeasing people puts you in bondage to them,

and they become your primary focus.

When you realize this has happened,

whisper My Name; this tiny act of trust brings Me

to the forefront of your consciousness, 

where I belong. 

As you bask in the blessing of My nearness,

My life can flow through you to others.

This is abundant life!"

So often, I start my day so close to You.

So full of peace 

and trust

and joy.

And then the day starts rolling.

The noise starts.

Activity gets jumping.

And I forget. 

How many days to I 

go to bed feeling the distance,

realizing that I left You behind

sitting at the kitchen table. 

But, thankfully, 

the truth is, You have never left me.

You have never forgotten me,

and all I have to do is whisper Your name

and turn my thoughts to You.

•

The fear of human opinion disables; 

trusting in God protects you from that.

Proverbs 29:25 msg