First Things First

"As we need food to sustain our physical strength, so do we need Christ, the Bread from heaven, to sustain spiritual life and impart strength to work the works of God. As the body is continually receiving the nourishment that sustains life and vigor, so the soul must be constantly communing with Christ, submitting to Him and depending wholly upon Him." MB19

As we begin a new year- please join me as I try to do a better job of putting God first. This means that my quiet time will come before everything else.

My phone charges overnight on my night stand and in the morning before I even get out of bed, it is easy to reach over and check my phone. And then I can get totally distracted by checking this and that. But what I want to get back to is putting God first. My mind is fresh first thing in the morning. When the distractions of the world are put on hold, I am able to get so much more from my devotional time.

So please join me as we get back to the basics. Let us set aside time to study God's word and to pray and to be quiet so we can hear from God. And let us put that time first before everything else. When we put Him first the rest of the things seem to fall into place so much better.

"The words of God are the wellsprings of life. As you seek unto those living springs you will, through the Holy Spirit, be brought into communion with Christ. Familiar truths will present themselves to your mind in a new aspect, texts of Scripture will burst upon you with a new meaning as a flash of light, you will see the relation of other truths to the work of redemption, and you will know that Christ is leading you, a divine Teacher is at your side." MB20

Sabbath Praise

Today I want to share one of my most recent favorite songs. I absolutely love this song - I think you will too as well. Enjoy! :O)





"O' Lord"

Whoa...

Though times it seems
Like I'm coming undone
This walk can often feel lonely
No matter what until this race is won
I will stand my ground where hope can be found
I will stand my ground where hope can be found

Oh, O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face this I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right

Whoa...

Your strength is found
At the end of my road
Your grace it reaches to the hurting
Still through the tears and the questioning why
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!

Oh, O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face This I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
(Right, so Right)
Make it Right,
(Right so Right)
Make it Right, Right

I will stand my ground
I will stand my ground

I will stand my ground where hope can be found!
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!

Oh! O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face this I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right
(Right, so Right)
Make it Right,
(Right so Right)
Make it Right, Right

Make Believe or Faith

As I have struggled with this idea of God loving me personally, I have had some very interesting thoughts that at first I thought were absurd.

I have gone through times of feeling as thought God doesn't love me. And during those times I was frustrated with myself. I mean seriously, I am a Christian. I have sang "Jesus Loves Me" since I was a little bitty girl. Why am I questioning this? My thoughts went to it seems as if I have to pretend or make believe- like I have to manufacture the feelings of being loved by God. That just doesn't seem right. I just continued to work on processing these thoughts.

I spent some time looking up Bible verses on love - trying to understand God's love better. That is when I came across the verses in Ephesians 3 about the "width and length and depth and height" of God's love. These things helped by I kept mulling over these ideas.

I knew God loved me- why didn't I feel hat God loved me and then one day it hit me - this is where faith comes in! I am not having to manufacture God's love- I only have to believe the Word of God- that is faith.

There is a blessing to those who have not seen but believe and we find it in the book of John:

Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came.

25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."

26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"

27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."

28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"

29 Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 

~John 20:24-29                           

 

It's not make believe or fairy tales - it's faith! And even it is provided by God!

 

                                                             looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.                             ~Hebrews 12:2

 

Romans 12:3 tells us "...God has dealt to each one a measure of faith...."

 

So I don't have to make believe or pretend - I can choose to have faith. I can believe what the Word of God tells me.

 

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

~John 3:16

 

                                For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,

39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~Romans 8:38-39

                           

 

I choose faith!

 

 

Me Included!

Several weeks ago while our granddaughter was visiting, the weather was just warm enough for us to spend some time in the back yard. SweePea wanted to go explore the chicken yard. As we walked through the gate, we noticed a little sparrow on the ground- it tried to get away from us but obviously something was wrong with it. Just about that time Sweet Pea's Daddy came out side and she told him about the birdy. He came over and picked up a fallen leaf and used it to gently pick the bird up. He moved it's displaced wing into place and softly laid the birdy down.

SweetPea was fixing to have to go back to her Mother's but she wanted to make sure that the bird had food and water available to it. So the bird was laid near a watering can for the chickens and a handful of birdseed was laid on the ground in front of the bird.

Before we left we noticed the bird eat a bit. I was concerned because I didn't know if the injuries were something that the little birdy could come back from or not. I told SweetPea that I would check on the bird. A couple of hours later - I went outside to check on the birdy and it was gone. SweetPea was very happy to hear that.

The last week or two it seems that several sparrows have been hanging out near my bedroom window. It has really gotten the attention of our kitties. As I have watched them- I have wondered if one of these birds are the sparrow that we helped and if it is saying, "Thank you."

As I was watching the birds one day - these verses came to my mind:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father's will. 30  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

Matthew 10:29-31

 

 

As I stood at the window watching the sparrows and thinking of the Bible passage - it suddenly struck me - if God cares about each sparrow- how can I be questioning His love for me. Just as God loves each sparrow - He loves each and every person, me included!

 

 

As I was looking up exactly where to find the scripture passage above - I found another one speaking of birds and God's love for us and I wanted to share it as well:

 

"Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 

                                                                                                         

26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?

28 So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;

29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.

33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. 

 

~Matthew 6:25-34                           



It was a quiet day

I hope you all have had a Merry Christmas! Our day was a very quiet day at home. SweetPea does not get here till the 28th so we will have our Christmas after that so she can be included. We did do a dinner for our boys today. So we were together for a bit till our youngest son had to go to work.

I worked on laundry and I made up a couple more diapers for SweetPea's dollies.

 

I also spent some time working on some blog posts. And I have an idea of a great series I will be doing starting in the new year. And I already have my WORD for 2018. This is unusual because in years past - I struggled with figuring out what the word would be. Some years I haven't even come up with a word.

 

Well I better close. I want to get another post typed up since I have a bit of free time right now.
 

Call Back

Today I am sharing a devotional from my "Streams in the Desert" devotional. Blessing :O)

********************************************************
This will be a time for you to serve as witnesses. —Luke 21:13

Life is a steep climb, and it does the heart good to have somebody “call back” and cheerily beckon us on up the high hill. We are all climbers together, and we must help one another. This mountain climbing is serious business, but glorious. It takes strength and steady step to find the summits. The outlook widens with the altitude. If anyone among us has found anything worth while, we ought to “call back.”

If you have gone a little way ahead of me, call back—
’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track;
And if, perchance, Faith’s light is dim, because the oil is low,
Your call will guide my lagging course as wearily I go.

Call back, and tell me that He went with you into the storm;
Call back, and say He kept you when the forest’s roots were torn;
That, when the heavens thunder and the earthquake shook the hill,
He bore you up and held you where the very air was still.

Oh, friend, call back, and tell me for I cannot see your your face,
They say it glows with triumph, and your feet bound in the race;
But there are mists between us and my spirit eyes are dim,
And I cannot see the glory, though I long for word of Him.

But if you’ll say He heard you when your prayer was but a cry,
And if you’ll say He saw you through the night’s sin-darkened sky
If you have gone a little way ahead, oh, friend, call back—
’Twill cheer my heart and help my feet along the stony track.
—Selected

Trying to Understand Love

I don't remember what all I have shared with you all. So just in case I have already shared about this with you all - I will try to keep this short.

I have no doubt in the world that God loves the world- where I struggle is on a personal level- does He love me. This has led me to study the Bible more. I am looking up verses about love. And I found this awesome passage in the Bible that I would like to share with you all. I thought it was beautiful.                                          

 

 

For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,                                                                                                            

15 from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory,

 to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;

 that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints

 what is the width and length and depth and height--

19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge;

 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

 

 

I plan to get my Commentaries out and do some more research in this area. I just want a much better understanding of this concept. Its been a hard one for me to grasp.

 

I hope you all have a great weekend. :O)