The power of God’s Word is endless for the strength within it comes from the very core of where power resides–God Himself. As I was reading Deuteronomy 28 this morning I was overcome with this truth. God’s Word is just as genuine for today as it was predictive and true at the time Moses wrote it. One should never lose sight of this.

My sis was better yesterday and knows she needs to get to her doctor which she promises to do. I love her beyond words, but we all have our humanness which can get directly in the way of right thinking. I am no different.

Today I am challenged to surrender all “will” to God Almighty. This is not the “will” of a verb but the “will” of a noun. I will go to work today, but in so doing my will is going to be surrendered to do only God’s Will as He nudges me. Both of my devotionals were directly talking about this surrender and then my scripture reading in Deuteronomy 28 and 29 tell directly what happens when we obey God completely and also what happens when we don’t obey.

Our country and our world need each one of us to be on our knees in complete surrender of our will so that God’s Will will be done because of our obedience. His promises of blessing are true just as His promises of demise are true if we continue our disobedience. Now is the time for total surrender of our selfish will in every aspect of our lives. I stand at the front of the line in the need to do just this–“God, I surrender my will so Your Will will be accomplished. Amen”

Today I return to one of the schools for which I consult. I’m looking forward to this. I awoke to find a text message from my niece in California saying my sis just older than me had fallen yesterday and so my nephew had gone to help and spend the night with her. It makes my heart so sad to realize once again just how fragile we are. Instead of being a thousand miles away, I want to be next door. I’m so glad her two sons and daughter-in-laws are not too far away.

My devotional time this morning awoke once again my need to trust. I wrote about it yesterday but in the moment I so easily forget. I don’t want to trust, I want to be where the hurt, problem, strife is as though my presence makes the difference. Then, I take a breath and realize it is God’s presence that makes all the difference in the world. Yes, for the physical side of life, it is nice to have physical presence. Yet, in the spiritual side of life it is God’s presence which makes all the difference. God’s peace is eternal. Our presence only brings very momentary peace if any at all. Today I’m reminded again to trust and respond to God’s nudges through His Holy Spirit.

We made it home without even a single hitch. I had wondered with all of the current impacts of Covid what we may encounter. However, in all three legs of the trip, every flight was on time and the sailing was smooth. As we got home I had a couple hours of daylight left. It was to freeze hard last night so I quickly picked the tomatoes ready, mowed the lawn, and harvested the winter squash. These were the last of the produce I wanted for winter. There was just enough time to get this done.

Today’s devotional time reestablished every reason to be back home– TRUST. I wouldn’t have thought this pandemic’s impact on me personally would be as it is. However, this morning as I began to journal I found myself fearing what I’d find with the consulting work, our church’s ministries, etc. It just seemed there was darkness. As I continued with my devotions God was speaking clearly. His Light is for today. Today there is Light. I can see what I am to do today. Tomorrow there will be God’s Light provided at that time. TRUST is the Light of tomorrow for man (me). I can only see it when I look to God. When I look at this present darkness I don’t see any light until I look up. My devotional time was a wonderful reminder to look up!

As I entered into my adult years I knew I couldn’t do so if I were human as man is. Somehow I had to be better than that. The sexual abuse to my body had left me unable to be clean. The verbal and physical abuse had left me believing it for I was unworthy of anything but this. I worked endlessly to be good so I wouldn’t be this man I thought I was. Of course I failed always because I always looked just like man to the world around me. God has taught me that I am ok simply being a man. He created me as man. He redeemed me through His Son Jesus just as He redeemed all mankind who receive the redemption of Christ’s Work on the Cross. It was never going to be my work, I finally have learned that the work was done so long ago. How glorious our GREAT GOD IS!

Fourteen days have come and gone and it is now time to return home which we will do at noon today. I don’t care how long I’m gone from home, I have always had a sincere sense of return in me which starts a day or so before hand. This trip however, I have not had that happen until this morning. Even then it is not strong. As I prayed over my prayer list I see all the reasons to be going home. I continue to pray for our family here, but there are also others God has placed in my life. He wants me to continue my time there. It is obviously not done. In fact, I go home with a clearer vision in my head than when we left only 2 weeks ago.

Today’s devotional reading talks directly about what saves us. For so long I wanted all the “good things” I did to hopefully save me. Actually I didn’t question so much that I would be saved, but that God would somehow begin to like this person (me) He saved through His Son’s sacrifice on the Cross. Now I know beyond a shadow of doubt that God was never the one not liking me. I didn’t like myself thinking so wrongly about about past sin and its effect.

I go home today with the reminder that so many others I work with in our ministry of restoration have this same struggle. As we face the giants in their lives I want to remind them of God’s faithfulness and His gentle love He has for them even during this grueling time in their lives. Yes, it is time to go home and I do so with a clear next step. God is always the answer!

I was jolted yesterday afternoon with a text message asking me if I were attending the zoom meeting taking place right then and actually starting 20 minutes prior to this? I had completely forgotten it and even had a reminder for it on my phone. I just was lost in what we had been doing with my daughter and her church. I quickly got on line for the meeting and soon thereafter learned that the consulting work may have to go back to virtual. I was not only sickened to hear this, but I quickly found it was true for many of us (a total of 9). I kept telling myself that I need to sit this angst aside and trust God. In the night I awoke several times with different dreams. All of them representing my pent up emotions.

This morning as I began to journal I found myself asking God what He wanted me to know. His instant reminder was that He is not only God, He IS GOD. There is nothing fragile about Him, His Love, His Guidance, His Leadership. He wants me to not only trust Him, but to completely lean on Him. Because nothing He does is fragile, I don’t need to fret as though it is. All of man’s thinking and Satan’s influences may want me to see fragility, but God instead, wants me to look up and see HIM. There is no weakness in this at all. He is not only my GOD, His Son is my Savior and Lord, His Spirit lives within me. What more confidence and strength do I need?

With all of that, the message is the same–we may need to go virtual. I step into this message trusting!

It is amazing to watch over the years how roles shift for which we play. It has been almost 25 years now that we helped move our daughter to Oklahoma City to finish her college degree, marry her husband, start a career and so forth. Over these years they found their church fit and have been devoted to serving God there. However, over the 25 years they have shifted from being the newcomers who were appreciated for making this church their home, to now being the ones ministering to others and helping them find a home in their church. Not only is this true for them, but their own children are integral in doing their part and their kids enjoy it.

We all struggle at times to find our niche in all of life. Church service and doing God’s bidding of our lives is sometimes a struggle. However, it is easier to see God’s overall work when you observe someone else’s life than it is doing this for your own self. It is nice to help others define their purpose and help them recognize that within the drama Satan wants to create in our lives doesn’t stop God’s use of the service we do from His inspiration within us.

Satan always wants to inhibit any good work done for The Master. So, we never want to take our eyes off of Him for it is there we find our daily focus and the Light for moving forward.

This morning I leave early to have donuts with my daughter and grandson before arriving at school! How fun is that! We go from there to the tutorial program their church has going for kids in public schools who are not doing well without help. My daughter, who is children’s pastor, felt led to start this last August when school began since Oklahoma City schools are totally on line for the moment. The first of November they are to begin returning to the classroom. It has been a great ministry at a time like this.

I do enjoy watching how God is working when we come here. It is refreshing to step away from home and awaken yet again to the reality of God’s immensity. I know this, but to experience it is so much richer. How I love this Father of ours!

I so often forget how much problems look alike no matter where one is. When we are isolated at home as we have been for so long with this pandemic, we often think our problems are unique, yet in spending these past two weeks away, I easily see and hear the same problems, the same concerns, the same fears–people are human and humanness carries the same genes no matter where we are.

This morning as I have been having my bible reading I’m hearing Moses give his final directions to the Children of Israel before God takes him on his final tour of the promise land and then home for eternity. This is a new crop of children. All of their parents have died and have been buried somewhere in the desert over the past 40 years. These new children didn’t know the great food of Egypt, the luxury of a home, etc. They knew tents, manna and clothes/shoes which hadn’t worn out. Now they were about to enter a promised land which will become their home. However, will they experience the promise or will they revert back to the sinfulness of their parents and not know the promise?

It is so easy to get lost in the trauma of the day, the surrounding circumstances, the drama of human living. God is always telling us to lift our eyes above the current situation. Yes, we live in it, but we don’t have to find our hope in it. Our hope is only seen and known as we look up to God Almighty and BELIEVE the promises He gives us in His Word. Will we get so lost in the circumstances of today or will we look up and remember the Promises of God? Yes, we live in the circumstances of today, but I don’t need to let these determine the “joy of my heart”. For today I shall look up!

We have been with our kids for a couple of days now and yesterday was a wonderful time to go to church with them. Our son in law taught his Sunday School lesson on zoom for the only thing which is open for them is their worship service. In order to see the kids’ friends which have become our friends too, they had several couples come last night for dinner and fellowship. How fun it was!

As I listen to the dilemma’s they face here, it sounds just like home. It is hard to sort through what each of us should be doing individually and collectively as a body. In times past it seemed the church was the main influence on our greater government’s thinking/decision-making. Today our churches are primarily influenced by what the government is telling us. Sorting through what is the right thing to do and what is the best thing is tough everywhere. God is working in the midst of this. In fact, I keep being reminded that man learns to respond best to God when we are in crisis. Well, I pray we all learn huge lessons about God and responding to Him from what seems to be this present darkness.

What I do know is that God still nudges through His Holy Spirit’s presence within us/me. Sorting through one’s own emotional passion and knowing if we are responding to God or self or if self-passion aligns with God’s purposes is a conundrum. I just know I will move forward as the doors open and will attempt to keep my spiritual ears listening better than my human emotion responds. Such is the journey for today. In the meantime, I am so glad to have this time with our kids!

Sometimes the journey just doesn’t allow time for routines. That is the case yesterday and this am. Actually this morning I slept longer having been up since 3:30 am the day before. We’re in Oklahoma with our daughter Amber’s family. Going to church early with her so I’ll be better the rest of the week when their routine begins again. This vacation is truly a blessed gift.