God is so focused on His Kingdom Work always. And, just as I think I’m with Him in my journey’s work for the day I find it isn’t going as I planned. My struggling granddaughter was going to junior high camp this week leaving yesterday. However, as Kathy was taking her to the church she announced she didn’t feel well (a girl thing) and she didn’t want to go. We finally gave her the option to wait and we will drive her up today, but it doesn’t look like that will happen either. Kathy and I knew that “camp would be the right tool” to help her get a better perspective on life and God’s part in her life. Well, God’s plan wasn’t ours. I know He uses all things to His honor and glory so I wait to see what develops from this.
Today I’m working on the brochures we will use to advertise and promote the groups we will start this fall in the recovery ministry. As I was having my devotional time this morning God was pointing out my need to listen to His Voice only. He reminded me that my mind has many doubting voices which I’ve listened to out of fear all my life. As we step into this new territory I will have multiple opportunities to listen wrongly. He doesn’t want me doing that. Actually, I don’t either. It was nice to hear Him say to not listen to them. I have those thoughts so often I rarely separate them out as being wrong. However, God is making it clear just how much Satan is and will try to step into this to influence me (us) away from God’s intent. I want to keep my ear focused on His Voice and His Message.
God is always on track and I want this journey of mine to be on track with Him too. To God be all Glory for great things He has done and is going to continue doing as we (I) obey.
I wasn’t sure I was going to have time to get to my blog this morning. I have to have a grandson to summer school. I do have a moment to just say that God is good all the time. Yesterday, I was singing in worship team for church. As I got there, I kept hearing ones in the team talking about the attacks they were sensing all weekend. One even talked of three crisis deaths in the past three days at her previous church, all young people. However, not matter how evil Satan is and how devious he is, God is Supreme, Gracious, Loving and Kind. He is already working and was working yesterday. How much I love being part of His Kingdom.
Today is such a beautiful day when one simply looks outside and listens. The quiet only has the sound of birds close and in the not so distant. There is no wind so the calm of the early morning is peaceful. Yet, this morning, I told God my spirit is heavy. It is as though doom is right here. I read in II Kings about the continuous turning to other gods until God actually lets Israel go into the hands of the Assyrians who capture them and relocate them. I begin to realize even more how Israel’s behavior is simply a nation modeling what we as individuals so often do–turn to false gods. Satan removes us to the land of slavery where God’s freedom is like a figment of one’s imagination.
My heart is heavy with the weight of the sin we are going to be addressing in our new ministries. I know this weight personally and I know how hard it is to step out of this darkness (weight) for fear of what the Light of God might show and tell. Yet, I also know the freedom of telling/sharing. This freedom is far richer and greater than the darkness which is holding men hostage. I wake up often with this weight seemingly within me. During my prayer time I am able to surrender it/release it allowing God to replace it with TRUST in Him. His Mighty Army is close by and He reminds me of this just as He showed Elisha’s servant.
Today is God’s day. Today I worship You and Trust you not only for me but for those who do not yet know how to trust. Satan is wanting us (me) to cave ahead of God’s Mighty display of power over sin. I know this is one reason God wants me sharing the burden I sense/feel. It is not mine to carry but it is mine to surrender and to tell others so they can be praying with me for these lost ones soon to be on their way to victory!
When four grandkids are spending the weekend there is a major change–noise. They were in the pool most of the day. As I was picking the raspberries all I could hear was their continuous laughter, screaming, etc. The things one forgets too quickly are the enjoyment of eating around the table and the conversation that takes place as kids share their thoughts and feelings. It really is fun and nostalgic.
Today as I continued reading in II Kings I read again how the children of Israel continue in their sin of worshipping gods rather than the One True God. The leadership sets the stage for this action as almost every king of Israel falls into false worship. It is so easy to read this and know the eventual outcomes. It is also easy to see the sins as such. However, when I step into looking at us today I realize how easy it is to step into false worship knowing all we do from the Bible. We really are a self-serving people. My devotion talked about Jesus’ leadership being that of a servant. It is easy to see if we are drifting away from Christ’s leadership, we stop naturally serving others. We fall into wanting to be served. I appreciated having this brought to light. It is a good barometer for monitoring oneself.
Today I pray to be God’s servant in the full capacity He wants. Surrendering always to His leadership is my one and only purpose.
The Word of God is rich and full of His Wisdom for us. In addressing this topic of pride, God is showing me a good deal about who I think I am or who I want myself to be. In it He is showing me who He wants me to be. He keeps bringing me back to surrender. What I need to surrender is anything that I fear or simply just want to keep private–I think that’s called “in the closet”.
This morning’s Bible reading is again in II Kings. In the 6th chapter and starting with the 15th verse the servant of Elisha is questioning Elisha’s belief that the invisible army of God is far more than the physical army they are facing. Elisha asks God to show his servant the truth. In so doing verse 17 says: “And the Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.” Somehow, I think if we could physically see just how much God protects and guards us we would live life more freely. However, God is wanting me to take all of this by faith to build my trust in Him. I want to do this but I find myself in my day to day living falling into the “do it yourself mode” all the time or falling into fear and not stepping into something I know I should do, but don’t. The simplicity of trusting God and living fully surrendered to His Holy Spirit within has not taken root like I’d want it to. God is definitely pulling up the old roots of old belief and old pride. I sure want to let them go and begin to see more clearly in spirit with faith and trust.
Welcome to Summer! It is a gloriously beautiful day. Outside my den window the flowers are striking and on one of them this yellow, black, orange bird was perched and eating. What a nice start to the day!
Today God is teaching me something I was not expecting. My devotional reading was about unconfessed sin that is standing in the way of God completing the work for which He wants us to be part. I read that but nothing was hitting me specifically until…. Then, I began my scripture reading. I’m now into II Kings. Elijah has ascended into heaven and Elisha has received the double portion of Elijah’s spirit. In all of this I was simply enjoying the reading of it. Joyce Meyer writes an insert about God showing her about pride and how it was stifling her ministry when she was in her earlier years. If she was going to do all God wanted she would need to surrender all her pride in order to accept all of God’s Holy Spirit He wanted working within her.
As I began to reflect on the past week I could so easily see how my pride got into the way of my talk with my daughter. It almost built a wall between us. God began to point out how I haven’t felt worthy of Christ’s complete cleansing of sin, both my own sins and those done to me. I saw how this lack of belief on my part is a deceptive piece of my pride–man’s pride. God never tells us to only receive as much of Christ’s gift as we think we deserve. This is what Satan plants in our mind and I have always bit hard on this lie.
This morning I confessed that I have struggled with this lie. I have let pride stand in my way all my life both in doing God’s work and accepting God’s gift/s. I surrendered it and asked God to relentlessly stay working on me until He is in full control of all I am and all He wants me to be. We cannot do all God has in mind and we can’t receive all He wants to give if we are the ones sorting it out instead of the ones surrendering to His direction within. I want the Holy Spirit to have full control of me. (It starts with making raspberry jam this morning. I picked 3 gallons of berries yesterday).
“Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side.” The Lord has been reminding me of this line in the old hymn for the last few days. I’ve always hated strife. Strife for me has been defined as turmoil between folks who are close in relationships. This is especially true with family. God broke down the barrier yesterday for Kathy and me. We will be able to have a talk within our own family to reconcile the fragile issues of present. God is so good.
Our family get together yesterday was such a great day. Our brother who hosted the event was like a new person. His own kids were going to be together and were all day. They had been estranged for many years. With all of us boys and our spouses present, it seemed to be the right setting. It was comfortable and fun. There was much laughter and joy throughout the time together. Thank you Jesus!
In the next several weeks I have fewer responsibilities both with the consulting and with the ministry work. In each case the ones involved are gearing up for what will begin in the early fall. Gearing up for me means getting my mind wrapped around all the content I will need to know and understand. However, as I was somewhat wrestling with God about this He reminded me to, “be still and know that He is God.” This message seemed to be saying that it was fine to simply take days where all one did was pick the raspberries, enjoy the yard, change the oil in the car, eat breakfast on the deck, read for pleasure, etc. This is relaxing and one doesn’t need to feel guilty if a day is relaxing. So, OK, I’m looking at a relaxing day and it will be enjoyed. Thank you Jesus!
I’m unsure how to start today’s entry. Last night it seemed all the pieces needing to be put together to have a healthy family were blown asunder. Emotions took control of the conversation leaving much damage. This morning I’ve had time to reflect and sort through the pieces I see. I’ve talked to God and I’ve felt Him talking to me. There is repair that can take place. God’s timing is always critical here.
Today my brothers and spouses are getting together with my widowed brother who lives about 100 miles away. Kathy and I are driving the 6 of us there since our rig will hold 6 adults. The nice part in this is that my brother who is hosting this will have his daughter and family come. We haven’t seen them for 10+ years. Their own relationship had been strained for a number of years and those walls are now coming down. We will rejoice with them today as we all get together.
Emotions play such a huge part in our lives. Most of my adult years I had mine so walled off I didn’t realize how much emotion stirs in me. With all the turmoil within my own family I was talking to God about the breadth and depth of emotions. He reminded me that He is the home to all emotion. Within Him these emotions balance one another. In man, there is an imbalance of emotion. That is why healthy relationships are so important. We help one another balance our decision making, emotional influences, reactions, etc. I’ll be very grateful when this balance returns to my family. We can use this present strife to grow better communication strengthening the balance within our family. I trust God that He will lead us to this end.
It was so fun to have the grandkids and my own kids here for the day yesterday. Just a week ago my 9 year old grandson was baptized and he was still rejoicing in this while here yesterday. He is on fire and very enthusiastic about it. My youngest two grandsons are sensing God/Jesus too. A week of VBS also has them inspired. It is so fun to watch and listen to them.
The talk I needed to have did take place. It was very unpleasant and ended with the one leaving. All I know is that I needed to confront this and leave it there. That much is done. At church yesterday morning I talked with my “prayer warrior”. She sent me some rich scriptures about confronting darkness and thanking God ahead of time for what I cannot see, but what He does see and does best–work with His children. I’m so grateful for His promises.
As I was starting to journal this morning I told God I don’t back away from confrontation, but in this case, I was extremely reticent. I began to see that confrontation I go into is that which has a door open and someone inside who wants to hear what is being said. The message may be confrontational, but one is willing to at least hear it. This is what I do entirely in my educational work. However, in the case of yesterday, the door is not open. I did take advantage of presence, but the mind is closed to the message. I need to now thank God for what I cannot see but what He sees clearly and is already acting on. So, I do just this. Galatians 6:9 says: “And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.” I will continue to claim this truth.
Yesterday I wrote that I was going to the garden to pick raspberries. It would be there I hoped to find some sense of peace. I had no more than stepped into the patch to start picking when my cell phone dinged. It was a text from a friend in Celebrate Recovery who was responding to a message I’d sent to all the leadership a few days ago requesting everyone to be praying for one another. God had nudged her to send the text. I responded with the fact it was perfect timing as only God creates.
Today is Father’s Day. As I look at the title of the day I do celebrate most my Heavenly Father. For whatever reason it seems fathers are harder to have a relationship with than mothers. Moms just love you regardless. It seems fathers don’t have this natural instinct in most cases. However, our Heavenly Father loves us regardless of who we are and what we have done or haven’t done. Scripture repeatedly says this. This is exactly why He had His Own Son–Jesus die for us and conquer the grave for us. He loves us right where we are.
My family is coming today for a Father’s Day BBQ and homemade ice cream. I am grateful for this. In this day I will need to address a troubling situation. My purpose is to expose it, not control it. I want God to take control. I pray the one involved will see the Light of God. God told me this morning to praise Him. I did this in my prayer time and I do it now. As sick as I feel inside I know that God loves us and will give His Wisdom if we only step out of the way.
Earnie Lewis 