WHAT A DAY

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: PSALM 40:1-5

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, O Lord my God, are the wonders you have done. The things you planned for us no one can recount to you; were I to speak and tell of them, they would be too many to declare.

WHAT A DAY

I don't know about where you live, but we had the most beautiful sunrise one day this week. The sky was magic. The sun started as a small slit peeking through. Then the light got brighter. The rays were extending over the top of the dark sky and then it happened. The whole sky lit up. There were oranges and purples and golds. Wow. What a way to start the day. God sure can say good morning.

The rest of my day was wonderful. The rose moss flowers were open and showing their colors. The barn swallows were putting on a show, darting in and out of the barn. There was a very welcome breeze and the sweet corn tasted extremely good. The junk email didn't even seem to annoy me.

Every have one of those day? Where everything just seems to fit together. Where you are more aware of everything around you. Where you feel -- where you feel comfortable with yourself.

I think a day like this is how most of us experience our Christian walk. It starts with our spirit allowing God to peek in. Then the light of God gets brighter and the rays of His light shine out around us. We cannot contain them. Then our whole being just explodes with His grace. When that happens, we begin to see God in everything around us. We see His plan in the flowers. And the birds. And the breeze. And in ourselves.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Have you had a day like this lately? What causes you to feel like you are one with God?

Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.

LET US PRAY

Dear God, Thank you for telling me good morning with your sunrise and good night with your sunset. Thank you for all that you have planned for me. For me. For me you made the birds, the flowers and the breeze. You have made wonders for my ears to hear, my eyes to see, my nose to smell, my mouth to taste and my hands to touch. For me you made these things. As I am going on my walk with you, show me your plan for my life. Let me always feel at one with you.………………………………… Amen

LORD, I AM AFRAID

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE

Psalm 23:1-4 -- The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Matthew 28:20 -- …. and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

LORD, I AM AFRAID

My 1998 gallbladder surgery did not go quite like we expected. It was to be routine, done in the morning and home in the afternoon. Yet the problem that arose has changed my outlook on life. A problem so much smaller than many other people have, I know that, but let me explain.

I was home and lying in bed, short of breath and I was afraid. The doctor said I should be aware if I noticed any changes, like getting winded walking to the barn or having trouble breathing while lying on my back. Was I in trouble, was my heart going to stop again? Should I wake my husband? Quietly, I went downstairs, taking my fear with me. Dear Lord, I am afraid.
Just seven short days before, my world had been safe and secure. A simple gallbladder operation. Outpatient surgery. Arrive at the hospital early and leave late in the afternoon. Routine surgery until something went wrong. During surgery, my heart stopped for one minute. One minute did not seem like such a long time, until I tried holding my breath that long. I tried to count one-one thousand, two one-thousand, three one-thousand -- all the way to sixty one-thousand. One minute is not long, but it was long enough to make me afraid.

Three days of tests revealed no heart problems. With each test came new risks though. Papers had to be signed to make sure we were aware certain tests could cause strokes or even heart attacks. Fear. The gallbladder surgery went well and those scars were healing, but my chest hurt where they had hit me to get my heart started. Each movement caused pain. And fear. They did not know what caused this. Could it happen again? Fear. "Go home and in thirty days we will see you again. The only problem now is your heart is not pumping one hundred percent, but, most likely, that is a result of the stress. In thirty days, it should be back to normal," the doctors assured me. Most likely, should be -- “fear,” -- that is all I heard and felt.

Sitting in the dark, I tried to go over the last week, but I was afraid. More afraid than I had ever been in my life. Then it happened. A light. You know how sometimes, when you close your eyes, you see a light? That is what I thought was happening, but this was different. My eyes were open. I was awake. The light was there. A light more brilliant than any I had ever seen. A light with no beginning and no end. The light made the world quiet and gave me peace. A light that took my fear and left.

Thank you, God, I am not afraid now.

I know there is no guarantee tomorrow will come and I have never been afraid to die. Not ready, but never afraid. And I have always believed in Heaven. My fear was real and I do believe the fear could have killed me. Why had I been so afraid that night?

When I was being released from the hospital a young man was taking me by wheelchair to the car, he asked if I had seen a light and I told him no. He said some people do and some do not. I did not think too much about it until sitting there, alone and no longer afraid. Why hadn't the light been in the operating room? The answer is simple -- I did not need it then.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

When have you been afraid? Where did you find the strength to face that fear?

Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.

LET US PRAY

Dear Heavenly Father, Fear. The word itself makes me cringe. Some of my fears are real and others are irrational. I know I cannot face them alone. I know I need help. Be beside me as I face the fear of ………………………………… Amen

FEAR

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE: Ephesians 1:15-19

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.

FEAR

This week I read extremes. I use Oswald Chambers' My Utmost For His Highest as a daily devotional. This is an amazing devotional. Not light stuff like I write, but deep thoughts. I also read a book by Dean Koontz, The Good Guy. Extremes, but they both made me think about fear.

In The Good Guy, Dean Koontz wrote, "Fear is a hammer, and when the people are beaten finally to the conviction that their existence hangs by a frayed thread, they will be led where they need to go." If you read Dean Koontz, you know that the person saying this was not the good guy.

What things do we do out of fear? This question can also be reversed -- What things do we not do out of fear?

Oswald Chambers wrote, "We say -- "If I really could believe!" The point is -- If I really will believe. If we really believed that God meant what He said -- what should we be like? Dare I really let God be to me all that He says He will be?"

Do you fear believing? Do you allow God to be all He can be in your life?

Again, to quote Oswald Chambers, "We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him."

What an amazing change would happen in our lives if we "will" believe, not just hope to believe. The Bible is full of promises from God. How He will enrich our lives and how He will give us peace. How He will give us eternal life. What amazing changes would happen in our lives if we would leave fear behind and let God "be all that He says He will be." (Go back and read the last sentence of today's scripture.)

Next week I will tell you about a time when I was very afraid.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

What do you do out of fear? Is fear being used in your life "like a hammer." Are you so afraid of someone or something, that you live your life in fear? (If this is the case, please get help. Find a church, a person or an agency that will help you. Making a change in your life takes courage. Be strong and good luck.) Are there reasons you are afraid to trust God? Are you afraid you would have to change your lifestyle?

Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.

LET US PRAY

Dear God, Fear. So often, I am afraid. I am afraid I will not have enough money to pay the bills. I am afraid I will be fired. Or be ill. Or say the wrong thing if I speak out at church. Or if I speak out about injustice. I am afraid others will think I am weird if I admit to believing and loving you. I am afraid to change how I worship. I am afraid to allow you to enter every part of my life. I do not want to live in fear. I do not want fear to control me. I want ………………………………… Amen

SURFING BLOGS

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another -- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25

All the words of my mouth are just; none of them is crooked or perverse. To the discerning all of them are right; they are faultless to those who have knowledge. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8:8-11

SURFING BLOGS

I recently signed this blog up, with Blog Explosion, to increase exposure. I am not sure that was a good thing. Yes, the number of people looking at my blog has increased. The problem is they are not reading it. They are staying just long enough to rack up credits for surfing blogs. Then they move to the next one. This is done to help increase the traffic to their blog. If you think about it, it makes no sense. People are going to flip from blog to blog and no one reads anything.

Now here is the kicker. My "surfing blogs theory" is exactly how many people pick their religion and their beliefs. They go from church to church and do not stay long enough to find out what that church really believes. You need to find a church, which fits you, but you cannot do that in one visit or even two. If you are going to try a new church, go for a few Sundays. That doesn't mean you have to join the choir the first week or be on a committee. It means you go and listen to the Word. You see how you are welcomed. You watch people as they worship. Does it feel comfortable? Are they preaching the Word of God or just saying what makes you feel good? Are there all age groups? Do they have small groups (Sunday School, Bible Studies, Craft/Art/Conversation groups where people with like interests can meet)? Do you feel the presence of God?

Many people also read the Bible in a "surfing blogs theory" way. They jump around in the Bible, reading first this and then that and they expect it to make sense. That is not going to happen. Again, you have to stop and take your time. Until the last couple of years, reading the Bible was my weakest area. I think that was because I never had any order to my reading. I would read a scripture attached to a devotional and call that good enough. It takes time and determination to make sense of the Bible. Everyone has their own style and you need to develop yours.

Surfing blogs may be fun, but you do not learn anything by surfing blogs. You learn by taking time to read. Surfing churches gets you in and out of a church fast, but you do not learn anything by surfing churches. You learn by staying and making decisions based upon more than one Sunday. Surfing the scripture is a fast way to go from verse to verse, but you do not learn the Word by going from here to there. You learn by slowly reading and finding the meaning and wisdom.

QUESTIONS OF THE DAY

Are you a surfer? Do you flip from blog to blog, not reading anything, always looking for the next blog? Do you go from church to church, always looking for one just a little better? Do you open the Bible and then hop from verse to verse?

Please use this as a beginning of your prayer. Finish in your own words, words from your heart.

LET US PRAY

Dear Jesus, You came to earth with one purpose - to serve your Father and do His will. You did not go from here to there, you put your feet on the path and you followed it. That is what I want to do. I want to belong to a church that teaches me how to walk the same path. I want that path to begin in the Old Testament and lead me to the very end of the New Testament. I do not want to be a surfer, I want to be ………………………………… Amen