Canaan's Rest

Canaan’s Rest represents a quiet place “set apart” for the purpose of hearing God's voice, growing in intimacy with the Lord, and being renewed in soul and spirit.

Month: May 2022 (Page 2 of 4)

May 21, 2022

May 21, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
  Hope you are keeping warm on this cool weekend. Burr! Poor fishermen! This morning I cleaned the apartment and then went to a fun sale next to Fitquest. Then Al and I went to a gardening sale and to Fleet Farm. I have some flowers now for our Balcony and some herbs to plant. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
    Are we in the End Times? Many are asking that question today as we see our world collapsing and changing rapidly. I read from Mark 13 this morning, and I thought it was like reading our newspaper or watching the news unfold. Jesus was telling several of his disciples of the signs of the End when there would be wars and rumors of wars, nation would rise against nation, earthquakes and famines would take place etc. Christians will be hated and persecution will be severe.                    Then I happened to notice online what Dr. Roger Barrier wrote about the Positive and Negative spiritual signs of the End Times. He shared about how false prophets would rise and lead many astray. We see in many churches today that the preaching contradicts what the Bible says. Some churches espouse that Jesus is the Archangel, Michael, or that He was simply a good moral man, or one of many gods. Satanism is on the rise and many are falling away.                                                                       But Dr. Barrier also mentions positive signs of the true Church for she will grow stronger as persecution and suffering take place. The true church will become pure and holy as the bride of Christ. As Paul said in Eph. 5:27 (Amplified), “That He might present the church to Himself in glorious splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such things (that she might be holy and faultless).” There will also be a pouring out of the Holy Spirit and renewal will take place. There will be prophecy, visions, dreams, etc. Christians will be united and bound tightly together. (That is something I pray for most every day). The gospel will be preached to the whole world and then the end will come.                                                                  The Lord is merciful for He delays even now that more people will call on His name and be saved.    Our part is to share Him with others that they may spend eternity with the Lord. As His children we should not get discouraged and negative as we see the outward signs, for our hope is in the Lord. And we know the End is nearer than ever before!                                                                                                                    Challenge for today: Look for opportunities today to share the Lord with someone who doesn’t yet know Him.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

 

May 20, 2021

May 20, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
  Happy weekend to you and may you enjoy some leisure time. This morning I did food prep and made G.F. Choc chip cookies and took a friend shopping. It is so beautiful out my window as I write as the trees are blossoming and changing every day.Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Possessions can be burdensome and the more we have the more anxiety we have to maintain them. Freedom is not having more but having nothing left to lose because our investment is in the eternal.
  We live in a world today that is consumed with getting more and trying to fill our inner void by buying more goods, only to find it doesn’t satisfy. Even monasteries that hold to poverty want to be comfortable and not have a shortage. Food is meant to sustain our energy levels, not to be gluttonous or become an end in itself. Clothes are to cover up our bodies not to show superior status.
   As I read Father Michael Casey’s chapter on poverty, I wonder how many of us are content and detached from material possessions. How much does it matter to us what we have? Do we have to have the latest or are we content and make the most with what we have?
   Do we treat all people the same or do we show special honor on those who have more wealth?
   God’s ways are so opposite of our culture. If we wish to be first, we must be last. We need not promote ourselves but show humility of spirit. We are all unworthy of what the Lord has for us. All that we see in this world is going to pass away and what is unseen is what will last forever. True riches are those things that are lasting! We are given so much and as it says in Psalm 103:2 (Amplified), “Bless (affectionately, gratefully praise) the Lord, O my soul, and forget not (one of) all His benefits.” Benefits are not something we have earned but what the Lord freely gives us.
   When we seek Him and His kingdom first, He showers us with blessings and benefits that last for all eternity. Let us not settle for temporary things but seek those things that last forever.
  Challenge for today: Spend some time thanking the Lord for His benefits that you may have overlooked in the past.
  Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

May 19, 2022

May 19, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoyng the day. I went downstairs this morning for coffee and donuts. Ann was just here for lunch and soon we have Bible Study and then some errands to run. 
 Devotions from Judy’s heart 
  More than ever before we need to be people of hope. So much darkness about us, but as followers of Jesus, we need to embrace hope. In Heb. 10:23(Amplified) it says,”So, let us seize and hold fast and retain without wavering the hope we cherish and confess and our acknowledgment of it, for He Who promises is reliable(sure) and faithful to His word.”
   As we may be surrounded by adverse circumstances that seem to be getting worse, not better, we know that our hope cannot rest in man but in the Lord. He is the God of the impossible and nothing is too hard for Him.
   The enemy may try to fill us with negative, fearful thoughts to cause our faith to falter and hope to diminish, but we need to resist those thoughts at the onset. Let us not let them take root but fight them with promises from the Word, and songs of praise. Also, we can join with others as it says in the next verse, “And let us consider and give attentive, continuous care to watching over one another, studying how we may stir up (stimulate and incite) to love and helpful deeds and noble activities.” The Message translation tells us to be inventive in encouraging and helping one another as we see the big Day approaching. As we gather together with other believers, it raises our hope level. Together with Him and with others we are strong.
   You probably all know the words to an old familiar hymn:
“My hope is built on nothing less/ Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness/ I dare not trust the sweetest/ frame/ But wholly lean on Jesus’ name/ On Christ the solid Rock I stand/ All other ground is sinking sand.”
  Even when it gets dark and stormy and things around us are sinking, the Lord is our Hope, our anchor, our solid place. May we live in hope and encourage those around us.
   Challenge for today: Text a word of hope to someone today.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

 

May 18, 2022

May 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying this beautiful sunny day. I baked cookies this morning and did food prep and went to my exercise class. This afternoon I am going to work down in our storage area to put away winter clothes and to find things for a sale at Bible Camp. Tonight we have Bible study at church.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
   Today so many people are feeling depressed and hopeless but not all deal with it in the same way. Some have a sadness about them and keep to themselves. There are others who joke and make others laugh to help relieve their own pain. Some may have a chemical imbalance and have frequent ups and downs.  Vivian Bricker writes about the many ways to deal with depression and if struggling with depression, we may want to try some of them.
   Her first suggestion is to pray and tell the Lord how we honestly feel, not how we think we should feel. The Lord sees our hearts anyway so let’s tell Him our true feelings. Perhaps we are in the pit and feel we are never going to get better. The Psalms are full of David’s true feelings and he says it just as it is.
  Vivian says it is helpful to also practice selfcare and do things that can help relieve our stress. For some it could be a bubble bath, or spending time with a close friend; going for a walk or out for ice cream etc.
  We also can practice taking each day as it comes. In Matt. 6:34 (God’s Word) it says, “So don’t ever worry about tomorrow. After all, tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Instead of worrying we look to the Lord each moment and remember His provision.
  We can also set doable goals and celebrate the little victories. Someone who is severely depressed may just have a goal to get dressed and to make their bed and they can celebrate that. Tomorrow there may be more to celebrate.
  For some depressed persons it helps to spend time being creative and expressing themselves through writing, painting, journaling etc. There are many positive ways to find expression of what is going on inside.
   There are times to make an appointment with a therapist or Doctor or Christian counselor. God can use them to bring mental, emotional and spiritual healing as they pray and give truths of scripture, and sometimes medication.
   The enemy wants us to stay stuck and depressed but let us not give up but seek the Lord, and find healing for our wounded hearts.
   Challenge for today: Memorize Isaiah 41:10 and carry it with you.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 17, 2022

May 17, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to another sunny day with spring bursting forth! I love observing out our bedroom window of trees that are changing daily. Would that we would all be growing every day and not hindered in the transfomation process. What things seem to block us  from being transformed to the likeness of the Lord?
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Haven’t we all been discouraged at times that we are still being tempted in an area we felt we had overcome; it makes us feel like we have failed and are not making progress in our Christian walk. But as I was reading from “Grace on the Journey to God”, Michael Casey writes that it is really a sign that everything is going well.
  The devil doesn’t bother to tempt those that are already in his ball park obeying their own fleshly desires, but he is after those who are struggling to overcome and want to serve the Lord. He knows our weak areas and tries to get us to give in to the temptations he sends our way. Sometimes it would seem like he sneaks up on us and catches us at the moment we are weakest. It is a time to call out for God’s help.
  We need to acknowledge that our heart is deceitful as it says in Jer. 17:9 ((NESV), “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse—who can understand it?” Ever since we were born our hearts have been bent toward sin. No, we are not basically good as some often say, but we do have a choice if we want to give in to temptations or if we will ask for God’s help. But our temptations can also help us know ourselves and show us the areas in our lives that are not under the Lordship of Jesus….ways that we go off on our own and result in barriers between us and Him. It is easier to resist the truth than it is to humbly admit what the Holy Spirit shows us is hidden in our hearts. When we refuse the truth, we will find our hearts get harden.
   Casey said it is good to call our vices by its name (like gluttony rather than enjoying God’s good gifts), take full responsibility for our actions and omissions, construct a case of why we should give up the vice, listen to the feedback from others, and ask God to extinguish the vice.
  But even when temptation knocks us for a loop, the Lord will catch us and forgive and help us to stand again. We experience His unconditional love and come to know in a very real way how we cannot depend on ourselves but only on Him.
  Challenge for today: Ask the Lord for an undivided heart that desires His will above your own.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

May 16 2022

May 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. We enjoyed our time in Kansas with family and thank you for prayers for our safe travels. This morning I went to my dermatology appointment and then to Aldi’s and on to my exercise class. Thankful we live so close to things here and can just buzz from one to the other.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  When we read about miracle healing in scripture, many people think that spectacular healing does not happen today, but it does more often than we think. If we note as we read how Jesus healed people, it was not like one size fits all for He did it in different ways, as did Jesus followers. Sometimes it was only a word spoken and the person was healed without even being touched. Other times healing occurred in stages as in Mark 8 when Jesus spit on the blind man’s eyes and laid hands on him, and then asked him if he could see. At that point the man only saw people that looked like walking trees. So Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again and his sight was fully restored.
   Healing comes in many forms and it happens today. I read J.P. Moreland’s book on Experience Miracles and he documents and helps us understand more about miracles today. If we have never seen a miracle, we need to ask ourselves how often do we pray for them to happen or do we live in doubt.
  When we pray for healing, we need to believe that God heals today and not doubt like the wave of the sea. Of course, there are times God is using the suffering for greater good in the person’s life and has a bigger plan. Sometimes our sin keeps us from getting well or maybe we refuse to go for medical help when God wants to use our doctor. It could be the timing is not right or that healing may be gradual. There are even cases where the person may not want to be healed as they feel special with all the attention and don’t have to be responsible to do what healthy people do.  
  I would like to share a healing miracle that Moreland writes about in his Vineyard church in Anaheim, CA. They offer healing prayer every Monday night for anyone who needs and they have trained prayer teams. One night Susan came for prayer as she heard about the service from her high school students. She was very sick and had tried medical treatments by many doctors but her condition got worse. Her cancer had spread to 51 places throughout her body and she was given no hope but sent home to die. She came to the Vineyard church off and on for healing prayer and felt loved and cared for. But then one Monday night during prayer time she felt like her whole body was filled with heat and electricity. She just knew she was healed and contacted her main doctor. He ordered a PET scan and was shocked when it showed that all of the cancer in her body was gone. She was cancer-free! As a result this Jewish woman gave her life to the Lord. 
  Another case of a young woman who was legally blind for12 years with juvenile Macular Degeneration and was instantly healed and continues for 47 years, up to time of the book’s publication.
  So many more miracles are happening today so let us step out in faith and pray!
  Challenge for today: Offer to pray for someone when they share their need and be amazed at what God will do.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Cave of The Heart

May 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Cave of the Heart is the title song of a John Michael Talbot album from l999.  I have always been intrigued by the lyrics repeated throughout the song:  “You are seated in freedom in the cave of the heart.”  I am challenged by certain words: “Silence your heart/Silence your soul/stilling your senses/with single-minded devotion.”  I have been troubled by some as well: “How can the troubled mind/understand his ways?/If your thoughts are troubled/You cannot find the wisdom.”  

I can also identify with particular words: “Like a fish out of water/Stranded upon the shore/Thoughts thrash and they quiver/How can you shake off the chains of desire.”  If only I could deal with these deep, mysterious desires that come from deep in the cave of the heart.  “They tremble unsteady/They wander at will/It is good to control them/To master them it will bring you joy.”  

St. John of the Cross talked about the “caverns” of the soul.  He is calling  attention to the deepest places of the soul; to our center where God dwells. “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). The capacity of the soul is infinite. It is beyond consciousness and beneath our understanding and experience. “These caverns are deep because the object of this capacity, namely God, is profound and infinite…their capacity is infinite, their thirst is infinite, their hunger is also deep and infinite…”   

I have a new appreciation for the “capacity” of my soul.  While finding new freedom, I still shy away from the depths of my soul. The caverns remain shrouded in darkness because I can neither comprehend nor manage what is found in these deep places.  It is a space that contains the story of my life, including painful memories and long forgotten vows which still hold a tight grip on my responses to everyday life.

Men, you might not like to be reminded of the “cave of the heart.”  But it is found at your center, dictating more of your conscious life then you would care to admit.  Remember Jesus told us, “It’s what comes out of a person that pollutes: obscenities, lusts, thefts, murders, adulteries, greed, depravity, deceptive dealings, carousing, mean looks, slander, arrogance, foolishness – all these are vomit from the heart. There is the source of your pollution” (Mark 7:20-23 – Message).  

Here is a confession:  It  happened recently – again – with my wife. I had a strong negative response during two separate conversations we had with others.  I shut down emotionally. I became quiet, not wanting to communicate.  I tuned out…   

I also felt confusion, condemnation, and shame. What was happening?  Pollution was coming from the cave of my heart.  By God’s grace, through the circumstances in my life, the pollution was coming to the surface.

Praise God, I am now admitting my struggle to my wife.  I cannot blame her for the way I responded.  I want to be honest in my responses and bring the pollution from the cave into the light.  Confession helps get rid of it.  I still don’t fully understand, but I feel more freedom in my responses.  I’m now more aware of the pollution and its causes. In this case it had to do with my mother. 

My point in this is that confession allows the pollution from the cave of the heart to come more into our consciousness.  It will begin to loosen its grip on the soul, allowing for discernment rather than reaction.  Pray with David (and me), “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts” (Psalm 139:23).  

May 14, 2022

May 14, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are having a great day.   We are home now as we left early this morning from Kansas. Enjoyed our time there so much and loved seeing Lily play soccer, shopped, ate outside, and also saw Kurt’s video of family and  the moving of the sauna down the big hill to the lake. It took 3 big pieces of heavy equipment to do it and 5 young men to do it. We originally planned to come home tomorrow and see my brother and wife on the way but they had to go to Milwaukee to help in an emergency.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  We all go through desert times when we feel dry and we may wonder where is God and what is He up to. Will we always feel like this or will things change and will joy bubble up again in our lives? I have good news!  Even when we feel dry and parched like the desert we can flourish again.
  In Isaiah 35: 1-2 it says, “The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy… they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.”
  God comes to us in many different ways to encourages us and as it says in verse 10, “everlasting joy will overtake them and sorrow and sighing will flee away.”
   I have been reading what Rev Mark Roberts from Fuller Seminary has been saying about dryness and flourishing. He writes how the Lord brings us out of our despair and dryness and into a time of joy and fruitfulness. He shares about an energetic woman from His church who was so full of love, even though she had experienced lots of grief. She lost a son and all her grandchildren in premature death. But she reached out to others and especially welcomed new people to the church to feel at home. Sometimes she took them out for coffee or invited them into her home. But when she was nearing the 4th quarter of her life, she had physical struggles and was bedridden so she could no longer go to church. She felt very useless and when the Pastor came to see her, she talked of what she could do, even though she had great physical limitations. Suddenly the idea came to her that she could use her phone. Why not call every household in the church and ask how she could pray for them. She used the church directory and made calls every day, much to the appreciation of the members who felt cared for. She was fruitful to the end of her life.
   Maybe we know others who used their desert time to grow. We can also be fruitful and flourish, no matter what our circumstances are. It could even be that God will use us to pray for others who feel like they are in a desert now!
  Challenge for today:  Encourage someone going through a dry time, and pray that they will bloom again.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

May 13, 2022

May 13, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
We are at our son’s home in Olathe, Kansas and enjoying time with family and also nice warm temperatures. We arrived yesterday in time to go to Lily’s soccer game where they tied in double overtime. Very exciting and also cozy warm as the sun went down while we watched. This morning  we plan to go to a Christian bookstore and also see movie coverage of the sauna at the lake being moved down by the cabin.  
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  God shows compassion on the big things that concern us but also the smallest details of our lives. We can share everything with the Lord and leave it with Him to work out accoring to His plan.
  Recently, I was made aware of His capable hand that moved in my behalf. Our son texted me that flowers would be arriving for Mother’s Day but wouldn’t arrive in time, due to shortage of deliverery persons. Tuesday came and no flowers to be seen by the office, or mail room or by the entrance of our apartment  complex. I prayed that they would come and checked later in the day but nothing. Wednesday came and surly they would be there, but still no flowers. I mentioned it at Craft Time to friends and also told our son they were never delivered, even though he had paid for them and had a message they were delivered. But about supper time a friend knocked on our door and held in her arms a big box. She had found the flowers on a different floor at the end of the hall, near another apartment door. She investigated and discovered my name on the box and grabbed it.
   What a God’ instance that she would be prompted to walk the halls and find my lost flowers that had no reason to be where they were. I thanked her and the Lord, and she ended up caring for my flowers while we are here at our son’s home for the weekend.
   This is such a small circumstance but God’s thoughts and intentions are for our good and welfare in all the concerns of our lives. As it says in Jer. 39:11-12(NIV), “For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me, and I will listen to you.”
   Our part is to call on the Lord for everything small or huge and His ear is open to hear and respond. Too often we get worried and stressed over what may be happening in our lives and we try to fix it; and when we are all out of options, we call on the Lord. He should be our first line of defense.  We are to seek Him and trust Him and watch for His work in our behalf. Maybe we can’t see His good purpose yet, but in the fulness of time we will.
  Challenge for today: Call on the Lord and wait in patience for him to act.   
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

May 12, 2022

May 11, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
I am sending out tomorrow’s devotion tonight as we will be on the road very early tomorrow and traveling to Olathe, Kansas. We are going to Kurt’s and want to be there in time to go to our granddaughter Lily’s soccer game. Looking forward to a weekend of catching up. Appreciate prayer for safe travels. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Isn’t it uplifting to be around people that are encouraging and upbeat, especially if we are going through a time of struggle? We don’t need to hear more bad news or enlarging of our present difficult situations but rather words that will lift us up out of our funk. Some people seem to just have a ready word on their lips to bring encouragement to us and others.
  Of course, God is always ready to encourage us if we turn to Him. I was reading this morning from II Thess. 2:16-17 (God’s Word), “God our Father loves us and by his kindness gave us everlasting encouragement and good hope. Together with our Lord Jesus Christ, may He encourage and strengthen you to do and say everything that is good.” God promises to help us and to encourage us and to put a fresh heart in us. He gives us strength and hope even in the darkest of times. Paul is writing to a church in Thessalonica that is facing persecution, false teachers, worldliness etc. so he wants to encourage them to stand firm and be strong. He compliments them and tells them what they doing well and he thanks the Lord for how they show love for one another etc. He also tells them not to get weary and that he is always praying for them, which must have lifted their hearts. But he doesn’t hesitate to also ask that they pray for him as he shares God’s word.  
   We all need encouragement at times and God may use many different avenues to bring encouragement to us. Sometimes it is a word from the sermon we hear, or a scripture we read that seems to just stand out to us. It could be an e-mail that is sent to us or a song that we hear as we go to work. It may be a word that a friend shares, without even knowing we have a need. Encouragement may flood us when we are sitting in a place of beauty like in a star -studded sky at night or looking up to the grandeur of the mountains. There are times when I  question the Lord if I should keep writing and then a word of encouragement comes from someone I don’t even know.
  But let us also remember to encourage others like our pastor, church leaders, family members, care givers, and even the cashiers at the check-out. We never know who needs a word that day to give them hope.
   Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to fill your mouth with words that will be uplifting to others.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

« Older posts Newer posts »
Email Subscription

Lists*

© 2024 Canaan's Rest

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑