April 19, 2022

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to sonshine in your heart! How was your Easter and what was one of the blessings of your Easter weekend? What comes to mind first for me was the beautiful Cantata on Good Friday that help me realize more vividly the sacrifice Jesus made me and all.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We must all keep a guard on our hearts continually and never think we are above doing certain sinful things, or we may fall. As Paul said in

 I Cor. 10:12, “Let those who think that they are standing firm, watch out lest they fall.” 

  Even though we try to keep the commandments, none of us are above doing unthinkable sins when under certain circumstances. We are not basically good as some believe, for our hearts are deceitful and perverse (Jer.17:9).

All of us have weaknesses and flaws and when we yield repeatedly to sinful responses it can cause our downfall. I was reading Michael Casey’s book, Seventy-Four Tools for Good Living, and he gives examples of Stalin who had been a seminarian, and Hitler who was born a Catholic and Pol Pot who spent time as a Buddhist monk. Even though we may start out well, we must be vigilant of any tendency that would lead us away from God. Small steps of doing things that seem like little sins, when done repeatedly, can lead us on a downward slope to do things we never imagined we would do. The husband who continually lets his thoughts be consumed with his secretary often ends up committing adultery and leaving his wife. Even monks have attempted murder and pastors cheated their church. But it usually starts out in small ways and gradually we compromise and lose our integrity and suffer consequences.

If we are repentant, God forgives us and then we must start again and be more vigilant..

Not long ago, I was not being very watchful and looked quickly at the clock when I awakened. I misread the clock as it is on Al’s side of the bed and thought it was time to get up. So I got all washed and fixed my hair etc. and proceeded to have my devotions. When it was time to wake Al (which is usually at 5), I looked at the kitchen clock and it was only 2 a.m.!  I couldn’t believe it and had to go back to bed again and start the day over. a couple hours later. I was not vigilant but from now on, you can be sure I will be!

Sometimes we also learn from our mistakes and catch our behavior that will lead us away from the Lord. We need to pay attention and guard our hearts and never think we are not capable of falling if we compromise even in small ways.

Challenge for today: The next time you are tempted in a gray area, resist and pray for strength to stand firm in God’s strength.