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.

Category: Whispers (Page 2 of 114)

April 9, 2024

April 9, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to a day of openness to the Lord and seeing ways change may be needed. A question for you today, “Has the Lord been trying to get your attention on something in your life that you have been blind to but now needs to be delt with?”
Later today we are invited to friends for a time of fellowship.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  How many times do we mistakenly think that we are responsible for our spiritual growth and we often try by our will power to change in areas that we see the need.   We may read lots of books of how to grow spiritually and try to follow steps that are often simply self-help, leaving us still in charge. But it doesn’t work that way when we take control, and we will end in frustration. The secret is that our spiritual formation is a work of the Spirit, and we need to get out of the way so the Spirit can do His work in us. Jesus says we must become like children and as we do that, we hear the stories in scripture and let the Spirit work on us.
  I was recently reading the World Mission Prayer League’s newsletter and the Director writes about his experience when an Executive Coach came to assess how he was doing his job. He writes he was partially looking forward to hearing how well he was doing but also areas he needed to improve. We all have blind spots where we are not seeing ourselves realistically. He saw things that needed to be corrected, like judgmental attitudes and making assumptions etc. We all need to be open to our blind areas if we want to grow in the Lord and get along well with others in community. As we see these areas that limit our freedom, we can humbly ask The Lord to work the changes in us.
  It’s important that we don’t reject the work of the Holy Spirit but let Him have free reign. Can we be brave enough to pray as Mary spoke to the angel after receiving the news about bearing the Son of God, “Let it be done unto me according to your word.” Often the Holy Spirit’s work is underground, and we may not be aware of what He is doing at the time and how He is changing us. But God is in the details and will bring the needed change in us if we are open. He will also help us to love others where they are at, and we will open our hearts to them without judgment. Let us cooperate with the Spirit and not reject what He will do in us.
  Challenge for today: Quit trying so hard to grow and simply drink in the Word and let the Holy Spirit do a work in you.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

April 8, 2024

April 8, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. Everything got a good soaking rain and wiped out any traces of snow. This morning, I plan to make Oh Henry bars and go to my exercise class etc.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Have you experienced a time of renewal in your life when you were filled with the joy of the Lord that seemed to just overflow and sensed His love in a deep way? I am reading in II Chronicles lately and I felt joyful just reading about what happened to the people when Hezekiah became king of Israel after they had endured years of cruel King Ahaz who had even shut up the house of the Lord. In chapter 29 King Hezekiah comes on the scene and everything changed for he opened the doors of the temple, had it cleansed and repaired and resumed the sacrifices. He offered bulls and rams and lambs and goats for the priests to sacrifice and called the people to come and celebrate the Passover. The Levites had cymbals, harps, and lyres and the singers sang praises and trumpets sounded as people bowed down in worship. What a glorious praise service! People’s hearts were touched and they brought offerings with glad and willing hearts. They didn’t want it to end and the Passover was resumed for another week as they feasted and made confessions and gave thanks to the Lord for another 7 days. While on their way to their homes again they must have had so much to share about their renewing time of worship of the Lord.
  Do we expose ourselves to times of going apart and seeking the Lord? We may have all read of the revival that took place at Asbury College as the Holy Spirit was poured out on those present in chapel and went on for days and days. Even when the revival services were later shut down and school life resumed, revival broke out at Baylor University and Louisiana State University, Texas A&M University etc.  Revival is a sovereign move of God and brings repentance and change to hearts and a passion for the Lord. Jesus is front-center and believers have a hunger for the Word and a passion to see others won to the kingdom. Joy is found in meeting together in worship and praise and it is evident God is moving by His Spirit.
  Let us pray for revival for our country as it is in a mess and needs God; even the church needs renewing and lives that aren’t compromised to the world.
  Challenge for today: Pray for revival in America and that your own heart would be renewed.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

April 6, 2024

April 6, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
May you wake to a day of intentionally giving your attention to the Lord.
Grandson Paul came for supper last night and good to catch up with him. I hope to make stroganoff and cookies and clean etc. today. We’ve had such beautiful days for spring walks.
  As I read through the book of Jeremiah, I see what a prophet of prayer he was. He didn’t just preach to the people about God, he himself, prayed and poured out his heart to God. He tells God what is going on inside of him and listens to God speak. I read Eugene Peterson’s book on Jeremiah, “Run with the Horses”, and he says, “Prayer is the act in which we approach God as a living person, a thou to whom we speak, not an it that we talk about… Prayer is the desire to listen to God firsthand, to speak to God firsthand, and then setting aside the time and making arrangements to do it.”
  How important is the Lord in our life? Does He get our full attention or is he only on the periphery? We have only to observe two people having lunch together at a restaurant and one is continually reading the texts on their phone while the other person, sits there wishing for some heart-to-heart conversation. One time Al and I made a scheduled visit to a couple in our church and when we got there, she was in the middle of baking cookies for us and gave attention not to burn them. When finally done the phone rang and her husband spent the majority of the time casually talking to the person on the other end. We said, since you’re so busy why don’t we come back another time, but they responded that their life was always like that. We wondered did they ever have some face-to-face talk with one another. I think we have probably all done that with the Lord where we are so pre-occupied that He gets only our partial attention.
  Jeremiah was so real with the Lord and he talks to him when he was hurt and lonely, terrified and angry, His life was often at stake as people who didn’t like his message plotted to kill him. I imagine he had some desperate prayers and wanted God’s full attention. I think we could all admit that often our prayers are one-sided with only partial attention on our part but the Lord not only listening to our words but reading our hearts. Let us be honest and authentic with the Lord and give Him our best.
  Challenge for today: Spend 10 minutes in quiet today, just focused on the Lord and sharing your heart.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

April 5, 2024

April 5, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Happy Weekend! Hope you enjoy some time to get refreshed. I plan to do some, studying, baking and maybe a movie.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  How free do we live? Do we speak freely, act freely and enjoy a rich life? Instead of trying to fit into the culture and speaking their lingo and buying what things are “in”, are we enjoying life lived by faith in the One who loves us most? That may involve suffering and death to our own ego but when we submit to the Lord, we are set free from trying to please others and being controlled by their opinions.
  I memorized a verse from Gal.2:20 when I was a young girl, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me. And the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of Man who loved me and gave His life for me.” When we are crucified with Christ, it means we die to our own way, and choose to go God’s way. Paul said that he gloried in the cross by which the world has been crucified to him, and him to the world. God does for us, what we cannot do, and we willingly respond. What results is a life well lived in freedom.
   We need to be willing to die to our own selves and all our earning attempts of keeping the rules, and instead receive what God does which will bring freedom. For after death is resurrection life that is free and beautiful and lived by faith. We can respond with living deeply and freely for Him and for others as we embrace the cross. Our life becomes one of joy in the Holy Spirit, liberty, and enjoyment of the Lord, as we live freely forever In Him.
  Challenge for today: Be willing to die daily and then live in freedom with resurrection power.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

April 4, 2024

April 4, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you have a good day with a heart of thankfulness for how God made you. Al has men’s group and I plan to cook and make up my own recipe, so hope it turns out.Emoji  Later we have our Bible study and then a few places to go.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  We can all make plans, and it is good to be organized and make plans each day, but we have to hold them loosely and make sure they are what God has planned for us. Our desire is to be for His purposes to be fulfilled each day in our lives. Sometimes He surprises us and our day doesn’t turn out anything like we expected or anticipated. He may add things or remove things but it’s good when we welcome whatever He sends. Psalm 16 has some things to say about our plans and we are told in verse 3 to “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” When we put everything into His hands, He will establish our steps, (Verse 9) and His purposes will be fulfilled.
  Tuesday, I had my day planned out for me and after Women’s Bible Study at church, my plans went out the window. I got a call from the dentist that they had a sudden opening in an hour and a half later and it was mine if I wanted it. Yes, I was to get my implants and loved that I didn’t have to wait any longer and I was at there with bells on! Of course, there are other days when our fine laid plans are interrupted in a negative way, like when we may be about to go home, and the boss puts a pile of papers on our desk that we have to take care of first. We have to adjust, and we need to expect the unexpected things that may happen in our day. Even when we have a tight schedule it is good to schedule in some time for some breathing room and not have to break the speed limit to get somewhere on time.
   We are all different and designed by the Lord. Some of us like to be quick to get to our work and others tend to procrastinate. If we do things right away and not last minute, we will have greater peace and actually more time to accomplish our work. Being organized and not cluttered will also help us accomplish more. Decluttering our homes gives us more space and with it, greater peace. May we trust the Lord to guide us to be and do what He wants us to and accomplish His purposes.
   Challenge for today: Thank the Lord for how He has created you and ask Him to guide you into His plans for your life.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

April 3, 2024

April 3, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you have a day filled with peace and hope. My day is chuck full of activities of shopping, exercise, crafts, Bible study etc.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
We’ve all probably heard someone say, “He’s blind as a bat!” and it could mean he physically can’t see without glasses, or he is unable to recognize problems that may be clear to others. Many have to live with physical blindness and yet go through life with great spiritual sight; and there are those who see but are blind spiritually, which is far worse.

 Paul’s prayer for the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:17-18) is, “I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know Him, so that, the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance among the saints.”. We can make this be our prayer as well, that our spiritual eyes would be open, and we would understand and discern the things of the Lord. The world walks in darkness and is blind to the things of the Lord and doesn’t accept them. They seem foolish to them and how can we expect them to understand if they are blinded.

Paul Baloche had his eye on the priesthood but for a time wanted to be a rock musician. But while at a conference the Lord spoke to his heart by the message, “It’s not about money, it’s about Jesus!” He was converted and would journal and then wrote many songs from the prayers he had written in his journal. One such song that was playing in my mind today is, ”Open the eyes of my heart, Lord/ Open the eyes of my heart/ I want to see You/ I want to see You/ to see you high and lifted up/ Shinin’ in the light of your glory/ pour out your power and love/ as we sing holy, holy, holy/ Open the eyes of my heart, Lord” etc.

When the eyes of our heart are flooded with light, we see clearly what He calls us to do, we can understand more the greatness of His power and have hope.

Challenge for today: Put Eph. 1:17-18 in your own words and pray it with meaning.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

April 2, 2024

April 2, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you wake to a beautiful day. Such lovely weather for refreshing walks. Snow is melting so we will soon be able to walk again on the Paul Bunyan trail.
Today is women’s Bible study and Al is Emoji as I also made Finnish pasty yesterday to have for our dinner today.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  Are we seeking truth in the way we think and live or do we accept the lies of our culture?  Pastors who preach to make people feel good but refuse to talk about sin and truth miss the mark. They may be popular but cheat their congregation of the life of truth and peace God wants for them. It’s much like putting on a bandage in regard to sin, but the way of truth cuts to the heart of the matter and brings wholeness.
   Some go to church to feel happy and good about themselves, and others because they desire to know God and let Him direct their lives and become whole. It’s not really about what we want but to become what God wants, which is a big difference.
  In Jeremiah’s time, Pashur was a popular eminent preacher and had a following. Everyone liked to hear him, and he preached everything positive to make the people feel good. But Jeremiah couldn’t stomach him because Pashur doctored up truth and people didn’t see their sin or need of God. On the other hand, God wants us to deal with our selfishness and sin and seek forgiveness. He wants us to become mature people in the Lord.
   We all need to live by the truth, not by what the culture says or preachers who tell us only positive things and want us to applaud. We are to test everything against scripture and to face our lies and sinful behavior and seek forgiveness. It’s not like polishing our outward behavior but experiencing inward truth, seeing ourselves as God sees us. To illustrate the seriousness of sin Jeremiah took a pottery water jug and threw it to the ground, smashing it in the presence of the leaders; he told them how God was going to smash the people and the city who had wandered from God, but he ended up in stocks for telling them. For him, the most important thing was living for God and not the applause of men. Are we passionate for God and truth seekers or do we go along with the world?
  Challenge for today: Dare to ask the Lord of ways you value comfort and applause of men over living for Him, and purpose to go God’s way!
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

April 1, 2024

April 1, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you had a blessed and joyous Easter. We enjoyed our time going to the lake, hearing Leif preach, the yummy dinner, games and just being in nature. We came home feeling thankful and blessed. Today the Easter decorations will be put away and I plan to go to exercise and do some baking.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How many times have we prayed that the Lord would draw us closer to Him and that we would sense His nearness. We may have sung the old familiar song, “Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it Jesus is my plea, daily walking close to Thee, Let it be dear Lord, let it be.” We know in our hearts when we have drifted away from the Lord and we desire His nearness. Chances are we have taken over control of our lives again and like Anthony Bloom said that “So often when we say to the Lord, “I love you” we say it with a huge “I” and a small “you.” The bigger our “I” becomes, the more isolated we feel from the Lord.

When we get all get wrapped up in self-love, life becomes curved in on our self. Eugene Peterson describes such a life as boring and barren, and prayer is needed to create the space that helps us get detached and opens us to freedom. Rather than use people for fulfilling our own need and greed, we will be set free to give and receive love as a free act. As we pray and praise the One who is love, we are set free from our selfishness and can relate and love others as Jesus would have us.

Let us trust the Lord and be dependent on Him rather than on self or others. I read today from I John 4:16b (Amplified), “God is love, and he who dwells and continues in love dwells and continues in God, and God dwells and continues in him.” We will become more aware of His love as we pray and open our hearts in praise. Let us read His love letter daily, receive His plan for our day and let go of our self-life to love Him and serve others.

Challenge for today: Meditate on God’s love for you and ask Him to help you find ways to express His love for others.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

March 30, 2024

March 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
This Easter devotion is early since I don’t send out devotionals on Sundays. Tomorrow we hope to be on the road at 6:30 a.m. to go to Hackensack and visit a friend before going to Leif’s church for Easter breakfast and service and then on to the lake for dinner. May your Easter be a time of blessings and much joy for He is risen!!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  A blessed Easter to you! As we celebrate this special holy day let us be reminded of Jesus’ sacrificial death for us and that He is our hope and the One who gives us new life and victory. Today I would like to share a prayer by Debbie McDaniel and may it be our prayer as well.
“Dear God,
  Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you for the Victory and Power in your Name.          Thank you that you hold the keys over death, and that by your might, Christ was raised from the grave, paving the way for us to live free. Thank you that you had a plan, thank you that you made a way.
  We praise you for your great strength, we praise you for your lavish love. We praise you for you are Conqueror, Victor, Redeemer, and Friend. We praise you that you alone are our Deliverer, you are Worthy, you are our everlasting Father our great and awesome God.
  We confess our need for you. We ask that you would renew our hearts, minds, and lives, for the days ahead. We pray for your spirit of refreshing to fill us again. Keep your words of truth planted firmly within us, help us to keep focused on what is pure and right, give us the power to be obedient to your word. And when the enemy reminds us of where we have been, whispering his lies and hurling attacks our way, may he be reminded again of his future. For we have a future and a hope in you. We’ve been set free, redeemed, the old has lost its grip, the new has come.
   Shine your light in us, through us, over us. May we make a difference in this world, for your glory and purposes. Set your way before us. May all your plans succeed. May we reflect your peace and hope to a world that so desperately needs your presence and healing.
  Thanks be to you, God, for your indescribable gift!
  To you be glory and honor, on this Resurrection Day, and forever.
 In Jesus’ name, Amen.”
   As Debbie said, “His power could not be contained in a grave. His love could not be conquered by death, His truth could never be buried and forgotten. Jesus rose again. He is victorious!”
Blessings to you at this Easter time and prayers and love, Judy

March 29, 2024

March 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Blessings to you on this Holy day. We will be having a drama as part of our Good Friday service tonight with both adults and children participating. Pastor’s father preached last night at the Maundy Thursday service, and we had communion. A good way to begin our Easter weekend.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Are we Crowd Pleasers or are we God Pleasers? Just because large numbers of people believe and go along with something, doesn’t make it true and reliable. We can probably think of how masses have been taken in by false statements, and approved of things that are actually distortions of truth and harmful. Today we have only to think of the crowd that was stirred up by those wanting Jesus killed and went along with them to have Him crucified. What would we have done if we had been there in the crowd?

The also think of the prophet Jeremiah who was often in crowds, but he didn’t let it shape his message and values. He didn’t preach what the people wanted to hear about God or what would make them feel good, but rather what God told him to say. He listened first to God and only wanted to give messages from Him.  Those words certainly weren’t pleasing to the crowd for they would have to recognize the truth of their sinful behavior and distance from God. It would have been far easier for Jeremiah to hold back on what he was to speak, but when he did it became like fire in his belly that he had to get out. (Jer. 20:9)

 But how refreshing it is to see a person or a group of people that are willing to live in truth and have courage to go against the crowd mentality. Sometimes they even have to stand alone. As read in the book of Jeremiah, he writes about a group of people called Recabites. They were metal workers and lived in tents and were wanderers who lived outside the city. They drank no wine and built no houses or gardens but lived life according to their ancestor Jonadab. Jeremiah was told to invite them into an open room in the temple and serve them wine. The Racabites came but they refused to drink the wine and were not distracted to go along with what the crowd would have done. They held to their convictions set down 250 years before by Jonadab and didn’t waver. Jeremiah was using them as an example to the people to live according to God’s commands and not give in to the culture. The people had drifted far from God and he wanted them to be faithful to God and live by His commands, and not let the crowd distract them.

Let us also not be influenced by ungodliness in our culture but be persons of conviction who please God and not man.

Challenge for today: Ask for grace to stand for the Lord and for what is truth, even when you may have to stand alone.
Blessings on this Good Friday and prayers and love, Judy

 

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