Dear Ones,
Hope you will have a good day. The sun is shining and makes everything sparklle out my window. I just scrubbed and did some food prep. We are having friends over this afternoon for coffee and fellowship and we love those times. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  How do we live our lives each day? Do we live whole heartedly for the Lord or do we see how close we can fit into the world’s ways and still remain a Christian? A compromising life misses the best the Lord offers to us we end up missing so much of the joy and the peace He came to bring
  I was reading today how God told Moses to command the people to drive out the inhabitants of the Promise Land they were to claim, and to not let any of them remain. They were to destroy all their idols and traces of their pagan worship and practices. If they didn’t obey and drive them out, they would become like thorns in their sides and barbs in their eyes. (Numbers 33) And sadly, the Israelites compromised and didn’t fully obey or heed the warning. They became more like the idle worshippers and assimilated their practices and ended up suffering for it just as God said. Their compromise caused endless trouble!
   But can we admit that we can also be like the Israelites who engage in worldly things? Maybe something we are asked to do seems harmless at first and yet we get hooked and soon we feel trapped. Hopefully instead, we stand out as different and more like Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego who would not compromise at all when King Nebuchadnezzar ordered everyone to fall down and worship his 90 foot gold statue. They told the king, that their God was able to deliver them but even if he chose not to, “Be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.” (Daniel 3:18) They could have compromised and bowed down this one time, rationalizing that they weren’t really worshipping it; or could have made other excuses but they were decisive and bold. Their witness caused the King to acknowledge God’s power and ordered no one to speak against God.
   Let us not waver in our faith and get distracted by the things of this world, but live each day for the Lord, with a willingness to pay the cost, no matter what.
  Challenge for today: Ask for holy boldness to stand up for the Lord and His kingdom, without compromise.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy