Dear Ones,
May you have a peace-filled day full of love. I just finished baking cookies for Al to take on our trip to N.C. on Monday. He is at Men’s group now and will be leading Bible Study today. We were blessed to see my cousin last night who recently lost her hubby and was so good to have time with her and with family. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
  God created us and formed us for His pleasure. He loves us and desires a close relationship with us. I remember in confirmation memorizing what the purpose of man is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We are here for God’s pleasure but we are also to live in a way that we enjoy being with Him. He is so worthy of our worship and praise and honor and we draw our joy and strength from Him.  Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to be in the Garden of Eden before sin happened and just enjoy walking with the Lord in the garden? No selfishness but pure desire to just be with Him.
  When Jesus died on the cross the curtain into the Holy of Holies was rent as His death opened the way for us to go into the Holy of Holies and experience His presence. We don’t have to go through the high priest or any one else but straight into His presence. We can just take time every day to actually enjoy life with Him.  It says in Psalm 48:14, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.” It is through our spirit, not our intellect, that we come to know God. One of the songs we use to sing at church is, “Thy loving kindness is better than life. Thy loving kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise you, Thus, will I bless Thee. I will lift up my hands unto Thy name.” It comes from Psalm 63:4
  I am reading the Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer and He quotes Frederick W. Robertson in saying, “God is not affected by our mutability; our changes do not alter Him. When we are restless, He remains serene and calm; when we are low, selfish, mean, or dispirited, He is still the unalterable I am.” Aren’t you glad the Lord does not treat us as we deserve and how we treat Him. Even when I feel His love and close to Him I know it is a result of Him first pursuing me. When the Israelites had to stay only in the outer court of the temple for so many years, think of the joy of going into the inner court! That is what the Lord invites us into… a close intimate relationship with Him. The veils of our self-nature prevent us from seeing Him fully and we need to let go of self-righteousness, self-love, self-importance etc; they all hide us from God. Let us die to our self-life so that we can draw close to Him.
Challenge for today: Be willing to let go of the veil of your self6life, to know Him who is better than life.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy