This is being sent early for Monday morning!
Dear Ones,
Hope you wake up to a great day! Soon we will be on our way to Marquette, MI to see Al’s sister. The view of Lake Superior from her 11th floor apartment is so beautiful! We plan to celebrate her birthday and Al’s and mine. I am not taking my computer along so tomorrow you won’t be getting a devotion and the one on Wednesday will be late when we return. Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Many of us have monitored what our kids watched on T.V when they were young so they would not be taken in by things that were not good for them. But what about ourselves? Are we careful what we allow into our hearts? It says in Prove. 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.” We are to put a watch over our hearts and to guard them diligently. That can mean choosing what we think on and let our minds dwell on, memories we are to no longer focus on, freedom to not be controlled by our emotions etc.

Maybe we have wounds in our lives of things that happened even before we came to know the Lord. It may still cause us trauma and they are like strongholds that we need to get free from. A friend of mine would often quote from II Cor.10:L4-5, “The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We need to let the Lord show us all those things that don’t agree with His Word and think God’s thoughts instead. There are times we may need help from others to pray over us that the strongholds will be torn down. I think of it as a holy work that the Holy Spirit does in our lives as he cuts out those areas that have hindered us from living a life of freedom in the Lord. The Word of God is so powerful, and it will be sharp enough to show us areas that are not aligned to the Word and need to be cut out.

When we lack peace and feel restless, let us ask the Holy Spirit to lay siege to any strongholds in our lives. As they are removed, we will sense peace and freedom and later, we might wonder why we waited so long. May we all keep watch over our hearts.

Challenge for today: Guard your heart carefully and don’t give access to things that are not aligned with God’s Word.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy