Dear Ones,
Hope you have good day with resolve to go God’s way. It’s warming up and should be perfect for this Holiday weekend. Lots of our relatives going to the lake and our granddaughter Paige and hubby Devin will be stopping for supper on Thursday on their way to the Silver Chateau. Going to an appointment with Al today.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
None of us escape trials and times of testing but if we respond rightly we can be drawn closer to the Lord in holiness and likeness to Him. (Heb. 12:11) We all face temptations daily as the enemy wants to lead us into sinful patterns and away from the Lord. He makes the things of the world seem so alluring and the things of the Lord distant and dry. Of course, he doesn’t show us the eternal perspective and where all these things end up.

We are meant to view our life in light of eternity. Maybe others who are so invested in the world seem to be getting ahead, but then what is the end of it all. Eternity without the Lord is not worth going the way of the world. In fact, the Lord may even use our trials and temptations to help us grow in faith and love and not get attached to the pleasures of the world. When we cling to Him our empty lives are filled with His love and joy and purpose.

The enemy likes to mess with our thinking and speak lies to us, so we must be on guard. Maybe right now our times with the Lord seem rather dry when we wish for warm fuzzy feelings as we spend time in the word and prayer. But our lives with the Lord are more than feelings and it is about uniting our will with His, wanting what He wants, loving what He loves and living for His glory. Just like in marriage we aren’t always left breathless with loving thoughts but we love our mates and work hard together to be in unity.  We also refrain from putting ourselves in situations that lead to temptation.

All our lives the enemy will try to tempt us in various ways, but may we resist and resolve to go God’s way with His strength to say NO! We can run to the cross and ask for Christ’s help to resist the temptations to anger, jealousy, envy, evil thoughts etc. We have the promise of His help in Psalm 49:15, “Call upon me in the day of trouble I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

Challenge for today: When going through dry times or testing, ask for God’s help and also thank the Lord for the opportunity to grow and exercise your faith.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy