Category: Sister Judy (Page 103 of 277)

Dear Ones,

Devotions from Judy’s heart 

  Yesterday I read an article about comfortable Christianity and got me questioning….Are we comfortable Christians, just sort of floating along each day with no real goal in mind? Or are we Christians with purpose who are growing, being challenged and stretched in our faith? There is a big difference!  When we are complacent and lukewarm and let our guard down, we are influenced by the enemy and our culture. But when we are active and growing in our faith, we are not sucked in by what is happening around us but rather focused on what the Lord is doing.

   Paul writes to the Christians in Colossae to be done with the old self and all its practices and says in Colossians, chapter 3, to put on compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, forgiveness and love. He wants to know that the Christians brothers and sisters are growing, teaching and admonishing one another, singing spiritual songs and having thankful hearts. No lukewarmness but always growing and active in their faith life.

    What about us? What would the Lord say about us? Have we influenced greatly by our culture and live just like those who don’t know the Lord? Or are we known for our compassion, and love and Christ-likeness? If we are just Sunday Christians, or make excuses for our less than godly behavior, we will miss out on so much that God has for us. We must take responsibility for our responses and live in forgiveness and love.

  As we travel, sometimes it becomes obvious that a person belongs to the Lord. Yesterday I was eating breakfast at our hotel and saw a lady with a t-shirt on that had a Christian symbol of the cross with the word faith running vertically, and I told her I loved her shirt. We had an immediate coming together as sisters in the Lord. Sometimes words aren’t even necessary as there is a oneness with others who are His children. 

   Let us all take responsibility for our own faith life with the Lord. and not just take things for granted. As we live in grace, may that spur us on to live a life of compassion and love.

  Challenge for today: Do an act of kindness today as an expression of your love for the Lord. 

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having an enjoyable weekend and keeping warm. Yesterday we had rain, snow and sunshine that kept switching back and forth.  We are packed and will be leaving later this morning for my nephew’s wedding. I will send out devotions as I am able along the way. We look forward to going to our former church in D.M. tomorrow and some time with missionaries afterwards before going to Kansas. We appreciate prayers for our trip. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

  We are all called out to live out the way of love no matter what situations we are in. Our part is to open ourselves up to God’s love and let it burn brightly in our hearts. As I awakened one morning an old familiar chorus came to mind that some of you may know, “Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before/ every day with Jesus, I love Him more and more/ Jesus saves and keeps me and He’s the One I’m waiting for/ Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before.”

  We can ask ourselves if that is true for us, that every day we love the Lord more. That would mean spending time listening to Him, sharing our day with Him, delighting in Him and letting His love seep into all those deep places within us. Many couples today live in emotional divorce, where they are like two ships in the night passing but not really communicating or living together in a loving relationship. Can that be true of our relationship with the Lord at times, when we just go about our day without acknowledging Him and living on our own?

  I am reading a book by Ruth Burrows, a Carmelite Nun in England and her love for the Lord spills over on all the pages of her book. She describes Jesus as He moved about on the earth and how wherever he passed by flowers of joy and hope sprung up. Jesus was interested in all that was around Him and talked to His Father as He worked, ate, shared life with His disciples, preached, healed etc.

  The Lord delights when we share our lives with Him and live in Him and He is us. Paul’s prayer for the Christians in Ephesus was, “That Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite Him in. I ask Him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives; full in the fullness of God.” (Eph 3:17-19, Message)

   Let us share our lives with Him, and not hold anything back.  As we do this our lives will also overflow with love and every day will be sweeter than the day before.

Challenge for today: Delight in the Lord’s love as you go about your day. 

Dear Ones,

Devotions from Judy’s heart

 The Body of Christ is a diverse group but even though we are all very different, it is important to be well-rounded as individual members. Too much of anything can cause us harm to ourselves and others, so we need to let the Lord put us together in a balanced way.

  Some are extroverts and love being in big groups of people and activities and get energized. Others are introverts and like small groups with one or two close friends and time alone in quiet, so not to get depleted. But we all need times with others in the Body who have our best in mind, and will help us in our Christian walk, especially in our weak areas. We are to live intentionally for God and each one of us can be used by Him to help each other to grow and mature in our Christian lives.

  I am married to an extrovert and when we go for walks, Al talks with everyone along the way. I am an introvert and love days when my schedule is clear and evenings when I don’t have to go out. But we help one another as we spend time each day studying quietly, each in our own study area, and then go for a walk together and share our hearts. We might have a Bible Study, exercise class, or simply coffee and fellowship with others, but we attempt a balance of time for togetherness and aloneness.

   If extraverts spend too much time just in activities and groups, and not time alone, they can become shallow and neglect the deeper things of the Lord. If introverts spend too much time alone, they can become selfish and self-focused and neglect the needs of others. We need to be balanced and God uses us to help and stimulate one another. In Prov. 27:17 (Message), it says, “You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another.” May we be used of God to help others to be their best and most effective for His kingdom; and may we challenged by others to be all that God created us to be.

  Challenge for today: Be balanced in time spent together in the Body of Christ, but also spend some time alone with the Lord.

Blessings on our day and prayers and Love, Judy

   The wedding was outside on October 8^th, which was chancy since one never knows what the weather will be like. But many prayers went up for that and the day was better than the weatherman predicted..in the low 60’s and the sun warming us during the entire ceremony. This wedding from the start to finish was all focused on the Lord. There were no bulletins or big fancy bouquets of flowers but a wedding arch with silky cloth and flowers woven into it. Chairs were set up in an open field behind the biggest Town Hall I have ever seen. I would estimate about 300 people filled the chairs and each bridesmaid came down the long grassy aisle with a groomsmen who was freely expressing joy by skipping, or cartwheels, or putting their arms up towards the Lord etc. The bride was on the arm of her father-in-law, as the song, “Jesus is the Center” played. Hope’s mother is already in heaven and her father far away. She looked radiant for this is the day that she had waited to be joined with the one that God had for her. Solomon has also sought the Lord and knew she was the one soon after he met her. Two pastor’s spoke very personally to the couple in their choice of words and scriptures. Solomon’s dad also gave a brief capsule of their courtship and at the end he asked the audience for words that described each of them… many beautiful words were shouted out of their godly character and fruitful lives. Their vows were written with much thought and prayer as they pledged aloud to give themselves to the Lord and to love one another for all of their lives. I think there were teary eyes by those listening and maybe thoughts of our own marriages. After several long kisses they literally danced down the grassy aisle in joy with hands lifted high. We all felt like we had been in His presence witnessing an expression of His divine love.

   Afterwards rows of long tables were set up and food made and served by friends of the bride and groom, followed by a dance.

One day all who know the Lord will be present at the marriage feast of the lamb, and will experience joy unspeakable to be in His presence. This was just a little foretaste of that.

Challenge for today: Spend some time today delighting in His presence!

Dear Ones,

  Hope you are having a great weekend. There was snow yesterday at the Silver Chateau (cabin) before our son left to go back to Kansas. Today we are going to Remer as Al is speaking at the  funeral of a member that we knew from our former congregation and have prayed for her family. We go from there to Brookston to  the outdoor wedding of a special couple. The bride’s mother was a member of our church in Des Moines many years ago, and has since died. But we pray daily for her family and have kept in contact and it will be a joy to be at the wedding. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  As I awakened one morning, a song was playing in my mind; a song I remember our quartet sang when I was a teen. But the words were so clear to me: “I don’t know about tomorrow/ I just live from day to day/ I don’t borrow from its sunshine/ for its skies may turn to gray/ I don’t worry o’er the future/ for I know what Jesus said/ and today I’ll walk beside Him/ for He knows what is ahead. “And the refrain goes “Many things about tomorrow/ I don’t seem to understand/ but I know who holds tomorrow/ and I know who holds my hand.”

    I find this song has more meaning today than when I sang it years ago. Our world has changed so much since my predictable world back then, when the Bible was believed as the Word of God, and we had respect for parents and one another. It was not like today where our world is out of control, anything goes, and parents aren’t privy to what their children are even doing.

   We can only live in peace if we put our complete trust in the One who loves us and is over all. Like it says in Isaiah 26:3-4 (God’s Word), “With perfect peace you will protect those whose minds cannot be changed, because they trust you. Trust the Lord always, because the Lord, the Lord alone, is an everlasting rock.” The Lord is that solid place and we can completely trust Him for our well-being, for guidance, provision, and protection. He has told us to just ask of Him for anything we will ever need, for He hears and answers according to His perfect will.  That means we can live this day, and every day, in peace rather than thinking about what tomorrow holds and becoming anxious and fearful. No matter what is on the news, we can be in peace when for our minds are focused on Him.

Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to uncover any area of your life that causes you anxiety and give it all to Him in trust for He holds the future in His hand.