Canaan's Rest

Canaan’s Rest represents a quiet place “set apart” for the purpose of hearing God's voice, growing in intimacy with the Lord, and being renewed in soul and spirit.

Category: Sister Judy (Page 124 of 277)

February 17, 2022

February 17, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
We have arrived safely in Statesville, N.C. at our son’s home after driving 1700 miles. Thank you for your prayers! We have been looking forward to good times together and soon our grandsons will be home from school and games etc will begin! Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Today we are reading of mama bears and now papa bears as well, who are standing up for their children and saying enough to a culture that seems to be stealing them away. They want to protect them physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually but sometimes it may feel like the battle is being lost. The statistics are so high for children who are depressed and anxious and suicide rates have soared. So many parents today feel overwhelmed.
I read an article on Crosswalk.com by Victoria Riollano, an author, professor and pastor’s wife, who tells of her desire to protect her daughter who had a physical struggle. At age 4 her daughter was diagnosed with epilepsy and for many years Victoria lived with anxiety and depression, wondering if her daughter would die during a grand mal seizure or if she would be treated normally. She spent many sleepless nights worrying but of course, none of us parents can protect our children 24/7 and we have to get to the place where we fully entrust them to the Lord. He loves them more than we ever can. Victoria felt like God was saying to her that He knew her daughter while in her womb and loved her more than she did. Finally, she was able to release her daughter and her prayer was:
“Dear Lord, 
I thank you for those you have given me the privilege of nurturing. Although it comes with much responsibility, help me to never forget that you love them more than I ever could. Father, if there are times I become obsessive or overwhelmed by the circumstance, I ask that you give me your peace. Show me, Lord, how to surrender my parenting to you.
I thank you Lord that you are a good God. Even when I don’t understand why, help me to trust your heart for me and my child. Teach me to walk in faith and courage, even when its hard. Thank you for your love for me and those you have entrusted me with. 
In Jesus Name, Amen.”
Then came a surprise after 10 years, God healed her daughter completely!
It could be our children, grandchildren, close friends, or even parents that we are concerned about and we want to protect them; but the truth is we can’t control their circumstances or be there to meet their every need. Our part is to pray and to surrender them to the Lord, the One who loves them more than we do and knows best.
Challenge for today: If you are full of worry over a loved one, pray for them and release them to the Lord in faith.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

 

February 16, 2022

February 16, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying your day. We left Chattanooga this morning and had a fun day as we hit a large Christian Book Store that is connected to the seminary. We both had a prosperous time! Emoji We went through some beautiful winding roads this afternoon looking out on mountainous peeks and rushing waters and ended up tonight  in Sylva (western Carolina). I just had another wonderful swim in the hotel pool and Al is out walking. Tomorrow we head to our son’s family in Statesville, N.C. and we are so eager to see all of them. Thank you for your prayers. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Traveling is fun and enjoyable and gets us out of our regular routine to see our family, enjoy beautiful scenery, and meet new people. And as wonderful as that is, I find that at times I feel lonesome for the Body of Christ where we are planted. Since we left home, a member there who we have come to know and love, has died and we will miss his funeral. We also have church at our apartment complex and miss gathering of fellowship that meets each Thursday. 
I read what Rev Mark Roberts from Fuller Seminary had to say about how important it is to flourish where we are planted and to be in fellowship with others. If we just go to church but not actively engaged and in fellowship with other believers, then we are missing out on a huge blessing that God has for us. As Paul said in I Cor 3:16 (NIV) “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?”
Like one pastor said, we are living stones in God’s temple and we are bound together with other stones. We don’t just roll in on Sunday morning and then roll out again; but we are living stones strategically placed next to others as God would have.
Last Sunday we were at Life Church, which is just one of the Satellite gatherings of the largest church in America. We heard a great sermon that Pastor wove into the Super Bowl theme. It was also stressed at the end of the service by one of the pastors that we need to be involved in serving and in loving fellowship together. It can be too easy to just come to the service and leave without talking to anyone or serving in any way.
Digital connections have been important during Covid and zoom helped us keep in touch remotely, but we also need intentional relationships with other believers, We are not meant to be loners but planted in the sacred soil of Christian community as God’s temple. God is present among us and wants to bless us through Christian brothers and sisters who help us grow.
Let us not miss out on one of God’s great blessings by holding back from being tightly knit together with other believers and serving one another.
Challenge for today: Intentionally talk to someone at church who seems on the fringe and include them in your fellowship
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

February 15, 2022

February 15, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are having a wonderful day. I just came from a walk and a swim in the pool here in Chattanooga, TN. We just changed our watches to their time as well. Thank  you for prayers as got through downtown Nashville and through lots of traffic and arrived here safely! PTL!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
God’s timing is perfect and it is we who have to adjust our clocks and schedules to be on God’s time.
We may sense that God is telling us something about what He has planned for our future, but the time is not yet, and so we wait. How long, we don’t know but He will let us know when the time is ripe.
Like the wise King Solomon said in Ecclesiastes 3 that there is a specific time for every activity under heaven. He goes on to say in verse 11, “It is beautiful how God has done everything at the right time. He has put a sense of eternity in people’s minds. Yet mortals still can’t grasp what God is doing from the beginning to the end of time.”
Since God does everything in the right time, we need to adjust to His time table. He may be using this time in our lives to prepare us for what He has next. At the right time, it will happen according to His plan. We waited so many years to have a retreat house for Pastors, but they were years of preparation not only for the building of Canaan’s Rest but for our own hearts to be prepared. Abraham and Sarah had to wait until they were aged to have a baby. Moses waited 40 years in the desert while God got him ready to lead the children of Israel to the Promise Land. Now, I’m not sure how we all would have fared waiting that long!
The enemy often comes to tempt us to jump in and do something so things happen more quickly but that is a big mistake and we can ruin things. God may have the person just where He wants them and then we mess it up.
He sees the future and has a good plan for each of us and perfect timing.
It is reassuring when we have ordered something online and we get an email saying our purchase is on its way. They may even say not only the day but the approximate time it will show up at our door. Now if you are waiting for a response about a job offer or maybe trying to sell your business, wouldn’t it be nice to know that on a particular day and time it will happen? But God is not like that and it causes us to exercise faith and trust in Him. But one thing we do know, is that His timing is perfect and what He has for us is on the way!!
Challenge for today: As you wait, thank the Lord that His answer is on its way!
Blessings on your evening and prayers and love, Judy

February 14, 2022

February 14, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Happy Valentine’s Day! Hope you are enjoying the day! We are here in Sikeston, Missouri at the Holiday and I just had a wonderful swim. We celebrated Valentines day with a steak dinner at Applebees!! We enjoyed the Super Bowl last night and had lots of good food as we watched the Rams win. This morning we were on the road at 5:30 and heading towards N.C. Enjoying sunny nice weather and no snow. Emoji
Devotions from Judy’s heart
God speaks in so many varied ways and let us be open and not miss how He may be trying to get through to us. I read today from Psalm 105:4-5 (NIV). “Look to the Lord and His strength, seek His face always. Remember the wonders He has done, His miracles, and the judgments He pronounced.”
God delights when we seek His face and wants to communicate with us in many varied ways.
Of course the ultimate standard way is His word and nothing He will say to us will counteract His word. If it goes against His word, we know we are the ones that need to correct our hearing!
As I am reading J.P. Moreland’s Book Experience Miracles, he shares the many ways God speaks to us. God may use impressions we receive, thoughts and feelings that suddenly come to us, prophecy, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, dreams and visions, angelic visitations and life experiences. Sometimes He speaks through these means to give us guidance, to correct us, encourage us or tell us what he wants us to do next.
Our part is to recognize His voice and if we are not listening we miss it. Samuel as a young boy failed to recognize God’s voice at first, but the priest,Eli,told Him to listen for it was God speaking.
Sometimes God may give us a word to give to someone else and we need to be obedient to share it. One Sunday at Moreland’s church, his pastor invited people to come to the front of the church if they needed prayer. He also said that he believed the Lord spoke to him that there was a woman name Sally, who was present and despondent and needed hope. The Lord saw her situation and she was welcome to join the others upfront for prayer. Moreland’s wife,Hope, who was on the ministry team went up front and silently asked the Lord that she could minister fo Sally. Hope approached a woman she had not seen before and asked if she could pray for her. Yes, said the woman, “ My name is Sally, and I am the one Lance was talking about. I have lost hope that the Lord sees and cares for me.” Hope shared that her name was Hope and that she had prayed that she could minister to her. The woman went home that day, after receiving ministry, encouraged and knowing God saw her and loved her.
How important it was that the Pastor spoke what He heard God say and that Sally responded..
Let us have our ears open to the Lord and then willingly obey!
Challenge for today: Seek the Lord’s face and carefully listen to any words He may be speaking to you.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

February 12, 2022

February 12, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you! It was so good to arrive  at Kurt’s safely and we are grateful for your prayers. We had a good evening as e prayed for Lily as she played soccer for the first time since her surgery and she made 3 goals! Paige and I went to a coffee house to hear her friend’s music group perform and later we all went to get ice cream at our favorite place. Today we plan to go to Grant’s game this morning and then out to Five Guys to eat. We  look forward going to their new church tomorrow and then all watching the Super Bowl! On Monday we plan to leave for N.C. to see Mark’s family and would appreciate prayers for safe travel.  
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Why do we remember things we should forget and forget things that we need to remember?
As we traveled yesterday to see our son’s family in Kansas, I read a Psalm that I had memorized a long tie ago—Psalm 103. Even though I knew the words by heart, as I slowly read it, new things stood out to me—mainly, “Don’t forget!”
This is a praise Psalm of King David and verses 1-2 says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul and forget not all His benefits. He goes on to list things we are not to forget.
I am not to forget how He has forgiven me….like from those careless words and those unloving acts I have done.
I am to remember how he has healed me…so many times He has touched my body and given me good health.
I am not to forget how he has given me new life as He took me from the pit and showered me with love and compassion.
I am to remember that He has satisfied my deepest desires with all that is good so that I feel younger than my years!
I am not to forget His love and that he doesn’t treat me according to what I deserve, but with compassion. In fact, He has removed all my sin as far as the east is from the west.
I am to remember that He is not like a harsh judge but a loving Father who knows my frailties and loves me as His child.
Just like David, I also must not forget my life is short on this earth; even though I am like a little flower that flourishes for a short time, when my life is over, His love still remains with me always and forever.
Then, with the angels and all of those who have accepted the Lord, we will praise Him for all eternity.
My heart is full as I rehearse His goodness to me and may we all never forget what it cost the Lord and give Him praise forever!
Challenge for today: Read Psalm 103 slowly and spend some time thanking Him for how He has personally blessed you.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

February 11, 2022

February 11, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Dear Ones,
Happy weekend to you! We left early this morning to head to Olathe, Kansas, to see our son Kurt’s family. We have arrived and thank you for prayers. Going with my granddaughter to a coffee house in a few minutes so more tomorrow.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How many of us are addicted to social media? When we wake up in the morning, before we are even out of bed, do we reach for our phones before we can start our day? How much endless time is consumed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, and Pinterest etc? Sometimes I feel almost apologetic that I don’t carry my phone everywhere and neglect to check it very often, but maybe life should not be lived by social media.
I read an article by Kia Stephens who is a home school mom and author, and she wrote 10 Good Things That Social Media Can Never Offer Us. A few things that caught my attention…
First of all, Social Media cannot offer us truth. It may give a mixture of different philosophies and views but no absolutes. Jesus, however is the way, the truth and the life.
Social Media cannot give us worth, although it can give us feedback when we post our most complimentary pictures. But our worth is not based on that, but on being loved by the One who knows us so well, the good and the bad. We will come up empty if we are dependent on what others think of us, and opinions can change in the blink of an eye.
Social media takes away precious time. We are being hood-winked if we believe that the information we get on our phones is more important than actual time spent with someone. When I recently saw a dear friend who I hadn’t seen for a couple years, believe me, it was a whole lot better than e-mailing!
Social Media can’t fill us with hope. When we post something sad, God can give us people to befriend us and offer comfort, but bottom line, our hope is in the Lord. He is the one who lifts us up.
Social Media can’t offer us wisdom. It may give us lots of information and facts but wisdom comes with applying the knowledge we have. That comes from the Lord.
Social Media can’t offer us Christlike character and dignity. We post only the best parts of ourselves that others see but He sees our unseen parts and helps us become like Him.
Social Media can’t offer contentment and I think it really seems to create more envy in hearts as posts are read of what great things others are doing.
The biggest thing is that Social Media can’t offer us God. He is greater than anything we find on Facebook and our life is fulfilled when we spend time with Him and His Word. Let us not waste our day on trivial things but seek the One who is Life.
Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you spend more time with Him and less time on Social Media.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

February 10, 2022

February 10, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones, 
Hope you are having a peace-filled day.  We are busy packing and cleaning and soon Al will lead our Bible study here. We hope to get in a nice walk outside today too. TOmorrow we plan to leave about 4 am to go to our son’s family in Kansas and would appreciate prayers for a safe journey. I will e-mail once we get there.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Help I’ve been robbed! How often that is happening today as people are accosted in broad day light, their purses snatched away, or their car dismantled? Robberies are happening every minute and people are left sad and disillusioned. Now as grievous as these experiences are, there are many things that are far worse that are being stolen right out from under us by the enemy of our souls.
How many times do we listen to the enemy’s voice, though it is often disguised, and we give credence to his message that we are worthless and won’t amount to anything? Or when he knows we are doing something important for God’s kingdom, and he gets us distracted and bombarded with doing many other busy things. He is usually subtle at first and tells us half-truths so we will gradually swallow his lies and get off track. We also see how he allures people with the desire to get rich, and when they amass great wealth, they realize that it leaves them empty.
Let us guard ourselves against the enemy’s tactics. We don’t have to feel helpless and go along with his counterfeits but we can ask the Lord for His help, His truth, and His strength to stand up against anything the enemy sends to rob us.
It’s important that we believe that God has our best in mind, and even when we don’t understand His ways, He is working things out for our ultimate good. We can believe everything He says and we have His Word to turn to each day to receive our spiritual nurturance.  When we are unsure of what to do, we can pause and ask for His wisdom and he will grant it. We can trust Him for He will not lie, or lead us down wrong paths. He will speak truth to our hearts and He is worthy of our trust.
Let us not fear or doubt but stand against the enemy in the power of the Lord. God wants to be first in our lives, and as it says in Matt. 6:33 (Amplified), “But seek (aim at an strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.”  God wants to be our number #one priority and we can count on Him to help us recognize when it is not His voice and to stand against the enemy.
Challenge for today: Put God first and ask Him to make you strong in the power of His might and to recognize and stand against the devil’s schemes.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

February 9, 2022

February 9, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying the day!. Al did a service next door this morning and does that monthly.  I have been baking and got two kinds of cookies done and egg dishes. Also, went to my exercise class and this afternoon is crafts and then Bible Study tonight. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Yesterday I asked the question, what false narratives have we told ourselves about the Lord that we need to eliminate? I love hearing your responses and many of you had similar answers as you felt you were not good enough; maybe at your job, or maybe just measuring up against others. Interestingly some had to change the narrative of blaming someone else when discovering that it wasn’t something they did after all. We all can probably identify with those who felt so unworthy before the Lord and have not viewed Him as their Loving Father that loves them even when they fail, but rather someone they had to perform for,=.
I listened to a song  called “I Am Your Beloved”, sung by Jonathan and Melissa Hesler and I want to share their words as it was so powerful and shows us the way of truth rather than the false narrative we may have believed. ( I didn’t include all the repetitions)
“I’ve heard the accusations/ and I’ve heard the propaganda/ I’ve heard the lies they whispered to my soul/ that I have been forsaken/ and I’ll always be forgotten/ No matter what I do it’s not enough/ But then I heard a voice as it opened up the heavens/ reminding me of who I’ve always been.”
Chorus: “I am your beloved/ You have bought me with your blood/ And on your hand you’ve written out my name/ I am your beloved/ The one the Father loves/ Mercy has defeated all my shame.”
“There’s no accusation or any condemnation/ when I look into my Father’s eyes/ They don’t see my sins/ They only see redemption/ This is how my heart has been defined/ I can hear your voice that is louder than the thunder/ reminding me of whose I’ve always been.
The One who knows me best / Is the One who loves me most/ There is nothing that I have done/ that could change the Father’s love.
Oh I can hear the feet of the Father running/ It’s like a stampede of grace coming my way/ Mercy I never earned/ grace I never deserved/ coming to bring me home again/ I can hear the Father calling my name.
I can see the face of my Father/ I can hear the voice of my Father/ calling out my name/ I can hear the heart of my Father / Here He comes.”
May each of us open our ears to hear the voice of our Father letting us know we are loved and extending His grace and mercy to us.
Challenge for today: Say the words of this song aloud and let them speak to your heart
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

February 8,, 2022

February 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you awaken today with a fresh outlook. After you read the devotion for today, can you think of a false narrative you have  told yourself about the Lord and need to eliminate? 
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How many times do we spread false narratives or tell ourselves false narratives, while not taking the time to investigate if they are true? There are some things we can just eliminate right off the bat when it does not line up with scripture and so we can just dismiss it. There are also questionable things that we need to try to go to the source and see if things line up as truth.
While at coffee one day, one of the residents shared how she was awakened at 3 a.m. by a loud T.V. blaring. On other nights if she heard a loud TV she assumed it was her next door neighbor, and for a few minutes she thought so again. But there was one problem; her neighbor was in the hospital many miles away and no one was in her apartment; That meant that all of this time she made the wrong assumption. If she had chosen to, she could have spread a false narrative about how noisy her neighbor was, but she didn’t. She is still trying to figure out if it is coming from the floor below or just where but she no longer blames her next-door neighbor.
I thought of this in relationship to the Lord and how we blame Him for things that give others a false narrative. Some say He is a cruel judge who is waiting to punish us. But the truth is He is our loving Father that went to great lengths to show His love for us. It says in I John 4:10 (God’s word). “This is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be payment for our sins.” Others may paint a false picture by saying that being a Christian is a joy-spoiler and a dull life of rules. But the true narrative is that Jesus came to give us a full abundant life and free us from the law, and to love Him from our hearts. Some falsely say that God is illusive and distant and yet we are told He is closer than a brother for He lives in us. In fact, we are promised that if we seek Him we will find Him and if we call to Him, He is always ready to answer. Some claim God doesn’t hear our prayers unless we pray in a certain way or simply doesn’t answer when we pray. But Jesus said, we don’t have to be wordy, but just tell Him our needs and He will answer according to His perfect will… and that doesn’t mean all our preferences.
Let us be done with false narratives, even those secret things we tell ourselves; instead, may we be truthtellers and live in freedom and love.
Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to correct you when you give a false narrative and become a truth seeker.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy
 

February 7, 2022

February 7, 2022 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you had a wonderful weekend. This morning I made Bison Butternut cocoa chili and went to my exercise class. We are starting to get things together for our trip so we can pack the car on Thursday. We look forward to seeing Kurt’s family and Marks.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
God wants a close loving relationship with each of us and when we have open hearts to Him, each day is an awesome experience, and anything but boring! He is in everything, and more and more we come to know His greatness and power and love.
Although He is with us every moment, I wonder how aware we are of His presence throughout our day.
In Psalm 92:2 (New Living Translation) it says, “It I good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning and your faithfulness in the evening.” The Message says, “To announce your love each daybreak, sing your faithful presence all through the night.” I like that!
It is the best way to start our day by acknowledging His presence with us and praising Him. Sometimes that has to be on the go, but we are inviting Him anew, to be with us in everything that happens in our day. Then in the evening it is faith building to express our gratitude as we see how His hand has been intricately with us throughout our day. I often do this in my evening shower as I just begin to praise Him for how He has shown his love in so many ways during my day. If I wake at night, I fall back asleep as I am thanking Him.
Perhaps it is like putting our spiritual antennae up to catch His signals, to not miss His workings all around us. Sometimes it can just be a word or suggestion we are given that seems to solve our problem and meet our need.
I got this far in writing a devotion Saturday morning when we got a call from our son who shared good news with us as He saw God’s surprising touch in his body. He has workedout nearly every day of his youth and adult life but for the last 2 months he has had pain and restricted movement in his right elbow after hurting it in the weight room. He got an XRAY and MRI and it showed damage to the joint along with bone spurs floating around in the triceps and elbow. It caused his elbow to lock up and restrict his range of motion. The Dr. said he would not have to do anything now if he could put up with the pain, but likely would need a scope to clean it out in the future. Kurt started drinking cider vinegar and the pain instantly went away and has not come back. We rejoiced with him to hear the good news as we have prayed each day for his healing and that can come in various ways…even through Apple Cider Vinegar!
Let us give the Lord all our concerns, as we can share everything with Him as we walk out our day. Nothing is too small or too big for we have a Great God who loves us!
Challenge for today: Whatever comes today, simply tell the Lord and ask for His help but remember to thank him before you shut your eyes tonight.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy
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