Category: Sister Judy (Page 270 of 271)

Devotions are from Gary Thomas’s book, The Beautiful Fight

“The world is anxiously waiting to see what Jesus Christ can do in, by, for, and through one man wholly given to Him-God –led.” Frank Buchman
Every time we enter a room we bring something with us. We can bring the presence of Christ or we can bring a destructive attitude.

Jesus brought glory to His Father by completing the work he was given to do.
We are also called to surrender and do God’ will– to be faithful to His will at that moment.
God often makes us aware of a great need as a call for us to become part of the solution. Instead of asking why God doesn’t do something, we should ask God, “What do you want me to do?”

Great joy comes to us when we are actively involved in the larger work of building God’s kingdom. The greatest unhappiness is focusing attention on ourselves.
The object of our life is to do God’s will. It not to be happy or to be successful or famous. The happiest people are those who believe they are exactly where God wants them to be. The most frustrated ones are those who are fighting God rather than surrendering to Him.

God wants to empower us, equip us, and sustain us as we are available to do His will each day.

Devotions from Gary Thomas’s book, “The  Beautiful Fight”
True transformation in our lives happens when we not only behave like Christ outwardly but when we begin thinking like Him inwardly. The mind of Christ is something we are told to cultivate in Prove 4:1-13.

But when we shut God out of our lives, we lose our spiritual perception and become vulnerable to foolish whims and shallow substitutes. When our thinking goes, our behavior doesn’t lag far behind. 

We are not at the mercy of our minds. We can take control of our minds and offer them to God for transformation.

To have our mind set on God, we must be God-focused and God-directed. As we surrender to God, He opens our minds to increased understanding and wisdom.

Having our minds renewed includes becoming familiar with the wisdom God has given to others, redeeming our time to give appropriate effort to study, and learning to take charge of our minds, focusing on the purposes and presence of God.
May He penetrate our minds with his truth, insights, and His perspective this day!

Devotions from Gary Thomas’s book, “The Beautiful Fight”
“When man listens, God speaks…. We are not out to tell God. We re out to let God tell us…the lesson the world most needs is the art of listening to God.” Frank Buchman.

Sometimes we don’t want to hear from God because we are afraid He will tell us to do something we may not want to do.  Augustine said, “The man who serves you best is the one who is less intent on hearing from you what he wills to hear than on shaping his will according to what he hears from you.”

 We need to hear God through the Word but we also need to hear the ongoing anointing of the Spirit who speaks to our hearts.
If we learn to listen- to really listen, to truly hear- we will receive spiritual wealth and understanding beyond imagination..  As we listen, the transformation process will take hold in our lives and God will increase our understanding. If we fail to listen we become spiritually deaf. Even careless listening will stop up our spiritual understanding.

It’s one thing to avoid listening to gossip, lies, etc but it is another thing to have our ears attuned to what is pure, holy, right, just etc.

What do you think God wants to say to you today? Do you think He wants to have input into your life?
Tuning in to Him usually begins with an act of the will.

“Tests for accurately hearing the Lord include scripture, the church’s witness, a holy life, and an increasing familiarity with God’s voice.”

Devotions from Gary Thomas’s book, “The Beautiful Fight” with today’s devotional about our eyes

When we look at life through God’s eyes, we become convinced of his astounding generosity, grace and mercy. Sin, on the other hand causes us to look at life through the lens of entitlement- that we deserve salvation without repentance that we dismiss his kindness and question his love.  In Eph 1:18-19 Paul prays that the eyes of our hearts be enlightened so we can know the hope to which He has called us, his riches, his power etc.

“God wants to transform my eyes from being selfish possessors and consumers to being his servants of selfless love.” That means seeing with His eyes and having concern and compassion for others we might otherwise look past.

God sight is a God-gift.   We learn to see situations from His perspective, to love our spouses through His eyes, to see hope for people when they have none for themselves etc.
May we fix our eyes on Him ( Ps 141:8) and settle on what is pure, true, and good. As we do this we will more clearly see, obey, and be transformed.

Devotions from Gary Thomas’s book, The Beautiful Fight

.  When the world creeps into our lives we become deadened to God, and our lives become smaller, more self-absorbed, more trivial and less like Christ’s. The Holy Spirit wants to sensitize our bodies and make us into a holy people, a “God oasis” in the world.  As God’s splendor  breaks forth in a powerful  way , our eyes begin to see with compassion, our mouths begin to speak words of encouragement; our hands reach out to heal, and our feet take us to places where there is need. We are participants in His divine nature.  As we surrender the members of our bodies to become His servants and instruments of peace, it is really worship.

We are not to escape the world but go deeper into the world. See it with God’s eyes, hear it with God’s ears. Feel it with God’s heart. Think about it with God’s mind.
Are we ready for some fresh splashes of God’s glory in our lives?   He wants us to experience His transforming presence!

We are here for the night in Green River, Utah, and traveled about 13 hours today. The scenery was spectacular and it seemed to be ever changing.  This morning I read from Ps. 57:5 “Be exalted O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth.”  And in verse 10 it was if his love reached to the heavens and his faithfulness the skies. What an awesome creator we have!
Tonight I have had a wonderful swim in the pool without any other people so I could just swim laps and pray. Wonderful!
We went to Sundance this afternoon and I was influenced by Robert Redford to buy a sweet smelling  gift for the sweet person watering my plants while I am gone! It was a beautiful place and we  enjoyed just sitting near the chair lift with a cup coffee and view of the mountains.

Devotions from Thomas’s book, The Beautiful Fight.
As we think of Jesus who has ascended and reigns, it gives us hope and points us toward transformation; it affirms that we can become more and more like Him.

 He reigns and  we can participate in the spread of His kingdom by surrendering to His life-transforming presence within us, by letting Him change the way we see, think, feel, hear, speak, and serve.

As He lives in us, we manifest His presence. .One of the biggest threats to that is showcasing our own presence; instead of sharing His wisdom we want to spotlight our own insight; instead of speaking His truth, we want to spout our own opinions; instead of adopting His agenda, we want to accomplish our own five year plans; instead of building His kingdom, we want to spread our own ministry.  We can build something based on our own intellect, energy, opinions, and perspective but it will die with us . But if we live for Him and His kingdom it will last for eternity. If He reigns than we can’t reign! I must be subordinate and surrender to His influence moment by moment..

Let us open ourselves up to His presence, wisdom and power rather than relying on our own gifts and abilities.
With those thoughts I will say good night. If I am able I will e-mail tomorrow or write on the blog. Blessings and love, Judy

We had a wonderful time at Grace and Tom’s and were blessed to go to their Vineyard church Sunday too. We had time on the water front and downtown Edmonds and then left yesterday morning at 5 am. We traveled 16 hours and over 700 miles since as we couldn’t get a room at Mountain Home so we went to Twin Falls.

Devotions for 9-19 from Gary Thomas “The Beautiful Fight.”
The church today is so often trying to engage our culture and trying to read the latest trend. But we can “become our culture’s truest friend by becoming more aware of the God who not only engages our culture but also inspires, critiques, and transforms it.” One of the best ways is to cooperate with God to develop a compelling life by being available to God and experience His fellowship, presence, and empowerment. When God lives through us, shines through us and overcomes our worst inclinations with His transformation- That’s compelling.
God wants to manifest His presence through us by his spirit. He feels enormous delight when we begin to resemble Him .

Rodney Stark said, “Typically people do not seek a faith; they encounter one through their ties to other people who already accept this faith.”  What really drew people to the Christian faith in the first century was the way of life modeled by Christ’s followers-the reality of His presence in their lives, how they treated others, how they lived.

God wants to be not just the goal of our lives but the engine that takes us to the goal. Eph. 3:19  I pray “that you  may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

May your day be blessed and will write as I am able.   Sorry my e-mails are not able to be sent out.  Blessings and love, Judy

This morning we are glad to be going to Grace and Tom’s church and then this afternoon to downtown Edmonds to explore  a little more.  Yesterday I had the wonderful experience of meeting Grace’s elderly  friend who I would say, is the most saintly woman I have ever met.  She spends her days reading her Bible and praying and inteceding for people.  In our short time with her   we shared scriptures together , prayed together, and felt like we were in the  holy presence.  It was so awesome.
Later in the day Beth and her family came for supper and games, and we were so glad for the time together as we pray for them each day.

Today’s devotion is from Gary Thomas’ book, The Beautiful Fight

So often the christian life is described as to what someone does or does not do.  But Christianity is a spiritual journey not simply defined by what we believe or how we behave but is marked by WHO WE ARE.
Incarnational spirituality is the process that creates an entirely new person who sees with new eyes, feels with a new heart, hears with new ears, and lives with passion.

Transformation is a transformation of being, of experience, and of existence. It involves how we see the Word, the way we hear God and others, the passions we feel, how we use our hands and  feet, the thoughts we think.   It is a complete transformation of all our members.
Too often we settle for too little.
“Our creator God is eager to splash His glory on us.”  God made each of us in his image, and He wants us to recapture that image, to surrender to his work in our lives,   “So we will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.”  Isaiah 61:3

Blessings on your sabbath today and do pray for us as we head for Colorado Springs early tomorrow morning. Will write as I am able along the way.

We spent a wonderful day yesterday on a nature walk to “the top of the world” and one through dense woods that was so beautiful.  We also had a delicious  salmon supper at Anna and Dave’s and got to see their lovely daughters. Then we also went to Mercer Island and got to see  their handsome grandsons on the way home. Fun!

Today’s devotions are from Henri Nouwen’s book on the Selfless Way of Christ

To follow the Lord requires the willingness and determination to let His Spirit pervade all the corners of our minds and hearts so that we can become like Him.  We need discipline in our spiritual lives but not to master anything but to be mastered by the Spirit.  “True Christian discipline is the human effort to create the space in which the Spirit of Christ can transform us into His image.”  He mentions 3 disciplines.

1.  The discipline of the church. This means remaining in touch with the true story of God in history and making connections between God’s story and our own. Without the spirit, our lives may be full of doing so many things outwardly but unfulfilled inwardly.  Without the Spirit, our busy lives may remain just a series of random incidents.   Instead, our lives can be influenced by the events of Christ’s life being realized among us and through the church.

2.  The discipline of reading the scriptures.  Each day we need to listen to the Word in the intimacy of our own home and let it speak to the most hidden corners of our being.  That means chewing it, digesting it, and letting it become nourishment.  Then the Word descends from our minds into our hearts and finds a dwelling place there.  It could be one word, one story, one parable that has power to change our whole life.

3. The discipline of Prayer.  Personal prayer leads us not just to our own heart, but to the heart of God. As we enter into solitude with Him,  we come in our vulnerability and face our own inner chaos. Gradually as we stay with our struggles, an inner space opens in our hearts as we come to know the presence of His spirit.
May we be attentive to His presence in our daily lives!

We have arrived in Edmonds, Washington after driving 1800 miles.  When we left the hotel yesterday we were awe struck by a huge rainbow over the mountains . The scenery was so breathtaking and a reminder of our creator who made it all .  And then to think, Glory is going to surpass even this!
We were welcomed warmly by Grace and Tom with a steak dinner and walk down to the water front at dusk.  It was awesome with Mount Baker is sight.

So far I am unable to use my computer here so will write on the blog for the duration of our time. Sorry I can’t get your e-mails either.
Today’s devotion is from Gary Thomas’ book, “The Beautiful Fight”
Transformation is really about how present God is in our lives and how He makes a real difference.  It’s not enough to discuss issues, pray about them, and feel inspired by them.  Now we have to find ways to put them into action.  If we don’t think about God, pray to Him, listen to his voice and consciously serve Him, we are really living an ungodly life.  Ungodly is not necessarily being against God but it can be simply a life that ignores God and doesn’t tap into Him.  Instead t be a healthy believer we should experience God every day-His presence, His power, and his wisdom.   We can be reading our Bibles,  fellowshipping,  praying, etc. and all the while not relying on Him. We need a direct experience of knowing Him and being empowered by Him.
May we be “an instrument which the Holy Spirty blows and on which He plays”.

Blessings on your day!