Category: Sister Judy (Page 35 of 267)

Hope your day is one of bringing glory to the Lord in your work. I have an early morning appointment so will be leaving at 7 a.m. Later I plan to fry fish that was given us by friends who bless us after their fishing trips! 

Dear Lord,

“Establish the work of my hands by helping me to be productive, patient, focused, and insightful.  May your Spirit lead me in my work and help me to be joyful, creative, and worshipful–constantly reminding me of your love and that you’re the reason I have breath in my lungs. Teach me to align my work, family, church life, and rest in a way that would maximize your glory and allow me to bear the most fruit for your kingdom.

Cause my work and attitude to adorn the gospel and shine the light of Christ into this dark and desperate world. Help me bless my workplace by living a salty, gospel-worthy life in front of my watching coworkers, and help me honor my boss as I honor you. Make my heart worship and enjoy you throughout the day, knowing that you are the reason for breath in my lungs and the One I am really serving.

And as I work, fix my eyes on Jesus and his finished work on the cross that gave me treasure I could not earn, rest that I could not otherwise experience, and a living hope that will fuel me to work for the glory of God. Amen.”

I memorized a verse from Gal.2:20 when I was a young girl, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me. And the life I now live, I live by faith in the Son of Man who loved me and gave His life for me.” When we are crucified with Christ, it means we die to our own way and choose to go God’s way. Paul said that he gloried in the cross by which the world has been crucified to him, and him to the world. God does for us, what we cannot do, and we willingly respond. What results is a life well lived in freedom.

We need to be willing to die to our own selves and all our earning attempts of keeping the rules, and instead receive what God does which will bring freedom. For after death is resurrection life that is free and beautiful and lived by faith. We can respond with living deeply and freely for Him and for others as we embrace the cross. Our life becomes one of joy in the Holy Spirit, liberty, and enjoyment of the Lord, as we live freely forever In Him.

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. 

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.

Happy weekend and enjoy! I plan to do some baking today and cleaning our apartment as we have a few busy days ahead. We are excited as we anticipate taking a trip to Michigan to see Al’s sister next week. 

We live in a culture that everyone wants something right now. But we need to be patient and learn to wait. Instead of irreverence, disrespect, and impatience we learn to wait and to relate to others in respectful ways that don’t violate them. In essence we are to see others as God sees them. Jesus said in the sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matt. 5:8) We will be pure in heart as we are respectful and honoring of others, and even our sexual energy flows in a life-giving way. We bless people rather than exploit them and we help others flourish and not harass them.

There are people today that don’t believe they have a soul. Today love and sex are described more in terms of chemistry rather than terms of a soul. Songs are all about desiring someone’s body and not listening to the soul, and we see the result as more and more people become broken and suicidal. So often our need for a soulmate is brushed aside and it’s more about the chemistry and that bing feeling! It shows us our society is basically soulless and it is evident with the acceptance of pornography and sex with no ties.

But Rolheiser goes on to say that our souls want to be protected, honored for their sacredness and listened to. We must take care not to lose our souls but when we sense we are reverenced and respected, it gives us the feeling of being home. It’s a place of belonging and we sense that we are in union with each other. We find what we do either connects with others or divides us, and even our private lives impact the whole body for good or for evil. In Rolheiser’s own words, “The ideal of chastity embeds sex within romance, sacredness, commitment, community and soul.

Recently while I was waiting in an examining room for my dermatologist to come in, I was thinking of situations of concern and praying. There was a high set window in the room and sitting where I was, I could not see what was happening on the ground level but only the tree tops above. All of sudden it occurred to me that I don’t need to know all the answers to what is happening below, only to keep my attention on what the Lord is doing above the circumstances. As I was looking at the trees gently blowing in the breeze, I was blanketed in peace and felt like the Lord speaking a word to  me.

We have so many examples in the Word of people who didn’t shrink back when in trouble but trusted and had hope. Like David or Moses or Paul or Esther, they committed everything to the Lord. We also have scripture verses to strengthen us, and when we have memorized some key verses, the Holy Spirit brings them to our remembrance when we have need. I can’t tell you how many times I have prayed Psalm 121 and found strength. “I will lift my eyes to the hills, from where does my help come from?  My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep…The Lord will keep you from all evil’ He will keep your life. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this day forth and forevermore.”