Category: Sister Judy (Page 46 of 280)

Let us think more about what it means to be God’s temple where He dwells, for when we become a Christian the Holy Spirit lives in us and fills us. So how do we take care of our temple? Do we abuse it by living any way we please, filling ourselves with junk food, living such a fast- paced life that we have very little time to sleep and not time for exercise etc.? If we are God’s temple, His masterpiece, we are worth more care than that. We need to see ourselves as God sees us and be willing to change and care for our bodies.

I want to challenge us today, myself included, to take better care of our bodies and minds which may mean making some changes. If we don’t eat healthily, change our diets, get some daily exercise walking or lifting weights etc. and enough sleep. Develop our minds with scripture and stimulating books and give our phones a rest! We can enjoy some creative outlets like gardening and painting or something entirely new and adventuresome. It’s not selfish to just sit with a cup of coffee on the deck and enjoy the moment with the Lord.
Let us all take good care of our temples for He dwells within and enjoy our lives with the Lord.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you will have a peace-filled day. I plan to make an apple recipe and go to Exercise class and Craft Cuties and later to Bible Study. Having such gorgeous weather!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Fear is something perhaps we all struggle with in life, and it is something we have to learn to cope with it. Priest Ronald Rolheiser writes that we have ways to deal with sadness as in shedding tears, and deal with anger by shouting or doing something physical, but fear is different for there is no release valve for it. We have to wait and endure, and in the meantime, we can name our fear and pray that it would not dominate in our lives. When we acknowledge we have good fear, that is a sign of maturity and love; but we may also have to acknowledge we have bad fear, that is not good and blocks maturity.

   Rolheiser describes the healthy fear as a reverence and a loving awe, a love that doesn’t want to disappoint. We are to have that kind of fear for God, not that we are afraid of Him, but we can trust and reverence Him. It might be called holy fear that is inspired by love, and King David is a good example of that. In relation to others, we don’t want to disappoint them or betray them either.

Bad fear are those things that frighten us that do not come from God. We probably all have a list of those fears in the back of our mind and the enemy knows what things to put before us to rob us of our peace. He may bring up bad memories to cause more fear, but we are not to give heed to them but look to the Lord who is always open and waiting for us to come home to Him.

When fearful things come to my mind. I like to picture them as like a package I have wrapped and am handing to the Lord and asking Him to take it. The scripture comes to mind, “Come to me, all who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. (Matt. 11:28) To me the load of fear is very heavy, and I know the difference in my spirit when I give over to Him my fears. As the song goes that I love to sing when I am fearful, “Be not afraid I go before you always. Come follow Me and I will give you rest.” May we reverently fear the Lord but fling those bad fears into the Lord’s hands.

Challenge for today: When you have fearful situations, ask the Lord to go before you and clear the way.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope your day is full of expressions of His love. Ann is coming today, and I plan to make stroganoff and Almond bread.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

How are we being formed by Jesus in our everyday life. Would others know that we belong to Him and are in the process of becoming more like Him, or are we so much into the world that they aren’t able to discern the difference? I am reading John Mark, Comer’s book on Practicing the Way and I like how he frames apprenticeship to Jesus as He teaches us to do what He does. Very simple training: 1. I do; you watch. 2. I do you help.  3. You do; I help.   4. You do: I watch.

“Dear God, we need your wisdom and discernment as we face critical decisions in this election season. Guide us to make choices that honor you and reflect your will for our nation. Help us to discern truth from falsehood, integrity from deceit, and justice from injustice. Show us the moral character of the candidates for all the positions on our ballots during this election season. Help us set aside political positions and look directly at the level of holiness in the lives of each candidate. Help us understand who is truly walking with you faithfully and who is not. Reveal those who are motivated by service and living in love versus those who are motivated by power and living in sin.

Your Word promises in James 1:5, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be give to you.’ We ask for your generous gift of wisdom God. Illuminate our paths and lead us in the way we should go when we vote. Help us to elect people who genuinely care about the well-being of all Americans, and who will govern with compassionate hearts as servant leaders. Grant us the courage to stand for what is right and the humility to admit when we are wrong. Let our actions be guided by your Spirit, and may your wisdom prevail in our nation.

We believe the words of Daniel 2:20-21,’Praise be to the name of God forever and ever; wisdom and power are His. He changes times and seasons; He deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.’ Thank you, our wise Father. Amen.”

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend! May you enjoy the beautiful day before you. I plan to clean the apartment and shop and maybe bake. I am excited as two weeks from today we will be on our way to see friends and family in Iowa, N.C. and WI.  

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I think we would be surprised at how often our thoughts focus on ourselves and what is good for us. We are basically more selfish and self-centered than we would like to admit. But the Jesus way of loving Him first and putting others before self is really the way to a rich and wonderful fulfilling life. How do we get to the place where we can love more like Jesus and follow His example of loving and serving others?

 In the last chapter of the book of Hosea, he tells Israel to prepare their confession and pray to God and return to Him. They have wandered off again just as his wife had but he received her back. Israel makes confession and the Lord responds, starting in Hosea 14:4 by saying, “I will heal their waywardness. I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out. I will make a fresh start with Israel. He’ll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring…from now on I am the One who answers and satisfies him. I am like a luxuriant fruit tree. Everything you need is to be found in me.” The Lord never gives up on us and shows us His unconditional love, just like Hosea did to Gomer, his wife. He also gives us a fresh start over and over again and gives us everything that we need out of His abundance.

Hosea concludes with saying, “If you want to live well, make sure you understand all of this. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn this inside and out. God’s paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily’ wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.”  Let us not turn our backs on the Lord but respond to his voice that keeps calling us back to Him with a fresh start.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Trying to be someone we are not, leaves us feeling poor about ourselves. But when we accept ourselves for who God made us to be and thank Him for the unique gifts He has put into us, we will find joy and a sense of peace. Very often it won’t be the first job we have, because that is simply preparation for what is coming. We may have to go on to seminary or to nursing school or a trade school, but it is getting us set for being a pastor or nurse or an electrician. It is not about what makes the most money but what God has programed us for. We may also work many years in our profession and later the Lord may bring us into a new season so we must always be listening and be open to change. What we are now doing may actually be preparation for the next thing He has for us.

One thing we need to ask ourselves, is our life making a difference? Are we using our gifts for His kingdom and are we willing to pour ourselves out for others. Those that are only concerned about themselves go through life feeling empty and lonely. Whatever we do, we should do our best and live with purpose.

Let us pursue what God has for our life and do it with joy and passion.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake up to the joy of forgiveness!

This morning, I have plans to make egg dishes and a zucchini cake and go to my exercise class and this afternoon is Crafts and Bible study tonight.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

The Lord loves us so much that He not only convicts us of our sins and forgives us, but He delivers us and sets us free. I’m sure we have all thanked the Lord for those times He has forgiven us of something we are not proud of, but then we do again and sometimes again. The Lord is a holy God and He exposes our sins so that we might repent and live in forgiveness. Of course, we have to agree with God and repent so we can be made clean. For we have the promise in I John 1:9, ”If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We probably all have secret sins that we have not openly confessed and even if others don’t see them, God does, and He will bring conviction so that we may seek His forgiveness.

I like what Pastor Larry Christianson writes about forgiveness and deliverance. He pictures forgiveness like a rocket that has been launched towards us from heaven, but deliverance happens when the rocket hits the earth. It is much like when the Apollo Mission was launched but it wasn’t completed until splashdown. With us when we have done wrong and the Lord convicts us, the rocket is launched; but we are delivered through faith when the rocket splashes down where God decides and when God decides. Sometimes we miss it as we are at a different landing site thinking we know how the Lord will do it. Of course, the enemy also tries to block that reception and does all he can to destroy our rocket. He doesn’t want us to experience forgiveness and victory over our secret sins. He may say to us, “Do you really think God can forgive you of that?! Why bother as you know you will repeat it again!” Or “One more time, what’s the difference, you can’t change!” But the truth is that Jesus is the life-changer, and we need to hang on in faith after we have made our confession and pray and believe until the rocket arrives; we will then find that our lives are changed by Him. Let us be open to whatever rocket landing He decides and experience deliverance and a changed life.

Challenge for today: When the Lord shows you a secret sin, repent and by faith wait for Him to do His work in you and bring lasting change.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Taylor who many of you have prayed for in the past, along with her husband, live in a Christian community where unity is so important and practiced. They live it out for the world to observe and in all the years this community has been in operation there hasn’t been one divorce. Does unity come easy, probably not, for we are all selfish by nature and need help to not get offended and to forgive others. We need to regard others better than ourselves. Unity is a gift and one we need to live out and takes lots of humility.

I read today from Jesus words to his disciples as they were on the mountain (Matt 6:14), “If you forgive people their trespasses (their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment), our heavenly Father will forgive you. “These are important words if we are to live in harmony with others and it means letting go of being offended and extending grace, just as we have received God’s grace when we offend. We have so few days on this earth and why live them full of resentment and attempts to get even when we can live in peacefulness of a life of forgiveness. No offense is worth hanging on to and as we let go and extend grace, we will live in unity with others and be a beacon light to the world out there that needs forgiveness.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy