Category: Sister Judy (Page 68 of 270)

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a great week! Sending this early for Monday’s devotional. We had a beautiful service this morning with a dozen new members joining our church. Now our Highlander is mostly packed and ready to head to N.C. about 4 a.m. tomorrow. We are going to take our time and have a mini retreat on the way and also visit a seminary bookstore. Would appreciate prayers for a safe journey and good health and a special time with Mark’s family. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  On Friday, I came home from the Audiologist so excited, as she had fitted me with cross-over hearing aids, and I could hear clearly. I could make out Al’s whispers and even the noise from the frig! I The hearing in my right ear has rapidly declined which I was told could be from having Lyme’s, but no one is sure. Now I was hearing beautifully, and I could hardly contain my joy. I also thought of how wonderful it is when we hear spiritually and know God has spoken a word to our hearts, maybe in soft whispers but we get it! Sometimes we need to write it down as He may be speaking of something that is yet to happen and we are in the waiting period.

  I also had joy lately as I will be having a couple implants put in when I get back from N.C. My gums are ready, and the impressions have been made and soon my empty spaces will have teeth. Since it was towards the back of my mouth it wasn’t quite as noticeable but soon, I will be able to chew my food better and maybe be able to smile more widely. When we have extractions from things in this world taken out, there is then more room to have spiritual things implanted in their place. The worldly things which are now decayed and removed, leave space for the pure things that God wants to bless us with.

  Well then there is my skin that had several basil cancer spots that needed attention. I had to put on an ointment for a month, so things got worse before they got better. Sometimes it takes time for unwanted things in our lives to get rooted out, and we must keep applying His grace and forgiveness to those spots until one day they no longer seem to bother us, and we are set free. It leaves us smoothed over and peaceful for we now know the underlying cancer is taken care of.

  Now another thing is my trip to the eye Doctor who tested me and said I could use new glasses. I was tired of my old ones and so ready for new glasses with a prescription that was up to date; I happily went to look for new ones and now I am able to see with greater clarity. Often, we have to be adjusted too, as what was good before is no longer good for now and we need to be willing to change. It was fine in the past but now comes change and we must be willing to move on with the changes God sends.

  I feel like I have had a makeover and quite an expensive one at that. But isn’t it great that God never leaves us partially finished but wants to make us new in all the spaces of our hearts. Let us willingly undergo whatever is necessary to be made more like Him.

  Challenge for today: Let the Lord adjust and change you in whatever ways are needed and all in His timing.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

   There are also times we need to take a step of faith to enter into what God has waiting for us. There may also be occasions He will ask us to give something that we cherish to someone, and often it seems to boomerang into something coming back that is beyond what we ever gave. But God loves us and desires that we obey and trust him to provide for us in unimaginable ways. Even in those times we are without something we think is necessary, He later unfolds His plan before our eyes, and we are grateful. Peter’s words are so true in II Peter 3:13 and he says, “And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”

  Challenge for today: Open your eyes to the many ways God’ provides for you and respond with a thankful heart.

Blessings on our weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

May you have a peace-filled day full of love. I just finished baking cookies for Al to take on our trip to N.C. on Monday. He is at Men’s group now and will be leading Bible Study today. We were blessed to see my cousin last night who recently lost her hubby and was so good to have time with her and with family. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  God created us and formed us for His pleasure. He loves us and desires a close relationship with us. I remember in confirmation memorizing what the purpose of man is: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” We are here for God’s pleasure but we are also to live in a way that we enjoy being with Him. He is so worthy of our worship and praise and honor and we draw our joy and strength from Him.  Wouldn’t it have been wonderful to be in the Garden of Eden before sin happened and just enjoy walking with the Lord in the garden? No selfishness but pure desire to just be with Him.

  When Jesus died on the cross the curtain into the Holy of Holies was rent as His death opened the way for us to go into the Holy of Holies and experience His presence. We don’t have to go through the high priest or any one else but straight into His presence. We can just take time every day to actually enjoy life with Him.  It says in Psalm 48:14, “For this God is our God for ever and ever: He will be our guide even unto death.” It is through our spirit, not our intellect, that we come to know God. One of the songs we use to sing at church is, “Thy loving kindness is better than life. Thy loving kindness is better than life. My lips shall praise you, Thus, will I bless Thee. I will lift up my hands unto Thy name.” It comes from Psalm 63:4

  I am reading the Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer and He quotes Frederick W. Robertson in saying, “God is not affected by our mutability; our changes do not alter Him. When we are restless, He remains serene and calm; when we are low, selfish, mean, or dispirited, He is still the unalterable I am.” Aren’t you glad the Lord does not treat us as we deserve and how we treat Him. Even when I feel His love and close to Him I know it is a result of Him first pursuing me. When the Israelites had to stay only in the outer court of the temple for so many years, think of the joy of going into the inner court! That is what the Lord invites us into… a close intimate relationship with Him. The veils of our self-nature prevent us from seeing Him fully and we need to let go of self-righteousness, self-love, self-importance etc; they all hide us from God. Let us die to our self-life so that we can draw close to Him.

Challenge for today: Be willing to let go of the veil of your self6life, to know Him who is better than life.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a blessed day. There is a hint of fall in the air, and we enjoy our walks on the trail as leaves are beginning to turn. Today I have food prep to do and trying a new dessert as we are having friends coming this afternoon. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  There is a lot mentioned in scripture of the importance of humility and Jesus led the way in showing us what humility looks like. He was an example of a humble servant who was obedient to do what His Father told him. The Pharisees were full of pride and Jesus often warned them in plain words, “For everyone who exults himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exulted.” (Luke 14:11) They never seemed to get it! I like the way the Message translation said it, “If you walk around with your nose in the air, you’re going to end up flat on your face. But if you’re content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself.”

  True humility doesn’t mean putting ourselves down but simply acknowledging our sinfulness and limitations in comparison to Jesus. Although we see our weaknesses, we can also see our gifts and strengths to use to serve the Lord. Pride has so many forms and Michael Mangis gives us the antidotes to the different ways pride manifests itself. He writes that if we pridefully think we are better than others, then maybe simplicity or poverty of spirit is the antidote. Or if we struggle with vanity, then modesty might help correct. Or if pride shows itself in irreverence than the antidote is reverence. Or if pride is seen in perfectionism, then it could be corrected by grace and brokenness. Pride is often seen in disobedience as we feel we know better, then obedience is the antidote.

  When the Holy Spirit shows us more of our hearts, we often notice we confess the same sins over and over again. But maybe it would be helpful for us to think of the antidote so we can go one step farther in breaking the sin cycle. If we struggle with resentment, the antidote of forgiveness and release will help. Or if we struggle with anger to the point of rage, we need forbearance and peace. For each of us, it will be different for our sin patterns are not all the same. I am catching myself more quickly when I choose what is more comfortable rather than what is more challenging and costly in time etc.

  May each of us grow in new ways as we humbly seek the Lord each day.

Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to show you His antidote to a sin pattern in your life.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a great weekend. We had a good Rally Sunday with a banquet of food and then seeing our pastor and others getting dunked in the dunk tank. His own father got to dunk him! 

I am making smothered pork chops and soon we are going to a Dr. appointment to meet our new doctor as our other one moved. 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Do we seek man’s favor or do we desire God’s favor more? It makes a big difference for if we put man’s favor over God’s we are in for a lot of work as it never quits needing to be earned. Maybe doing certain things will give us acceptance for a while, but there is not an end to it as we have to keep doing them to maintain it. How much better to seek God’s favor which is supernatural and a gift of grace.

  I was reading today what Moses said about God”s favor, for it is nothing we have to expend  much energy to earn but is rather a wonderful gift that the Lord wants us to trust Him for. It is all about grace! When we open ourselves to receive from Him what we cannot earn, He pours out blessings on us and doors of opportunity open up. As Moses wrote in Psalm 90:17, “And let the beauty and delightfulness and favor of the Lord our God be upon us; confirm and establish the work of our hands yes, the work of our hands confirm and establish it.” But we can’t just receive His favor and then go live anyway we please. He wants us to listen to Him, to be watchful to obey Him, and He wants our love.

  I hope we have all experienced being loved for who we are and not for doing everything to please someone so that they would think well of us. When we are with family or friends who accept us as we are, it is an awesome feeling and we can just rest in the comfort of their love. Of course, God’s love is perfect and His favor is the most wonderful gift.

   I don’t know about you, but I am left with an awesome sense of His grace and we can enjoy His gifts to us, not being afraid we will lose them for we never earned them in the first place. Since we are His children, we are heirs to all that He has, which is limitless. In fact, we are very rich!

Challenge for today: Receive and thank God for how His favor has touched your life.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a relaxing weekend. It has cooled off now and nice to have our door to the balcony open again. Today I am cleaning and doing food prep and Ann may come later. Tomorrow is Rally Sunday, so we are all eating dinner at church and having games and a dunk tank in which Pastor is the lucky one! 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  We are to be reflectors of the glory of God and letting His light shine through us. While at the lake a one Sunday morning I was sitting on the bed meditating and looking out the French doors on the lake. I saw the shimmering waves that were reflecting the boat resting on the lift that was held just a bit above the water. I thought of how the image in the water was the exact replica of reflection to what was above it. In this case it was the boat.

   But what about our lives? Is it not what is in our hearts what gets reflected to others? It says in Proverbs 27:19, “As in water face reflects face; so the heart of man reflects man.” We may try to put on a good outward front but what shows up in the reflection of the water is what is real and in our hearts. A loon may be swimming out from the dock but only the boats imagine will be reflected as it is right beneath the lift. Likewise, we can be reflectors of His glory in our lives the more we let Him transform us. We have been given the Holy Spirit to help us change and it is an ongoing experience of daily saying yes to the Spirit and no to our own selfish ways. As it says in the Message translation in II Cor. 3:18, “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”

  It is most beautiful to see others who are not giving in to the culture, but want to seek to know the Lord in deeper ways. Rather than settling for shallowness they go on to know the depths of God. Let us lay aside all those things that hinder our relationship with Him, and like the song that Albert Osborn wrote be true of our desire. “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me/ All His wondrous compassion and purity;/ O thou Spirit Divine, All my nature refine/ ‘Till the beauty of Jesus be seen in me.”

 

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to make you a beautiful reflector of His glory by your very life.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! Hope you can have time to get refreshed. I just finished making cookies on a stick, and Al is the bowl-licker and the cookie taster! Although you will read I look terrible I feel fine! 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Are we people of the heart? Do we look past the outward to sense what is going on within? We must be more than people of head knowledge and seek also to have heart knowledge, not only concerning the Lord, but others and ourselves.                                                                            Right now, if you looked only at my outward, it is not a pretty sight. I have scabs on my lips and some of my face from an ointment I had to put on for a month for precancer as I spent much of my life in the sun. Then there are my teeth; I have two empty spaces where my future implants will be going but are not in yet. To add to it, I suddenly have a stye in my eye which I have not had since a child. So, I am counting on people to look past my outward and see my heart instead! 

 We should not judge others by their outward looks and even behavior because there is often a reason behind how they look and act. One man who is severely deformed is that way from saving someone from a burning car. Those scars are beauty scars in the Lord’s eyes and should be in our eyes too. Or the screaming child who refuses to go in the shallow end of the pool. He is not being obstinate but fearful because he nearly drowned while at the lake. He needs the reassuring voice of love to take away his fear. Or the weeping woman whose cries we want to have silence, but she weeps because the child within her is no more.                                                                                                 Let us not be surface people who only deal with the superficial, but heart people that see in depth and sense the hurts of others. When we learn to see as Jesus sees, our hearts will be broken for others also, and they will sense it.                                                                                                  Most important we need to open our hearts wide to the Lord and let Him show us what we may be trying to hide. Only then can we sincerely pray as David in Psalm 139:23-24, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.”  If we dare pray this daily and mean it, our lives will be changed from the inside out, for He will take away that things in our lives that cause distance from the Lord and help us to also open wide our hearts to others.

Challenge for today: Make Psalm 139:23-24 your prayer today!

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a wonderful day full of His surprises. Al is off to men’s group and before long I will go downstairs to get donuts for us to have with coffee when he returns. I am making his favorite cookies and a zucchini dish and  this afternoon we have Bible Study.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

   The Lord loves us and has so much to teach us, and often in unexpected ways. We need to be alert and receptive to learn from what He is showing us, for He may surprise us and use those we come in contact with throughout our day. I get excited when He uses people we least expect or places us in unusual circumstances and we just know it is Him… He has a message for us we need to be open to learn and be blessed.

  In response to what I wrote some days ago about our friend Vickie who has Alzheimer’s and yet she blesses others by her smile and hugs as God’s love flows through her, I got a response from someone who knows God speaks as she reaches out to others around her.

  Our friend Carol had a chance meeting with Jamie and her 25 year-old daughter, Tanner, while out for a walk one day. Tanner has some form of brain cancer and was in a wheelchair when Carol’s cat jumped into her lap’ That began a friendship for the three of them and they began visiting on Carol’s patio and also went occasionally to her church. Carol always wanted to go to the Steam Threshers in Rollag so on Sunday the three of them got there around 6:30 am. They were able to see things and get breakfast, take the train around the grounds and go to the church service which was very good. By noon they had seen lots and watched the tractor parade and went on the carousel, which Jamie wanted to do with Tanner before they headed home. While Carol was getting them ice cream, Jamie came across a worker who knew how to get a “people mover”, which was basically a tractor with a hay wagon on the back that had a wheelchair ramp, to come and pick them up so they didn’t have to walk back through the entire place to get to the front gate where they were parked. Jamie had been pushing the wheelchair plus had a heavy “medical bag” that that she and Carol were taking turns toting around in the 90 degree weather. They were all tired but had a fun morning time. Carol shared how blessed Tanner was to have such a great mom who gets her out and about and loves her the ways she does, rather than putting her away. Later Jamie shared how she appreciated the fact that she lives where people are so close and welcoming, and she can feel comfortable taking Tanner to events.

   I suspect Jamie doesn’t realize what a beautiful message she is giving to others by her loving servant heart. Let us remember every person we meet has a gift for us from above, because they are made in the image of God. We may have to look harder to find it at times, but it is there.

  Now our friend Carol could have gone to the Steam Threshers alone or with others who wouldn’t take up so much time and care, but she came home blessed, seeing firsthand, the example of unconditional love of a selfless mom to her daughter.

  Some lessons God teaches us are not easy to learn but let us open our hearts with the faith that He knows when we are ready for whatever it is we are to learn and then grow and become more like Him.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord for a teachable heart to receive and learn the lessons He has for you.   

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy