Category: Whispers (Page 119 of 171)

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying this day. We are getting rain here but not snow. This morning I did food prep, went to Aldi’s and exercise class. This afternoon I have crafts and Al and I have an appointment after that. No time to get in trouble! 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Pray, Pray, Pray! There are so many ways to pray and it’s wonderful that we can find the way that reflects our own personality or what we may experiencing at the moment. There is not one way to pray but many ways. The Lord loves diversity!

Recently I read what Dr. Brian and Candice Simmons had to say about prayer as they quoted Ephesians 6:18 (TPT), “Pray passionately in the Spirit, as you constantly intercede with every form of prayer at all times. Pray the blessings of God upon all believers.” Every form of prayer leaves the door wide open to pray in whatever way that we feel impressed to call on Him. Sometimes it may just be silently and other times we might literally shout. There are so many prayer models in the Bible and we may use several throughout the day.

The Simmons mentioned praise and thank you prayer model that is like the password allowing us access to heaven. I think we find as we start praising him, we sense we are right in His presence. We might move on to asking in prayer and give the Lord requests we have. Often, we intercede and plead before God in behalf of others. Or we may have devotional prayer when we are alone with the Lord and pouring out our heart to Him. There is also corporate prayer when we connect with others in prayer like as a family, or church body. But it’s important to pray consistently and in in faith and right motives. It is likely that we are using all of these forms of prayer and more throughout our day.

Then Simmons closed with the following prayer: “Lord Jesus, I want You to become my  prayer life. I want You to empower me and set me apart for You today. I come with my heart before You. I long to be one with You in prayer and to reflect Your glory on earth. I trust in You, and I trust the Holy Spirit to pray through me today. I will walk in the Spirit and I will pray in the Spirit. My life will be Your love offering today. I pray in Jesus name. Amen.”

Challenge for today: Pray the prayer above and also pray throughout your day as led by the Spirit.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake with anticipation of a new day.  Your question this week is: When have you gotten a specific word and felt like God was speaking to you? It could be a word spoken from your pastor or even a stranger but you felt like it was God speaking through them to you. 

How will you be spending Easter?

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Have you ever been awakened in the night and heard a word that seems to come out of the clear blue? One night I woke up out of a sound sleep and heard the word shelf life and self-life. It was so clear that I wrote it down in the dark so I would not forget it, and went back to sleep. Then about an hour later I awakened again as I heard my name called and thought it was Al but he was still asleep. I wondered what the Lord was trying to say to me but returned to sleep.

In the morning I read my devotions from several Bibles, each a different translation. When I read from the Message translation, I was in Psalm 105 and verse 4 said, “Keep your eyes open for God. Watch for His work; be alert for signs of His presence.” We are all called to seek the Lord with openness of heart and become aware what He is up to. We are to have alertness to signs He gives of His presence. The Psalmist also went on to say that we are to recall what He has done for us in the past and share with others of His goodness to us.

So, what was the Lord saying by those strange words to waken me? What came to me initially was that food has a shelf life and an expiration date usually marked on the package. If we don’t eat the food before that date, much of the nutritional value may be lost and certain expired foods may result in us getting very sick. It is important that whatever the Lord is saying and calls us to do today, must be done on His time schedule or later may be too late. He has a work for each of us every day but the self-life often blocks the way. We want to do our own thing and be in control which can result in missing what God has for us. His way is so much better and He promises us in Psalm 32:8 (NLT), “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.” None of us have to fear for whatever God has for us is the best for us, and He has also promised to be there all the while carefully guarding us. Let us not delay in doing His will but act before the expiration date!

(Later in the day, David, our walking companion, used the word shelf life in describing something Al wrote from the book of Amos. We are continually amazed at how the Holy Spirit works in mysterious ways.)

Challenge for today: Respond to the Lord’s promptings and say Yes to however He is directing you.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a blessed Palm Sunday! We enjoyed the children marching in with palm branches waving, (sometime frantically waving) and an 8 year old girl who sang a lovely solo without any fear. The sun is trying to peak out now but I think rain is predicted for tomorrow, not snow!  This morning  I made stroganoff and went to my exercise class and I am making choc covered raspberries now. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Today we see parents trying to make their kid’s lives happy all the time by placating them, fixing things for them, helping them avoid anything hard or hurtful etc. But is that really best for them? We all experience harsh realities in life and as parents it is important that we help our children face challenges and failures and grow through tough experiences. Otherwise, they have a false view of the world in which they will have to compete and where not all will get to be in first place at the top of the heap.

Jesus never painted the picture that when following Him that life would be easy but rather warned them of what they would have to suffer for His sake. Think of all the hard things Paul went through and it only fueled him to share the Lord with more zeal. When he was in Athens, he was concerned for the Christians in Thessalonica who were suffering persecution and wanted to give them encouragement by having Timothy go there. It says in I Thess. 3:2-3 (NRSV), “and we sent Timothy, our brother and co-worker for God in proclaiming the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you for the sake of your faith, so that no one would be shaken by these persecutions. Indeed, you yourselves know that this is what we are destined for. “

Trials are a part of God’ plan for us and He wants us to become strong through those hard times so that we can stand and not give up. It helps if we learn to face trials when we are young and are surrounded by those that can help us and teach us how to go through them. We find God uses these difficult things to build godly character and patience in all of us; and somehow when we go through those hard times, it helps us to be sensitive and also identify with others when they go through similar situations.

Let us not run from hard times but embrace what the Lord would teach us through them. And if we are parents, let us be there for our kids to help guide them, but not to rescue them out of the situations that God wants to use to build character in their lives.

Challenge for today: Don’t try to escape from suffering but ask the Lord to make you strong through them.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope  you are having an enjoyable weekend and time to relax and also be renewed. I got soup made and cleaned the apartment this morning. This afternoon we are going to see a family from our church of long ago in Brunswick. Their whole family is at the nearby motel and the ones we had in S.S. are now grown and have their own kids…one with six of them! Fun! 

Ann may stop by here later also. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Recently I was reading from Sarah Young’s book, Jesus Always, and the challenge is given to look for signs of God’s unseen presence with us as we walk out our day. Do we notice Him in the many small details, as well as, the big things? She suggests that when we have gratefulness in our hearts, it helps us open our eyes to see all those blessings God puts before us and may otherwise miss. In Col.2:6-7 (MASB) “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and not being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.” If we are full of thanksgiving, and not feeling entitled, we will be better able to see God’s hand throughout our day.

Even though someone else may be the instrument of God’s good gifts to us, it is the Lord who prompts them to do it. There are certain things the Lord knows we enjoy and when we receive them, through a stranger or a loved one, we can be grateful and thank Him. Like the other day, there was a bag with biscotti outside our apartment door and just in time for my coffee. I was grateful and smiled as I thanked the Lord. I love biscotti!

Today I asked the Lord to help me take particular notice of His gifts to me and to acknowledge and gratefully thank Him.

First of all, the Lord spoke to me from Hebrews 13:5b&6 (Amplified), “He (God) Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. (I will) not, (I will) not, (I will) not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (relax My hold on you)! (Assuredly not); So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm (I will not fear or dread or be terrified) What can man do to me?” When I watch the news and see how our world is so full of chaos, I want to thank the Lord for His promise to always be with me and to give support and help.

A short while after I especially noted the sunrise out my window and all of creation waking up and heralding in a new day! Later I will walk the Paul Bunyan trail and see more of the beauty He has created for me to enjoy and I thank Him.

Let us go into our day, and each day, looking for signs of His presence and give thanks.

Challenge for today: Stop periodically through your day and thank the Lord for the many blessings you are made aware of.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy 

 

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend! The sun is out and hopefully melting the leftover snow. This morning I studied and made egg dishes and did food prep etc. This afternoon both Al and I have our Wellness Checkups and will take most of the  afternoon as we follow one another with space inbetween.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

I wonder if we realize how much we need God’s mercy, not just the time we came to accept the Lord, but often in our everyday lives. Mercy is receiving what we don’t deserve and there are times in our lives that we are so aware of our need that we feel like blind Bartimaeus. He called out loudly to Jesus, as he knew Jesus was passing by and others around him tried to hush him up. But he was persistent and only called out louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Luke 18:38) Jesus heard and asked him what he wanted. The blind man put into words that he wanted to see, to regain his sight.                                                                                                   There may be times in our lives when we feel desperate and we call out to the Lord in our own way. Others may try to hush us or try to tempt us in worldly ways to fill the need that we have; but we can instead be quick to tell the Lord what it is we need, and wait for His answer. Or it could be that we try to silence other people who are loudly crying out for their needs to be met and we ignore them, especially if they have different views and lifestyles.                                                                                                I like the simplicity of Bartimaeus’ prayer as he didn’t give any reasons why Jesus should take notice of him, but pleaded for mercy. God is rich in mercy and we don’t have to fear He will run out.                                                                                                                           Years ago, I read the book, Pilgrim, of a man whose mission was to walk and pray what is known by some as the The Jesus Prayer, “Jesus Son of David, have mercy on me, a sinner.” For some time after reading the book, I prayed that prayer often throughout my day. I was reminded of that this morning when I read about Bartimaeus that I need to get back to doing that again. It helps me realize in a fresh way how needy I really am and dependent on the Lord. As I pray the prayer it helps me refocus on Him.

Scripture says that Bartimaeus recovered his sight and followed Him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.”                                                  Let us ask God often for His mercy, recognizing our need.                                                       Challenge for today: Throughout this day, pray The Jesus Prayer often, as you go about your work.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

May your day be blessed in every way.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Don’t you love getting together with your best friend as you share back and forth together. One person doesn’t do all the talking but listens as well. You feel good afterwards that you have caught up on each other’s lives and there is closeness and a bonded feeling.

Sometimes we may complain that we don’t feel close to the Lord and that He seems distant from us; we might want to check ourselves if we have been doing all the talking and neglecting time spent listening to Him. We may have a list of things we ask of Him and then we rush away without ever being quiet and hearing what He has to say to us.

I’m sure none of us hear perfectly everything God is saying to us, but listening is important. One of the ways we hear Him is through His Word and after we read scripture, it is good to just sit there quietly and listen. Lord, what is it you are impressing on my heart?  What comes to mind may be the exact Word He knows we need that day. But there are times I get up too soon and am on my way into a busy day and I miss what He has for me.

When Jesus was speaking to the crowd, He said in Mark 4:23-24 (God’s Word), “Let the person who has ears listen!” He went on to say, ‘Pay attention to what you’re listening to! Knowledge will be measured out to you by the measure of attention, you give. This is the way knowledge increases.’”

We are encouraged to listen well, and as we hear truth, more will be given us. But if we ignore what God is saying, why should He give us more?

Let us give our attention to the Lord and seek to know what He has to say to us. So often His words are words of assurance of His love.

May we make room for the Lord to speak to us and talk less and listen more. 

Challenge for today: After reading the Word, spend 10 minutes in quiet listening.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a good weekend!  Today we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland out our window again but is melting quickly. Where is Spring?!! Patience! This morning I cleaned the linen closet, did food prep and went to my exercise class. Looking forward to our walk on the Paul Bunyan as the snow should be gone by then.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Sometimes we have to do the hard thing rather than let things slide along. It’s not always easy but there are times we need to speak up and deal with what is going on that needs correction. Paul had to do that with the Corinthian church as reprimanded them for not disciplining the church member who was guilty of incest. He tells them to exercise church discipline for if his behavior persists it will affect the whole church. Paul exhorted them to do the responsible thing and to deal with it, and they did listen and responded, as they excluded the man from their fellowship. Later the man repents and Paul tells them to forgive and restore him again.

Sometimes we may see our Christian brothers and sisters going down wrong paths and we need to show loving concern. If we just ignore it as they continue to go deeper into sin, we are hardly showing love. We care more about being nice than about helping them. If we are honest with them and ask questions and show concern, it may cause them to think of the ramifications and turn away from what they are doing. Wouldn’t we want others to care enough to do that for us?

It says in Proverbs 27:6(Amplified), “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are lavish and deceitful.” Don’t we want true friends that would correct us if we were going astray?Wouldn’t we also wonder why they didn’t warn us if we kept on in a dangerous direction?

I remember an elder in one of our churches simply asking me a question that caused me to stop and think if I was doing what was best at the time. I knew he was doing it out of love and concern and I learned a lesson through it.

The bottom line is always forgiveness and restoration and not to be judgmental or wanting to be right. Let us care enough to speak up when the Holy Spirit prompts us and then commit the results to Him. Let us also be open to when we need correction and bring it humbly before the Lord.

Challenge for today: Be sensitive to the Holy Spirit to speak up when needed and do it in love.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the weekend. I was busy this morning cleaning the apartment and doing food prep. This afternoon I may go shopping and for our walk. You will hear about yesterday’s walk in the devotion today ( with David’s permission) 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Yesterday Al and I were walking on the trail and sharing about how God often works in ways that are unknown to us and hidden to our minds. We were sharing words from St. John of the Cross and remarking how we have to trust God in the darkness, even though we don’t know what God is doing in the deep parts of our hearts.

As we turned to go towards home we bumped into our friends on the trail, and David shared how he had written a poem called Allow, all about how God works in the darkness and stillness of our hearts. God was speaking many of the same things to him as He had been to us and showing us how we can’t figure it all out with our minds but have the need to allow ourselves to go deeper with Him.

David writes about letting ourselves go into stillness and ask God to reveal our negative attachments and things that are hiding in the core of our being. Al and I had just talked about how we need to continue to get rid of our attachments so there is more room in our hearts for what God wants to do in us and through us and draw us closer.

David had written in his poem how at the core of his being he became aware of unforgiveness, fear and anger and selfishness, which is present in all of us. In the stillness and darkness of intellectual knowing, God poured out his mercy and His grace and he experienced peace, light, freedom and love. He wrote,“His love, like a river, flowed when I asked forgiveness and gave Jesus control. I spent a lifetime in a cathedral of the mind. God said, ‘I will sing again in His light.’”

When we allow God to do His work in us and surrender those hidden things in the darkness, something deep and beautiful happens to us. As it says in Psalm 97:11 (Message), “Light seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people; Joy-seeds are planted in good heart soil.”

Let each of us say yes to the Lord and open our hearts wide to Him as we ask Him to show us what attachments need to go. And let us surrender it all and know that we will sing again in His light.

Challenge for today: Spend some time in quietness and allow Him to do His work in you. 

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy