Category: Whispers (Page 148 of 165)

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Are we too smart for our own britches? That is something I remember my mom saying about people that were not especially teachable since they thought they knew it all. It is something we must guard against because if we are not humble and dependent on God, we will never really know Him. Mark Roberts on Crosswalk.com writes about how Jesus responded to the 70 who were sent out two by two ahead of Him to share the Good News. They came back so full of joy over their mission. They were especially excited that they witnessed that even demons obeyed them when they used the authority of Jesus name.  But Jesus told them to rejoice also that their names were written in heaven. He goes on to say in Luke10:21 (NRSV), “In that same hour Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.”  He is speaking metaphorically of babies as those who aren’t known for their wisdom. The Message translation says that He hid these things from the know-it-alls and showed them to these innocent newcomers. God’s kingdom is available to all of us but not through the strength of our intellect but through childlike trust in Him.  Spiritual pride can actually keep us from God. We can check ourselves as we read a familiar passage from scripture that we have heard teaching on many times, and dismiss it, rather than ask the Holy Spirit to teach us a fresh. Paul also said in I Cor. 1:27 (ESV), “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong.”  God doesn’t just choose the brightest with the most credentials but He most often chooses to reveal Himself to the humble and simple. One of the best teachings I heard years ago, was from a very humble guy without any titles. I was amazed and touched at the wisdom that poured out of Him and I knew it was from the Holy Spirit. Lately I have read writings of Professor Dallas Willard’s, who was a brilliant philosopher, who has since died.  But it is evident that he knew the Lord intimately and was open to what God had to reveal to him. We all need to go before the Lord as a simple child and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us. And as we pray for wisdom, let it not be to impress others, but to grow in our love for Him.

Challenge for today: Confess any spiritual pride and ask the Lord to give you the posture of a child. 

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying this day. We have had a little snow today but we hope to do an outdoor walk later this afternoon. We had a very good worship experience at the Ash Wed. service last night and the ashes were put on us outside as we left by the pastor who stood there in the cold. This morning I did food prep and cleaned our apartment as we have company coming this afternoon. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Soul is mentioned many times in the Bible and we are to pay attention and nourish our souls. I am reading John Ortberg’s book on Soul Keeping and it speaks to me of the importance of good soul care. John himself was greatly influenced by Dallas Willard, who was a professor of philosophy at USC, and who has since died. Some time ago Al and I went to Chicago and heard him speak and I remember having to listen intently to understand the depth of his talk. He was brilliant and yet so ordinary in his everyday life. He taught John about eliminating hurry from his life and said, “Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” Even as John visited him at his home, when his phone rang, he never gave it a thought; he simply didn’t answer it but gave his attention to John. Dallas also taught John so much about how our souls matter. He said, “The most important thing in your life, is not what you do; it’s who you become.” It’s not trying to improve our reputation or circumstances of our outer world or accomplishing more but its more about what is happening inside of us. Soul is the deepest part of us and the whole person. Soul is hard to define and it is our life center, something eternal, invisible, and needs care. It integrates our will, our mind, and our body, and if it is healthy there is harmony between them. Dallas told John, “You’re a soul made by God, made for God, and made to need God, which means you were not made to be self-sufficient.” When we lose our soul, he compares it to a car without a steering wheel and waiting to crash for we no longer have a healthy center. When we focus on ourself we neglect our souls; but when we see life through the lens of our connection with God, our souls thrive. Of course, we are to give attention to our work, family and others, but our soul should lie at the center of them. That way even when our circumstances are not good, our soul can still be at peace. Notice all the songs we sing about soul, “Jesus, lover of my soul,” “Then sings my soul my Savior God to Thee” etc. Let us be centered in the Lord and take time for soul each day!

Challenge for today: Find a place to be alone with the Lord, preferably outside, and let your soul experience his love.

Dear Ones,

Hope you are keeping warm. It looks cold all over our nation and was -27 here when we got up. I love to bake when it is cold out and today I made Al’s favorite cookies. I went downstairs for coffee and Choc covered raspberries, and then we went out to Poncho Lefties for our belated Valentine dinner. I am so full! 
Devotions from Judy’s heart

What is really important in life?  Is it how much money we make, how many friends we have, how many degrees we have? All those things fall along the wayside if we lose our own soul. It says in Matt. 16: 26 (ESV), “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” Even if we get everything we want in life but lose our soul, we are lost and bankrupt. But how much of the time do we live without giving much thought to our souls and neglect what is most important? John Ortberg writes about the parable of the Sower that Jesus told to a large crowd by the sea. Jesus must have thought it was very important for afterwards He gave the full interpretation to his disciples. The sower is the Lord who is so generous with the seed as He scatters it everywhere. But it is the soil that is the variable and much like our souls. Bottom line is that when our soul is closed it is death and if it is open and receptive it is life! The first soil mentioned is the hardened soil, much like where people and animals walk and it becomes hard and dry. The seed will not survive, much like people who have hardened souls with a protective shell around them, often out of fear. Next the shallow soil (like the shallow soul) is rocky and has only a thin layer of topsoil; chances are the seed will wither when the sun come out as the soil is not deep enough for the roots. If our lives are centered on ourselves, our soul becomes shallow and we lack empathy for others. We have depth only when connected to the Lord. The third soil is one with thorns much like cluttered souls. The seed gets choked out by desiring things of this world and becoming busy with the wrong things. It is like those who don’t recognize they are dead inside, since they are so preoccupied with activity and busyness of the world. But the good soil is one that is soft and has depth and will produce much fruit. That is what our soul longs for, that deep connection to the Lord. Ortberg writes that God designed us so that our thoughts, desires and behavior would be in harmony with each other, and this happens as we live in unbroken connection with God. Let us not live superficially but give time to our soul that is the deepest part of us and lasts forever.

Challenge for today: Confess any known sin that keeps you from deeply connecting with the Lord.

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful Valentine’s Day! We hope to go out tomorrow to celebrate! This morning I made a pot of stew, and egg dishes, went to Aldi’s and then to my exercise class. Ann may stop by this afternoon and then we will walk inside again.
When we come to know the Lord, it is a wonderful beginning of a life to be lived for Him. It isn’t like we have arrived but rather the start of our journey to become more like Him. One might think that everything will be easy and comfortable but much of the journey is difficult with troubles; these are not to trip us up but to help us grow and become strong. But it isn’t all about us either, for we are called to serve Him in the world in which we live. He has given everything for us, what will we do for Him? How will we live and serve others is an indicator of a life given to God. Jesus said we would be known by the fruit in our lives. Our whole lives should be involved with Him—our marriage, our children, our schedules, our relationships, our jobs and money. He wants all of us and our whole life.  Some seek a long and comfortable and prosperous life but it is more important to have a full live lived for God. I have been reading the lives of people who gave everything for the cause of Christ; people like William Carey, Jim Elliot, David Brainerd, Mary Slessor and a host of others who sacrificed their lives but experienced the joy of saying yes, to what God called them to do. Jim Elliot and wife went to minister among the Auca Indians of Ecuador and Jim was martyred, along with four other missionaries. When his wife later read his journal he had written, “God, I pray Thee, light these idle sticks of my life that I my burn up for Thee. Consume my life, my God for it is Thine. I seek not a long life but a full one, like you Lord Jesus.” When we were young my mom read us missionary stories and at various times missionaries stayed at our home. We prayed for them and heard their stories as they loved to share what God was doing in the country they were called to. They gave up a comfortable life and yet experienced incredible joy. Our lives are full when we surrender our own plans and live to serve the Lord out of hearts of love. In Eph. 5:2 (The Message) it says, “Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that.” Are we willing to give up all for Him?

Challenge for today: Ask yourself the question, how can I best give of my life for Him?

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Perhaps we have all had times in our lives when we had no words to pray. Maybe we were going through a time of grief and so overwhelmed that words escaped us. I read Tish Harrison-Warren’s book, Prayer in the Night and she shares how the written prayers of the church can be a comfort at such times. She is an Anglican priest and experienced the darkness of night in the grief of her father’s death followed by her miscarriage of a son. When she was bleeding profusely and fighting for her life in the ER, she couldn’t find words to pray. She told her husband that she wanted to pray Compline, which is an ancient nighttime prayer service of the church. “Keep us as the apple of your eye. Hide us under the shadow of your wing. Lord have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord have mercy. Defend us, Lord, from the perils and dangers of this night.” It helped her to hang on to the reality of God’s goodness and love even in the midst of her sorrow and dark night of her soul. Compline contains confession, the reading of Psalms and other scriptures, written prayers, and a time for silence and free form prayers. God can use so many ways to help us when we are unable to even put our thoughts and emotions into words. At such times when I have needed faith for something big, I have even quoted the catechism that I memorized when young. “I believe I cannot by my own understanding or effort believe in Jesus Christ my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me through the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, and sanctified and kept me in true faith.” Other times a song might come to our minds or a familiar hymn; or we might pray the Lord’s prayer with special emphasis on an area of our present need. When we are lonely and need strength and don’t know how to put it in words, sometimes the written prayers of others can just be what we need.  But even when we don’t have words at all, the Lord knows our thoughts and draws us close to Him. Sometimes we might just want to sit in His presence out in nature and ask Him to just read our hearts and give us what we need. As I read this morning from Psalm 139:1-3 (ESV) David prayed, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.”

Challenge for today: Read Psalm 139 prayerfully

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a peaceful day. This morning I made a G.F. birthday cake with one layer chocolate and the other white (with 7 eggs) and now I am making choc covered raspberries.  Al had his Men’s Soul Care group and I went to my exercise class. I suspect we will walk inside today as it is cold! Please pray for our friend, Gen, who was diagnosed with stage 4 Abdominal Cancer and is in pain. Also include her husband and teenage son and daughter. Thank you!  

Devotions from Judy’s heart

What do we want to leave behind for our kids and grandkids to remember? What is most important? They may desire to get some tangible things when we die, but more important is the example of a life lived for God.  When my parents died, a couple items I received was a tea cart that use to be a resting place for my mom’s many violets and a corner knick-knack shelf that held some pretty vases and dishes. As I dusted them so many times, I was continually reminded of my mom and dad and the lives they lived. It was their example of faith and helping and giving to others that has stuck with me.  It’s good to ask ourselves what will we leave behind that will inspire others in their walk with the Lord? It’s not so much what we teach but what we live that remains with them. I saw the joy in my parents when they gave money to missionaries or gave a Bible Study to those incarcerated at the Work house etc. I ask myself how giving I am?  How loving am I? Recently I read of Pastor Jeremiah’s church that during COVID has been serving 50,000 pounds of food each week to the needy; those 60 or so members that are giving out the food are full of joy for they are practicing what Jesus said in I John 5:7& 12 (God’s Word), “Dear Friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God…If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love is perfected in us.” A life of love will constantly be giving out to others, in response to what God has given. Love isn’t just a feeling but it is an action, a choice we make. An expression of His love is giving and serving others for it is a natural outflow of all that we contain within.  As we live a life of love, we will also then leave behind a path for our loved ones to follow and to remember.

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you live and overflow in His love by serving others.