Category: Whispers (Page 148 of 171)

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying the weekend! We were so glad to celebrate grandson Lar’s graduation last night…a scrumptious meal  with family and friends before the ceremony. Instead of my usual devotions I am sending a prayer for Mother’s Day.

 by Rebecca Barlow Jordan on Crosswalk.Com 

“Dear Lord,  Bless every mother and every grandmother with the finest of your spiritual blessings today. Confirm in her heart and spirit the work of her hands and the love that she has so freely given to those children under Your care. Validate her worth daily so she has no reason to doubt whether she is loved, valued, and cherished in the eyes of her Heavenly Father.  Create in her a deep sense of your protection and trust, so that worry and fear will disappear as she places her loved ones into Your care. Let her know that every prayer she has prayed and every encouraging word she has spoken on behalf of her children/grandchildren has been transformed into sweet, fragrant offerings before Your throne.  Whisper deep within her spirit the sweet words she longs to hear from You—that nothing can ever separate her from Your love. Help her to nestle daily into the promises of Your Word, standing with faith on the things You declare are true. Let her know that You reward faithfulness, but that true success doesn’t lie in her accomplishments or accolades. Let her rest in the knowledge that she has done all she can—and that she and those she loves—truly belong to you. Bless her with a servant spirit so she can teach her own the joy of hearing one day, “Well done!” Remove any guilt, false or real, and replace them with Your amazing grace and forgiveness. Help her see her children or grandchildren through Your eyes, knowing that in Your hands is the safest place they can ever be. Calm every doubt, and strengthen her confidence in the Only One who can bring good out of any situation. Teach her that she cannot meet every need of her child’s life, but that You can. Give her wisdom and guidance to train those precious children in Your path, and then to leave the results to You, Lord. Help her to love without limitations, to pray without ceasing, and to live without regrets. Bless her with such a sweet dependency on You that she will acknowledge her inadequacies, yet recognize and accept Your reward of praise—and Your sense of pleasure in having her as Your own beloved child. Where prayers may still seem unanswered, and dreams are not yet realized, open her eyes to see beyond this world to a Hope that never disappoints, and to a Father who will never leave or abandon her. Give her courage to persevere even in the most difficult moments of her life. Bless her with honesty, integrity, and a playfulness that shows her children she is human, yet unswerving in her desire to know You.  Let her joy be contagious; let her passion be pure; and let her life overflow with all the blessings she deserves—on special days, and on every day of her life. In Jesus’s name, Amen”

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We need to give good care to our physical bodies for our spiritual journeys are taken in our physical bodies. Maybe it doesn’t seem very spiritual to show concern for our bodies but when we are all tensed up and tired, it has an effect on our spirit also. Instead of a cup of caffeine, maybe we should have a good rest! It’s important to give good care to our bodies for the physical and the spiritual are connected. All of us need rest and a healthy life style and to honor our bodies that are made in the image of God. Dorothy Bass said, “As the place where the Divine Presence dwells, our bodies are worthy of care and blessing and ought never to be degraded or exploited. It is through our bodies that we participate in God’s activity in the world.” In the past I have not given a lot of thought to my body but lately more and more I have been trying to take better care of it by getting a little more sleep, lots of nutritious food, daily exercise and drinking more good water. I was pleasantly surprised and rejoiced when it showed on my DEXA scan that my bones recognized the difference and have improved and gotten better. Ruth Barton wrote that we need to listen to our body, to rest it, and honor it as a place where God makes His presence known. She calls it a spiritual practice. As we care for our bodies, it helps us realize that we are finite and vulnerable. When we ignore our bodies, we are really telling God that we don’t value the gift He has given us. When our bodies become sick, they try to heal themselves and my dad’s body served him well until he was 100. But one day our bodies will fail and we will go home to the Lord and receive a new body. It will happen to all of us but for as long as we are on this earth, may our bodies feel loved and cared for. Instead of being full of knots and tension, may we may we listen and give our bodies relief. We need to nourish them daily with the Word of God. Even while we walk and exercise, we can use it as a time to talk with the Lord and give Him all our concerns.  Our bodies are the place that the Holy Spirit dwells. Paul said in I Cor 6:19 (God’s Word), “Don’t you know that your body is a temple that belongs to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, whom you received from God, lives in you. You don’t belong to yourselves You were bought for a price. So bring glory to God in the way you use your body.” Let us not let our temples get run down but work together with the Lord to be healthy.

Challenge for today: Do some form of exercise today and also nourish your spiritual home with the Word.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and love, Judy

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Good morning ! May your weekend be full of sunshine and peace. 

 Devotions from Judy’s heart

The Lord is close and always with us, and He told us, “I will never leave you or forsake you.” He is the closest friend we can ever have and one we can totally rely on and share our lives. Sometimes I wake in the early morning and a song is going through my mind; recently the words to “I Come to the Garden Alone” were playing over. I later looked up the writer who is Charles Austin Miles, a pharmacist who turned to become a gospel song publisher and writer. But in 1912 on a particular day, he had quite an experience. He was in a rather dark room with photo equipment and his organ, and opened his Bible to John 20, a favorite of his. As he read the story of Mary coming to the tomb on resurrection morning, the Holy Spirit touched him in such a way that he felt like he was actually there, standing at the entrance to the garden. It was as if he was part of the story and could see John looking into the tomb and Peter entering it. He visualized Mary there kneeling before Jesus as she cried Rabboni. (means teacher or Master) He was so inspired and overcome that he just wrote down the words that quickly came to him. The following words are exactly as he wrote them that day and you may have sung them.

“I come to the garden alone

While the dew is still on roses

And the voice I hear falling on my ear

The son of God discloses

And he walks with me and he talks with me

And he tells me I am his own

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known

He speaks and the sound of his voice

Is so sweet, the birds hush their singing

And the melody that he gave to me

Within my heart is ringing

And he walks with me and he talks with me

And he tells me I am his own

And the joy we share as we tarry there

None other has ever known.”

Let us also become more aware of His presence in us and listen as He speaks. May we find a quiet garden to just be with Him and share together.

Challenge for today: Talk to the Lord as you go about your day and express what is on your heart.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying your day. We are home now after traveling over 3100 miles and we praise the Lord for the safe journey and wonderful time with family. Thank you for your prayers. God is so good! Last night we got to see our granddaughter play soccer and the team won in overtime so we went home celebrating. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Where do we place our confidence? In our quickly changing world today, many put their confidence in riches, and feel secure because they have a sizable bank account. Others place confidence in the political realm and having good policies. Some think it is in knowing influential people or having the right position. But all of these things fall short for they can be taken away at any time. No, our confidence is in the person of Jesus Christ and our hope in Him who will never disappoint us or fail us. I have been reading Paul’s letter to Timothy, his spiritual son in the faith. He had a special bond with him and gave him encouragement and instruction. He also gave guidelines about the church and how Christians should live. He warned him of those who fall into temptation by wanting to get rich and to watch out and avoid those who teach false doctrine that strays from what the Bible teaches. Instead, Paul tells him in I Tim 6:11-12a (God’s Word), “But you, man of God, must avoid these things. Pursue what God approves of: a godly life, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the fight for the Christian faith.” In Paul’s next letter to Timothy, he also warns him that in the last days things will get worse and violent. People will become arrogant and self-absorbed, and have no respect for what is holy. They will be contemptuous of parents, crude, brutal, and have no love for what is good. Further on in II Timothy 4:3-4 Paul says, “A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.”  Doesn’t that sound like our world today, and sadly even of our churches? People want to justify their life styles that are contrary to the Word and love pleasure rather than God. But let us wake up, and like Paul said, to pursue God and a life of faith and love. Let us put our confidence in Him that He will keep us even when things in our world seems to be falling apart and evil is rampant; our true security is found in trusting in Him. May we run hard and fast in the faith. 

Challenge for today: Don’t focus on the evil about you but put your trust and confidence in the Lord.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy