Category: Whispers (Page 150 of 171)

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! The sky is still overcast and we look forward to seeing the sun soon! The house is full of aroma as I made a big pot of stew this morning; also made egg dishes and wrote letters.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Today is my mom’s birthday and she would have been 102, but died at the age of 88. As I think of her life, I praise the Lord that I was blessed to have a godly mother who lived what she believed. I woke up today wondering what she would have to say to me if she were here on earth now. I know that she would be appalled by the lack of respect, the absence of truth spoken and lived out, the depletion of love, and the selfish concern of so many. Mom was giving and not one to complain; she wasn’t focused on herself and always spoke truth even if was not popular to the ears of the hearers. I think if she were here, she would tell me not to compromise and to live out and embrace truth. In II Tim 3:15 (God’s Word) ,the apostle Paul writes to his spiritual son, Timothy, when he thought his life was coming to an end, “Do your best to present yourself to God as a tried-and-true worker who isn’t ashamed to teach the word of truth correctly” In the next chapter Paul also tells him to “continue in what you have learned and found to be true.” In other words, she would tell me to stand firm in my faith and live and speak truth without compromise. If it is in the Bible, it is truth! She was so faithful to read her Bible every day and she would remind me to not neglect the word but to memorize it and hide it in my heart. Mom prayed much and she might tell me how important it is to pray about everything and not to worry whatever is happening in the world. God is in control and to commit everything to Him daily! Mom had a burden for those who didn’t know the Lord, and I think she would tell me to reach out and let my light shine and point others to the Lord. Time is short and to use every opportunity each day. She didn’t hesitate to go to the Work House with a group from church and shared the Lord with women who were incarcerated. I’m sure she would tell me to be generous and to give to the poor, the unsuspecting, the missionaries etc. Most importantly she might tell me how important it is to love all and to love well; also, not to get offended but to forgive quickly. I would be happy if one day my kids could say that their mom would have these same things to say to them and that she tried to live what she believed.

Challenge for today: Live in love and truth that you may be an example to those around you.

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! It is still raining out and things are looking greener. Yesterday a friend took me out for lunch while Al was gone to the cities. Good fellowship! Today I cleaned, went to the Dollar Store and this afternoon we are having new friends here for coffee. They moved in just a short time ago.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We have probably all experienced times when our expectations were not fulfilled and our dreams shattered; it was painful and disappointing and we were left with questions. Then way down the line in the future, we see how God was moving us into His perfect plan and our own immediate dreams did not fit that. It was actually a blessing that God intervened when He did. Not long ago, I got an e-mail from a heart broken young gal who experienced a breakup with her boyfriend, crushing her long-term dream. It is painful now but some day she may know that God has a better plan for her life and she will see it unfolding before her. I was reading what Pastor Delano Sheffield had to say about how Thomas’s expectations were shattered when Jesus died. Thomas probably thought that Jesus would bring them freedom from the oppressive rule of Rome and now his leader and friend was dead. His hopes were dashed and even after he got the good news about Jesus being alive, he couldn’t believe it at first. It says in John 20:25 (Amplified), “So the other disciples kept telling him, We have seen the Lord! But he said to them, Unless I see in his hands the marks made by the nails and put my finger into the nail prints, and put my hand into His side, I will never believe (it).”  But Jesus arrives 8 days later and shows him the holes in his hands and side and Thomas responds with, “My Lord and my God!”.  Thomas got his wish and Jesus fulfills his expectation. What kind of dreams do we have? Are we disappointed they have not been fulfilled yet? It is not wrong to have dreams and to hold on to them as we are reminded of God’s great power to bring them about. But we are also to hold them loosely if it doesn’t line up with His divine will. Let us respond with grace and with the faith that the Lord is bringing about His perfect will and that is always best.

Challenge for today: Give your dreams and expectations to the Lord in hopeful trust.

 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Sometimes the best thing is to wait. Sometimes we may not know what to do and we jump ahead and really mess things up. When Jesus spoke to his disciples after His resurrection, he ordered them not to leave Jerusalem but to wait to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I’m sure they must have had questions but they obeyed and gathered together in an upper room and waited. Good thing they did what Jesus asked of them and spent time praying and didn’t run ahead before they received the Holy Spirit. If they had gone out in their own power, they would have quickly become discouraged and probably given up. But after waiting 10 days after Jesus ascended, the Holy Spirit suddenly came like the rush of the wind and tongues of fire and filled them, and they began to speak in different languages. What an awesome experience and time of purifying and empowering them to go and be His witnesses. Peter stood up and began preaching and 3,000 people were saved and baptized that day. Those that knew him as a fisherman must have recognized it could only be the power of God!  From that day on, the disciples went forth and preached and taught and healed; the message reached beyond Jerusalem out to the world. We can say wow, we wish we were present at that time, but that same Holy Spirit power is available to all who know the Lord. Too often we don’t wait for the Holy Spirit to instruct us and we run ahead before He has readied the hearts of others. Our part is to surrender and ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with His power to enable us to do what God wants in our lives and through us. He also begins the work of changing us from the inside out to become more like the Lord. In the days to come, I believe it is going to be harder for all of us as Christians and we will experience persecution. Our need will be great for the Holy Spirit power. Let us be like Peter who quoted David in Acts 2:28 (The Message), “I saw God before me for all time. Nothing can shake me; He’s right by my side. I’m glad from the inside out, ecstatic; I’ve pitched my tent in the land of hope. I know you’ll never dump me in Hades; I’ll never even smell the stench of death. You’ve got my feet on the life-path, with your face shining, sun-joy all around.”

Challenge for today: Ask for a fresh inflowing of the Holy Spirit and wait for His timing before launching out. 

Dear Ones,

Hope you are enjoying another beautiful spring day! I made salmon today (and set off the fire alarm for a minute!), and made choc bars and egg dishes. Al and I went downstairs for coffee and choc covered raspberries and celebration for the winner of the brackets and the one who got the booby prize. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Sometimes we just know it is the Lord! No doubts! Something happens and we see God’s hand and we know it is Him! One of our friends recently e-mailed me that she had a God incidence and was excited. They wanted to sell one of their cars and her husband listed it. Only 10 minutes later they got a call and it is sold and to guess who? It was their former realtor, a young couple from church. The wife had totaled her car in December and wanted to replace it with a car like her parents had, which just happened to be the same as our friends. Only 10 minutes and their car was sold! Our friend wrote that she learned a new word that day and it was a God incidence! Perhaps we can all think of times like that when we don’t feel like it is a co-incidence but definitely the Lord. I was reading for my devotions today about John who had such an experience. We remember that after Jesus rose from the dead, He revealed Himself to His disciples and others. Peter announced he was going to go fishing and a half dozen other disciples present said they were also going to go with him, including John. They caught nothing all night so must have been discouraged. All of a sudden, they hear a voice from shore telling them to fish on the other side of the boat and to see what would happen. They didn’t recognize who it was but followed His advice; and all of a sudden so many fish filled their nets that they couldn’t pull it all in. John knew right away that it was a God incident and in John 21:7 (NRSV) it says, “That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the Lord!’” He knew it was not just a coincidence! When Peter heard the news, he couldn’t wait and quickly put on his outer tunic and sprang into the sea to see Jesus. Jesus had breakfast waiting for all of them and after they had eaten Jesus asked Peter 3 times if he loved Him; that was the same number of times Peter denied Jesus. The God incident changed the disciples lives as they now had a new commission and instead of fishermen wanting to catch fish, they were now to be evangelists who wanted to catch souls. John recognized Jesus first but in sharing it, the rest of them also knew. Let us be like John who points others to the Lord and when God incidents occur, let us respond as John and Peter and the other disciples did.

Challenge for today: Recall a God incidence in your life and share with someone.

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a blessed wonderful Easter weekend. We enjoyed time with Ann’s family, worshipping at our church together, a feast for dinner at the lake, games, time in nature and seeing friends. You can read more about it in my devotion today!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Haven’t we all wondered why certain people have smooth sailing through life and seem to have it made? They win all the contests and have no burdens and struggles like we have, at least outwardly seen. We can end up feeling envious and we are warned against that as envy saps us of our peace; the Bible says it even rots our bones. (Prov. 14:30). Not pretty!  Yesterday on Easter when we were at the lake and gathered with family and friends, I had a game planned ahead of time. At the close of our dinner, I brought out plastic Easter eggs that had slips of paper inside with things we had to do; quite a few eggs also had money inside and if they didn’t, we could choose from a pile of wrapped prizes. One of our grandsons was especially eager to get the money and even texted me ahead of time about getting rich. It was unbelievable but people on both sides of him and around the table would open up eggs with money and never him; not once! One person sang Jesus Love Me for $5 and another got candy plus the money in his egg etc.  It didn’t seem fair that others got money but not him. I asked our grandson what he learned through all of it and he said, “You  have to earn your own way”, but of course the others hadn’t really earned it either. In our hearts we may question the Lord as to why He is so good to others who do not seem deserving but forgetting about us. In my devotions today I read of Asaph who felt sorry for himself as he was envious of the wicked and arrogant people who seemed to prosper and didn’t have troubles. That was, until he saw the whole picture. It says in Psalm 73:16-17 (ESV). “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.” He also saw his own bitter heart of wanting all that they had, and then realized, that what is most important was being near God. It’s not money, it’s not comfort and it’s not prestige: he went on to say that it was that God was with him and guided him and he would spend eternity with Him. When he came to this awareness, he could finally say that there was nothing on earth that he desired besides God and that God was the strength of his heart and his portion forever. If we find ourselves being envious of others, let us remember that with the Lord we have all that we need and so much more.

Challenge for today: Read and meditate on Psalm 73 when you feel jealous and envious.