Canaan's Rest

Canaan’s Rest represents a quiet place “set apart” for the purpose of hearing God's voice, growing in intimacy with the Lord, and being renewed in soul and spirit.

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August 2, 2024

August 2, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Happy Weekend to you! May we take time to express our gratefulness to the Lord for His blessings. This morning, I plan to do food prep and get my hair cut and later maybe shop at Kohl’s to spend my free Kohl’s dollars!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
How rich are you? I am incredibly rich, not necessarily in the world’s way of thinking with more money than I know what to do with, but rich in the Lord. My debt of sin was paid fully by Him, and He also supplies all my daily needs. We have a rich Father and when we come to accept Him, we are the son or daughter of the King. It’s good to think about how He has caused us to flourish and to thank Him from a grateful heart.
Recently, I was reading Paul’s words to young Timothy (I Tim. 6), who was like a son to him. He warns him that there are those who are teaching that want to make a fast buck, but they will one day self-destruct. He said they are full of themselves and obsessed with money which could be gone tomorrow. On the other hand, he goes on to say, “A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.” He tells Timothy to be rich in faith, love, righteousness, godliness, patience, generosity, and helping others.

But if we happen to be wealthy in the eyes of the world, we are not to be prideful and look down on others or put our hope in riches. We are also to be dependent on the Lord and thankful for his provision, which He gave us the power to make in the first place. We are to use our wealth to do good works and honor God by being a faithful steward. We can lose our riches quickly and our security is not in riches but to be in the Lord. Some people who have very little to just get by month by month, have peace as they trust God for everything. Others who have so much may lose sleep as they are afraid of losing their wealth.

Sharing with others brings great joy, whether we have little to share or much we could share. It is the attitude of our heart and if we feel rich in the Lord, we will always have something to share, even if it is simply a word of encouragement.

Challenge for today: Thank the Lord that He is your treasure and there is nothing more you need in life but Him.
Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

August 1, 2024

August 1, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are keeping cool and weren’t hit by storms last night. This morning Al will be going to Men’s group, and I am going to do some baking. It is Donut Day here and Bible study this afternoon.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Do we hate evil? We are told in Psalm 97 that if we want to please the Lord we will hate evil, for it goes against all of whom God is. Verse 9 & 10 say, “For you, O lord, are most high over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. The Lord loves those who hate evil; He guards the lives of his faithful; He rescues them from the hand of the wicked.”  What struck me today was the importance of loving what God loves but also hating what God hates.

 When you think of our culture today, many who others admire are not people who line up with the Lord but are focused on self and violate God’s commands. Yet we may follow them online or buy things with their logo and sing their songs that oppose God’s Word. That should not be. Just think recently of the Olympics and the depiction that was made of the Lord’s supper that makes a mockery of Jesus’ last night with His disciples. We are to hate such actions that are evil and stand for what is good.

It takes courage today to stand up for what is right, even when those around us are applauding those who do evil and get ahead by unrighteous means. In the Message translation verse 10 says, “God loves all who hate evil. And those who love Him He keeps safe, snatches them from the grip of the wicked.” When we go along with the culture in supporting evil things, our first desire is not to please God. But when we choose to love what God loves it says in verse 11, “Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God’s people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil.”  If we stand for what is right, and don’t bow down to evil, our souls will feel light and full of joy for we please the Lord. Let us not compromise but hate evil and love good.

Challenge for today: Before you embrace something questionable, stop and pray and choose to stand for good, not evil.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 31, 2024

July 31, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you wake up knowing God is in charge of the day and not you! Today I plan on doing some food prep and going to my exercise class and later to Bible study.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Who is in control of our life? Do we feel responsible for everything that happens to us and around us each day? That is a heavy load and not one we were intended to carry. Even when we think we are in charge, of course we are not, for so many things happen every day outside of our control. Maybe we were obeying the safety laws and going along fine but the other person was speeding and spun out of control crashing into us. The disciple Peter must have thought he was in charge and vowed he would never disown the Lord. But he found out that he was not so courageous as he had assumed, and he denied Jesus 3 times just that very night.
The Lord is all the while inviting us to surrender to Him and let Him take over the controls of our lives. I don’t know if you are like me, but I desire that more than anything and pray for that often and experience freedom. But then before long I notice some dissidence and feel like I am responsible and need to do something. But what I need to do is stop and surrender everything again to the Lord and let Him take charge.
When we surrender to the Lord, we also find that He doesn’t necessarily work things out the way we thought He would or would like. There was a time when I wanted so much for the Lord to take us out of a situation and move us to a different location, but it didn’t happen for over 2 years. And looking back, I see He was working in my heart to change me. When we surrender to the Lord we are really, saying, “Whatever it takes! I am willing.” When you think of it, we are all surrendered to something, for it is whatever we trust in. Maybe we trust the doctor more than the Lord, or in the counsel of someone else before the Lord. There is a song that says it well by Judson Van De Venter, “All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give. I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. I surrender all, I surrender all. All to Thee, my Blessed Savior, I surrender all.”
May it be the cry of our hearts today to forsake the pleasures of the world and surrender all to Jesus.

 

Challenge for today: Ask the Lord to help you surrender all and tell him, “Whatever it takes!”
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

July 30, 2024

July 30, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you have a sunny day but not too warm! Emoji I plan to try a new recipe today and have Al be my food critic; later we are invited to friends for fellowship and prayer. (always a good dessert and coffee too!)
Devotions from Judy’s heart
 Are there days we wake up and want to pull the covers over our head and just skip work or anything else that is on our agenda for the day? Maybe we feel down and want to mope, but we have children waiting to be fed, workers depending on us etc.  So, what can we do to get ourselves back on track?
  Writer, Jessica Kastner, writes on Crosswalk.com about ways to praise yourself out of a funk. Maybe her suggestions will help if we are feeling gloomy and glum. I like her first suggestion of praising the Lord, as it is something I have found that helps keep my focus on the Lord. If I am in the car (alone), I just begin singing to Him in praise. No matter what is happening around us, we can sing praise to the Lord because we know Him and He is in control. Nothing happens outside of His awareness. It helps also to read or sing the Psalms for there seems to be a Psalm for every mood we are in. David wrote many and was often in terrible circumstances with his life on the line. If we pick one to memorize then we can pray or even sing it to the Lord when we are in those hard times. One suggested was Psalm 18 and verse 1 and two are a good start: ”I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.” I also love Psalm 121 and 91…   Another suggestion Kastner makes is to make a gratitude list of answered prayers and things we are thankful. A friend that I regularly pray with and I, did the exercise of writing down 5 things each day that we are grateful for. It is a great practice as it helps me to see God’s hand in everything around me and I am filled with thanks.
Helping others and praying for them will also aid us in getting out of a funk, for our attention is not just on me, me, me, but others who need help and are going through hard things. If we pray for them, the Lord often shows us how He can use us to help them in some way.
We might also take a walk out in nature that seems to just lift our spirit. Al and I try to walk each day and being in the woods and feeling the sun on our faces just brings refreshment to us. Sometimes we go alone, and it can become a worship time as well. As we lift our hearts to Him in praise there is no room for negative thoughts, and we can rest whatever concerns us into His hands.
Challenge for today: Memorize scripture that you can rehearse next time you are in a funk.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

 

 

I Was Gonna Be

July 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments

A new pro-life song by singer Rachel Holt was a surprising success recently on the  country music charts.  According to the song’s sponsor, Patriot Mobile, “The single was released Friday and quickly soared to Top 10 on ITunes Country Charts and reached #5 Sunday Evening.  It reached #1 on PopVortex’s most downloaded music videos and today remains in the top two.”

The song was composed by songwriter Chris Wallen.  He wrote it from the perspective of a baby that never had a chance to be born.  Wallen said, “I just wanted people to hear the voice of the voiceless.”   Wallen had his doubts about any artist having the courage to sing the song.  But a relatively unknown teenage artist, Rachel Holt took  the project on even though she was warned about the attacks she would face.  

The first verse goes like this: “Some don’t believe I’m a livin’ soul / Just a bad mistake that needs to go / If my momma could’ve just seen my face / Then maybe she would’ve had me anyway.”   The chorus is as follows. “And all I wanted was a chance / To learn to love, and laugh, and dance / Oh, but I was gone before I arrived / Sent back to Heaven on a starlight flight / Yeah, I was gonna change the world /  And I was gonna be a girl.”  

I agree with the comments made in the Daily Citizen.  “Every abortion is a great tragedy because every abortion ends the life of a baby……. Reaching more women with the message that their preborn child is just that – a child – is vitally important.  Songs like the one above are just one way to influence the culture and save lives of preborn babies.”

Abortion calls into question the value of each human soul.  I take to heart God’s words to Jeremiah, “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.  Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my spokesman to the world” (Jer. 1:5).  In a similar manner God spoke to Isaiah about his birth. “Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.” ( Is. 49:1).  Men, never forget you are not an accident.  God called you into being before you were born.  You are intended to flourish in the sphere of influence God has given you.  

Know that you are not a mistake.  You were planned from all eternity. This will go a long way in motivating you to take a stand for the defenseless unborn.  Learn to celebrate the joy and privilege God has given you to shepherd and nurture your children.  “How happy are those who fear the Lord – all who follow his ways!  You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.  How happy you will be!  How rich your life!” (Ps 128:1-2). 

Learn to see your children as gifts from the Lord.  “Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him.  Children born to a young man are like  sharp arrows in a warrior’s hands.  How happy is the man whose quiver is full of them!  He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.” (Ps 127:3-5). 

If God has blessed you with children, see them as God’s gift not as a burden or mistake.  They are like “sharp arrows.”  A  godly man  raising his children does not have to apologize but rather see himself as following God’s call to be fruitful and multiply.  Then you will not subscribe to the words of the song, “Some don’t believe I’m a livin’ soul \ Just a bad mistake that needs to go.”  

July 29, 2024

July 29, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you had a great weekend!  Exciting to watch the Olympics! We are in for more hot temperatures with predictions to be in the 80’s all week. I plan to do food prep and go to Aldi’s and exercise class this morning.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I was reading from Hebrews 12 about how we are God’s children, and he trains us, disciplines us, and corrects us because He loves us. We are to also be responsible parents and teach and discipline our children and do what is best for them so they can mature in their relationship with God and live His best for their lives.

Sadly, there are delinquent parents who are shirking their responsibilities and giving their children up to our culture that does not want their best but is boldly leading them astray. Right after reading scripture, I read an article by Alicia Searl on Crosswalk.com who writes about how Satan is after our kids and confusing them about love, sex, their identities etc. and we need to fight back. In our Bible study group, many are grandparents and see the confusion in their grandkids hearts and praying much for them to see the truth. We need to fight back in prayer and use every opportunity to speak into their lives.

Alicia shared areas the enemy uses to bring confusion to the young people. First of all, he tries to confuse them in their identity and uses social medial, books, movies to deceive them. But Psalm 13:13-14 speaks about how wondrously we are made from our mother’s womb and God doesn’t make mistakes. The enemy also attacks our children’s innocence and rather than honoring their bodies, he raises up questions about their gender, sex outside of God’s plan of marriage etc. It seems like much of society pays no attention to God’s rules and children see these examples. Satan also attacks God’s purpose for them, and they become complacent and passive. Their faith is attacked, and their minds and hearts get swayed toward selfish wants instead of going God’s way. Their friends can either lead them away from the Lord or encourage them in the Lord’s ways, so it is important who they have for friends. With one of our kids was a teenager, we had to limit activity with a friend as they came home like a different person, and not in a good way.

Whether we have young children or older grandkids, we need to fight for them by praying daily and diligently for them. They are accosted with so much evil every day that is far from what the Lord wants for them, and they need grace to stand against what the enemy is sending. Let us not be negligent but diligent in prayer.

Challenge for today: Spend some time praying for your children and grandchildren and when led send and text them words of encouragement.
Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

July 27, s024

July 27, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you are enjoying the weekend. It is supposed to be very hot today so we may take our walk early this morning. I plan to also clean and make Swedish meatballs!
Devotions from Judy’s heart
I want to know what is real and not fake but sometimes it is hard to tell. The other day I went to Aldi’s and the aisle was very crowded by the produce section. One woman stood right in front of the veggies and was choosing several and having trouble making up her mind. It was difficult to get past her but I was able to reach from one side to grab what I thought was a zucchini and a big one. I like to make zucchini cakes or also spiralize and saute them for the veggie at our meal. Later I got out my frypan and put some oil in a began to use my spiralizer but it didn’t seem to work as I just got lots of juice and no long strips. I quickly realized this was not a zucchini for I had grabbed a cucumber that was pretty smooth and had mistaken it. Needless to say, I could not continue for it was not a real zucchini. If I would have looked closer and been able to read the sign that was blocked by the woman, I never would have bought it.

I like the real thing and not a fake! In our world there are many fakes and sometimes it takes very close examination to discover if something is real, like a diamond or an expensive name brand of shoes or a purse etc. The fake can look real so we must take time and thought to see if it truly is. Sometimes we hear preaching of things that sound good but do they line up with scripture. We need to closely examine what we are taught so we don’t go down wrong roads and find ourselves captive to the enemy. I especially like real people of integrity who say what they mean and mean what they say. I am very thankful for friends who are willing to speak truth and be real with me. I also want to be honest and open and one they can trust. The apostle Paul tells us to be careful how we live and speak truth to our neighbor. He wrote in Ephesians 4:25, (message translation), “Tell your neighbor the truth. In Christ’s body we’re all connected to each other, after all. When you lie to others, you end up lying to yourself.”

Today we often don’t know who to believe and we need to ask for discernment. Let us be careful what we embrace as truth and be people of integrity ourselves!

Challenge for today: Take off any masks you have and be authentic and real and one who others can trust.

July 26, 2024

July 26, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Happy Weekend! Hope you wake to an uplifting day? Today is party day here so Al and I will be going to Costco to get the Birthday cake. Your question this week is, who has given you a word of encouragement that changed your outlook and response?
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Where can we go when we feel down and discouraged or troubled by words spoken against us? We can dwell on our situation and get depressed, or we can turn to the Lord and let Him lift our souls. I was reading from Psalm 86 as David was feeling distressed and needy and cries to the Lord all day. He is honest with the Lord about how he feels and then goes on to ask for His mercy and help. He wants God to pay attention and answer him and teach him how he is to walk and live in truth. Then he begins to paise Him with his whole heart and thank Him. He says, “For you are great and work wonders! You alone are God… But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and loving-kindness and truth.”  He also asks for a sign of his favor and approval of him.

How about us, what do we do when we need an encouraging word or seem overwhelmed by what is happening in our lives. Do we tell the Lord how we feel and then go on to praise Him and maybe ask for a sign of his goodness and how He sees our situation. God sends help in many ways and through many instruments. I had such an encounter the other day on the Paul Bunyan trail. We bumped into a professor that we had casually talked to previously and he stopped and shared that he had been reading my daily devotions. His words to me were confirming and encouraging and I felt like the Lord had sent him and I savored his words.

Maybe we feel overwhelmed today or there are questions we have and situations we don’t know how to respond to; let us bring everything to the Lord. We can tell Him how we feel, and then take the next step as David and begin praising Him. We may be sure He will hear and answer our prayers and will tell us the way to go.

Challenge for today: When feeling bowed down or questioning of what is happening in your life, go first to the Lord and let Him put you back on your feet.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 25, 2024

July 25, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope you arise to the day with an open heart to the Lord. Today is Donut Day here and Bible study and later an auto party and sale next door.
Devotions from Judy’s heart
Are we easily offended, or do we have a Christlike heart that forgives even before being asked? All of us have been sinned against and each time that it happens we must choose whether we will carry resentment in our hearts or if we will plead the blood of Jesus over them and forgive. The decision is weighty for if we choose not to forgive, we will carry a burden of offense that will weigh us down and will color our attitude, our outlook, our conversations etc. We will find that resentment consumes us by wanting to get even and it gives us a very heavy feeling. It can cause us to get physically and emotionally sick as well.

How different it is when we have an unoffended heart, and it seems like we can skip along with joy and a lightness.  I recently saw some footage of deer in the mountains and watched as they jumped straight up to the next height without any problem. It was so cool and so effortless, and they frolicked with one another. All the while they were climbing higher and higher on the rocks but with strength and agility and joy.

All of us have some tough mountains to climb but we can choose to have the right attitude and outlook. Our part is to ask the Lord to show us what needs to change in us to become more Christlike. We have to give up our offensive attitudes with the desire to retaliate and let the Lord give us a heart like His. As the Lord says in Ezekiel 37:26-27, “I will give you a new heart and a new spirit within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.” Let us die to the pride of our stoney heart and let Him give us a new heart of flesh. Then let us leap to the higher ground with joy and never stop and quit

Challenge for today: If you are hanging on to unforgiveness in your heart towards anyone, give it up and ask the Lord to give you a new heart and spirit. Then see how much lighter you feel and go to the heights.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

July 24, 2024

July 24, 2024 / / 0 Comments
Dear Ones,
Hope your heart is filled with trust in the Lord for whatever the day holds. This morning, I plan to do food prep and go to my exercise class and this afternoon Al and I are going to Costco as I never got shopping yesterday.
Devotional from Judy’s heart
Do we trust the Lord? I know we say we do, but do we really trust Him with everything? I usually read each day from the O.T. and N.T, a few different translations, and a devotional book but in all the books recently it spoke of trusting God, and that’s a clue I need to pay special attention.
For example, when the Babylonians took over Jerusalem, they burned down the royal palace and took King Zedekiah and slaughtered his sons, and then put out his eyes before taking him into captivity. But the King of Babylon treated Jeremiah differently and very kindly and gave orders for him to be taken care of. The Lord spoke to Jeremiah and told him he would not die in the war but. ”You will escape with your life because you trusted me.” (Jer. 39:18)

When I read from Eph. 3, Paul was writing from prison and he tells the Ephesians that his life work is to help people to understand and respond to the message that all are welcome into God’s family, both Jew and Gentile. He tells them, “When we trust in Him, we’re free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don’t let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!” (Eph.3:10)

I also read from Genesis how Noah and his family were saved from the flood because they trusted God and did all that He commanded. And in Nehemiah, when threatened by the enemy to quit building the wall, they did not quit, but prayed and trusted God and set a watch against their enemy day and night.

We say we believe in the Lord, but do we really trust Him if we are filled with anxiety and worry? If we spend time dwelling on the “what-ifs” will happen, we are not resting in Him. Joyce Meyer shares from Heb. 4:3, “For we who have believe (adhered to and trusted in and relied on God) do enter that rest…” She gives ways of how to get our mind off of mauling over our problems and instead to choose to think of other things. Maybe we can simply do something like go for a walk, try a new recipe, or read a book. We get our focus on things other than our problem and trust God to work in our situation. Let us pray and give God our circumstance and wait in Trust.

Challenge for today: Don’t feed worry but trustingly give your situation to the Lord in prayer and rest in Him.
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

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