Dear Ones,

Hope you have a good day with a heart of thankfulness for how God made you. Al has men’s group and I plan to cook and make up my own recipe, so hope it turns out.  Later we have our Bible study and then a few places to go.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  We can all make plans, and it is good to be organized and make plans each day, but we have to hold them loosely and make sure they are what God has planned for us. Our desire is to be for His purposes to be fulfilled each day in our lives. Sometimes He surprises us and our day doesn’t turn out anything like we expected or anticipated. He may add things or remove things but it’s good when we welcome whatever He sends. Psalm 16 has some things to say about our plans and we are told in verse 3 to “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” When we put everything into His hands, He will establish our steps, (Verse 9) and His purposes will be fulfilled.

  Tuesday, I had my day planned out for me and after Women’s Bible Study at church, my plans went out the window. I got a call from the dentist that they had a sudden opening in an hour and a half later and it was mine if I wanted it. Yes, I was to get my implants and loved that I didn’t have to wait any longer and I was at there with bells on! Of course, there are other days when our fine laid plans are interrupted in a negative way, like when we may be about to go home, and the boss puts a pile of papers on our desk that we have to take care of first. We have to adjust, and we need to expect the unexpected things that may happen in our day. Even when we have a tight schedule it is good to schedule in some time for some breathing room and not have to break the speed limit to get somewhere on time.

   We are all different and designed by the Lord. Some of us like to be quick to get to our work and others tend to procrastinate. If we do things right away and not last minute, we will have greater peace and actually more time to accomplish our work. Being organized and not cluttered will also help us accomplish more. Decluttering our homes gives us more space and with it, greater peace. May we trust the Lord to guide us to be and do what He wants us to and accomplish His purposes.

   Challenge for today: Thank the Lord for how He has created you and ask Him to guide you into His plans for your life.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you have a day filled with peace and hope. My day is chuck full of activities of shopping, exercise, crafts, Bible study etc.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

We’ve all probably heard someone say, “He’s blind as a bat!” and it could mean he physically can’t see without glasses, or he is unable to recognize problems that may be clear to others. Many have to live with physical blindness and yet go through life with great spiritual sight; and there are those who see but are blind spiritually, which is far worse.

Challenge for today: Put Eph. 1:17-18 in your own words and pray it with meaning.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you wake to a beautiful day. Such lovely weather for refreshing walks. Snow is melting so we will soon be able to walk again on the Paul Bunyan trail.
Today is women’s Bible study and Al is  as I also made Finnish pasty yesterday to have for our dinner today.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Are we seeking truth in the way we think and live or do we accept the lies of our culture?  Pastors who preach to make people feel good but refuse to talk about sin and truth miss the mark. They may be popular but cheat their congregation of the life of truth and peace God wants for them. It’s much like putting on a bandage in regard to sin, but the way of truth cuts to the heart of the matter and brings wholeness.

   Some go to church to feel happy and good about themselves, and others because they desire to know God and let Him direct their lives and become whole. It’s not really about what we want but to become what God wants, which is a big difference.

  In Jeremiah’s time, Pashur was a popular eminent preacher and had a following. Everyone liked to hear him, and he preached everything positive to make the people feel good. But Jeremiah couldn’t stomach him because Pashur doctored up truth and people didn’t see their sin or need of God. On the other hand, God wants us to deal with our selfishness and sin and seek forgiveness. He wants us to become mature people in the Lord.

   We all need to live by the truth, not by what the culture says or preachers who tell us only positive things and want us to applaud. We are to test everything against scripture and to face our lies and sinful behavior and seek forgiveness. It’s not like polishing our outward behavior but experiencing inward truth, seeing ourselves as God sees us. To illustrate the seriousness of sin Jeremiah took a pottery water jug and threw it to the ground, smashing it in the presence of the leaders; he told them how God was going to smash the people and the city who had wandered from God, but he ended up in stocks for telling them. For him, the most important thing was living for God and not the applause of men. Are we passionate for God and truth seekers or do we go along with the world?

  Challenge for today: Dare to ask the Lord of ways you value comfort and applause of men over living for Him, and purpose to go God’s way!

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a blessed and joyous Easter. We enjoyed our time going to the lake, hearing Leif preach, the yummy dinner, games and just being in nature. We came home feeling thankful and blessed. Today the Easter decorations will be put away and I plan to go to exercise and do some baking.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

How many times have we prayed that the Lord would draw us closer to Him and that we would sense His nearness. We may have sung the old familiar song, “Just a closer walk with Thee, Grant it Jesus is my plea, daily walking close to Thee, Let it be dear Lord, let it be.” We know in our hearts when we have drifted away from the Lord and we desire His nearness. Chances are we have taken over control of our lives again and like Anthony Bloom said that “So often when we say to the Lord, “I love you” we say it with a huge “I” and a small “you.” The bigger our “I” becomes, the more isolated we feel from the Lord.

Challenge for today: Meditate on God’s love for you and ask Him to help you find ways to express His love for others.

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  A blessed Easter to you! As we celebrate this special holy day let us be reminded of Jesus’ sacrificial death for us and that He is our hope and the One who gives us new life and victory. Today I would like to share a prayer by Debbie McDaniel and may it be our prayer as well.

“Dear God,

  Thank you that you make all things new. Thank you for the Victory and Power in your Name.          Thank you that you hold the keys over death, and that by your might, Christ was raised from the grave, paving the way for us to live free. Thank you that you had a plan, thank you that you made a way.

  We praise you for your great strength, we praise you for your lavish love. We praise you for you are Conqueror, Victor, Redeemer, and Friend. We praise you that you alone are our Deliverer, you are Worthy, you are our everlasting Father our great and awesome God.

  We confess our need for you. We ask that you would renew our hearts, minds, and lives, for the days ahead. We pray for your spirit of refreshing to fill us again. Keep your words of truth planted firmly within us, help us to keep focused on what is pure and right, give us the power to be obedient to your word. And when the enemy reminds us of where we have been, whispering his lies and hurling attacks our way, may he be reminded again of his future. For we have a future and a hope in you. We’ve been set free, redeemed, the old has lost its grip, the new has come.

   Shine your light in us, through us, over us. May we make a difference in this world, for your glory and purposes. Set your way before us. May all your plans succeed. May we reflect your peace and hope to a world that so desperately needs your presence and healing.

  Thanks be to you, God, for your indescribable gift!

  To you be glory and honor, on this Resurrection Day, and forever.

 In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

   As Debbie said, “His power could not be contained in a grave. His love could not be conquered by death, His truth could never be buried and forgotten. Jesus rose again. He is victorious!”

Blessings to you at this Easter time and prayers and love, Judy

The also think of the prophet Jeremiah who was often in crowds, but he didn’t let it shape his message and values. He didn’t preach what the people wanted to hear about God or what would make them feel good, but rather what God told him to say. He listened first to God and only wanted to give messages from Him.  Those words certainly weren’t pleasing to the crowd for they would have to recognize the truth of their sinful behavior and distance from God. It would have been far easier for Jeremiah to hold back on what he was to speak, but when he did it became like fire in his belly that he had to get out. (Jer. 20:9)

 But how refreshing it is to see a person or a group of people that are willing to live in truth and have courage to go against the crowd mentality. Sometimes they even have to stand alone. As read in the book of Jeremiah, he writes about a group of people called Recabites. They were metal workers and lived in tents and were wanderers who lived outside the city. They drank no wine and built no houses or gardens but lived life according to their ancestor Jonadab. Jeremiah was told to invite them into an open room in the temple and serve them wine. The Racabites came but they refused to drink the wine and were not distracted to go along with what the crowd would have done. They held to their convictions set down 250 years before by Jonadab and didn’t waver. Jeremiah was using them as an example to the people to live according to God’s commands and not give in to the culture. The people had drifted far from God and he wanted them to be faithful to God and live by His commands, and not let the crowd distract them.

Let us also not be influenced by ungodliness in our culture but be persons of conviction who please God and not man.

Blessings on this Good Friday and prayers and love, Judy

As it is Maundy Thursday today, I think of Jesus as He celebrated the last supper with His disciples and washed their feet. He took the role of a servant and did what none of the other disciples offered to do. Jesus said in John 13:14-15, “So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also must wash each other’s feet. I’ve given you an example that you should follow.” He goes on to tell them they will have a blessed life if they follow His example and do to others what He has done.

Let us ask ourselves how willing we are to serve others, even when it involves things that we would rather not do. But the Lord will enable us to it with His love!  A couple days ago I read an example that Mark Roberts, from Fuller Seminary, gave of the role of a servant. An Executive of a large company met the custodian as he was struggling to get some big boxes up some stairs. The boss offered to help and the two of them worked together until all the boxes were carried up and put away. As he went to leave, the sweaty boss noticed tears in the eyes of the custodian, who said, “I’ve worked for this company for many years. Before today, no boss has ever stopped to help me. Thank you so much. You have no idea what this means to me.” It was a simple act but spoke volumes. Foot washing is sometimes carrying boxes or bringing a meal to a family, or helping someone who is hurt. Let us not think we deserve to be served but to serve with compassion and humility.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope your day is full peace! More snow than when we went to bed and wonder if I will get to my class or Aldi’s today. I love baking when shut in, and Al is only too happy to sample everything.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

Why do some people seem to have a life of ease even though they don’t honor the Lord; and then there are others who love and serve the Lord and seem to have so many trials in life? I thought of a family who loves the Lord and has been through so many trials, but they don’t give up. They persevere and go on and are a witness to us all!

Challenge for today: Let go of those things that distract you from the Lord and keep your eyes on Him and persevere!

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

We don’t have to run around searching for answers to life and who we are, but go to God, who knows us well and let Him tell us who we are. If we try to begin with ourselves, rather than God, we become egocentric. God is meant to be the center of our lives, the one who knows us better than we will ever know ourselves. I am reading Jeremiah, and God said in Jer. 1:5, “Before I shaped you in the womb, I knew all about you. Before you saw the light of day, I had holy plans for you: A prophet to the nations—that’s what I had in mind for you.”

I wonder how many of us, as we were growing up, asked for God’s plan for our lives and followed the path He had for us. He has chosen us and whatever He has for us in life, He will help us discover. We read today of men who were millionaires and did not find satisfaction in wealth, leave their high positions and do what their calling was from the Lord. Those are Holy plans when they are God’s plans, and He has chosen each of us for a specific calling. Some take a detour before being willing to embrace God’s plan, as happened to many in scripture. Jonah tried but got him in the belly of the whale. Pl

Our place in life is determined before we are born. God puts within us all the gifts we need to accomplish what He has planned. The important thing is that we are on God’s team, and not that we do everything right, but that we follow His leading and live for Him and to serve others. We are not an accident but all of us are called and chosen, and may we live the life that God has for each of us.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy