Lately most of the books I have read have been on forgiveness and each one seems to go into greater depth; I think it is an important teaching for the Body of Christ for in the days to come, things are going to get worse in our culture. We are going to need to unite closely with other believers for strength to stand. We won’t capitalize on our differences and hurts but focus on God’s grace and strength to stand united in Christ.

Right now, I am reading theologian Lewis Smedes’ book on “The Art of Forgiving” and will share some of his thoughts. We all have wounds inflicted on us by others and we only punish ourselves when we refuse to forgive and seek to get revenge. Instead, forgiveness is a gift God gives us for our healing before we can help others. In a nutshell he writes about the stages of forgiveness, the first being the discovery of the humanity of others; instead of seeing them through the lens of being a horrible enemy that is almost like scum in our eyes, we start the miracle of forgiving by seeing them as a failed human being, a person who is bruised and broken like we are. Next, we surrender our right to get even by making them feel the pain they inflicted on us. We give up our vengeance and getting back at them. It is not the same as justice for like the person who tried to kill Pope John Paul and was forgiven, still had to serve his time in jail. The third stage is revising our feelings as we begin to see them differently after we have looked at them through a different lens. We start having feelings of good will, rather than hate, toward, although it may come slowly. One day we will be able to bless them and we will know we have forgiven. Let us purpose to forgive all who have hurt us, remembering that others will need to extend forgiveness to us as well.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Smith reminds us that caring for ourselves involves nurturing our spirit, soul and body, as Paul writes to the Thessalonians (I Thess. 5:23). We must not neglect one of them, for we can work out every day at the gym caring for our body, and ignore the Lord, so our spirit is not fed. Our spirit is cared for as we pray, do spiritual exercises, receive God’s grace and nurture His life within us.! Our soul that has to do with our emotions and feelings is not to be neglected or the loss may be seen in addictions, obsessions, and loss of meaning to our lives. We need to create space to relax and enjoy a game, music, time in nature and to reflect. Our bodies are important for they house our souls and spirits. We are to treat our bodies well, exercise, rest, eat healthily etc.  All three aspects of our life need care, not just one.

When we refrain from work for a day, we are allowing the Lord to care for us and teach us to trust and become more attuned to Him. We become aware of His presence, pray, and have more space for Him. Our other 6 days may include starting the day giving it to the Lord and asking Him to direct it, eat healthy meals, enjoy quiet as well as conversation, prayer time, exercise our minds by memorizing scripture, and getting enough sleep. Let us spend our lives well for life is too short to miss what the Lord has planned for us.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! The weather has turned cool, and Kurt stopped by yesterday on the way to the Lake to close up the cabin. It is that time again! I plan to make a Mexican dish and apple crisp this morning and go to Aldi’s.    

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Isn’t it wonderful when we can join with others who know the Lord and want to grow in faith and wholeness and healing? It is truly a gift from the Lord and important to be open to the opportunities He puts before us. It can be a time to share and be nurtured together with others who want to grow closer to the Lord. God uses all sorts of groups, and it may be a Soul Care group, a Bible study, a Spiritual formation group, an Alpha group etc. The Lord can direct us to a group that seems to fit the need we have at the time.

  Such groups may help nurture us and renew us and bring healing and even correction where needed.  Here at Northern Lakes, we have a weekly Bible Study and fill the community room each week with Christians from different churches and denominations. Al leads the study, but we also learn and grow through the sharing with each other. Since we are from different backgrounds, it broadens us and brings balance to our lives. We are united in the Lord even though we may not interpret certain verses in the same way, we capitalize on what is our common denominator, which is Jesus.

 

  When we studied the book of Ephesians, we noted how the Apostle Paul stressed unity in the Body of Christ and the importance of humility, gentleness, patience and bearing with others in love. He also said in Eph. 4:15, Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head, into Christ.” It was so beautiful at one of the studies when one in the group publicly asked another one for forgiveness. I think we were all touched. The Holy Spirit wants to move in all hearts to bring us closer to the Lord and also to one another. We are called into relationship with His whole Body, and we learn to serve one another in love and to use our spiritual gifts. Let us be open and available to share our lives together with others in the family of God, that we may grow to be more like the One who is head of us all.

 

Challenge for today: Be willing to join a community of faith where you can grow together.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope your day is full of peace and joy. Al has gone to Men’s group, and I am baking. I just made a zucchini cake so Al can take to his friends, and I can give to the sweet man who gave me the zucchini. Today is Donut Day and Bible Study and time to get my hair done.

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  One day I was reading about God’s care for me, and the song came to mind by a Jesuit priest, Bob Dufford, “Be not afraid. I go before you always. Come, follow me, and I will give you rest.” Even if we go through raging waters or burning flames, we know that God is with us and at our side to give us rest.

  In our heart of hearts do we believe God really cares for us and all that concerns us? We often hear of miraculous ways God may provide for someone who is in desperate straits or a rescue of what seems to be someone in an impossible situation, and we are amazed. But then when we are worried over a situation in our own lives, we may wonder, God do you see and really care? A thousand times Yes, He does! God also gives us freedom and He doesn’t step in to prevent us from doing our own thing, which may bring suffering. But even in our pain He is with us and reminds us that He is God and to let Him take over and bring good out of even the adverse circumstance. His perfect love for us can cast out our fears. (I John 4:18) Only by trusting Him will we have peace and rest.

   I was reading James Smith’s book, Embracing the Love of God, and He decided to go through the book of Mark and underline every verb that described Jesus’ action… like He came to be with us, He blessed, He laid hands on people, He showed compassion, He died, He taught, He forgave, He loved etc. He also gave us so many promises that will cover every need we might have, but not necessarily answer in the way we desire. But it’s best to trust God’s wisdom, not our own since He sees our hearts. As we commit our concerns to the Lord, we will find that His answers are better than we could anticipate. That is so true when we went to our son’s in N.C. recently, God had so much more awaiting us than I had prayed for or anticipated. There are also times we suffer but even in those times, He is always with us. One of the last things Jesus told his followers, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (Matt. 28:20)

   Let us bundle up our concerns in a package, as Smith shares, and then give them to the Lord as a care package, for they contain all our concerns. The Lord will receive them gladly and we can rest that He will do what is best.

   Challenge for today: Release your specific concerns to the Lord and rest as you wait for His answers.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Today we don’t hear many sermons about sin as other words may be used like mistakes, errors, or wrongs. Most sin comes from the suspicion that God is not good and that we could do a better job; or maybe we blame others and circumstances, but we are responsible for ourselves. It’s not so hard to admit our superficial sins that all of a sudden peek up out of the soil of our hearts, but it is those deep-rooted sins that cause us the most trouble. We, however, don’t need to tear up our garden to find every detailed sin for which we are guilty, but we need to let the Holy Spirit reveal those sins that trip us up. 

  

   No matter what we have done in our lives, the Lord waits for us to come and experience His cleansing and grace.

Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any hidden sins that hinders your relationship with Him.

Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Prioritize! Prioritize! Let us do what is most important and put that at the top of our schedule each day. I don’t write from practicing that successfully each and every day, for too often I jump ahead to those secondary things and then run out of time for what is top priority. I am referring to time alone with the Lord, enjoying His presence and listening to what He has to say to me.

  I usually have a mental list of what I want to accomplish and purpose to do each day. I have my own devotions and then write a devotional but sometimes I fail at just sitting with the Lord and soaking in His presence. I need to listen more carefully to His voice for He is the Good Shepherd and will lead me through my day. King David expresses the joy found in the Lord’s presence and his words are found in Psalm 16:11 “I always keep the Lord in front of me. When He is by my side, I cannot be moved. That is why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices. My body rests securely…complete joy is in your presence. Pleasures are by your side forever.”

  It is important that we not just call on the Lord when we need something and ask for help during our day; but rather we spend time just being quiet with Him and listening to what He has to say. It’s not all about what He can do for us but enjoying His presence. We miss so much when we rush about and neglect time just to be with Him.

  The days that I plunge into my work first, I know I miss the best He has for me. But when I seek Him first, I find that I have a deep joy that spills out as I do my work, and it seems to get accomplished much quicker.

  May we all prioritize our day with spending time in His presence.

 Challenge for today: Ask the Holy Spirit to remind you to keep your priorities straight! 
Blessings on your day and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Hope you had a wonderful weekend. May you wake today with a sense of the closeness of the Lord. I have 2 questions for you this week as it has been a while since I have asked you one. What things in your life seem to draw you away from God and hinder your growth? What changes do you think the Lord is asking of you to help remedy that? 

This morning I am going to my exercise class and also try a new recipe that I hope I can remember!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  I woke up several times in the night and the same song was playing in my mind that you may know, “Draw me Nearer”. Often when that happens, I go online read the song over and over to find the message the Lord may have for me. This song was written by Fanny Crosby in 1875, nearly 150 years ago, and yet it wakens me with her words. She wrote over 10,000 songs during her lifetime and was blind since an infant but never let it hold her back.

  The song is also the desire of my heart to be closer to the Lord and to let His will be mine. In our Bible study class, we have been talking about dying daily to self, and to walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:4) It is a decision we make, and I wish I could say that I daily do it successfully, but there are days I push more for my own will rather than His. Maybe that is why one of the verses of this song stood out to me, “Consecrate me now to thy service, Lord, by the power of grace divine; let my soul look up with a steadfast hope, and my will be lost in thine.” His will not mine! Fanny expresses in the song that she hears the voice of the Lord speaking to her that she belongs to him and wants to be closer: “I am thine, O Lord, I have heard thy voice, and it told thy love to me; but I long to rise in the arms of faith, and be closer drawn to Thee.” Every day He also calls to each of us to connect with Him, to be aware of His voice speaking, and to follow His leading.

  Don’t we all wish we would progress quickly in this life of death to self and that it could happen once and for all; but it really is a daily death. We found a card in our door after our class one day and it said what Al was also trying to say in the Bible study, “Holiness progresses very slowly in most of us, and yet it is with deliberate speed and according to the pace of God. In patience we have to accept the progress that we do make.”

  If our desire is for the Lord, He will guide us along the path He has for us, and at His pace, though we would like to speed along and be radically changed overnight. But let us share our desire to die to self and be closer to Him and let Him take the lead as to how that will come about.

   Challenge for today: Spend some quiet time hearing the voice of Love speak to you and purpose to do His will. 

Blessings on your week and prayers and love, Judy

 

 

 A short prayer I read this morning by A.W. Tozer that may help us in this:  “ Oh God, quicken to life every power within me, that I may lay hold on eternal things. Open my eyes that I may see; give me acute spiritual perception; enable me to taste Thee and know that Thou are good. Make heaven more real to me than any earthly thing has ever been. Amen.”

Only fellowship with God will quiet our soul’s longing, for all that the world offers won’t satisfy our heart’s desire. We all have a choice if we want to follow the Lord and choose His eternal kingdom, or if we will choose the world and all that will pass away one day. Our answer has huge ramifications for if we choose God, we find great joy in His presence. We might ask, how does the Lord manifest His presence to us? He does this through a myriad of ways.

One of our friends just began teaching at a Disciple Training School and her whole subject for this year is on Intimacy with the Lord. The other pastor is going to speak on Spiritual Gifts, and she will be sharing on the different aspects of growing in Intimacy with the Lord to about 30 eager young people. What a privilege that is to teach them about what it means to really have a close, loving relationship with the Lord, to experience His presence through prayer, scripture, praise, worship and adoration; also, through humility, repentance, and holiness. At the first class she had them practice quiet listening for 5 minutes and then some shared what they felt the Lord was saying to them. What an encouragement to help them find pleasure in the Lord’s presence and to talk with Him all throughout their day.  

Jesus wants to reveal Himself to each of us and wants to love us and converse with us. Let us be spiritually aware and respond like David in Psalm 27:8, “They face, Lord, will I seek.”

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy

Dear Ones,

Happy weekend to you! It is good to be home again after a wonderful trip, and now we are regrouping and will get ready for Party Day here. I have lots of food prep to do and then we will go get the cake and set up. 

Devotions from Judy’s heart

  Have you ever had to fight discouragement and wanted to throw in the towel and just give up? We have probably all had such times but when we love we must never give up but patiently endure as it says in I Cor. 13:7, “Love never stops being patient, never stops believing, never stops hoping, never gives up.” Love hopes and endures and bears all things!  We must hang on to those words, for our culture today lives much the opposite for it wants instant gratification and instant answers and no pain.

We need to hang on to the truth that God can work all that we are going through for good someday. We may not see it while we are going through it, but later we may understand and can even give praise. The Bible is full of verses that tell us to persevere, to not get discouraged, to endure. I was reading about Dwight L. Moody who was a world evangelist. He worked among the poor and became discouraged that he didn’t see more results. But his Sunday school teacher told him to study carefully about the story of Noah, which was familiar to him. When he did, he realized that Noah worked 100 years and didn’t get discouraged even though people were making fun of him as he built the ark. He didn’t have fellowship outside his family, and people weren’t coming to him for prayer or to know God. He just kept doing what God told him to do! Moody was changed by studying Noah and decided to simply do his best but leave the results up to the One who called him to preach.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Let us not get discouraged and quit but do the work God has called us to do.                                         

Challenge for today: Go in the strength of the Lord and never, never give up.

Blessings on your weekend and prayers and love, Judy