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20,000 visitors to my blog as of today. Thanks to all who visit!

Charles Spurgeon Quote

"When you are in good health any form of religion may satisfy, but a dying soul wants more than sand to rest upon. You will want the Rock of Ages. Then let me assure you, that in light of the grave, all confidence, except confidence in the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, is a clear delusion." - Charles Spurgeon

Devotional: Look and Remember

"Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God." (Numbers 15:38-40 ESV)

The children of Israel were told to put tassels and a cord of blue on the corner of their garments so that when they saw them, they would be constantly reminded of the commandments of the Lord, and to obey them rather than follow after their own hearts and eyes.

We all need reminders like this as we are prone to forget and wonder off on our own in disobedience to God.  I find it interesting that in the days that we live, the worldly admonition is to "just follow your heart".  Many graduation ceremony speeches are punctuated with advice like this.  Yet, our verse says, "...remember all the commandments of the  Lord, to do them, and not follow after your own heart..."

This goes counter culture to what we are taught by the worldly leaders of today.  Little children in preschool and kindergarten are taught in story books and movies to "follow your heart" and the end of the story is always a positive ending.

Scripture says that the heart is deceitful and desperately wicked. (Jeremiah 17:9)  It can't be trusted. If we follow our hearts we will be deceived.  The man who ruins his marriage by adultery was following his heart.  The person who murders another is also following their heart.  In the same token, the person who gives to the poor is also following their heart.  So we see the heart can lead a person to do good or to do evil. The same person who committed adultery may have donated thousands of dollars to charity.  Both actions were being led by their heart. The point is, you can't trust your heart.  Will it lead you to do good or evil?  You don't know.

The only remedy is to follow Christ, to obey Him regardless of what your heart tells you to do.  This often requires some kind of reminders that we see daily to remind us of our duty to obedience to Him.

What reminds you to follow Christ on a daily basis instead of your own heart?  Is it scripture verses posted on the fridge or on the dash of the car?  This speaks to me because I need to do these things too.

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Devotion: Trials Turned to Gold

Behold, I go forward, but he is not there, and backward, but I do not perceive him;
But he knows the way that I take;
when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold. (Job 23:8, 10 ESV)

Have you ever been in a place where you felt like God was far away...a place where no matter which way you turned it seemed like He was not there?

It's a place where you feel like you are at a dead end with no way out. You just can't see the light at the end of the tunnel.

When I read the verses above, I see that while God never leaves me or forsakes me, sometimes He hides His presence from me. He is trying my faith so that it will be strengthened and I will learn to trust Him more.

If you are in a place where it seems like God isn't there, take heart. Hang on to your faith in Him. He is turning your trials into gold that will reflect His beauty through you.

Devotion: Praying for Others

You shall put the two stones on the shoulder pieces of the ephod, as stones of memorial for the sons of Israel, and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial. (Exodus 28:12 NASB)

As part of the priestly garments, Aaron was to wear two stones, one on each shoulder. On each stone six names of the tribes of Israel were inscribed. Our verse above tells us why.

"...Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD on his two shoulders for a memorial..."

We as Christians should bear our fellow Christians before the Lord in prayer.

We don't need to engrave their names on stones and wear them to church to bear our fellow Christians to the Lord in prayer. However, it helps to remember if we keep a list.

If you are wondering how to pray, the verse below gives us some good points for prayer as we pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ.

"To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. "(2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12 NASB)

I am thankful for those who pray for me. Shouldn't I make a special effort to pray for others?

A Good Thought for Today

Think of the solution, not the problem. If your mind was filled only with thoughts of why you were going to lose, then you couldn't think of how to win."

~ Terry Goodkind, Blood of the Fold
Author

Bridal Shower Talk Tip

If you are writing your own talk for a Bridal Shower, use examples from your own marriage to illustrate Biblical truths that you are trying communicate to the bride-to-be and your audience.

Sharing from your own struggles and victories in married life makes your talk more personal and memorable and it shows your audience and the bride-to-be that God's Word is practical and usable in the marriage relationship.

For bridal shower talk resources, see my book, "Bridal Shower Talk Resource eBook" at Lulu.com or for Kindle at Amazon.com.

Devotional: God Sees Our Affliction

And the people believed; and when they heard that the Lord had visited the people of Israel and that he had seen their affliction, they bowed their heads and worshiped. (Exodus 4:31 ESV)

Many of God's people are enduring afflictions of one sort or another. For some it is physical affliction. For others it is mental affliction. Yet others are dealing with difficult circumstances as a result of financial difficulties or having to care for a loved one who is ailing or watching a grown loved one make bad choices. All of the above falls under the classification of affliction.

The Israelites were being afflicted by the Egyptians. It is interesting to me to note that the Lord, at this point in time, had only seen their affliction. He had not done anything to remove it yet. But there was the promise of rescue from their slavery and their response was to bow their heads and worship.

God sees our affliction too. He doesn't promise to remove it in this life, but He does promise a day when there will be no more sorrow, death or tears. He also promises to be with us in our affliction and give us grace to endure.

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:4 ESV)

fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 ESV)

We need to look ahead to that day and until that day, worship Him. He will come to our rescue.

Rights Vs Christian Testimony

I have been pondering, what are my personal "rights", and when should those "rights" be set aside in deference toward others? Are some "rights" so important that we should fight for them to the point of making Christianity stink unnecessarily in the eyes of those who know we are Christians? In determining what rights are worth fighting for shouldn't we take into consideration whether or not it will build up and strengthen other believers in faith or will it be a stumbling block if those rights are fought for, and exercised?

My friend Karen points out that I Cor. 8:9-10 has something to say regarding your "rights" and when to lay them aside. Also see chapter 9:19-23.

Devotional: God is in Our Darkness

The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was. (Exodus 20:21 ESV)

I am intrigued by the fact that God was in the thick darkness.  There are other passages of Scripture that talk about God dwelling in darkness.

He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
thick clouds dark with water. (Psalm 18:11 ESV)

He made darkness around him his canopy,
thick clouds, a gathering of water. (2 Samuel 22:12 ESV)

 Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. (Psalm 97:2 ESV)

I find great comfort in the fact that God dwells in my darkness.  There are times when the trials of life seem to envelope us in a shroud of darkness.  We don't know which way to turn and may feel trapped in the darkness.

We may feel like the writer of Lamentations.

I am the man who has seen affliction
under the rod of his wrath;
he has driven and brought me
into darkness without any light;
he has made me dwell in darkness
like the dead of long ago. (Lamentations 3:1, 2, 6 ESV)

The end of Psalm 18 gives great encouragement for us when we are surrounded by darkness.

For it is you who light my lamp;
the Lord my God lightens my darkness.
For by you I can run against a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
This God—his way is perfect;
the word of the Lord proves true;
he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18:28-30 ESV)

Bridal Shower Devotional Talk Resource ebook~Reduced Price!

Bridal Shower Devotional Talk Resource ebook~Reduced Price!

On Amazon.com Kindle Store, in 24 hours the price should be reduced to $1.00.

http://www.amazon.com/Bridal-Shower-Resource-eBook-ebook/dp/B0053TDI16/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1327520476&sr=8-1

On Lulu.com the price will be reduced to $1.79 for the PDF file download.

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/bridal-shower-devotional-resource-book/18836376?productTrackingContext=search_results%2Fsearch_shelf%2Fcenter%2F8 Copy and past this link in your browser if you want the PDF.

I wish I could price them both at $1.00, but Lulu won't let me price that low and I needed to set a price where I would make some profit.

Bridal Shower Devotional Talk Resource ebook~Reduced Price Coming Soon!

On Amazon.com Kindle Store, in  24 hours the price should be reduced to $1.00.
On Lulu.com the price will be reduced to $1.79 for the PDF file download.

I wish I could price them both at $1.00, but Lulu won't let me price that low and I needed to set a price where I would make some profit.

I will post a link to each one once the prices are live.

We are getting a little snow today!

Devotional: Mirrors

Genesis 20:2:
And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah.


Genesis 26:8:
And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

I've been reading in Genesis lately, and was struck recently by the fact that Isaac committed the same exact sin as his father by lying about his wife and saying she was his sister.

It points to the fact that our children are watching what we do and they are learning from us.  This takes me up short.  As my children have grown to be teens, sometimes I see things in them that I don't like and then I realize, that very thing has been something that I do!  It's like looking in a mirror.  Horrors!

One remedy is to look to the Word of God...it is a mirror that we need to look into and then let God show us where and how we need to change.

James 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

I need to point out that Christian parents whose children have not turned out the way they brought them up are not always at fault for how they turn out.  I don't want to unnecessarily lay guilt on those who find themselves in this spot.  Our children are sinners like the rest of us and unless God converts them, they may go their own sinful way. 

I am only pointing to the fact that sometimes as we raise our children, we see them saying or doing things that we don't like and sometimes if we step back and look at what we do and say, we might find that they are only mirroring our behavior.  This is most obvious with toddlers.  Let's be mindful of what our bad habits and actions are so that we set good examples for our children.

Devotional: He Will Complete What He Appoints for Me

"But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does. For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind. Job 23:12-14 ESV

Do you ever feel like you are spinning your wheels and nothing you want to accomplish gets done?  Maybe you are dealing with chronic illness which prevents you from having the energy you need to do what you want to do. Or perhaps it is interruptions in your day that keep you from getting those things done.

God, on the other hand does whatever He desires and no one can thwart His purposes.  What is interesting to me is that these verses say that he will complete what he appoints for me.  What does He have appointed for me?  I Thessalonians 4:3 says, "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality." John 17:19 says, "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth."

God's purposes for us is that we be sanctified. When our day doesn't go as planned, and we are able to yield to His shaping and molding us through those circumstances then we are right in the center of His will even if we aren't able to get done what was on our agenda.  He is completing in us the work that He has set out to do. 

This should give us great comfort in knowing that He is in control of our days. No matter what happens in our day, He knows what He is doing and He will carry out and complete what He has appointed for us.