Category: Confidence

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The Compass Rose

Most everyone of us has felt lost at one time or another – physically, emotionally, mentally or spiritually. It’s a sinking feeling!

I live with a man who loves maps. In fact for many years of our marriage a map would be the perfect gift for him for Father’s Day, birthday and even Christmas. He will sit for hours, it seems, with a map before him as he plans our next trip. He wants to know where we are going and which roads are the best for our journey.

Isn’t that just like the Lord?

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.” Psalm 23:1-2

Dave and I have some big decisions to make over the next few weeks and months. We need to know that we are taking the right path; that we are following what the Lord has for us. In our younger years if we followed our own thinking and made a mistake we had years ahead of us to recover. But now, in our late 60’s and early 70’s we want to be sure that we are following the Lord’s leading. No time for mistakes.

“But now you will again see the Lord, your teacher, and he will guide you. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, “This is the road! Now follow it.” Isaiah 30:20b-21 CEV

The compass rose is the center of the compass. “A compass rose, sometimes called a wind rose or rose of the winds, is a figure on a compass, map, nautical chart, or monument used to display the orientation of the cardinal directions (north, east, south, and west) and their intermediate points.”

When I searched for images of compasses this morning I chose this one because the compass rose is brilliant, bold and quite frankly it reminded me of the strength and wisdom that we find in Christ.

We once had a cowboy preacher friend of ours give us this advice, “If God says go North, He will provide. If you go South, you’ll think you died”. That has stuck with us for 40 years now. No more going South – we want to follow God’s leading. The Lord’s compass rose always points to true North.

“Shout praises to the Lord!
    He is good to us,
    and his love never fails.
2 Everyone the Lord has rescued
from trouble
    should praise him,
3 everyone he has brought
from the east and the west,
    the north and the south.

4 Some of you were lost
in the scorching desert,
    far from a town.
5 You were hungry and thirsty
    and about to give up.
6 You were in serious trouble,
    but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
7 Right away he brought you
    to a town.
8 You should praise the Lord
    for his love
    and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us…

19You were in serious trouble,
    but you prayed to the Lord,
    and he rescued you.
20 By the power of his own word,
he healed you
    and saved you
    from destruction.

21 You should praise the Lord
    for his love
    and for the wonderful things
    he does for all of us.” Psalm 107:1-8, 19-21 CEV

I would encourage you to take time to read the whole chapter of Psalm 107. Then “Praise the Lord for his love and for the wonderful things he does for all of us”.

The Lord is our rescuer, our deliverer. He is our Compass Rose and He will always lead us on the right path!

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Thank You!

This morning I will deviate slightly from my normal blog teaching because I want to say thank you to the ladies of Desert Christian Fellowship. I so enjoyed being with you yesterday. Your hearts were so tender and receptive. I know you all will be bolder women sharing God’s love.

Pastor Kathy and the Women’s Ministry team welcomed me and my daughters. You were such gracious hostesses. Thank you.

Seeing dear friends of 35+ years was an added bonus. These ladies have enriched my life greatly through the years!

The Praise Music was perfect! Thank you Julie. You led us right to heaven’s presence – how can we not be bolder women when we are reminded that Standing on the Promises we cannot fail!

“Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.” I Peter 3:15 CEV

Our purpose was to honor Christ and I know we did; now we are ready to give an answer to all who ask us about the hope we have, the hope we have in Christ.

God bless you ladies! Thank you again for giving me the opportunity to share my heart with you!

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Obedience & Boldness

This morning I will be sharing teachings with the ladies of Desert Christian Fellowship in Phoenix. Through the year I have been studying different women in the Bible who were world-changers because of their boldness.

The Lord has taught me that there is a link between boldness and obedience. The women whose stories I will be telling were not particularly gifted or talented but they were obedient to what God asked of them. Once they knew God had called them to a specific task and they were obedient in accepting that calling, they stepped out boldly.

Obedience and Boldness go hand-in-hand.

“Tell me,” Samuel said. “Does the Lord really want sacrifices and offerings? No! He doesn’t want your sacrifices. He wants you to obey him.” I Samuel 15:22 CEV

The Lord is more concerned about our heart’s attitude than our religious actions.

Once you do a word search on “obey” it doesn’t take long to find the names of Bible greats who obeyed God; there was Noah, Abraham, Moses, Aaron, David, Samuel, Gideon, Daniel and let’s not leave out ladies like Esther, Ruth, Miriam, Mary, Sarah, Rahab…These were ordinary people who boldly stepped forward in obedience when the Lord called on them.

“Today I am explaining his laws and teachings. And if you always obey them, you and your descendants will live long and be successful in the land the Lord is giving you.” Deuteronomy 4:40 CEV

Just like little children, we are to obey our heavenly Father and that obedience empowers us for the tasks we face. When we are obedient we can have boldness that He is leading us and providing for us each step of the way.

“Long ago I promised the ancestors of Israel that I would give this land to their descendants. So be strong and brave! Be careful to do everything my servant Moses taught you. Never stop reading The Book of the Law he gave you. Day and night you must think about what it says. If you obey it completely, you and Israel will be able to take this land. 9 I’ve commanded you to be strong and brave. Don’t ever be afraid or discouraged! I am the Lord your God, and I will be there to help you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:6-9 CEV

Obedience and Boldness walk hand-in-hand. We obey and God gives us the strength and the boldness. We are never alone when we walk obedient to His calling!

“God is working in you to make you willing and able to obey him.” Philippians 2:13 CEV

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Power’s Out!

Last night we had friends come for a bar-b-q. About 8 pm, the power went off.

No matter, we were outside enjoying the light of the full moon and the outdoor lights, which were 12v. It wasn’t until everyone went home and we went inside that we had to begin using alternate sources of power. The electric heaters didn’t work so we switched on the gas heat. The water heater had been operating on electric and so there was enough hot water to do up the dishes but it did pose a question about our morning showers if the power stayed off.

I always get the coffee ready at night so I can turn it on when I get up. I filled the coffee maker but I also filled the stove-top percolator in case I needed to make coffee the old-fashioned way. My computer battery was fully charged, no problem there and our signal booster is 12v so that would be operational.

About 11 pm, I woke to the electric clock flashing. Power had been restored!

The Bible is filled with stories of God’s power being displayed in the earth. Each story had a specific purpose which demonstrated God’s love and holiness.  But, such displays were isolated and temporary, then the power would go out until the next occasion. Until Jesus!

His was a life of daily demonstration of the love and power of God. Everywhere He went, everything He did, He was God in action. The miracles, the messages, the compassion, the selflessness were demonstrations of God’s power. His life was the power of the Holy Spirit moving in concert with God’s plan and Jesus’ obedience.

“About that time Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As soon as Jesus came out of the water, he saw the sky open and the Holy Spirit coming down to him like a dove. 11 A voice from heaven said, “You are my own dear Son, and I am pleased with you.” Mark 1:9-11 CEV

He had told his disciples in one sermon that they would be light which would shine in the darkness.

“ and no one would light a lamp and put it under a clay pot. A lamp is placed on a lampstand, where it can give light to everyone in the house. 16 Make your light shine, so that others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:15-16 CEV

After Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jesus commissioned his disciples, us included, to be His witnesses in the earth. As He was getting ready to leave earth, his disciples were concerned about political power. Jesus told them, that’s not for your concern. You need to be filled with spiritual power so you can change the world the way I have.

“While the apostles were still with Jesus, they asked him, “Lord, are you now going to give Israel its own king again?” 7 Jesus said to them, “You don’t need to know the time of those events that only the Father controls. 8 But the Holy Spirit will come upon you and give you power. Then you will tell everyone about me in Jerusalem, in all Judea, in Samaria, and everywhere in the world.” 9 After Jesus had said this and while they were watching, he was taken up into a cloud.” Acts 1:6-9 CEV

Once the Holy Spirit filled them with power they changed the world with the message of Christ.

Do you ever feel that somehow your power’s been cut? You’re operating on alternative power? The promise of the Holy Spirit infilling our lives and giving us the power of God holds for us today.

There is no clearer promise for us to take to heart that what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13:

“I can do all things through Christ who gives me the strength”.

No need to be concerned about a power shortage when we have a direct line to the Omnipotent Father.

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Through The Rivers

I needed to share this photo with you from our recent trip to the Catwalk. This is our daughter and son-in-law. What you don’t clearly see behind them is a rushing waterfall. Our daughter has a “thing” for getting in the water. Her husband prefers that she doesn’t take chances like that! He is always there to protect her, I like that!

This morning I am wondering how many of you feel you are in a vulnerable situation, in need of protection.

God’s faithfulness is never ending, and neither is His love, mercy and grace!

A few incidences in the Bible came to mind this morning while I was thinking about some of the rivers we go through. Remember when the children of Israel were being led out of Egypt? They came to the Red Sea and God parted the waters. Then as they were about to entire the Promised Land, the land God provided for them, they had to cross the Jordan River while it was in flood stage. The minute the priests set foot in the river God did a miracle. The waters held back and the entire nation crossed on dry ground.

“The priests carried the Box of the Agreement, and the people left the place they had camped. The people started going across the Jordan River. 15 (During harvest time the Jordan River overflows its banks, so the river was at its fullest.) The priests who were carrying the Box came to the shore of the river. When they stepped into the water, 16 immediately the water stopped flowing and piled up like a wall. The water piled up high a long way up the river—all the way to Adam (a town near Zarethan). And the water flowing down to the sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. The people crossed the river near Jericho. 17 The ground at that place became dry, and the priests carried the Box of the Agreement of the Lord to the middle of the river and stopped. They waited there while all the Israelites walked across the Jordan River on dry land.” Joshua 3:14-17 ERV

Do you think some of the people might have been afraid? I do. However, our Father is always faithful to protect and to guide.

“ Jacob, the Lord created you. Israel, he made you, and now he says, “Don’t be afraid. I saved you. I named you. You are mine. 2 When you have troubles, I am with you. When you cross rivers, you will not be hurt. When you walk through fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not hurt you. 3 That’s because I, the Lord, am your God. I, the Holy One of Israel, am your Savior.” Isaiah 43:1-3a ERV

As I said at the beginning, I’m not sure what vulnerable situation you may have before you but I do know that when we walk through rivers, when we go through fire, when life’s storms seek to capsize our boat, the Father is there – He never leaves us alone!

“The mountains may disappear, and the hills may become dust, but my faithful love will never leave you. I will make peace with you, and it will never end.” The Lord who loves you said this.” Isaiah 54:10 ERV

Through the rivers, God’s faithful love with never leave us!

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Gilded Skies

I am far from a song writer, but I certainly appreciate the way they put words together to paint a picture.

Where is an old hymn, “May Jesus Christ Be Praised”, that often fills my heart and sets my mind singing.

When morning gilds the skies

My heart, awakening, cries

May Jesus Christ be praised.

A like at work and prayer,

To Jesus I repair

May Jesus Christ be praised.

There is no better way to start the day than with praise!

Before we are tainted with the news, emails and text messages; before we see our daily schedule or pay the bills, first and foremost we should set our days on a course of gratitude.

On mornings’ like today, it would be real easy for me to start my day complaining. The internet signal has been so weak that each time I try to connect to a different app the connection drops and I have to wait minutes, yes minutes, to reestablish the connection. 

Somehow, I don’t think the Lord’s wants me to get frustrated when telling you about His love and goodness. 

“I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
14 Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:13-14 NIV

Let delays be an anthem of praise.  If you’re stuck in traffic, praise the Lord for keeping you safe on the highways. If you are waiting for an appointment praise God that your situation isn’t life threatening and you can afford to wait.

Look for opportunities to bless those around you who are also feeling the pressure and frustration of waiting. Praise God for His blessings, seen and unseen. His hand of protection is on you and He is directing the path before you.

“In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps.” Proverbs 16:9 NIV

Look to the skies and praise God that He has blessed you with another day!

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It Is Good!

One of the things I enjoy about being in the mountains is talking with people who are enjoying God’s creation.

Night before last we had another amazing sunset! Last night, we talked with several people who were remarking on its beauty. “Did you see that sunset, it was one of the most beautiful I’ve seen?” And they would go on from there. One man we met is a professional photographer and he had been out one night photographing the Milky Way; he said he loves being up here where there is no artificial light to spoil the night sky.

I’m sure, as we were looking at the spectacular sunset God was too. I can just hear him saying, “Now that’s a good one. I hope they enjoy it.”

“ God said, “I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. 15 I command them to shine on the earth.” And that’s what happened. 16 God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, 18 to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. 19 Evening came and then morning—that was the fourth day.” Genesis 1:14-18 CEV

God looked at what he had done, and it was good! Oh my, yes.

Good…I can find so many more adjectives in describing the sunset than good but then I’m not God. That was the phrase that struck me this morning, as I began to write. He called it good. Just good.

But when He talks about us He is much more eloquent.

“But you are God’s chosen and special people. You are a group of royal priests and a holy nation. God has brought you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Now you must tell all the wonderful things that he has done. The Scriptures say, 10 “Once you were nobody. Now are God’s people. At one time no one had pity on you. Now God has treated you with kindness.” I Peter 2:9-12 CEV

Special…chosen…royal…holy. A beautiful sunset is good but we are special, chosen, royal and holy. WOW! To know that God thinks about me in those terms is overwhelming. When I look into a mirror I tend to see my flaws and imperfections but that’s not what God sees. He sees me as valuable and precious.

“Then the Lord All-Powerful said: You people are precious to me, and when I come to bring justice, I will protect you, just as parents protect an obedient child.” Malachi 3:17 CEV

Through the years I have learned that what God says about me holds greater value than what others say about me or even, what I say about myself. His opinion is the one that matters and to Him, I am precious!

The beautiful sunset is good but I am precious and so are you!

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Jumping In

Have you ever noticed how much fun kids have jumping? It can be jumping in to a pool or jumping in a puddle; they like jumping on trampolines and jumping rope. They have to be told not to jump on the bed and the furniture. Jumping houses have become a favorite at backyard birthday parties. Yes, jumping seems to be a favorite pastime for kids.

Now, some adults seem to enjoy jumping as well but it’s a different kind of jumping. They like jumping to conclusions. This kind of jumping can be quite dangerous.

Without much background information and little research, snap judgements are made and conclusions are improperly drawn. Reputations can be ruined and discontentment can surface when we jump to the wrong conclusion.

The religious leaders of Jesus day jumped to the wrong conclusion about Him.

They had been waiting for the “coming Messiah”. It had been prophesied by their prophets for hundreds of years. They talked in their synagogues of His coming – would He deliver them from Roman oppression?

But when He came, they accused Him of blasphemy. They said He came from the wrong region of the country, that He had a devil because He could do miracles and that the Messiah wouldn’t associate with sinners who drank wine or had scandalous reputations. They jumped to the wrong conclusion.

“Later, Jesus and his disciples were having dinner at Matthew’s house. Many tax collectors and other sinners were also there. 11 Some Pharisees asked Jesus’ disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and other sinners?”

12 Jesus heard them and answered, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor, but sick people do. 13 Go and learn what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘Instead of offering sacrifices to me, I want you to be merciful to others.’ I didn’t come to invite good people to be my followers. I came to invite sinners.” Matthew 9:10-13 CEV

You know, I jumped to a few wrong conclusions about God’s love myself. I felt I had to be good enough to earn God’s love and if I messed up God would distance Himself from me. I felt my relationship with the Father was based on my good merit and didn’t understand His grace.

“But the gift that God was kind enough to give was very different from Adam’s sin. That one sin brought death to many others. Yet in an even greater way, Jesus Christ alone brought God’s gift of kindness to many people.

16 There is a lot of difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift. That one sin led to punishment. But God’s gift made it possible for us to be acceptable to him, even though we have sinned many times. 17 Death ruled like a king because Adam had sinned. But that cannot compare with what Jesus Christ has done. God has been so kind to us, and he has accepted us because of Jesus. And so we will live and rule like kings.” Romans 5:15-17 CEV

I had jumped to the wrong conclusion. God is gracious, loving and kind. He is forgiving. He desires to have relationship with us.

Let’s all jump to the right conclusion – God is love; jump into relationship with Him, the conclusion will be acceptance and an abundant life in Him.

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Spelling Lesson

School is back in session for most of the kids and they have spelling lessons. Today, I’m going to teach you a new way to spell two words, defeat and quit.

How do you spell defeat? It’s spelled q-u-i-t. How do you spell quit? It’s spelled n-e-v-e-r!

Things come up in life and it looks like we’ll be defeated. Some times the hard things make us want to quit! It could be a relationship, an illness, financial problems, a continued process of setbacks but we must not quit!!!

Fight the battle – victory will come.

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in victory through Christ. God uses us to spread his knowledge everywhere like a sweet-smelling perfume.” II Corinthians 2:14 ERV

ALWAYS!

Do you remember the story of the Israelites after they had been delivered from Pharaoh and Egypt ? They had seen God do mighty things and now they were standing on the edge of the Promised Land. The Lord told them they would go in and possess the land so they sent in spies to see what the land was like.

Twelve spies went in; they brought back clusters of grapes so big that two men had to carry them on a pole. It truly was a land flowing with milk and honey as God had said it was (He doesn’t lie you know). The land was lush and beautiful. A land to be desired but…the spies reported there were giants in the land.

God knew the giants were there when He said He would give them the land. Were the giants really any bigger an obstacle than the Pharaoh’s army or the Red Sea? If God had provided victory for them in the past, why would they doubt His ability now?

The spies took their eyes off of their God and looked at their own ability. They had given up. They were defeated! Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, tried to get their eyes back on the bigness of God and the people were ready to stone them.

“ It is a land filled with many good things. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land. And he will give that land to us. 9 So don’t turn against the LORD! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land. We can defeat them. They have no protection, nothing to keep them safe. But we have the LORD with us, so don’t be afraid!” 10 All the people began talking about killing Joshua and Caleb with stones.” Numbers 14:8-10 ERV

Trusting God isn’t “a way” to get things done, it’s “the way”. Jesus didn’t say I am “a way”, “a truth” and “a life” – NO! He said I am THE way, THE truth and THE life.

We must stay focused on the greatness of our God or we’ll be like the Israelites and quit before we get started.

I don’t know your situation or what battles you have been fighting but don’t quit! You’re not in this alone – God is there to fight the battle with and for you!

Don’t quit – don’t give up – don’t accept defeat and you will ALWAYS TRIUMPH!

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More Love

The last two days I have had these words in my mind and on my heart – More Love.

Think about those two words in connection with our relationship with God, the Father. Can we earn more of His love? Is it possible that He loves someone more than He loves us?

The answer to those two questions is an emphatic no!

Something we need to realize, and it goes beyond human understanding, is that God is love, period. There is no greater or lesser degree of His love displayed because of our efforts or goodness.

“God is love, and anyone who doesn’t love others has never known him.” I John 4:8CEV

Water is wet. That is a definitive statement. I know this is an inadequate example, but water doesn’t get any wetter because someone is rich or poor, tall or short, good or bad. Water is wet.

God is love!  He can’t get more love from anywhere – He is love. We, however, can understand the depth of His love more as we develop in our relationship with Him but that doesn’t mean He loves us more.  The Apostle Paul prayed this prayer for the Christians in Ephesus, and it is for us too.

“So I bow in prayer before the Father. 15 Every family in heaven and on earth gets its true name from him. 16 I ask the Father with his great glory to give you the power to be strong in your spirits. He will give you that strength through his Spirit. 17 I pray that Christ will live in your hearts because of your faith. I pray that your life will be strong in love and be built on love. 18 And I pray that you and all God’s holy people will have the power to understand the greatness of Christ’s love—how wide, how long, how high, and how deep that love is. 19 Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love. Then you can be filled with everything God has for you.” Ephesians 3:14-19 ERV

One of the most quoted verses in the Bible is John 3:16.

“ God loved the people of this WORLD so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” CEV (emphasis mine)

We are all included in the “world”, so we could accurately read that verse like this: “For God so loved Kristi (add your name) that He gave His only begotten Son…” God, in His love, is unwilling that any of us should perish, His love has been poured out to all.

More Love!

It’s not possible for Him to love anymore than He does right now. It’s not possible for anything to separate us from His love.

“I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39 and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Romans 8:38-39 CEV

Don’t ever entertain the thought that God doesn’t love you. That’s not possible for if God ever stopped loving us, He would stop being God. He cannot deny who He is.

My prayer for you is the same as Paul for the Christians in Ephesus – I pray that you will understand and come to know the height, the depth and the breadth of God’s love for you.

God is love and He loves you!

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