Category: Strength

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Needing Support

Last night a memory came to mind. It’s coming on the end of summer and when we lived in Montana that meant it was time to harvest the apple tree.

The branches of this tree were heavy laden with fruit. I would have to place wood posts under the branches to hold them up and keep them from breaking. But that’s not the only support this tree needed.

The wind in Montana seems to never stop. So, the folks who planted the tree tied it to a very sturdy post to keep if from blowing over when its trunk was young and easily bent . Those ropes were still providing it with support when we bought the home some years later. We left them in place.

Maybe you’ve felt like that apple tree, in need of support. I know I have.

As children we are nurtured and supported by our parents, grandparents, teachers at school, coaches and loving friends. They are there to give us instruction, correction and guidance. They pick us up when we fall down. They help us develop and begin our journey in living fruitful lives.

As we grow older, we still need a support system. Loving family and caring friends are a priceless treasure but even then, we have dark days when we feel alone. That’s when we need the support that only the Father can provide.

“You have helped me, and I sing happy songs in the shadow of your wings. 8 I stay close to you, and your powerful arm supports me.” Psalm 63:7-9 CEV

I’m sure each of us can remember a time when we were without hope, feeling wind-blown and insecure. But then we experienced a strength and grounding that only the Lord could give. We might not have recognized it as such, but it was the Father’s help just the same. It could have come as the kind words and prayers of a friend or perhaps, just an inner strength and determination that kept us tethered. God has a way of providing us with what we need in those times.

“Since childhood, you have known the Holy Scriptures that are able to make you wise enough to have faith in Christ Jesus and be saved. 16 Everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live. 17 The Scriptures train God’s servants to do all kinds of good deeds.” II Timothy 3:15-17 CEV

His word gives us support and instruction, instruction that will keep us strong.

“Anyone who hears and obeys these teachings of mine is like a wise person who built a house on solid rock. 25 Rain poured down, rivers flooded, and winds beat against that house. But it was built on solid rock, and so it did not fall.” Matthew 7:24-25 CEV

“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.” Hebrews 4:16 CEV

There is no more reliable and sure counsel, no other place of unfailing support than what we will find in God’s presence and in His written word!

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Under the Weather

There are two phrases I have heard used quite frequently that are little disconcerting to me. In fact, in my prayer time this morning I used one as I was talking to the Father. I told Him I was feeling under the weather – I didn’t sleep well, I am achy in all my joints and there’s the tummy upset and indigestion.

I felt a prompting to ask you all to pray for me so that my body would be strengthened and I would have the energy I need for today.

I went to look for a picture to use with the blog today and was drawn to the one I took last night. Then it struck me how appropriate this image is.

It had been lightly raining most of the afternoon. The clouds were heavy and the wind currents had positioned them right over our campground. The sky was dark because the clouds were thick and blocked the sun’s light.

The Son is never gone, only briefly out of sight.

The other phrase that annoys me is “under the circumstances”. Have you ever asked someone how they’re doing and the answer comes back “pretty good under the circumstances”? I always want to ask “why are you under your circumstances”.

God’s word promises us that we have been made overcomers. That is a position of victory, a place that is over our circumstances.

“For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” I John 5:4 ESV

Paul tells us this in Romans 8: “In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38 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 8:37-39 CEV

We are overcomers and we are victorious in Christ.

If we are under anything let’s be under the shadow of the Almighty and under His wings of protection.

“Live under the protection of God Most High and stay in the shadow of God All-Powerful.
2 Then you will say to the Lord, “You are my fortress, my place of safety; you are my God,
and I trust you.” 3 The Lord will keep you safe from secret traps and deadly diseases. 4 He will spread his wings over you and keep you secure.” Psalm 91:1-4 CEV

Never let the circumstances or the weather put you under.

The Father has set us as overcomers, living under His protection, in a place of security.


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There’s An App for That

Somedays do you feel weak not really able to face the day? Or is it a feeling that you’re unappreciated or undervalued for who you are? If that’s the case, then here’s your answer to end those days of malaise.

Years ago, many, many years ago, a well-learned man put down a plan that has the ability to uplift, encourage and strengthen anyone who will put it into practice.

I guess you could say he wrote a life-changing app before anyone knew what an app was.

” I have heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all of God’s people. 16 So I never stop being grateful for you, as I mention you in my prayers. 17 I ask the glorious Father and God of our Lord Jesus Christ to give you his Spirit. The Spirit will make you wise and let you understand what it means to know God. 18 My prayer is that light will flood your hearts and that you will understand the hope that was given to you when God chose you. Then you will discover the glorious blessings that will be yours together with all of God’s people.

19 I want you to know about the great and mighty power that God has for us followers. It is the same wonderful power he used 20 when he raised Christ from death and let him sit at his right side in heaven. 21 There Christ rules over all forces, authorities, powers, and rulers. He rules over all beings in this world and will rule in the future world as well. 22 God has put all things under the power of Christ, and for the good of the church he has made him the head of everything. 23 The church is Christ’s body and is filled with Christ who completely fills everything.” Ephesians 1:15-23 CEV

When we ask the Lord, He will give us understanding of that hope , the power that He has made available to us (raising from the dead power) and what it truly means to be a part of the body of Christ!

This is a bad analogy, but I will use it just the same. Many Christians are like a new smart phone user. Only using their phones to make calls and send a few texts. They don’t know how to use it any more than that…download the apps, take pictures, use the GPS, on-line banking, the language translator, etc.

It’s time to get educated about who you are in Christ.

Utilize what’s been given to us. The data plan is unlimited and we’ll never have a power outage or dropped call. We are Christ’s body and we are filled with all He is.

Download the app. Take advantage of all the Father has programmed into it. He’s designed it perfectly – forgiveness, acceptance, protection, provision, peace, joy, worthiness, abundant life. It’s all at our fingertips.

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Soaring

Yesterday morning my attention was held captive by the view across the meadow. I was enjoying watching the clouds that filled the sky. Huge, white billowy clouds, and suddenly there it was.

An eagle.

He appeared from what seemed nowhere and now he was the focus of my attention. I watched as he soared, with wings outstretched, each circle rising higher and higher. I realized too late that I should be trying to get a picture of this magnificent sight.

I reached for my phone but by the time I had it on camera setting the eagle had disappeared into the clouds. I waited but he didn’t reappear.

As he rose higher and higher there was really no effort exhibited on his part. His wings were locked and the wind thermals were lifting him. This morning I looked for some explanation of how this happens. This is what I found:

“Like many people, I am fascinated by bird flight. Unlike most people, I get to study flight of Golden Eagles for a living. These large birds move through the landscape primarily by soaring—a style of flying where they hold their wings outward and rarely flap, saving them considerable energy. Instead of flapping, they rely on rising air currents to gain altitude.

Two types of rising air currents provide most lift for soaring eagles. The first, thermal updrafts, form when energy from the sun heats air at the Earth’s surface and causes it to rise. Eagles circle within these columns of rising air to gain great altitude and then glide out of the thermals to move across the landscape…” from the American Ornithological Society, americanornithology.org

Did you know that the Lord wants us to soar? It’s not to be on our own efforts. He wants us to find our support from the energy, the updrafts as it were, that He provides.

“Each day that we live, he provides for our needs and gives us the strength of a young eagle.” Psalm 103:5 CEV

“The Lord gives strength to those who are weary. 30 Even young people get tired, then stumble and fall. 31 But those who trust the Lord will find new strength. They will be strong like eagles soaring upward on wings; they will walk and run without getting tired.” Isaiah 40:29-31 CEV

“Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help.” Psalm 27:14ERV

The word “wait” in the last verse can also be translated “trust”. When we trust the Lord, we find new strength. We can rely on Him instead of our own abilities and then we will soar.

May I ask, what has been weighing you down? What has been causing you to become weary or has caused you to stumble or fall?

Wait on the Lord – He will give you new strength and show you how to soar!

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“Your Grace”

I am up this morning, listening to the pouring rain on the roof of the RV and watching the lightning flashes illuminate the night sky. But my blog has nothing to do with rain.

Recently I was watching a series where the men would bow and the women would curtsy before royalty. The common greeting at such a time as this was simple. The curtsy preceded these words, “Your Grace”.

“Your Grace”.

A title that distinguished them as the ruling class. A title that identified their authority. A title that indicated their supreme authority to rule.

This ruler has been bestowed with the responsibility to rule. From their lips came words of forgiveness, restoration, acceptance, clemency, a new start. Now that my friend is grace!

Our life in Christ is all about grace. Receiving from the Father what we don’t deserve, receiving what we are unable to obtained on our own merit.

His grace.

The Apostle Paul wrote this: “But the Lord said, ‘My grace is all you need. Only when you are weak can everything be done completely by my power.’ So I will gladly boast about my weaknesses. Then Christ’s power can stay in me.” II Corinthians 12:9 ERV

In our weakness, whatever that may be, His grace is all we need. His grace fills our life with the power of Christ. His grace has provided forgiveness, restoration – a new life.

“I mean that you have been saved by grace because you believed. You did not save yourselves; it was a gift from God. 9 You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about.” Ephesians 2:8-9 ERV

Grace is a gift – a gift from God. We can’t buy it, we can’t earn it, we don’t deserve it – that’s what makes grace so amazing! It’s a gift given in love.

Those two words, Your Grace, fill my heart with such gratitude!

I hope you will start your day in the presence of the King of Kings, our Father, and humbling bowing or making a curtsy. Then say to Him, “Your Grace is all I need”!

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Each Day Has Promise

I know some are waking up this morning filled with a sense of regret. Don’t let past failures, current obstacles or the devil’s lies rob you of this day’s promises.

“God’s way is perfect. The Lord’s promise always proves to be true. He protects those who trust in him.” Psalm 18:30 ERV

Embrace God’s promise for today. Let His word be your focus and sense of strength. Don’t let 3% of difficulties overwhelm the 97% of God’s goodness. In fact, the 97% of difficulty is never greater than just 3% of what God’s faithfulness can do.

“Lord, listen to me and understand what I am trying to say. 2 My God and King, listen to my prayer. 3 Every morning, Lord, I lay my gifts before you and look to you for help. And every morning you hear my prayers.

4 God, you don’t want evil people near you. They cannot stay in your presence. 5 Fools come near you. You hate those who do evil. 6 You destroy those who tell lies. Lord, you hate those who make secret plans to hurt others.

7 But by your great mercy, I can enter your house. I can worship in your holy Temple with fear and respect for you. 8 Lord, show me your right way of living, and make it easy for me to follow. People are looking for my weaknesses, so show me how you want me to live.

9 My enemies never tell the truth. They only want to destroy people. Their words come from mouths that are like open graves. They use their lying tongues to deceive others. 10 Punish them, God! Let them be caught in their own traps. They have turned against you, so punish them for their many crimes.

11 But let those who trust in you be happy forever. Protect and strengthen those who love your name. 12 Lord, when you bless good people, you surround them with your love, like a large shield that protects them.” Psalm 5 ERV

We are surrounded by His love!

The Father’s love protects and gives us strength!

This is our promise for today, it’s as real as the rainbow in the sky. Never doubt the Father’s love!

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Remember & Honor

I know this Scripture is used frequently when I talk about our servicemen and women and the sacrifices they make. It, however, remains true.

“This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 The greatest love people can show is to die for their friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I tell you to do. ” John 15:12-14 ERV

Make time to pray for the families of those who gave all for us to live free. I’m remembering those who fought and died during the Revolution, War of 1812, Civil War, San Juan Hill, WWI, WWII, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran and our times of peace keeping that required the ultimate sacrifice for some.

We are free this morning, waking up without fear of someone breaking through our doors, confiscating our belongings or persecuting us because of an opposing political belief.

First, we thank God for His protection over our lives and then we must be thankful for those who gave their lives for us and our country. Remember and honor them.

God Bless America!

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I Do It Myself

It’s not uncommon to hear little kids say, “I do it myself”. They are growing and learning and many times don’t want to accept help. They want to be independent. What we, who are older and wiser, know is that most of the time that attitude leads to a mess.

But before we are too critical of the little ones we need to look at our own statements of independence and there consequences. Hating to admit we need help is an expression of pride. I hesitate to ask Dave to open a jar of pickles – I can do it myself. Our cabinets are tall and he will volunteer to put things up for me and sometimes I find myself saying, “no that’s fine, I’ve got it”.

Why? That’s just silly but I do it all the same. We offer our time and our help as a gift, not as a criticism or an assertion of inability.

The Lord offers to help us in every circumstance of life but many times we’re like that small child standing with our hands on our hips and declaring I’ll do it myself. Through the years I’ve gotten more comfortable receiving from the Lord.

I heard one teacher contrast the difference between receiving and getting.

Getting implies working hard, striving, manipulating, using your effort to obtain. Receiving, on the other hand, is opening yourself to accept what someone else can do. You receive a gift with gratitude. Receiving from the Lord is accepting what Jesus has already done – that’s faith!

We don’t “work” to “get” from the Lord we walk by faith and accept His gifts of grace.

“You have accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord. Now keep on following him. 7 Plant your roots in Christ and let him be the foundation for your life. Be strong in your faith, just as you were taught. And be grateful.” Colossians 2:6-7 CEV

Here is our truth to live by today.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” Philippians 4:13 KJV

…to break it out further, here is the Amplified version

“I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose—I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]” AMP

Self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency – I can’t do it myself but when He helps all things are possible!

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Make It Stronger

A few days back Dave asked me to make the coffee stronger. I have used the same number of scoops for years, so his request intrigued me.

We always use the same brand and both of us drink our coffee black. I’m wondering if the coffee company has changed their processing. Maybe it’s just our taste buds. But I complied with his request, and we are enjoying it more.

Make it stronger…as I was drinking my first cup this morning and enjoying the fuller flavor I was reminded of a couple of Scriptures.

When we are young Christians, the Apostle Peter, says we grow by experiencing the milk of Scripture.

“Like newborn babies hungry for milk, you should want the pure teaching that feeds your spirit. With it you can grow up and be saved.” I Peter 2:2 ERV

The writer of Hebrews points out that as we grow, we need a stronger diet of more solid foods.

“But solid food is for people who have grown up. From their experience they have learned to see the difference between good and evil.” Hebrews 5:14 ERV

That is why I love Paul’s writings in the book of Colossians.

There are so many wonderful nuggets of God’s wisdom and provision contained in that small book. I wish we had time to sit and discuss it verse by verse. This book is filled with hope, strength, forgiveness, instruction for daily living. It starts by reminding us of how deeply the Father loves us.

“At one time you were separated from God. You were his enemies in your minds, because the evil you did was against him. 22 But now he has made you his friends again. He did this by the death Christ suffered while he was in his body. He did it so that he could present you to himself as people who are holy, blameless, and without anything that would make you guilty before him. 23 And that is what will happen if you continue to believe in the Good News you heard. You must remain strong and sure in your faith. You must not let anything cause you to give up the hope that became yours when you heard the Good News. That same Good News has been told to everyone on earth, and that’s the work that I, Paul, was given to do.” Colossians 1:21-23 ERV

At one time we were enemies of God the Father. But through Jesus’ sacrifice we have been brought into a right relationship with Him. The Father loves us and sees us as holy, faultless and without blame. All of our sins were placed on Jesus when He died for us.

Christ lives in us and is our power source, our strength and our victory.

In our homes we have electricity. That electricity will light a bulb of 25, 60, or 100 watts. The size of the bulb may change but the power source is the same.

Christ is the same in all our lives and as we grow stronger in Him we learn to appropriate more of what He has provided.

Make us stronger Lord for your glory!

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When Strength Is Low

I hope you will understand the blog being late today. I really slept in this morning! We arrived home late afternoon on Friday and then spent yesterday with family activities.

Our oldest daughter, her daughter and I spent a good portion of the day making jam. Strawberry. Blackberry. Dozens of little jars. It was a fun day. Jam making is generally something I do with our oldest grandson but yesterday the girls wanted to be involved.

It was one of those days of making memories!

But this morning it all caught up with me and I just needed a few more hours of sleep. You ever have one of those days? So, if you need a little extra encouragement like I did this morning here goes.

“We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” Galatians 6:9-10 ERV

“Young men get tired and need to rest. Even young boys stumble and fall.31 But those who trust in the Lord will become strong again. They will be like eagles that grow new feathers.[a]They will run and not get weak. They will walk and not get tired.” Isaiah 40:30-31 ERV

“The Lord your God wins victory after victory and is always with you.He celebrates and sings because of you,and he will refresh your life with his love.” Zephaniah 3:17 CEV

“Since the day we heard these things about you, we have continued praying for you. This is what we pray: that God will make you completely sure of what he wants by giving you all the wisdom and spiritual understanding you need; 10 that this will help you live in a way that brings honor to the Lord and pleases him in every way; that your life will produce good works of every kind and that you will grow in your knowledge of God; 11 that God will strengthen you with his own great power, so that you will be patient and not give up when troubles come. Then you will be happy 12 and give thanks to the Father. He has made you able to have what he has promised to give all his holy people, who live in the light.” Colossians 1:9-12 ERV

Now, I don’t know about you but I’m ready for the rest of the day. I’m going over in victory! AMEN.

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