God's Guiding Gale

God's Guiding Gale
Sarah Mildred Jessee

The wind has blown all day long,
Which way it will take me this time.
I've struggle against the flow of its might,
But today I will rest on its glide.

Unpredictable, the wind which brought me here,
Astounding, the adventure.
I wait for it to blow once more,
Though calm and still are peace.
I am not a building, destroyed, strong though frail.
I am the tall tree, swaying in the gale.

I will allow God's mighty hand to move me
To where His peace has desitned.
And once my feet are back on the ground,
I'll admire his protection.

Rejoice and Sing

Proverb 29:6 "In the transgression of an evil man there is a snare: but the righteous doth sing and rejoice."

How blessed is this verse?! I delight to know that because God has released me from the bondage of sin, I can rejoice and sing. I am free from the weight I used to carry, and now I can move freely to worship the LORD!

As I prepare to go backpacking next week, I am amazed at the thought that I will be carrying something with me at all times and adding more weight to my life. I will not be able to move freely as I do today. In Pilgrim's Progress, the main character is carrying a pack as well, and he has no power to remove it himself. He needs the mediator to remove it for him, and receiving this ministry, he is free from the bondage that he used to carry with him through all of life. I am sure when I'm done with my pack for the week, I will have the same feeling of relief, though this weight will not be a sad burden. I will enjoy the delight of this adventure, but I am sure my back will love me when it's over.

So, all this is to say that I am so glad the Redeemer has set me free, and today I can freely and jubilantly rejoice in Him. Take a moment to praise Him for the freedom of movement, and maybe even jump for joy just once as you think of His grace today. Thank Him for taking away the burden that you and I rightly deserve to carry ourselves.

Lineage of Prayers

This morning as I read Proverb 28, I came across verse 9, which loosely paraphrased says that the prayers of those who turn their ears from the law are an abomination to God. Now I know I've read other passages of Scripture that say that God either does not hear, or counts as abomination, the prayers of the wicked. If this is true, then how does God hear any of our prayers?

Well, God hears the prayers of the righteous. Not one of us is righteous from birth or on our own, so we cannot offer up prayers that are pleasing to God without that being remedied. Jesus came to live a life on this earth that was completely righteous, but He is the only one who ever accomplished this. However, we are now counted righteous by our faith in His righteousness, which God "imputes" on us, or makes a part of our character. We cannot pray for this on our own, as those prayers are without affect, but we need the prayers of those who have led us to Christ. As Christians, we need to pray for those who have not yet turned to Christ, as they cannot yet pray for themselves what they should. God will hear our prayers, as His righteous children, and will make them righteous as well. Their salvation does not rest on our shoulders, but we live in community as God has called us, and therefore we cannot function outside of that community effectively.

Encouragement? First, be thankful for those who invested their prayers in your life. I know I will never forget ONE80 and the youth minister and youth who prayed for me, and whom God answered in bringing me into His kingdom. Second, think of who you can pray for to be made righteous today. Who knows but that your prayers could help this person to come to know the salvation that comes only through our LORD?

Secret Love

Porverbs 27:5-6 "Open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."

I have always wondered what the meaning of verse 5 is, and to this day I am not sure. This morning as I read, I had a picture in my head of how my dad handled discipline when I was a child. I knew when I had done something wrong, and that discipline was rightly deserved and displayed. However, much of the time, at least before I left for college, I doubted if I was loved. I was never sure because it was not often that he did things with us kids that was fun throughout. There was always an aspect of fear that we might do something wrong, and I didn't want to displease him.

As most chldren, I was not overly thrilled with being corrected or disciplined, but I do know that had I known at all times that my dad loved me, that discipline would have been viewed from a different perspective. As the Heavnely Father disciplines me now, though I may not like it at the time, I pray for it, and I love that I know God is for me, and whatever happens He will use to show His love for me and for those around me.

Today, my encouragement to all who are reading this is twofold. First, examine your relationships and make sure that those who you discipline or correct ("Faithful are the wounds of a friend?") know that you love them. Be genuine, and if you cannot offer that, realize that your instruction is probably not from the idea of their best interest. Second, be encouraged that what you are going through right now is out of the love of your Father in heaven, and if it hurts, He will heal the wounds, and make you complete.

Messenger

Today I will not quote here the verses I will be referencing, but please look them up at some point. They are found in Proverb 26, verses 1-12. The author talks of how we are to relate to fools. One thing that catches me every time I read this passage is that we are told that it is not good to send a message in the hand of a fool.

God has called us to be His messengers of the Gospel of Christ. As such, we are to act and live in wisdom, and therefore our lives have changed from what they were before we came to know Christ. If we still live in the foolishness that was before we received the redemption of our Lord, we are grievous to to God. However, if we faithfully carry the message of redemption by living the transformed lives God has given to us, we are a delight to Him, and bring Him honour among those who know us.

What could be more of a blessing than to know God is pleased with our lives as we learn to follow Christ daily? In 3 John 4 we are told that it is pleasing to know that one's children (and God's we are) walk in truth and light. Let's walk in that today!

Take the Lower Place

Proverbs 25:6-7 "Put not forth thyself in the presence of the king, and stand not in the place of great men: For it is better that it be said to thee, Come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen.

Luke 14:11 "For whoever exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted."

Philippians 2:8-9 "And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name."

In these passages we seen a principle: Do not take glory on yourself, but ratehr let it be given by others. There is another verse in Proverbs which at this time I forget where it is. It instructs us not to say high things of ourselves, but rather to let them be said by others.

When Jesus Christ came to this earth, He let go of all His divine glory, and became obedient completely to the Father, even to a criminal's death, so that He might be glorified. His purpose here on earth was not to come in like a warrior on a horse, but as a humble, peacable man on the colt of a donkey. He put off eternity to step into our time limitations. He instructed us to also put off our idea of ourselves.

These passages give us instruction, example, and life application. I think we all know what it is to make a fool of ourselves in front of someone we respect. We all know what it's like to either be the kid, or see the kid, who is not as cool as he thinks he should be, and tries to buddy up with someone way cooler, only to be shot down to an even lower esteem than previously thought.

I hope some of us have also seen times of thinking less of ourselves that we ought, and being brought into an understanding of who God has made us to be. This is most fulfilling. I recently had an experience when I felt like the scum of the earth, and had a friend who both lifted me up in prayer and in encouragement. I am thankful for this experience, and I hope that I will continue to put off my own idea of how I should be thought of, and live in who Christ has called me to be. I don't humble myself so that I may be glorified, that's not the point. That's false humility, and it does not please God. Nor do I degrade myself for the pity of others, as this is not recognizing who God has made me to be. Real humility says "I know I am not what I would like to be, and therefore I will not seek to be recognized as such. I will not put on a show so others see me, but rather I will daily live my life so those who are around me see Christ's work in my life."

May we seek God's evaluation of us, and not the evaluation of man, while at the same time recognizing that God often speaks through man to reveal what He would have us know.

Bestowed, Not Chosen

Proverbs 22:4 "By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life." Hebrews 5:4 "And ho man taketh this honour unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron."

A little context for the verse from Hebrews is necessary here. The author is talking about the office of high priest, and how the person of high priets offers up sacrifices for the sins of the people. The point is also made that the Aaronic/Levitical preisthood was never able to fully atone with sacrifice as they also had sin to be atoned for. We have already discussed the superiority of Christ in the sacrifice in a previous post, so we'll leave that for now. The verses after this one in Hebrews speak of how Christ was called to this position of High Priest.

I thought it interesting that God would have me read these passages on the same day, as they go so well together. Christ humbled Himself to complete obedience to all that the Father had and would ask of Him. In His obedience, God called Him to this position of honour. Christ did not petition the Father and tell Him to make Him the High Priest, but was called of God. The position was bestowed on Him, not chosen by Him on His own.

So, how does this apply to our lives? Well, I am sure there are many positions of authority that as Christians we think we would enjoy. However, we are called of God to fulfill His purpose in our lives, not our own. Your pastor has been set in place as God has called Him and put on Him the giftings necessary to exhort and edify. It is a place of honour, as well as one in deparate need of daily prayer as he is constantly in the line of attack from the enemy. There is not a place of honour that exists that we can choose to take hold of. We are to humble ourselves and seek to serve. When and if God chooses to bring us honour, we are to give all the glory back to Him, and continue to serve with humility and grace.

May the Lord lead and guide you today.

A True Measure

Proverbs 20:6, 9-10; 21:2 "Most men will proclaim every one his own gooness, but a faithful man who can find...Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin? Divers weights and divers measures, both of them are alike abomination to the Lord; Every man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth (weighs) the hearts."

OK, so since I can think of any practical way to start this morning, I am just going to jump in on the theological side of things. Don't let this scare you; every thing you do is a result of the theology you hold to.

God is seeking faithful servants, and He is not looking for the self-proclaimed. In these verses it is made clear that God is not satisfied with the ways in which mankind measures things. Our scales are off, and even a little of that is an abomination to our Lord. We measure things differently than God does, and only His measure is true. (OK, here's your practical example) It's like having 100 instruments in a room and tuning them all to the one next to them. They will all sound a little different. Yet if you tune each instrument to the master piano, they will all sound the same because they are not being compared to each other. God's measure is that master piano, and if we try to measure by anything else, we'll be off.

So, what do we do about this? First of all, we must repent for thinking that we are the best measure of things. Then we need to accept God's measure of things (like sin?) and learn to ask Him to reveal to us His evaluation/examination of whatever it is we are considering.

Another thing to remember is that we are not to compare ourselves to those around us. Christ is the only one we should be comparing our lives to, and when we do that, we will be more like those others who are striving for the same thing. We will be an effective part of the Body of Christ!

Christ's Superiority as Lord

Last week I touched on how Christ is superior as our sacrifice, bieng fully human and without sin. Today I want to touch on how He is superior as our Lord, above the lordship or teaching of even Moses.

In Heberws 3 verese 1-6 we are told of the difference between Moses and Jesus Christ. One way they are different is that Moses, as aleader of the people of God, is portrayed here as the house. We know that we admire certain houses, but we honour the builders of such houses more that the houses themselves. Moses being the house, and Christ as the builder, Christ is worthy of far more glory. He made the house what it was, and is therefore the divine worker and lord over the materials He used to build.

Secondly, we see Moses was a servant in the people of God, but Christ is the son. I know many of us don't know what it means to live in this kind of culture, where there are servants living in one's house, and where there is a difference in class among the people. In this time-period, there were such circumstances, therefore the early readers of this book understood exactly what was being read. Moses lived among God's people as a servant to God in leading and teaching. When Jesus came to this earth, He came as God's son. In this arrangement, though often the sona dn servnats are the same age, or like to do the same things, the son is always superior to the servant. When the parents died, the estate is handed down to the son, not to the servant. The son also has authority to give orders, and the servant is to obey. Jesus is superior in His Lordship!

So how does this apply today? Well, we must remember that we are to be obedient to the authority God has set over us, in government, church, even our families. At the same time, we must also remember that we must obey Christ as He leads our lives. There is no other thing in any of our lives to which we are to be more devoted than to Christ. Are there things in your life that take the place of God? Wipe them out and obey Him! Only He is worthy to be your Lord!

Express Yourself

Proverbs 18:2 "A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover (note: express) itself."

So, our culture tells us to express ourselves, to be an individual, to be different. How absurd is this instruction? As I read this morning, this verse really stuck out to me, so I decided to do a little tiny bit of research as well. In Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Mr. Henry puts it that the fool has no delight in anything but his "sports" with which he can "make a show" because he "loves to hear himself talk." Have you ever seen a fool talk? He simply cannot stop because he loves to hear his own voice.

As I considered this verse, let me offer an alternative to expressing "ourselves" and the individuality that our culture so strongly pushes on us. We are all created in the image of our God, though flawed by sin. God has created each of us for His glory. We all function within a framework of community, as does the very God who created us. We are nothing without the Body of Christ of which we are a part, but we all have a vital function as part of that Body. Let's express more of what God has made us to be, and that will be more glorious and fulfilling that anything we can express of the rebellious nature we think is our self.

Daily Bread

This morning as I finished reading, I felt like the amount I had read of God's word was not beneficial to me. I struggled with what specific things to draw from what I had read, and though early on in my reading God had pointed out something important, I kept on reading as if I had to fill a quota.

God's word is often referred to as our daily bread as believers. There is great value in being fed with the word of God daily to keep growing in His likeness, our maturity in Christ. I want to take a look at Exodus 16, however, and the giving of a literal daily bread from heaven. God heard His people murmuring about not having food to eat, so He provided manna (literally "What is it") each morning. The people were to gather enough for the day and eat of it that day. They were not to keep any overnight as it would bring forth worms in the morning, and stink as well. The point was that they were not to be greedy, but rather to take what was beneficial for the day (Note: they took twice as much on the sixth day so that they did not gather on the sabbath, nor did God give any on the sabbath).

So how do we approach God's word? Well, I need to learn to take the tidbits He gives me and be fed full with them rather than reading just to read and getting nothing from reading. Think about this, if you had gathered bread one day, and by the next morning it had turned rotten, would you really want to gather more the next day? I often find myself reading too much and getting burned out in my reading times. Then I quit. Unfortunately I cannot feed all day long on Scripture and have it be beneficial to me. There are days when we must read more, but there are days when God will give us something to "chew on" early in our reading, and if we miss it, we might not learn anything.

My challenge to you? Read God's word. Let it saturate your life, and let God tell you when it is enough for the day. Take something away from your reading and apply it to your life daily, and see what fruit that brings forth.

Be Sound-Hearted

Proverbs 14:30 "A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones."

Have you ever been envious over something? If you truly have, you have experienced the rottenness that eats away at you on the inside, even if no one outside knows about it. The verse quoted above states just that as the result of envy.

On the other hand, how wonderful is it to know life?! Do you know what it means to have a sound heart? Let's look it in contrast to envy. To not be envious is to be content with what you have, and even who you are. In our culture envy is not just something we have over someone else's possessions, but it is often over who someone else is. Are they beautiful? Do they always know what to say? Are they more desirable a person? These are questions we ask ourselves when we are not content with who we are. God has made us who we are, and allowed or brought into our lives what things and experiences are there in order to manifest His glory. We are in no place to tell God what He should or shouldn't do with our lives.

So how can we have a sound heart? We must be content in who God has made us to be. This means accepting the trials that come our way, as well as the joys. This also means being confident in His plan. If we are to experience all God has for us, we must be ocnfident in who He made us to be and move forward in that as He molds us into His glorious image. It truly does bring life to our whole person: body, spirit, and soul, as some choose to separated it out.

Superiority of Christ

Today I started reading the book of Hebrews. This is a book primarily about the person and work of Christ, our atonement. The first few chapters are focused in on the superiority of Christ and what He accomplished.

There are many images of this superiority, but the one that stuck out today is that He is superior because He was human. When God created mankind, we were the only creatures created in His image (Gen1:27 as an example). When we sinned, we rejected that image, and therefore separated ourselves from the God with whom we used to walk in daily fellowship. Now we were in need of someone to come and restore that relationship. That person is Jesus Christ. He was above the angels because He is Deity, but He became a little lower than the angels in order to experience life as we know it.

Jesus Christ was tempted just as we are every day. The only difference is that He never gave in to that temptation. He lived life completely sinless. If He had sinned, He would not be a perfect sacrifice for us. The law required that a lamb be offered up that had no blemish, not broken bones or illness, a perfect lamb to atone for our sin. Jesus is the Lamb of God! At the same time however, a regular lamb is unable to cast off our sin, as it is not tempted as we are. It is true that creation is subject to the curse put on everything by our sin, but humans are the only creatures who have that choice to live as something other than what we are created to be: the image of the living God! So, this offering up of a lamb on the day of atonement was not sufficient.

Jesus Christ came as a human being so He can sympathize with our need for redemption. He came and was without sin, and therefore offered Himself up as our perfect sacrifice. Only He is able to restore our relationship with the God who created us. Today I am challenged that the only way I can live without sin is to let Him live in me. That requires sacrifice, laying down myself, but at the same time it offers abundant life to all who surrender. My goal in daily living is to experience Christ and His life in me as I constantly let go of me. May God challenge you today as you seek Him.

Written for Men?

At the risk of being vulnerable before my readers, this morning I wish to address my place as a woman of God reading Scripture. I have shared posts from Daniel and Proverbs thus far and again this morning I want to look at Proverbs, specifically chapter 12 and verse 4: "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness to his bones."

There are a number of passages within Proverbs about women, but if we look carefully they are all instructions to men. I must state here that I am not advocating liberal feminism, not am I declaring that women have no worth. God has created us with much to offer to those around us, but this must be taken in context of the roles He has created us for. I will not go into that here. As I was saying, there many passages in Proverbs which give men instruction as to what to look for as they meet women and interact with them. In my reading of this book, which I have done over and over, each time I am more confident that this is a book written with wisdom for men to lead their homes, cultures, and their own lives. This book was written at a time when it was not available for all to read. Men were the leaders in their homes, and in society, and thus they needed a sort of instruction manual with wisdom that is timeless. Even today we can see the place of this wisdom and the impact it has on those who observe its practice.

On to what this means to me as a woman. Though these passages are mainly written to instruct men, they should be an encouragement to women to become the kind of woman who is spoken of in their pages. I am encouraged that I have the privilege to read the instructions that my future husband will use to lead our home. I can be an engouragement to him by learning what it means to be a virtuous wife, and to work with my hands the things God has given me to do. I am blessed to know the inside scoop and to fashion myself after God's plan for me as a woman of God. I also use these passages to filter what kind of man I will marry. I will marry a man who is looking for these qualities in a wife, not someone who looks on outward appearances, nor one riches or knowledge of this world.

I realize I have been quite vulnerable here. If you would like to comment, please feel free to leave it here. I will likely respond if necessary. May the boldness here spoken be an encouragement to the readers to be real with those around you as well, and to be willing to learn daily.

To Whom Do You Turn?

In previous posts I have mentioned some of the deliverance God brought to His people in the book of Daniel. This book is also rich with visions and their interpretations as God reveals to Daniel what is to come. Some of these things happened at the time they were told, and others are still in waiting.

At one point in Daniel's life he was given a vision of the destruction of Jerusalem. He was troubled and sought God for an interpretation. God sent Gabriel to tell of the destruction of the temple, and to give instructions that it should be rebuilt. There was to be a time between its destruction and the rebuilding of it, but it would be rebuilt, under God's orders. Daniel was still troubled, and went into mourning for three full weeks.

I would like to take a look at a passage today in the effects of prayer. Daniel went immediately before God with his vision and the trouble it caused him. God sent forth a messenger right away, both at the initial out-cry from Daniel, and at the point of his lamenting over the interpretation of the vision (9:23; 10:12). On the second occasion, however, the messenger was unable to come to him right away. He was kept in battle in the heavens with the "Prince of Persia." The whole of the three weeks Daniel was in mourning, his messenger was in holy war on his behalf. It took as second angel, Michael, to come to his aid for God's messenger to Daniel to make his way to Daniel.

There are three important lessons I hope we all learn from these passages. First, Daniel went to God immediately. How often are we content to seek out the counsel of other people before we seek out God? There is value in the counsel of God's people (Proverbs 11:14), but our first turning must be to God, for only He can give the answer we need, through whatever means He chooses.

Second, God is ready immediately with His answer. As I mentioned above, God's messengers were sent out at the first cry from Daniel. We may not see the answer until later, and we must continue to press forward until that answer is revealed. We are in a battle that is not flesh and blood but heavenly (Ephesians 6), so often our answers to prayer will be held off in the midst of that battle. We must continue to press in and seek God, no matter how long it takes.

Last, we must also recognize that God always answers those who are His children. This answer may look completely different from what we expect, but God still sends an answer. In Daniel's case, we know that the temple was destroyed, rebuilt, and again destroyed after the life of Christ. There is still trouble in the holy land, and there are constant battles over the ownership of this land. God did not hold off any said destruction from coming to His land and His people, but He did offer a much better hope, that of Jesus Christ. He is our hope, and the only one who can save us from a destruction that runs much futher than any physical destruction we could imagine. Who is your hope today?

Delight in Wisdom

In Proverbs 8 we are told that wisdom, who is personified throughout this chapter, cries out in the streets. We are taught the rewards and delight of following wisdom. Beyond that, we are told of the presence of wisdom while God was creating the world, setting up foundations of earth and setting boundaries for the seas. As we all know, shortly after His creation of this perfect world, mankind did the one act of disobedience that was known, and sin, entering into our world, took over and wiped out man's ability to know this delightful wisdom, taking away the rejoicing that comes from it (see verse 30). There is a beautiful picture here of God delighting in His creation. Since sin entered in, we now live in a world seeking out new knowledge, but wisdom is still crying out to us, longing for us to take hold of her and live in her ways. God has promised that to those who seek wisdom from Him will give it liberally (James 1:5).

So, here we see God's creation of the world, with delight and rejoicing; then sin enters and wisdom is no longer the delight of creation; and finally, wisdom cries out and we have a path to restoration. Of course, this does not mean that we will only need to be wise to enter into that restoration, but once we have accepted that Christ is our Lord and Saviour, we must hear the call of wisdom and follow after God's delight.

God's Complete Work

This morning as I read, I was astonished at the completeness of God's work among His people, those who have devoted their lives to completely following Him. In the accounts in Daniel of he and his friends following God regardless of the laws against it, God's deliverance is complete as He bolsters them to obedience.

The first account is of Daniel's friends refusing to bow to an image the king has displayed. The punishment for this refusal was to be thrown in the furnace, and the king was so wroth that he had it heated greatly more than normal for these three to be thrown in. There is a wonderful image of the presence of God with us as we endure trials, but what I am focusing on this mornings is the complete deliverance from the fiery furnace. When these men came out of the furnace, which was heated more than usual, they were untouched by the flames. Their clothes were unburned, the hair of their bodies not even singed, and most of all, they did not even smell of smoke. Any of us know that if we are around smoke or fire, we at least have the smell of smoke on us. The flames were hot enough to kill those who lead the Hebrews to the furnace, and yet there was not even the smell of smoke on them! God is complete in His work.

Then, there's Daniel's passion for prayer. He prayed several times each day, and this not just as needed, though we always need God. This was a daily ritual, a deep communion with God that could not even be altered by new laws. The king, though tricked to do so, signed a new decree that no one should petition anyone or anything other than the king for one month. Daniel was caught! The punishment? To be thrown in the lions' den. When the king went out the next morning, after a sleepless night and no food, he cried out to Daniel to see if he was alive. Indeed, the mouths of the lions had been shut. Now, one might be thinking "sure, they were just not hungry" but that was not the case. After Daniel was lead out, the king ordered those who had devised this trick to destroy Daniel be thrown in the lions' den, along with their whole families. They did not even make it to the ground before the lions had devoured them! God did not allow Daniel to be harmed at all!

So, what does all this mean for you and me? Well, first of all, we can trust that God is faithful to complete the work He has already started in each of us. Second, that God's reward for saying yes to Him is much more abundant than any consequence we receive from saying no to the things of this world. Thirdly, and what seems most important in my life right now, if we are to say we will follow Him fully, we must desire to do all this entails to the best of our ability. If God can work on our behalf with completeness, we ought also to do the same. If there is anything we are doing for the LORD, which should be applied to every area of our lives if He is indeed LORD, we ought to make sure that those around us see the hand of God in it, and therefore it will be complete.

Image of God's Jealousy

I was reading in Proverbs 6 this morning about avoiding adultery. The end of the selection went like this: "For jealousy is the rage of a man (reference note: a husband's rage): therefore he will not spare in the day of vengeance. He will not regard any ransom; neither will he rest content, though thou givest many gifts."

I am astounded to know that Scripture says clearly that a husband has this kind of rage for his wife, to be jealous for her. As the bride of Christ, we also know that He cares for us like a husband. We see many pictures throughout the Old Testament where God is jealous for His people, and for His own holiness. His rage is strong and mighty, and in this we can know we are protected.

We all have some concept of the fear of God, but have you ever thought of it in quite this way? I am protected by this King, and knowing that, I can rest secure. I know that though I wait for the husband God will some day bring into my life, there is One who is that jealous already for my life to be His. I am devoted to the righteousness He has given me, not of my own earning, but through His Son's death on the cross. I will guard that with the knowledge that He guards with jealousy His own glory, and all that declares it.

What Family Means...

OK, so recently I traveled to my home state, Indiana, where I was privileged to attend my uncle's wedding. During this trip I was able to see, for the first time in over a decade, family I had lost touch with. I am blessed to know that this uncle is now following the LORD, and that his new marriage is one that will truly honour Christ. I am also blessed to have a new connection with relatives that I did not have in previous years. I am still figuring out just what all these new interactions mean, and what God would do with all of it.

Wherever you are today, please remember that though God has placed us in biological families, sometimes we are to far distanced from them to have the kind of relationships with them that God desires for families to have. For those who are without biological family to lean on, know that God has brought you into His family if you have chosen to trust Christ to make you whole and forgive your sins. He has offered us the only way of salvation, whereby we can be reconciled to God and brought back into a union with Him, to walk with Him in a real relationship, and to see Him face to face.

How beautiful was the day I got to see the face of family while I was away from what is now my home!

Welcome to Life as We Know It

Well, life is as interesting as ever for this young lady. I am currently trying out a new skill: blogging. I am not sure if or how this will work, but I am interested in seeing how God might use it to bring encouragement for those who read what is posted here. Please allow me your patience as I am learning. May this be a fruitful effort at a new way to praise God on a regular basis. If anyone is reading this and wants to add to His praise, feel free to do so. May today be a blessing to you.