Philippians 4:6- “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I have been anxious all morning.
Dad would have said I’ve got “too many irons in the fire.”
Mom would have said, “Take a deep breath and start again.”
They both would have said, “Give it to God.”
Why?
Because in today’s vernacular, “God’s “got this.”
Isaiah 42:16- “I will lead the blind by roads they have never traveled, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them…”
A few days ago, my husband and I went with some friends to a concert. Although we were early, the hall was dark.
Not having ever been there before, we were unfamiliar with the layout. We relied on a young man with a flashlight to guide us to our seats.
The verse in Isaiah reminded me that God promises to guide us in our lives, if we will only rely on Him. We may have not gone through the exact situation before, but He knows where our experiences will lead us.
Avoid getting “lost” as you travel through this life.
Let God guide you along the”unfamiliar paths” ahead.
Matthew 25:46~ ““Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
“See you tomorrow,” we said to our friends.
We just assume that there will be a tomorrow, don’t we?
We think about the future. We plan our vacations.
But do we ready ourselves for eternity?
Do we even give eternity much thought?
Do we believe there is a great void at the end of life or is there an existence beyond here on earth?
Can we know?
Can we be sure?
I wrote The Choice: Will’s Last Testament to answer these questions.
Based on the truth in scripture, you’ll find my fictional story of Will is much like that of the average person. The choices he is faced with are the same ones each of us must consider at some point.
Our souls are eternal. Like Will, we must decide to accept or reject God and His plan for “tomorrow.”
Ecclesiastes12:7,8- “…the dust returns to the ground it came from, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.”
Last week, my husband and I vacationed in a state where the cooler weather offered a reprieve from the summer heat. Still, mid-week, he told me he was ready to go home.
My friend, Beth, spent the last several months in radiation. She made a surprise visit to her friends a couple of weeks ago, just days before she passed away.
It was so good to see her. She was a very special person and will be missed. In her last conversation with us, she said she knew the end of this life was near, that she wasn’t afraid of what lay ahead, and that she was ready to “go home.”
For those of us who look forward to spending an eternity with Jesus, going “home” is nothing to dread. It is the end of our lives on earth, but just the beginning of good things to come.
Isaiah 14:24-“The Lord of Hosts has sworn, saying, “Surely, as I have thought, so it shall come to pass, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.”
I work diligently each week to accomplish the things that need to be done, so that’s why this verse blew me away!
I know God is awesome and mighty, but this verse says He only has to think and it is accomplished!
And if that isn’t enough, consider the rest of the verse: whatever He has purposed will stand. That means it will remain unchangeable…unmovable… It is solid.
He’s the one constant in a world that’s constantly changing!
The term, “My Truth” has been popular for a number of years. The concept being that there may not be an ultimate truth, so people are entitled to adopt their own “truths”—those which are real to them.
To illustrate, a person may believe that the color we all recognize as red is yellow. As long as it is not harmful to others, this alternate truth would be acceptable.
There is a problem with even this simple illustration, though, isn’t there? Right away, I see the difficulty of defending this alternate truth of a “red light runner.”
What does the Bible say about truth?
Throughout the entire book, we are told repeatedly that Jesus is “The Way, the TRUTH, and the Life” and that no one can come to the Father (God) except through Him (Jesus).
The Bible and its teachings are all referred to as “truths.”
That knowledge gives me, as a Christian, peace and comfort. It is encouraging to know I am following the One who is TRUTH, rather than a false “truth of my own.”
Psalm 19:1- “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.”
As I watched fireworks on July 4th, I also enjoyed hearing three of my favorite songs: God Bless America, Amazing Grace, and America the Beautiful.
With a sense of awe, I thank God for giving these songwriters their unique abilities to create music for the rest of us to enjoy… and be inspired by.
Their songs resonate with my own soul as I sing along to worship God for giving us this beautiful land. I thank God for our many freedoms, which include the freedom to worship.
The universe cries out with Thanksgiving for the works of His hands. All nature, His Word tells us, lift their voices in praise.
Thank you, Lord, for the blessing of living in the United States of America!
Isaiah 43:25- “I, I am He who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
It’s the ten year anniversary of the publishing of my first book, Runaways: The Long Journey Home. Curious to see if I had improved as a writer over the last ten years—and eleven books later—I decided to begin rereading all of my books in the order in which I wrote them.
I wondered if I would find so many mistakes that I would want to rewrite a couple of them. And that got me thinking…
As Christians, wouldn’t it be wonderful to be given the opportunity to “rewrite” our past? To make better choices… to lean on the strength and wisdom of the Lord?
But, we don’t need to do that, do we? Because of God’s wonderful gift of forgiveness of our sins.
God not only forgives, He blots them out. Gone forever is our past with all of its mistakes… sinful actions.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn life lessons from past failures. We just don’t have to live with the guilt.
Praise God for His Mercy and Grace!
Isaiah 14: 26,27- “This is the plan determined for the whole world; this is the hand stretched out over all nations. For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?”
While we may not all agree as to what has taken place in our recent election, many were praying beforehand. Praying that God’s will would be done for the people of the United States.
These verses, from Isaiah affirm that God does have a plan and His plan will come to pass.
No matter what political party you may belong to, please believe that GOD IS GOOD. And while we may not understand what has taken place, He acts in a way which will lead to ultimate GOOD.
Take heart. He is in control.
Isaiah 41:10- “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Gus worked at the local Circle K after he retired from teaching. He liked dealing with the public, especially his conversations with construction workers putting in an extension of a nearby freeway.
One night, as he was talking with one of them, a guy with a gun barged into the store. The construction worker was shot trying to protect Gus. The robber got away with the cash in the drawer and the construction worker lived.
Gus said the verse in Isaiah 41 was what kept going through his mind as the robber held his gun on them. As a young kid, he had memorized a number of verses in his Sunday School classes. Over the years, they were instantly there when he needed them.
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