Treasured

 “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  Luke 2:19

 

This verse is one of my very favorite Christmas verses.  I can just picture the young mom observing all that transpired surrounding the birth of Christ.  She stored up all these memories- Joseph’s response; the census; the stable; the shepherds; the star; the angel’s report… All of these things she treasured up and pondered them in her heart.  Have you ever had God so blow your mind that all you could do was look at him with your mouth agape? That was where Mary was- overwhelmed by the goodness, love and miracle working power of Almighty God.

I pray that as the countdown continues to Christmas that you have time to treasure up these things and ponder them in your heart.  Recognize what all of this means to you personally.  Salvation, healing, deliverance, and the list goes on…

I will be taking a couple of weeks off from blogging due to some family needs and the holidays.  I hope you will check back with me after the first of the year, where I am sure to be blogging my heart out again.  Also, feel free to use the search engine to research topics you would be interested in reading about within my blog.  May God bless you and yours with a Christ-centered Christmas and a New Year full of his grace and favor.

Dear Lord, thank you for lowering yourself to leave the glories of heaven and come to earth as a humble servant.  I choose to come before you and worship.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.   

Sherri                                                                                                  

Tomorrow

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

 

Tomorrow my middle child will have surgery.  I am not looking forward to that.  In fact, I have some anxiety and dread about that.  But the truth is, wasting today fretting about tomorrow is futile.  It changes nothing.

I once heard a story about two men facing martyrdom, where they would be burned at the stake the following day. The one held the candle in their cell up to his arm, testing himself to see if he would be able to endure.  Immediately he snatched his hand away, declaring, “I won’t be able to do it!  I am a coward.  I am afraid I will deny my Lord.” The other prisoner rebuked him saying, “The Lord did not call you to burn your arm with a candle.  If he calls you to die at the stake tomorrow, you will have the grace to do it.  You will not experience tomorrow’s grace today.”  I have thought of this story many times and it is so true.  We borrow tomorrow’s problems and worry and fret, but the grace for tomorrow will meet us on that day.

I don’t know what lies before you that causes you dread or concern.  But make it your aim to not borrow problems from tomorrow…and I will do the same!

Dear Lord, thank you that you hold tomorrow in the palm of your hand.  Help me to trust you with all my tomorrows and thank you for the grace you have given me to face today.  In Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Sherri

Why Can’t I Just Have What I Want?

“You want something but don’t get it.  You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want.  You quarrel and fight.  You do not have, because you do not ask God.”  James 4:2

 

No, I have not eavesdropped on your budget discussion with your mate- this is the Word of God!  It’s true.  We want stuff, but we don’t get it.  We are jealous of those who have it.  We pout and fight.  But the bottom line is that we do not have, because it never crosses our mind to ask God to provide it for us.

So much of what we want, we plan, scheme, manipulate and coerce to make it happen.  We sulk, quit talking to the person denying us and determine that we deserve it.  But none of that works in the long run, and certainly it does not work out God’s righteousness in our lives.

Asking God is a two-edged sword.  First, is the obvious:  we want something so we ask Daddy.  He loves his children and desires to give us the desires of our heart.  If we ask him, trust and wait on him, there is much good to come to us.  The second side of this sword is that as we bring our requests before God in prayer, he has a way of changing our hearts so that we want what he wants.  If we truly walk with the Lord, allowing him to rule and reign, we will want his will.  Then he will have no problems granting us what we ask of him.

A lot of what I want from God, I just assume he knows and will provide me with it.  I make the sin of omission, by forgetting that he desires to have me to “ask, seek, and knock.”

What is it you want from God?  Go ahead!  Ask him!  But do it with your heart and ears open to hear his reply.

Dear Lord, I need health, provision and direction for me and my family.  You know the areas I am referring to- please bring it to pass, in Jesus’ Name.

Sherri

The Consolation Prize

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul.”  Psalm 94:19

 

I am not going to lie to you.  Today I had some moments when “anxiety was great within me.”  I had some life problems that were bigger than me and any ability that I had to fix them.  Hopeless, really…if I did not have Jesus.  But thank the Lord, he is right beside me to bring consolation and joy to my soul.

Yesterday as I posted my blog about believing and then again this morning when I felt led to post a verse on facebook about the same topic, I was feeling pretty good about life and hoped those thoughts and verses would help someone going through a trial, then boom!  I realized that perhaps they were for me as well.  Before I had reason to be anxious, the Lord was offering me his consolation.

I don’t know if you are the trusting sort, or if you are like me, and have a hard time struggling with worry.  But either way, we all face things that are bigger than us.  When that happens, we often feel the need to “do” something, even if the only thing we can “do” is worry and fret.  Today I resolved to just trust him at his word.  Within an hour of that decision, God very clearly came through for me in another area with a long-awaited answer to prayer.  And then it hit me.  He would be just as faithful over the other situation as he was over the one that I already had an answer to.  As a child of God, his joy and consolation are available to you.  Refocus your anxious thoughts instead to thoughts of his faithfulness, love and power.  Before long, you will find hope and joy spring alive within your heart!

Dear Lord, help me to quit worrying.  It is a hard habit to overcome, I need you to show me how.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

Nothing is Impossible

“For nothing is impossible with God.”  Luke 1:37

 

What do you believe?  What do you really believe?  There are many obstacles to believing in anything.  But children seem to get faith.  Today our “Elf on the Shelf” came and our four year old had no trouble believing that he really could move around our home at night.  He could hardly wait to go to bed to see where Slugger the Red Elf would end up in the morning.

When was your high point of faith?  Do you remember what it felt like to truly believe in God’s miracle working power?  Do you remember how it felt to honestly believe that you would receive the answer to your prayers?

Life has a way of hardening us, chipping away at our faith.  Every now and then we need to confess our unbelief to God and ask him to help increase our faith.  Nothing is impossible with God.  He is over all, in all and through all.  He formed everything that you can see with your natural eye.  Every cell in your body, he is the Creator of.  All power is at his disposal.  Sickness? Depression?  Discouragement?  Spiritual drought?  None of that is impossible to God.

Today I dare you to take time to stop and reflect on this simple truth. “Nothing is impossible with God.”  Don’t you feel your faith rising even now?! It does not cost any more to believe!

Dear Lord, restore to me child-like faith.  Help me to rely so fully on you that believing becomes my first nature.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Building A Fire

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame, the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” II Timothy 1:6

 

Have you ever tended a fire?  It is amazing to me to see how a fire can go from burning so brightly that it scalds your face as you stand near it, to being just a soft glow of an ember in a short period of time.  Fires are fickle things.  Depending on what you add to it, what material you are burning and how much air it gets makes huge difference in the result.

As a child, my father often grilled steaks over an open metal grate style grill that he would build a fire under.  This was placed in the dirt, and he would build a fire underneath.  (Yes, I am showing my age and possibly my ignorance as I do not know the correct term for this type of grill!)  Nevertheless, he would dig a trench around the fire pit to avoid any embers leaping out and starting a fire.  One day after grilling, he smothered the fire with water, drenched the ground around it and filled the trench with water.  Afterwards, we went for a long Sunday-afternoon drive in the woods.  When we returned a couple of hours later, there was literally 40-60 acres of land on fire.  Mercifully, our home was undamaged; there was a wide ring around the house that did not catch fire.  We spent a great deal of time that afternoon trying to put out a fire that had seemed dead when we left.

Indeed, fire is a fickle thing.  This is also true of the fire of the Holy Spirit.  The gifting, calling and anointing that he places on us must be tended.  There are seasons that it will burn brightly and other seasons where it will smolder and appear to die.  During those seasons, we have to “stir up” what is there so that it can rekindle and return to its former purpose and brightness.  This is done a number of ways- increased Bible study, prayer time, attending conferences, calling a fast, and purposeful time spent in worship.  I have had all of these things stir up the flame in my life during different seasons.  The important thing is that we “tend the flame” enough to know the condition we are in and recognize the first signs of burning out so that we can reignite the flame within us.

Lord, please show me the things in my life that are smothering the flame of your presence in my life.  Help me to stir it up, in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

Still

“He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  Psalm 46:10

 

It is officially the holiday season.  I know this because our family has five parties to attend between now and next Sunday.  What a hectic, busy, and stressful time of year.  Like many of you I have lists for several areas of my life that I’m working off of:  family responsibilities, church commitments, work deadlines, holiday celebrations, preparations and of course, shopping! 

Needless to say, “being still and knowing that He is God” is pretty difficult to pull off at this time.  And yet I hear Him beckoning me to still myself and know Him.  To be aware of Him, to acknowledge His presence, to seek His face.  All of the other things on my list are important, but being with God is urgent and pivotal to everything else working.  I am trying to cultivate the ability to have a stillness of heart, mind and spirit, even while I have a frenzy of body.

Recently, I had a bit of a personal health scare.  Thank the Lord, everything ended up being all right, but for those six days when I experienced uncertainty, things in life got quite a bit simpler for me.  All of a sudden job stress did not matter as much as hope for a future with my family.  Life is so precious and fragile.  We are only ever a moment away from eternity.  That is what truly matters and we must live like it matters.  We have to take control of our life and activities and say, I am going to be still and know that He is God.  I am going to put Him in proper perspective and everything else will fall into place.

Dear Lord, help me still my mind.  Help me to be attuned to your still, small voice.  Help me to focus on you and trust you to do through me what I need to accomplish.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

God Sends His Love

"He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me. God sends his love and his faithfulness.”  Psalm 57:3

 

Do you ever feel overtaken in this warfare called life?  Some days it seems all we do is battle something, whether it is difficult people, our own fleshly tendencies, sickness, financial woes or job stress.  Regardless of the enemies hotly pursuing you, it is encouraging to know that we have a Savior seated on the throne in heaven, watching over us, making intercession for us with the Father and sending us the help we need that we might be saved.

If Jesus never saves you from anything other than hell and judgment, you are a most blessed person- as am I.  But his saving is not limited just to our need for eternal salvation.  He saves us from trials and attack and safely delivers us out.  When dealing with people or relationship issues, it is sometimes frustrating- especially if it is people we feel subordinate to.  An unreasonable boss, a harsh parent, a selfish husband, all of these are ways that people can feel oppressed by their social roles and possibly even by the command to submit to those in authority over us.  But when we feel we are being mistreated, we must recall that if we are doing everything the Lord requires of us, then he will deal directly with anyone who is mistreating us.  This passage says that he will rebuke those that hotly pursue me.  Thank God we are not without an advocate and defender.  And when a person is rebuked of God, they are rebuked indeed!  We do not have to feel powerless when we have a strong protector always on our side.

The next part says that “God sends his love and faithfulness.”  That is so beautiful to me.  He is love.  He is faithful.  What else could he send to me?!  Outside the blood of Jesus, I deserved punishment, separation, death, rejection and torment.  But because he so loved me, and because I accepted his offer of salvation, I get a benefit package rather than a penalty package.  The gifts he send my way are good and helpful. 

Be encouraged today, God is for you.  He wants to help, deliver and save you.  You are not without remedy!

Dear Lord, thank you for saving me, defending me and sending me good things.  Help me to give love and faithfulness back to you.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

Fulfilled

“I cry out to God Most High, to God, who fulfills his purpose for me.”  Psalm 57:2

 

Have you ever had those dreams?  You know the kind- you scream and cry for help, but no sound comes out.  You are paralyzed in fear, but you can do nothing to help yourself-not even to utter a cry.  I have had more than my fair share of those “night terrors” and when I awaken I am always left with a feeling of relief that I am not as helpless as I felt.  Thank God that He gives us a voice to cry out to Him.  He grants us the ability to make our needs known to Him- even if it is within the quietness of our own heart.

When we cry out to God, He hears us and fulfills His purpose for me.  For you.  Is there anything more special than knowing that God has a good purpose for your life and that He works to fulfill it?  When obstacles come to derail us; when we are faced with uncertainty and disappointment, the fulfillment of His purpose is still going forth unchanged.  We are moved by what we see- especially if what we are seeing is a lack of progress.  But those things do not move God.  He is not lacking in resources and ability no matter how bleak and impossible it may be looking at this time.

I discovered (rediscovered) this gem of a verse yesterday as I was facing a very uncertain situation in my life today.  At the time, it leapt off the page to me as confirmation that He knew what was going on in my life and it had not changed His plans for me.  Praise God that we serve an unchanging, eternal God.

Dear Lord, thank you for working to fulfill your plan for me.  Help me to not get in your way.  And a big thank you Lord for answered prayer!  In Jesus’ Name.   Amen.

Sherri

Hiding in the Shadows

“Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul takes refuge.  I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.”  Psalm 57:1

 

The mercy of God is without description.  We deserve death, hell and destruction, but in his great mercy, he has paid the price for us.  Rather than judgment, he lays up blessings for the child of God.  Instead of hell, he offers heaven.  Instead of death, he provides eternal life.  His mercy is without limit. When we stumble, when we fall, he is there to pick us up; with tender mercy his heart is always turned toward us.

When we are afraid, when we are disheartened we can run to him for mercy and find refuge for our soul.  A refuge is a sanctuary or place of safety.  Even in the middle of physical warfare we can enjoy spiritual refuge.  Praise God for his provision! 

Some trials of life are so huge, so overwhelming that they loom like a mountain of destruction in our path.  When your enemy is as great as a mountain, you must find a very large rock to hide behind!  In those days, God is the only one large enough to hide every part of you from the enemy. 

Not too long ago our little one was jumped on and bitten by a dog.  When I realized what was happening, our three year old was running toward me as hard as he could run and threw himself into my arms.  He knew that he would find safety from the teeth of that dog if only he could get to Mama.  There are days that I am that child running for all I am worth toward a heavenly Father who is running to me with his arms outstretched. 

Just as a chicken gathers her chicks underneath the safety of her wings, God gathers us in, on the day of disaster.  Please know today that no matter how the wind howls outside your door, no matter how the windows rattle and shake, you have a safe room, a safe haven in which to hide.

Dear Lord, thank you for being there for me, offering me mercy and safety.  Help me to feel your protective arms about me.  In Jesus’ Name I pray.  Amen.

Sherri

I Will Not be Afraid

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me?”  Psalm 56:3-4

 

Yesterday we talked about the fear that we all face during trying circumstances. Fear is a common condition of man and must be combated with the supernatural peace and grace of God.

 In verse four, the psalmist says “In God, whose word I praise.”  I love this because His Word is what we can stand on during our trying times.  Whatever circumstances lie before us, there is a passage of Scripture that can give us wisdom, direction, or a promise to stand on.  Because of his Word, we can know God’s heart in a matter, and therefore, can pray in accordance with his will.  And of course, we know that when we pray according to his will, he hears us and answers.

Twice this passage talks about trusting in God.  This is one of the simplest and at the same time, complex, aspects of our walk with God.  To trust in Him means to believe He is doing what is best, is looking out for us, and is watching over his word to perform it.  To trust him in a situation means that we exalt him to the place of lordship- the one who calls the shots- in that situation.  These are the ways that trusting is easy.

Trusting becomes hard in the doing of it!  Because I find that even as I am trusting, there are times I will pick my problem back up and begin to work on it in my mind.  Or in my emotions.  I mean to leave it in God’s capable hands, but almost unconsciously I go into self-protect mode.  Do you relate to this?  Trusting God does not mean praying and then doing everything within your power to fix it.  There are times that God requires stuff from us, and other times he requires us to trust, pray and wait.  This is when the war with the flesh becomes most intense.

In verse 3, the writer writes “When I am afraid…” But in verse 4 he states, “I will not be afraid.” How can both be true?  I believe that the first ‘being afraid’ is about the emotion of fear that comes to us and is not of our own choosing. The second one, however, I believe is about where I choose to put my thoughts, emotions and faith.  Am I going to allow fear to seize me or am I going, instead, to choose to believe what the Word says?

Dear Lord, though I feel fear, I chose to not put stock in that.  Help me to walk in faith and trust and experience your peace that passes understanding.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri

                                                 

When I am Afraid

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you.”  Psalm 56:1

Let’s face it.  Sometimes life is downright scary.  The bills loom with no obvious way to pay it.  You or a loved one faces a health scare.  You fear for your future, your retirement, your job security, your nation…There are many things in life that bring the emotion of fear.

The Bible is full of imperative “Do not fear” commands.  But despite our best efforts there are times that emotion shows up on our doorstep.  Just like happiness, joy, relief, and anger, fear is an emotion we are wired for.  But when we are afraid, we must do as this verse says.  When it happens, I am going to put my trust in God. 

No matter what I face, he is ultimately in control.  No matter how uncertain it appears to me, he has a plan for my life.  A good plan.  He loves me, watches tenderly over all that concerns me.  He fights for me, he defends me, he provides for me and he heals me.  Therefore, when the emotion of fear comes my way, I will choose not to give it place.  I will choose to “fear not” but rather trust in the unfailing hand of God.

You can choose to do the same.  Remind yourself today how much he loves you.  After what all he did on Calvary, what else does he need to do?  Put your trust in him.  He will not fail you.

Dear Lord, I am afraid and you know all about it.  Help me today to be unmoved by the emotion, but rather to put my trust in you.  I love you and praise you.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri