Monday, May 2, 2016

Body and Spirit

“Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Matthew 10:31 

In addition to society’s obsession with physical beauty, women face other obstacles to maintaining confidence, including disrespect for wives and mothers who have chosen the traditional homemaking role. Furthermore, many wives, especially mothers of small children, feel isolated at home. Their husbands are physically and emotionally “elsewhere,” pursuing careers, hobbies, or both. The result is often devastating, as women tend to derive their sense of self‐worth from the emotional closeness achieved through relationships.

So what’s the solution? We encourage you as the husband to be present with your wife in body and spirit. Set aside time for her. Listen to her. Romance her. Show her she’s still your one‐and‐only sweetheart. On the other hand, don’t expect to fill all of her emotional needs. Encourage her to develop meaningful friendships with other women and reach out to others in your community.

“Honor one another above yourselves.” This simple phrase from the Bible (Romans 12:10) is the key to affirming the infinite worth of your spouse.

Just between us…
  • (husband) When you’re with other people, do you sometimes think, “They wouldn’t like me if they really knew who I am?”
  • (husband) Do you feel that I’m “present with you,” or do I often seem preoccupied?
  • (husband) What can I do to build your confidence this week?
  • (husband) How can I support you in establishing friendships? 

(husband) Dear God, thank You for the great worth You see in my wife. I see it, too, and I want to honor and cherish her more every day. Help me to bless her and make her strong in this way. Amen. 

From Night Light For Couples, by Dr. James & Shirley Dobson
Copyright © 2000 by James Dobson, Inc. All rights reserved.

His Princess Every Day - Monday, May 2, 2016

Devotionals for Women - Inspirational author and speaker Sheri Rose Shepherd imagines what a letter written from God to you would look like.

I Will Send My Angels
 
My Bride,

There are many things I have to offer you as your eternal husband. I offer you everlasting life; I give you anytime access to me. I give you unspeakable joy, an abundant life and an eternal home. As my bride, your prayers reach the heavens and people's lives are changed forever because I hear your every word whispered to me. But there is more, my beloved, I command my angels to stand guard over you. There are many things you have been spared from without you knowing. Just be blessed in knowing I have you covered wherever you have gone; and I will continue to do so until you are finally home with me once and for always.

Love,
Your Prince and soul Provider 

Praise the Lord, you angels, you mighty ones who carry out his plans, listening for each of his commands. Yes, praise the Lord, you armies of angels who serve him and do his will! - Psalm 103:20-21 (NLT) 

Prayer to my Prince 

My Prince, 

How can I ever say no to receiving the kind of life you offer me? There is no one in the world that can give me the kind of relationship you provide. To be honest, when I really think about all you do and have done for me, I am almost ashamed about all the times I have taken you for granted. You truly are the lover of my soul and have all I have ever wanted. 

Your Princess Who truly loves you 

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. - Psalm 91:11 (NIV) 

This devotional is written by Sheri Rose Shepherd. All content copyright Sheri Rose Shepherd 2015. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Visit HisPrincess.com for devotionals, books, videos, and more from Sheri Rose Shepherd.

Inside Out

Jeremiah 2:32–33 

Like many women each morning, perhaps you wake up, pour yourself a cup of caffeine, take a shower and then get ready to meet the world. You pick out an outfit (preferably one that makes you look five to ten pounds lighter), do your hair and put on makeup. Finally, you add jewelry, a belt and maybe a purse. Voilá! You’re ready to meet the day.

The care involved in our routines begs the question: How much time do we spend getting ready spiritually each morning? Do we take any time at all to ask God to guide us during our day? Do we read the Scriptures, meditate or pray so that we can be more patient, kind and loving with our spouse and children? Or do we worry more about getting out the door than about the condition of our hearts?

Caring for our outward appearance is not wrong . . . as long as we don’t neglect focusing on our inner thoughts and attitudes too. The prophet Jeremiah noted that women are unlikely to forget their accessories, but God’s people are prone to forget him. If we’re honest, we’ll admit that we are much like the Israelites. In the midst of our busy lives, God often gets pushed to the bottom of our to-do lists. But spiritual growth happens from the inside out.

Try this: Tomorrow as you shower, praise God for the cleansing that Jesus’ forgiveness provides. As you’re getting dressed, thank God for clothing you with Christ’s righteousness. When you put on your moisturizer, ask God to soften your heart to his leading throughout the day. As you apply your makeup, thank him for being the foundation of your life. When you put in your contacts, ask God to give you eyes to see his workings in the world. And as you put on your earrings, thank him for beautifying your life with the fruits of the Spirit.

Who knows? After talking to God throughout the morning, you might not even need caffeine!

Reflection
  1. What “enemies of the soul” (busyness, etc.) cause you to sometimes forget to take time with God?
  2. How much time do you spend daily in prayer and Bible study, preparing your heart for the day?
  3. What are some ways you can become more balanced in your life? 

Jeremiah 2:32 “Does a young woman forget her jewelry, a bride her wedding ornaments? Yet my people have forgotten me, days without number.”

Related Readings 

Psalm 5:1–3; Proverbs 31:30; Romans 12:1–2; Ephesians 4:20–24; 1 Peter 3:3–6

Girlfriends in God - May 02, 2016

Resting in the Here-ness and Near-ness of God
Sharon Jaynes

Today’s Truth

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38–39).

Friend to Friend

Have you ever been in a situation when you felt God calling your name to a particular task, and at the same time you felt that He had the wrong person for the job? That’ exactly how Moses felt when God called him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and to the Promised Land. He cried out, “Who am I that I should go to the Pharaoh?”

I’ve been there. I wonder if you have too. I’ve thought, God, You’ve got to be kidding? Me? You’ve got the wrong girl for the job! I’m a nobody! 

But look at how God answered Moses.

And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain” (Exodus 3:12).

It was almost as if He ignored the question on the table and told Moses what he really needed to know. “I will be with you.” In other words, “Don’t worry about who you are. Concentrate on Who I AM. I’ll be with you. I’ve got this. You just hang on tight.”

Isn’t it a comfort to know that God is always with you? Always! David wrote:

Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
If I go up to the heavens, you are there
If I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
Even there your hand will guide me.
Your right hand will hold me fast (Ps. 139:7–10).

Paul wrote:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38–39).

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that God’s words to the Israelites also apply to you and me: Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Heb. 13:5; Deut. 31:6, 8; Josh. 1:5).

God’s presence envelops us as we live and move and have our being in Him. So many times we glibly suggest or imploringly beg for God to be with us as if we have to coax Him out of hiding. David debunks that idea. There is no place we can go that is away from God’s presence. Most Christian would say they believe this truth, but then live like they don’t.

One day I was praying for my son, a prayer that had almost become as rote as “God is great. God is good.” “God, please be with Steven today,” I whispered.

Just as abruptly as a referee’s whistle calling foul, God stopped me mid-sentence. Why do you pray that every day? He seemed to say. I AM with Steven. I’m with him every day. Why do you ask for something he already has as if you don’t believe Me? 

God was right! Imagine that. So I amended my mother prayer. “Dear Lord, please help Steven be aware of Your presence today.”

The truth of God’s here-ness and nearness is punctuated throughout Scripture. So no matter what you are going through or what God has called you to, remember, He is right there with you. You’re never alone. 

Let’s Pray

Heavenly Father, I am so thankful that You are always with me. No matter where I go, You are there. Help me to be aware of Your presence, acknowledge Your presence, and rest in the truth of You’re here-ness and nearness every step of the way.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen. 

Now It’s Your Turn

How does it make you feel to know that God is always with you...no matter what?

What is one time when you were going through a difficult time that you sensed God’s presence?

What is one time when you were going through a difficult time that you did not sense God’s presence? Be honest.

Now, regardless of how you felt at that time, was God with you?

Is He with you now?

I try to stay away from “yes” and “no” questions, but sometimes we just need to say aloud what our minds know, so that our hearts can catch up. 

More from the Girlfriends 

Today’s devotion was taken from my new book, Take Hold of the Faith you Long For: Let Go, Move Forward, Live Bold. A mediocre, mundane faith is not what you were made for! In Take Hold of the Faith You Long For, I reveal the most common reasons we get stuck in our Christian faith, living less than what we had hoped. I show you how to break free of all that holds you back, move forward with all that God promises, and live the adventurous faith of bold believing. It’s time to leave behind feelings of inferiority, insecurity, and inadequacy that hold you hostage and take hold of the mountain-moving faith God intends. Let’s uncover untapped sources of confidence and courage, and see how to move from simply knowing the truth to actually living it out boldly. It’s time to TAKE HOLD of all that Jesus has already taken hold of for you and placed in you!


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Women of the Bible - Michal

Her name means: "Who Is Like God?" 

Her character: A woman of strong emotions, she was unable to control the important circumstances of her life. Forcibly separated from two husbands, she lost her father and her brother, who were savaged by their enemies.
Her sorrow: That she was ensnared in the drawn-out battle between Saul and David.
Her joy: Though short-lived, she enjoyed a passionate love for David.
Key Scriptures: 1 Samuel 18:20-29; 19:11-17; 2 Samuel 6:16-23

Her Story

Scene One

Michal stretched herself across the window's edge. Leaning out as far as she dared, she could see her husband running through the night shadows, his movements swift and lithe, like a young stag evading its predators. Even if her father, the king, pursued with an army, she was confident he would not catch her David.

She had loved the shepherd boy since the day he had calmed Saul's troubled soul with his harp playing. After he defeated the hideous Goliath with only a sling and a stone, all Israel fell in love with him. But it was for her alone that David had slain two hundred Philistines—to prove his worth.

She turned from the window, grateful for the chance to have aided her husband's escape. Quickly she dressed one of the household idols, placing it in their bed and topping it with goat's hair to make it look like a sleeping David. She was ready for her father's men when they came pounding on her door.

"David is ill," she told them.

So they returned to King Saul, who immediately ordered them back, saying, "Bring him up to me in his bed so that I may kill him."

Discovering the ruse, Saul confronted his daughter: "Why did you deceive me like this and send my enemy away so that he escaped?"

Michal lowered her eyes and replied, "He said to me, 'Let me get away. Why should I kill you?' " She held her breath, certain her father would never swallow so bold a lie. 

Scene Two

Nine years or more have passed. Michal glanced out the window, arms folded tightly against her breast, observing the scene below. David, now the king, had entered Jerusalem, leaping and dancing as the ark of the covenant was carried into Jerusalem. He looked ridiculous to Michal, more like a romping goat than a great king.

David offered the sacrifices and blessed the people. Then he entered his own house to bless it. But Saul's daughter met him with scornful eyes: "How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!"

"It was before the Lord, who chose me," he replied, "rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord's people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor." 

Her Story

Twice, Michal stood at a window observing David. In the first scene, Scripture paints her as David's wife, in the second as Saul's daughter. In fact, her attitude is so changed that we feel perplexed, watching her as she watches David. To understand what may have shaped Michal's heart in the intervening years, we need to find a corridor connecting the two windows, a passageway that somehow led from love to scorn.

Michal may have expected her separation from David to be a short one, her idealism forging a happy ending to their fairy-tale love. Perhaps she believed David would find a way to protect her from her father's wrath. Was she shocked when real life intervened and her father punished her by marrying her to another man? Did her bitterness grow during David's long absence? Had she finally made peace with her new marriage only to be torn from her husband when David demanded her back after Saul's death? Did she question God's judgments, identifying more with the dead than the living after her father perished in a desperate battle with the Philistines?

Perhaps Michal's bitterness swelled to rage when she realized she had always been someone else's pawn, a mere woman manipulated by powerful men. Her own father used her, promising her to David in hopes she would prove a snare to him. And, finally, one of her brothers handed her back to David after Saul's death, further legitimizing David's claim to the throne. A princess, then a queen, she was still a slave.

Michal's story is tragic. Throughout the difficult circumstances of her life, we see little evidence of a faith to sustain her. Instead, she is tossed back and forth, her heart left to draw its own bitter conclusions. In the last scene with David, we see a woman blind with scorn, making the very mistake God cautioned the prophet Samuel against in his search for a king to succeed the wayward Saul: "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things human beings look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The truth is, God is the only one who can see into the depths of anyone's heart, including Michal's. He knew everything that had happened, both good and bad. Still the story of Michal seems to indicate that she grew to be more like Saul than like David. As such, she reminds us that even victims have choices. No matter how much we've been sinned against, we still have the power to choose the attitude of our heart. If we cast ourselves on God's mercy, asking him to help us, he cannot refuse. Even in difficulty, he will dwell in us, shaping our own wayward hearts into the likeness of his own.

Her Promise

Michal's contempt for true worship can be contrasted with David's love of worship. He worshiped God with abandon, with a true heart. His devotion was so deep, so real, it had to be expressed in the most extravagant praise and in dancing "with all his might." That's the sort of worship God is looking for from his people, and he responds with a promise to bless.

Salt and Light - May 02, 2016


SPIRITUAL WEAPONS

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 2 Corinthians 10:4 

Helen Berhane was imprisoned for almost three years in the shipping container prisons in Eritrea. She shares how a Muslim man with epilepsy was also imprisoned. She says in her testimonial book titled Song of the Nightingale:

I noticed that he wore two charms on his belt. I pointed at them, “Where did you get those charms from?” “I saw a witch doctor, before I was arrested, about my fits. He said that they would make me better, but I should never take them off.” “Jemal,” I said, ‘those charms cannot heal you. Only prayer to God can do that.”

As I spoke he began to have a fit, and so I prayed for him. I did this often until, miraculously, he agreed to take the charms off. I took them away and burnt them, but whatever was in them smelled awful, and the guards demanded to know what I had been doing, which gave me the opportunity to explain to them that only prayer can heal a person, not charms from a witch doctor.

Jemal’s health improved and his fits became less frequent. I was delighted but he was worried.

“Helen, if they know that I am feeling better they will keep me here, and I want to be released.”

“If you continue to trust in God, no one can keep you from going home, not if God wills that you should be released.” I was very pleased when he was released shortly afterwards.[1] 

RESPONSE: Today I will live in the awareness that the spiritual battle rages all around me and I can be used to counter Satan’s bondage over people.

PRAYER: Lord, you have given me the spiritual weapons with which to demolish the strongholds of the spiritual battle that I find myself against today. Help me not to depend on the weapons of the world. 

1. Berhane, p. 31.

Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria

Today the church remembers Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, 373.

Athanasius contra mundum" Athanasius against the world. With this phrase Christians have for centuries summed up the great life and work of this wise bishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Long ago he became a symbol of orthodoxy of right and clear thinking in the face of overwhelming opposition. His thinking was ahead of his time. As Christians came to know and understand his teaching, they came to feel that he offered the most accurate intellectual expression of their faith.

The doctrine he espoused eventually became the universal teaching of the church and embodied in the creeds, especially the one that bears his name, the Athanasian Creed. This did not come easily. For a time it seemed that, indeed, the whole world was against Athanasius. His chief opponents, the Arians, gained control of the church. He was deposed and exiled and vilified. He died without seeing the victory of his position proclaimed at the General Council at Constantinople in 381.

Basically, he opposed the Arian teaching that Jesus Christ was less than God but more than man. He held that such a being would be of no benefit to either God or man and could not reconcile God and man. Athanasius taught that Jesus Christ was truly God and truly man. In his renowned treatise, De Incarnatione, he wrote that God the Son "became as we are in order that we might become as he is."

Fill us with your truth, O God, that we may uphold the faith of your church. Amen.

Read the Wikipedia article here. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athanasius_of_Alexandria

Uphold your Church, O God of truth, as you upheld your servant Athanasius, to maintain and proclaim boldly the catholic faith against all opposition, trusting solely in the grace of your eternal Word, who took upon himself our humanity that we might share his divinity; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

The Daily Readings for May 2, 2016 - Saint Philip and Saint James Day, tr.

Leviticus 25:35-55
If any of your kin fall into difficulty and become dependent on you, you shall support them; they shall live with you as though resident aliens. Do not take interest in advance or otherwise make a profit from them, but fear your God; let them live with you. You shall not lend them your money at interest taken in advance, or provide them food at a profit. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God. If any who are dependent on you become so impoverished that they sell themselves to you, you shall not make them serve as slaves. They shall remain with you as hired or bound laborers. They shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. Then they and their children with them shall be free from your authority; they shall go back to their own family and return to their ancestral property. For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves are sold. You shall not rule over them with harshness, but shall fear your God. As for the male and female slaves whom you may have, it is from the nations around you that you may acquire male and female slaves. You may also acquire them from among the aliens residing with you, and from their families that are with you, who have been born in your land; and they may be your property. You may keep them as a possession for your children after you, for them to inherit as property. These you may treat as slaves, but as for your fellow Israelites, no one shall rule over the other with harshness. If resident aliens among you prosper, and if any of your kin fall into difficulty with one of them and sell themselves to an alien, or to a branch of the alien's family, after they have sold themselves they shall have the right of redemption; one of their brothers may redeem them, or their uncle or their uncle's son may redeem them, or anyone of their family who is of their own flesh may redeem them; or if they prosper they may redeem themselves. They shall compute with the purchaser the total from the year when they sold themselves to the alien until the jubilee year; the price of the sale shall be applied to the number of years: the time they were with the owner shall be rated as the time of a hired laborer. If many years remain, they shall pay for their redemption in proportion to the purchase price; and if few years remain until the jubilee year, they shall compute thus: according to the years involved they shall make payment for their redemption. As a laborer hired by the year they shall be under the alien's authority, who shall not, however, rule with harshness over them in your sight. And if they have not been redeemed in any of these ways, they and their children with them shall go free in the jubilee year. For to me the people of Israel are servants; they are my servants whom I brought out from the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.


Colossians 1:9-14
For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.


Matthew 13:1-16
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!" Then the disciples came and asked him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.' With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: 'You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn-- and I would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.


Morning Psalms

Psalm 80
1   Hear, O Shepherd of Israel, leading Joseph like a flock; shine forth, you that are enthroned upon the cherubim.
2   In the presence of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, stir up your strength and come to help us.
3   Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
4   O LORD God of hosts, how long will you be angered despite the prayers of your people?
5   You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have given them bowls of tears to drink.
6   You have made us the derision of our neighbors, and our enemies laugh us to scorn.
7   Restore us, O God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.
8   You have brought a vine out of Egypt; you cast out the nations and planted it.
9   You prepared the ground for it; it took root and filled the land.
10   The mountains were covered by its shadow
and the towering cedar trees by its boughs.
11   You stretched out its tendrils to the Sea and its branches to the River.
12   Why have you broken down its wall, so that all who pass by pluck off its grapes?
13   The wild boar of the forest has ravaged it, and the beasts of the field have grazed upon it.
14   Turn now, O God of hosts, look down from heaven; behold and tend this vine; preserve what your right hand has planted.
15   They burn it with fire like rubbish; at the rebuke of your countenance let them perish.
16   Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, and son of man you have made so strong for yourself.
17   And so will we never turn away from you; give us life, that we may call upon your Name.
18   Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; show the light of your countenance, and we shall be saved.


Evening Psalms

Psalm 77
1   I will cry aloud to God; I will cry aloud, and he will hear me.
2   In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord; my hands were stretched out by night and did not tire; I refused to be comforted.
3   I think of God, I am restless, I ponder, and my spirit faints.
4   You will not let my eyelids close; I am troubled and I cannot speak.
5   I consider the days of old; I remember the years long past;
6   I commune with my heart in the night; I ponder and search my mind.
7   Will the Lord cast me off for ever? will he no more show his favor?
8   Has his loving-kindness come to an end for ever? has his promise failed for evermore?
9   Has God forgotten to be gracious? has he, in his anger, withheld his compassion?
10   And I said, "My grief is this: the right hand of the Most High has lost its power."
11   I will remember the works of the LORD, and call to mind your wonders of old time.
12   I will meditate on all your acts and ponder your mighty deeds.
13   Your way, O God, is holy; who is so great a god as our God?
14   You are the God who works wonders and have declared your power among the peoples.
15   By your strength you have redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph.
16   The waters saw you, O God; the waters saw you and trembled; the very depths were shaken.
17   The clouds poured out water; the skies thundered; your arrows flashed to and fro;
18   The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.
19   Your way was in the sea, and your paths in the great waters, yet your footsteps were not seen.
20   You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.


Psalm 79
1   O God, the heathen have come into your inheritance; they have profaned your holy temple; they have made Jerusalem a heap of rubble.
2   They have given the bodies of your servants as food for the birds of the air, and the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the field.
3   They have shed their blood like water on every side of Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.
4   We have become a reproach to our neighbors, an object of scorn and derision to those around us.
5   How long will you be angry, O LORD? will your fury blaze like fire for ever?
6   Pour out your wrath upon the heathen who have not known you and upon the kingdoms that have not called upon your Name.
7   For they have devoured Jacob and made his dwelling a ruin.
8   Remember not our past sins; let your compassion be swift to meet us; for we have been brought very low.
9   Help us, O God our Savior, for the glory of your Name; deliver us and forgive us our sins, for your Name's sake.
10   Why should the heathen say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the heathen and in our sight that you avenge the shedding of your servants' blood.
11   Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before you, and by your great might spare those who are condemned to die.
12   May the revilings with which they reviled you, O Lord, return seven-fold into their bosoms.
13   For we are your people and the sheep of your pasture; we will give you thanks for ever and show forth your praise from age to age.

The Daily Meditation for May 2, 2016 - Saint Philip and Saint James Day, tr.

From Forward Day by Day

 Isaiah 30:21 And when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left, your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”

In my childhood, the difficult choices were chocolate or vanilla ice cream or which Little House on the Prairie book to reread. Life, as we grow, brings other choices. Career choices, choices for medical care, choices on how we allocate our time, talents, and treasure.

We are human, and when faced with major choices, we often become so fearful of making a mistake, of choosing wrongly, or regretting our choices, that we become paralyzed. We become stuck in our fear of going in the wrong direction with our choice.

Through the words of Isaiah, God reminds Jerusalem (and all of us) that no matter which direction we walk in, God is offering us guidance. We will make choices. Even in our wrong choices, we will not be lost to God. Left or right, up or down, forward or stuck, God is with us, speaking words of guidance.


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Verse of the Day - May 02, 2016

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Read all of 1 John 5