“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4: 7)

The mind is a fascinating gift that God has created in us. It can persuade us, it can direct us, it can create peace or it can create havoc that affects our whole being. I have learned a valuable lesson that the thoughts in my mind that are negative always have to be replaced with something positive or that negative will keep coming back. For example; if my mind tends to conclude that God is a strict, unloving, impersonal God because of circumstances, feelings and situations in my past, I have to replace that thought of who I think God is with who I know God is. I literally have to tell myself, that is not true! And think purposely that God loves me and knows me and wants to guide me. Memorizing Scripture and saying it out loud is an incredible tool!
My sweet son is having a lot of difficulty getting to sleep at night. He lies awake and his thoughts begin to consume him until he gets frustrated and comes peeking out his room, risking trouble because he is scared, worried, or anxious. He and I have been talking a lot lately about this subject of the mind. How we might not realize it, but what we are thinking about can literally make us upset or even physically sick at times. The devil can and does use his manipulation with our thoughts in attempt to destroy us. It’s done through the media, the words of others or those ugly thoughts that exist in the back of our mind, simply because of human nature.

I’ve been sharing with him and praying with him about his troubled thoughts. We talk about replacing them with happy memories or distractions of peaceful things. Ultimately though, this battle of the mind can only be won with the help of God. I have been challenged right along with my kiddo to acknowledge those thoughts that are causing me chaos and to give them up to the Lord.

Philippians 4 tells us to think about what is true, noble, right, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy….and that the peace of God will be with you. How easy is that?! We have peace offered right there for us. It’s victory handed to us with a guarantee. A guarantee only if we completely relinquish those ugly thoughts and do as He asks…to think on good things.
With our thoughts turned over to God, we are given peace. We can feel contentment and “do everything through him who gives us strength” when we have peace. I’ve heard the term that the tongue can dictate huge catastrophes or victories. Even more so, what we think in our minds comes out in our words! So in my opinion, the mind is what ensures us either peace or defeat. What we believe in our heart and mind can literally pave the path before us.
What is on your mind today? Is there peace that settles and defuses those thoughts that cause you frustration, anger, or fear? I challenge us all today to consciously take our thoughts captive today. To offer them up to the Lord and to replace them with His words and truth. Perhaps this day that could’ve ended in turmoil, will be a delightfully peaceful day which God has planned if we remember to surrender our mind to Him.

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3

“All my fresh springs shall be in thee.” Psalm 87:7b

How fascinating that this verse is from today’s reading, especially since we are seeing a bit of our own moisture fall around us. It always seems a bit unjust for me living in Oregon to have any bit of rainfall in the summertime. We are “blessed” with it enough throughout the other seasons, right? But when I think deeper about the issue, I know that the beauty around me would not be in existence if it were not for this.

Psalms 87:7b has a lot of depth in its meaning to me. No matter how much I enjoy the sunshine and light…it can be damaging without the rain. Life cannot grow without water. We ourselves are even made up of some water! And even more so in our spiritual life…without the watering of God’s spirit, we are thirsty.

I love how this particular part of the verse reminds me that my water, my spring, my LIFE comes from Him. And even the sweet phrase “fresh spring”, to me that means new life. The old Linda is gone and the new Linda lives simply because of my Lord. How refreshing is that?!!

So, as we see (and perhaps feel) the moisture around us today, thank the Lord for the fresh spring that He has given you!

Thank you God for new life! Thank you that each day is a chance to praise you, worship you and serve you. Thank you for the rain today and for the many ways that you replenish my soul with your love and your Spirit. I love you.

As a Christian, I have heard the phrase “thorn in the flesh” referred to in several ways.  The most obvious was about the Apostle Paul in verse 7 of chapter 12.  Here is one of those unanswered trivials…what was his “thorn”.  Here are a few opinions:
 It was a headache. It was epilepsy.  It was a recurrent malarial fever. It was all the adversaries of the Word. It was fleshly temptation.  It was a spiritual temptation. It was infirmities of the mind. It was lustful thoughts. It was acute, disfiguring ophthalmia. It was the false teachers.  It was blasphemous thoughts of the devil. It was Malta fever.  Or perhaps…It was a man on the Jerusalem council.
 

It would be a shame however if I were to focus all our attention on that curious statement.  It would totally miss what Paul is saying.  Who knows what his thorn was, what he meant was, that his weakness kept him humble and reliant upon God.  “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (vs. 10b)
 

What I received from this part of chapter 12 was what I saw written in red: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (vs. 9)  In my life, that has meant that in the times I am forced to do nothing on my own, but to rely completely on the Lord…He is then glorified.  I can’t number the times I have done things my way and thought I was pleasing Him.  Then I turn around and see how He has used something I consider a weakness, to use in me to bring about His mission.  There are also those times when I am weak in heart…when I call out to the Lord in frustration or emptiness.  Remembering His grace towards me and how it can be enough….that He can work in and through whatever I am in to do His will.  Often times I can look back and see how if I were not weak…I would have missed His blessing or His power. 
 

In a world where weakness is not appealing, our relationship with the Lord really does require us to be weak towards Him.  Humble, willing to be used, open, offering up the good and the bad and saying…please use me however to show Yourself to all around me.
 

Perhaps you are in a weak time.  Or you struggle with something in your life that you label as a weakness.  Offer that to the Lord.  You may be incredibly surprised what God can do when he has the controls and makes something beautiful out of it because you are willing to trust Him and let Him.  I’m sure speaking to myself here too!  May we all boast about our weaknesses so that others can see a glimpse of the awesome power of God in our lives!
 

Thank you God for your grace.  That it is sufficient, enough and all that I need in my time of weakness.  Thank you for my thorns.  Though they hurt or bother or confuse me, please remind me to offer them to You, so that You can show Your power.  Thank you God that You allow these thorns to keep me humble and to remind me who is in control.  Thank You that You love me enough to allow thorns and that You are with me amidst the discomfort.  And that in my weakness Your power is made perfect.

When I first read 2 Kings 20, I immediately drew the wrong conclusions about King Hezekiah. Why didn’t he want to die; was he afraid, unsettled or trying to tell God what to do? And then to ask God to let him live, that seemed a bit bold!
As I dug a little deeper I was able to better understand who Hezekiah was. One commentary said that he was a godly son of an ungodly father and a godly father to an ungodly son. So, whatever his past generations chose, he followed God.
I found out that Hezekiah’s plea to live was not due to fear of death. It was surrounded by the reality of his circumstance. His kingdom was at war with the Assyrians. A long and dreary war it seems. The facts I have found were that Hezekiah probably had not yet had any sons. What would happen to his kingdom? This was a man who defeated the odds of those before him in truly following God and was leading his people to do so as well. His plea to live was perhaps because he wanted his kingdom to be safe and not fall into the hands of the ungodly nation pursuing them.
Hezekiah’s prayer was also another glimpse of his humbleness. He made no demands, he does not ask God to spare him! In Hezekiah’s prayer it may seem he is telling the Lord to remember what good he has done. A commentary I read put it like this; “Hezekiah does not pray, “Lord, spare me,” or, “Lord, take me; God’s will be done;” but, Lord, remember me; whether I live or die, let me be thine.” A true sign of character to the end….to rely on God’s will and not his own.
I wonder…if I were told to put my house in order and prepare for my time, how would I react? I can admit that I would probably hesitate. Oh the thought of finally meeting my Savior! And to finally be in heaven. And yet selfishly…my kids need me, can I leave now? What would my response be to the Lord? “Whether I live or die, let me be thine”.
Lord God,
I praise you for another day. Thank you for eternal life and the hope it gives me. Open my eyes to those around me who are lost and hurting. Who need You to be their Savior. Use me however you want today God to further Your kingdom and share your love.

Not too long ago on a Sunday after church, I asked the usual question of my 6 year old son….”What was your lesson about today?”  I wish you could have seen the expression of excitement on his sweet face.  He told me a story that was oh so familiar.  About a man, on a road and then there was a bright light and a voice calling his name!  I knew who my son was referring to, even if the name was forgotten.  It was Saul.

The beginning of Acts 9 portrays a beautiful example of one of the most valuable lessons I have learned in my life so far.  Grace.  Saul was persecuting God’s people and yet God extended His grace to this man and turned his life around, all starting on a dirt road to Damascus.

To be honest, the word grace had always been the term for the evening meal’s prayer or the mannerism of a lady in my “younger” years.  I truly did not understand the depth or actual meaning of the word up until about 4 years ago.  I was a mom with small babies, living in a new place, struggling with issues that were festering.  I had not committed the same sins as Saul, but my heart was similarly confused as His.  Here I had grown up in the church, read my Bible, made sure I didn’t miss a church service and oh boy…now I was even a “pastor’s wife”!  I should have it all together by now, right?

Understanding God’s grace is a journey.  I still don’t feel like I have grasped its meaning or seen its end in my life.  Every day God gives me His grace.  When I look at my children, or remember my past, or ask His forgiveness for the sins I had made that day. 

Saul’s work was horrific in his past, yet God used a moment in his life to turn everything around for His glory.  Then to further extend His grace by using Saul (Paul) in such a mighty way to build His kingdom.  I for one, am incredibly grateful that the Lord sees our potential and chooses to (sometimes gently, sometimes a little harder) show us grace that we might wake up and make a change!

This is one of my favorite choruses that you can sing as your prayer with me today!:

Amazing grace, how sweet the sound.  Amazing love, now flowing down.  From hands and feet, that were nailed to the tree.  As grace flows down and covers me. 

Chorus: It covers me, It covers me, It covers me, And covers me.

Well, it’s my first time blogging on here and the passage is Luke 19.  Not one simple story, but 48 verses full of rich lessons.  I could write a long one here, but as a “new-comer”….I’ll try to keep it short!

In reading Luke 19, there were several times that I noticed a repeated theme which was CHOICES.  Here are some that impacted my heart:

• Zacchaeus overcame his stature and chose to climb a tree just to see Jesus.  By that choice, his life was completely changed!
• The crowd made a choice that day too.  They watched as Jesus showed incredible compassion on Zacchaeus and their response was “He has gone to be the guest of a ’sinner’?”.  Still condemning a man for his sin that he repented of.
• The parable of the 10 minas.  All 3 slaves chose different actions with the responsibility they were given.  2 were rewarded for their actions and one was condemned.
• How about the disciples….would you have the nerve to do as Jesus asked?  Untie a colt that didn’t belong to you simply because you were instructed to?  Or, as the colt’s owner to let it go with strangers because they said “The Lord needs it”.

I have choices everyday; what should I fix for dinner, where should I buy my gasoline?  Should I call that friend who is hurting?  Should I pray before my meal….should I pray today at all?

These lessons in Luke 19 were like a mirror revealing what is in my heart.  What have I done with Jesus?  Do I let others fend for themselves and “climb out on a limb” to find Him?  Have I used my gifts to God’s glory that will please Him?  Am I willing to do anything He asks of me, even what may seem strange?

We have all been given the most important choice in life.  Luke 19:10 says “For the Son of Man is come to seek and save that what was lost.”  I am humbled and grateful for this choice….eternal life!  All other choices, as important as they seem are not as life-changing as this.

Thank you Lord God, for coming to seek and save us all.  My desire today is to choose YOU in all I do and say.  Please open my ears and eyes to the choices your Spirit is prompting me in.  And to make the right decision to bring You the glory that You deserve.