JUST HIS GUEST

Today's reading: Psalm 39-41

"Hear my prayer, O Lord! Listen to my cries for help! Don't ignore my tears. For I am your guest--a traveler passing through, as my ancestors were before me." Psalm 39:12 NLT

I've always heard the songs sung about being a traveler.

A weary traveler. 

Songs about this world not being my home.

But this morning, He spoke to my heart about me being a guest of His...on this planet of His...to these people of His...with this mission of His...to go through what He deems I can handle...until the time appointed by Him...to go to my eternal home which He has prepared.

Just a guest for right now.

A lovingly cared for guest visiting only one of His properties.

Gives today a whole new meaning!

 NOT LIKE YOU DO

Today's reading: 1 Samuel 16-20

"...The Lord doesn't make decisions the way you do!.." 1 Samuel 16:7 NLT

I'm not sure if you needed this reminder today--maybe it was just for me, but here it is.

The Lord doesn't think like we do.

Act like we might act.

He doesn't use the same time frames we use, calendars we hold close to our hearts or planners we base our lives upon.

He does not appropriate His answers based upon our limited views of the here and now or on how we are currently feeling.

He doesn't merely consider one person when He makes decisions.

He goes beyond one view of a situation, one side of a story and one dimension of time and place.

So when His answers, His timing, His ways don't line up with yours--celebrate it! Trust it! Praise Him for it!

 

 YOU CAN BE SURE

Today's reading: Exodus 1-4

"Then the Lord told him, You can be sure I have seen the misery of my people in Egypt..." Exodus 3:7 NLT

Out in the middle of nowhere.

On the side of a mountain.

With nothing but wilderness on all sides.

There stood Moses--and a burning, but not burning bush--and God.

An all-knowing God.

One who was very much aware of the suffering and mistreatment of His people.

One who knew the heartache Moses had for his fellow man.

One who already had a plan in place for a Deliverer to come and rescue them all.

And He sees your predicament, too.

He knows all about your hurt.

Your disappointment.

Your heartache.

In the middle of the lesson of love, grace and mercy He is letting you learn about Him, He is allowing His plan to play out for Him to receive all the glory.

You can be sure.

Very sure!

 HIGH ALERT

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 11-12

"A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church." 1 Corinthians 12:7 NLT

As you head out to worship today-and I truly hope you are doing just that, with all the necessary health precautions in place--I ask you to do a few things:

1. Pray for the service before you get there. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead it. To be in it. To do a work through it.

2. Pray for your pastor and ministry team to do only what God deems needed for today's service and for the people who will be in attendance.

3. Pray that God will show you what your spiritual gift is.

You have one.

You received it when you became a child of God.

It was given as a gift to you and as a gift to the church He placed you in.

Its purpose is to give Him praise, to give you purpose and to give others a boost in their own walks with God--and in doing so it grows the church.

Maybe you know just what your gift it, I pray that is verified by God today.

Maybe you have never been completely sure what your gift might be, I pray God points it out to you today in some great and specific way.

Maybe you errantly believed He has never gotten around to giving you a gift, I pray God squashes that lie and opens your eyes and heart to His truth and His calling!

 REASONS VARY

Today's reading: Mark 5-6

"The herdsmen fled to the nearby city and the surrounding countryside, spreading the news as they ran. Everyone rushed out to see for themselves." Mark 5:14 NLT

A little background: Jesus had just healed a man from a legion of demons, had sent said demons into a herd of pigs and had sent said herd down a steep hillside to their death. A man's life was spared, changed, reclaimed, transformed!

The herdsmen? They weren't spreading the good news about the restoration of the man's life.

They weren't telling people about the miraculous touch of a man named Jesus.

They weren't calling the sick and afflicted out to the Healer.

They were complaining about their loss of income.

Newsflash: Those type of folks still exist today.

There will probably be some, more than likely be some, in your church service tomorrow. They may very well be regular attenders of your service. 

They go, not for the worship, but to find out the latest. They don't attend for the feeding upon the Word, but for the newest gossip-y morsel. They aren't there to fellowship with other believers for the sake of growing deeper in their faith walk, they want information of how very flawed their fellow members are so they can hold it against them.

And that is what they take away from the service.

That's what they share with the hungry, hurting, in need of a healing world.

They add insult to injury.

The moral of this devotion: don't be one of those kinds of folks. Repent of any desire to stir up trouble. Ask God's forgiveness in wanting to go to church for any reason other than to worship and to grow and fellowship. Refuse your enemy's bait when it comes to morsels of juicy bait.

 COME BACK

Today's reading: Jeremiah 1-6

"...But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, says the Lord. Yet I am still calling you to come back to me." Jeremiah 3:1 NLT

No matter how dirty you are.

No matter how many times you've fallen.

No matter how long you've stayed down.

No matter how deeply into sin you have gone.

No matter how far from Him you have wandered.

No matter how many times you have turned your back on His invitation.

No matter how little you feel you deserve it.

No matter what your head is telling you.

No matter what your 'pit buddies' are trying to convince you of.

No matter what your past looks like.

No matter what scares you the most about your future.

He is still calling you back. Back home. Back into His arms. Back into His fellowship. Back into a relationship with Him. Back into the family. Back to forgiveness. 

He is still calling out to you.

 MINOR THINGS

Today's reading: Job 25-26

"These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who can understand the thunder of his power?" Job 26:14 NLT

I believe this has to be one of my favorite verses in Scripture.

I have it underlined in my Bible. Highlighted. Circled. Notes written beside it. There have been numerous years my blog posts have been on this particular verse when this reading has come around.

It touches my heart for so many reasons.

But this morning what strikes me is this...

What we praise and honor and thank and magnify God's name for doing. The prayer requests we give Him accolades for. The applause we send His way. Those things are the minor things that He does!

I'd never thought about it. I'd never seen that with my eyes--or my heart.

I have spent all these years thanking God for the 'thunder' and not for the 'lightning' of His power. Am I right? Isn't thunder, after all, the residual effect, the standing ovation one might say, of lightning's show?

I need to be praising Him for all He is--whether I see it or not. I need to be thanking Him for the power He holds--whether I see it in the answers to my prayers or not. I need to be applauding Him for His might--whether I feel the rumble of thunder or not, because I know full well His power is being displayed in the world around me at all times in ways I cannot see, touch, taste or fathom!

 BEYOND

Today's reading: Psalm 36-38

"Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds." Psalm 36:5 NLT

When I was a child, nothing was farther away than the clouds.

My sisters and I would grab one of Mom's quilts and lie in the grassy yard staring at the passing clouds in the far distance. Far beyond our reach. Farther than we could ever imagine going. Much farther than our grubby, young fingers could ever touch.

I needed that reminder this morning of God's faithfulness and how far it reaches.

His faithfulness reaches far past my faith. Way beyond my seeing. Farther, way farther than what I can allow my heart or mind to believe.

His faithfulness stretches past current prayer needs.

His faithfulness goes far beyond my plans and ideas.

His faithfulness reaches heights I cannot fathom.

His faithfulness goes to depths I cannot imagine.

His faithfulness touches lives I cannot, folks I do not know, for reasons I may never understand, in ways I may never be made aware of.

His faithfulness reaches that far...so I can trust it. With all that is within me.

 ALWAYS IN PRAYER

Today's reading: 1 Samuel 11-15

"Then Samuel went home to Ramah, and Saul returned to his house in Gibeah. Samuel never went to meet with Saul again, but he mourned constantly for him. And the Lord was sorry he had ever made Saul king of Israel." 1 Samuel 15:34-35 NLT

We had a prayer meeting Sunday afternoon at our church.

We met to pray for our church, our church leaders, our nation and our national leaders.

Even those national leaders we may not have personally selected on our ballots.

Maybe specifically and especially those we didn't select on our own personal ballots.

Because if you really stop and think about it, as important as voting is, to know that God places in power who He deems necessary is a huge thing!

So, despite our differences.

Regardless of our political views.

No matter our party preferences.

Putting aside our emotions and feelings.

As Samuel did, we have to constantly keep our 'kings' in our hearts and minds through prayer.

We cannot write them off due to poor speeches, poorer voting records or poorer-than-poor life choices. 

We cannot choose to not support them because we don't like them, don't like their stances, don't like their views. 

We cannot, as Christians, disrespect them if we truly believe they only sit in the office God has placed them in for such a time as this.

 

 THE TRUE TEST

Today's reading: Genesis 48-50

"But Joseph was upset when he saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim's head. So he lifted it and placed it on Manasseh's head instead." Genesis 48:17 NLT

Joseph had kept his cool while being taunted and bullied by his older brothers.

He held his tongue while being tossed into a pit by those who were supposed to protect and keep him from harm.

He held onto his faith while the bidding went highest to gypsies who bought him and packed him up like a bundle of good in their caravan.

He stayed strong while working as a slave for Potiphar.

He remained collected while lies swirled about him from the lips of Potiphar's wife.

He held on to hope while sitting out a jail sentence in the dungeons.

He held back wrath on the bowing brothers who needed food for their families.

But now?

Now his own boys were being dealt, in his opinion, wrong hands?

Maybe, just maybe, this moment in time was Joseph's true test and all those other trying times were just quizzes leading up to this final exam.

It all boils down to whether or not we trust God with the future--for us and for those we love.

 ARE YOU LOOKING?

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 9-10

"...And God is faithful. He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can't stand up against it. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you will not give in to it." 1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT

Maybe you are about to lose your cool.

Or your mind.

Or quite possibly you are about to give in to a temptation that will send you into a spiritual downward spiral.

The temptation has grown so great you cannot stand it.

The lure.

The aroma.

The thoughts of it fill your mind.

Stop.

Stop for a moment and look around.

Look for the way out God has provided.

It is there.

It may seem like a petty distraction--but He may be allowing it as a brief respite from temptation. Just as He promised!

It might look like a shiny object to take your eyes off your temptation for a short time--maybe so, but that short time may be just what He has ordained for you to see Him at work.

It might be something that has been there all along--maybe He has placed it in your path the whole time as the way out for you to use. Use it!

Take Him up on His promise.

 WHO HOLDS THE KEYS?

Today's reading: Mark 3-4

"...You can't enter a strong man's house and rob him without first tying him up. Only then can his house be robbed!" Mark 3:27 NLT

Many of us use the excuse, 'The devil made me do it.'

Well, maybe, but in all reality, according to this verse--we handed him the keys and allowed him the access to our minds, the availability to our blessings and the acknowledgement of our weak areas.

Then he sets to work wreaking havoc.

In our thoughts.

In our comparing our blessings to another's.

In letting a tempation become a all-out, full-blown, need-to-be-repented-of sin.

But only because we've handed over the keys!

 WAIT FOR IT...

Today's reading: Isaiah 62-66

"For since the world began, no ear has heard, and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!" Isaiah 64:4 NLT

I don't know what you are waiting on God to do.

Waiting for Him to sort out.

Waiting on Him to fix.

Waiting on Him to redeem.

Waiting on Him to take care of.

Waiting on Him to release you from.

Waiting on Him to show up in.

I don't know...

I have my own things...several of them, to be quite honest.

We won't see eye to eye on whose list is more important or older or longer or holds more clout, but let's agree on this: from ages past, when He does show up, when He has chosen to act on behalf of His believing, praying, trusting and holding on to His promises people--it's been well worth the wait!

So let's keep waiting.

Let's remain on the edge of our seats in anticipation of His mighty work on our behalf.

Let's continue to believe He is able, He is more than capable and His promises apply to our needs as much as they have any one else's...past or present.

 CONSUMED

Today's reading: Job 23-24

"Death consumes sinners just as drought and heat consume snow." Job 24:19 NLT

I've looked a little deeper into this verse this morning.

In Hebrew, the word 'consume' means to literally 'take away' or 'to steal'.

So in essence, when a sinner dies, this verse is telling us a sinner's life, at the point of death, is being taken or stolen from him.

What a striking contrast to what I have read just this week in a Max Lucado book, Begin Again...

'When we see death, we see disaster. When Jesus sees death, He sees deliverance.'

Think about it--when a sinner dies, his soul is taken or stolen away BUT when a Christian breathes his or her last breath, their lives are transported from a place that never was their home to where they have belonged their entire life!

They are delivered.

Finally delivered.

 HAVING THAT LOOK

Today's reading: Psalm 33-35

"Those who look to him for help will be radiant with joy; no shadow of shame will darken their faces." Psalm 34:5 NLT

Do you have that look about you?

The one that folks see from a ways off.

The one that tells people you are at peace.

That you are filled with joy.

That you have spent time in the Son's presence.

There is a glow that comes from having the Holy Spirit residing in us. Whether it be in our smiles, a twinkle in our eyes or in the words that come from our mouths--there is something about us from having Him in our lives.

Fully, in our lives.

It cannot be manufactured. Reproduced. It cannot be replicated. It won't be held over for any length of time, like from one Sunday to the next or from a childhood experience to adulthood. 

It's a radiance that requires constant and consistent upkeep.

It's an addictive discipline once established in your life.

It's a noticeable improvement in your countenance.

 IT SEEMED

Today's reading: 1 Samuel 6-10

"...During that time, all Israel mourned because it seemed that the Lord had abandoned them." 1 Samuel 7:2 NLT

Things are not always as they seem, we've all been told.

We don't always see the entire picture.

We don't always have a clear view of the entire scene.

But in Israel's case, how they were feeling may have been an indicator of where their hearts were.

You see, they had wandered away from God. Their God. The God who had set them up as His, set them apart as His, set them aside from enemies as His and set them up with a set of rules to follow as His--and they had chosen otherwise.

And now?

Now they were feeling, well, in their own words abandoned.

How do I know? God revealed it to Samuel and Samuel spoke it over the people in the following verse...

"Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, If you are really serious about wanting to return to the Lord, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Determine to obey only the Lord;.." 1 Samuel 7:3 NLT

So whose fault was it? God's for abandoning the Israelites? Or the Israelites for abandoning God?

It makes me thoroughly and in great depth re-think my own problems...

 ANGRY WITH YOURSELVES

Today's reading: Genesis 44-47

"But don't be angry with yourselves that you did this to me, for God did it. He sent me here ahead of you to preserve your lives." Genesis 45:5 NLT

Some of you are becoming masters of hiding bruises you have given yourselves for the predicaments you have found yourselves in.

Problems you have procured.

Issues you have brought upon yourselves.

Situations you have sought out.

Consequences you believe you deserve.

But if you look closely enough, child of God, ever so closely, you will see His hand in it.

You will see Him working things around...

Working things out...

Working people into your life...

Working miracles into your testimony...

Working patience into your very being...

Working new life into your old one...

Working His way into what was your seemingly well thought out plan...

Working new words into your vocabulary--and possibly old words out...

He is at work in your 'mess'. It hasn't caught Him off guard. He knew it was coming and was prepared for it and had all these things in place just for you to see Him in them.

OUR REASON

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 7-8

"...You think that everyone should agree with your perfect knowledge. While knowledge may make us feel important, it is love that really builds up the church." 1 Corinthians 8:1 NLT

I cannot think of a more fitting time than this beautiful, early Sunday morning than to be reminded of exactly why we should be going to our respective worship services.

It's not to share our knowledge of Scripture.

It's not to debate our beliefs.

It's not to argue our translations of various portions of the Gospels or the upcoming tribulation period.

It's not even to pick sides as to whether a certain denomination might be more right than another.

If we are not going in the spirit of love, we need to pray.

Anything but a loving heart will tear our church down--and that's not what our world, our nation, our families or our church need right now!

 THE HUMAN SIDE

Today's reading: Mark 1-2

"The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray." Mark 1:35 NLT

It's told to us in Scripture that Jesus is fully God and fully man.

I believe that it's in today's selected verse that you see the more human side of our Messiah.

It's the human side that needed time away from the masses.

Moments apart from his closest friends.

Private time with his own Father.

I think it is how the human side of him endured the humans he encountered.

Loved.

Healed.

Suffered at the hands of.

Died for.

It's an example for us all.

If we're are going to minister to those He sent us to be an example to, we've got to spent some time apart from them and with Him.

 LET'S SEE

Today's reading: Isaiah 56-61

"Let's see if your idols can do anything for you when you cry to them for help. They are so helpless that a breath of wind can knock them down! But whoever trusts in me will possess the land and inherit my holy mountain." Isaiah 57:13 NLT

Maybe it's tough love.

Maybe it's considered consequential.

Maybe it's just what happens when a Sovereign God is exhausted by His created.

He let's them do what they want.

He allows them to see just what they can do on their own.

He lets them lean on their idols--and find out for themselves just how very flimsy and unreliable they are.

It's the only way some of us will ever learn the lesson.

You know it's true.

 LESSON ONE

Today's reading: Job 21-22

"My complaint is with God, not with people! No wonder I'm so impatient. Look at me and be stunned. Put your hand over your mouth in shock. When I think about what I am saying, I shudder. My body trembles." Job 21:4-6 NLT

If any of us have ever in our lives dreamed of having the godliness of Job in our lives, today I'm here to introduce 'Lesson #1 in Living a Job Kind of Life'.

It begins with the very first sentence of these verses...

My complaint is with God, not with people!

Sure, at first glance, it sounds uppity. It may have an air about it. It might lead you to think it reeks of arrogance. But it's the contrary.

In learning to live the true Christ-like life, it's utterly important to know that the premise, the basis, the bottom line, the complaint department of life lies in God's hands--and God's alone!

We cannot push it off on another.

We cannot place blame.

We don't have the option to say it's someone else's fault.

In living like Jesus, we know it all boils down to going to God with every issue--good and bad.

Job knew this. That's why he said his complaint was with God.

That's why he stuck with God, the One who could handle his complaints.

The One who could listen to his complaints and sort them out from his feelings.

The One who could see past his complaints to the future and to how those complaints might be resolved to God's glory.

Do you go to the same complaint department?

 YOU

Today's reading: Psalm 30-32

"For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory." Psalm 32:7 NLT

"You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble. You shall surround me with songs of deliverance." Psalm 32:7 NKJV

I'm going to be the first one to tell you NOT to search Bible translations for the version that tells you what you want it to tell you.

That's not right. Not right at all.

I will tell you to use the Bible translation that best suits your reading level, your skillset, your abilities as a reader. Read the translation you will read.

As for the critics that say there is only one translation and only one translation--I believe they put a mighty big hindrance on the working of the Holy Spirit on the Word of God in believing that.

Back to the point I was going to make...

In looking at today's verse, I did search the translations I have at my disposal, not for the right wording but for the right capitalization.

You see, I wanted a translation that made sure I saw just who it was hiding me, protecting or preserving me, and surrounding me. My New Living Translation led me to think I knew who it might have been referring to, but my New King James Version put it in capitals leaving me no question in my mind.

Because some days I might errantly think it's someone as humanly flawed as myself or as incompetently unable to do it as even the finest Christian I know.

I wanted this verse written as grammatically correct as I needed to see it.

I needed to see that the One protecting me is God!

"You (God) are my hiding place; You (God) shall deliver me from trouble. You (God) shall surround me with songs of deliverance." 

 IT'S NOT YOU

Today's reading; 1 Samuel 1-5

"So they sent the Ark of God to the city of Ekron, but when the people of Ekron saw it coming they cried out, They are bringing the Ark of God of Israel here to kill us, too! So the people summoned the rulers again and begged them, Please send the Ark of the God of Israel back to its own country, or it will kill us all.." 1 Samuel 5:10-11 NLT

During this time in history it would have been a strategic military boost to have held in one's possession the Ark of God.

It would have given the beholder great military weight.

A bargaining tool, one might say.

If it weren't for the power of God against His enemies that was attached to it!

You see, the people of Ekron knew it's power--better yet, they knew the power of this God of Israel, and they wanted no part of Him.

Folks still want no part of Him today.

They don't want His wrath.

They don't want His conviction.

They don't want His judgement on their sins.

They don't want His commandments.

But in pushing Him away, they are also saying they don't want His blessings, His favor, His love, His mercy, His grace, His forgiveness, His power and His might, too.

So consider this, when they refuse your invitations to church, pass on your conversations about the Bible, roll their eyes at your comments about what the Lord has done in your life--it's not you.

You don't hold the power they are scared of!

 SNAPSHOT

Today's reading: Genesis 40-43

"Turning to Joseph, Pharoah said, Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, you are the wisest man in the land! I hereby appoint you to direct this project. You  will manage my household and organize all my people. Only I will have a rank higher than yours." Genesis 41:39-40 NLT

For a gal whose face is a constant digital display of her emotions and feelings, I sure would like to have in my Bible a snapshot of Joseph when Pharoah gave him this news.

I mean, really, Joseph knew there was still One higher than Pharoah when it came to who Joseph's real boss was!

Maybe Pharoah's face was on all the shekels, his name on all the library building and the world revolved around the power he thought he held in his pinkie finger--but Joseph knew who placed him on the throne he sat upon.

What did his face look like when Pharoah said what he said?

I just wonder...

 IT GROWS

Today's reading: 1 Corinthians 5-6

"...Don't you realize that if even one person is allowed to go on sinning, soon all will be affected?" 1 Corinthians 5:6 NLT

Here's the rub...That one person can be me, or in the case of you being the reader, you.

Yes, it's true.

Our sinful attitudes.

Our sinful choices.

Our sinful reactions.

Our sinful thoughts.

Our sins, if left unchecked...if left unrepented...if left 'hidden' to the forgiving power of Jesus' blood...will affect others...no matter how personal and private we may believe they are.

Not my words--God's!

 EATING OUR WORDS
Today's reading: Matthew 26-28

"Peter declared, Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will." Matthew 26:33 NLT

It doesn't say it here, but if I were to guess, Peter spoke these words with enthusiasm, zeal, volume and determination.

I am going to guess he was a fella who used hand gestures and body movement to intensify the statement he was trying to make.

I'm also to to take a guess in stating that he truly, wholeheartedly, believed what he said--at the moment.

But when he had to eat his words?

When the rooster crowed that next morning?

When he realized what he had done not only once...or twice...or three times?

I'm sure those words rang in his ears and sat sourly on his stomach.

Sometimes the promises and vows and charges we take before the Lord do that.

Especially when the times are easy, the emotions are raw and the challenges are pressing us to make rash decisions that we haven't prayed through.

Peter had no earthly clue as to what he was truly saying. He had no idea what he would experience. What he would see. How he would feel. The reactions he would have.

And neither do we.

So we must always to turn to God before making promises we cannot keep.

 OVERWHELMED

Today's reading: Isaiah 56-61

"I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10 NLT

There are a whole lot of things to be overwhelmed about...

The state of our union.

The pandemic.

The most recent stock market report.

Quite possible a doctor's phone call.

A problem within your home that no one even knows about.

An issue within your church that's been broiling for some time.

But are you overwhelmed with joy over your salvation?

I mean overwhelmed?

To the point that you are speechless...

Teary eyed...

In awe...

Hands raised...

Completely amazed...

Broken that He would...

On your knees...

Shouting it from the rooftops...

Bowled over by His grace, overwhelmed?

 RE-WRITE

Today's reading: Job 19-20

"He has demolished me on every side, and I am finished. He has destroyed my hope." Job 19:10 NLT

Let me say this up front: I am not attempting to re-write the Bible.

I am not trying to change the wording.

I am not wanting to give you the preposterous notion that I have 'an in' that allows me to see a different view of this that no one has ever seen.

But it hit me this morning while reading this verse...

And knowing how things end in this book about Job...

And from personal experience...

And from gleaning words of wisdom from other parts of God's Word...

I think what Job would have went back and re-wrote in this passage of Scripture is this:

...He has destroyed everything else I had placed my hope in until all my hope was in Him. Completely. Surely. Lovingly. Radically. Without a doubt in Him.

 SOMETIMES IT IS A WHISPER

Today's reading: Psalm 27-29

"The voice of the Lord echoes above the sea. The God of glory thunders. The Lord thunders over the mighty sea. The voice of of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord if full of majesty. The voice of the Lord splits the mighty cedars; the Lord shatters the cedars of Lebanon." Psalm 29:3-5 NLT

The power, intensity, volume and range of God's voice far exceeds anything you or I could  imagine, grasp, monitor, graph or explain.

It can do more, bring about more, cause more to happen than we can imagine, hope or dream.

But let's be perfectly clear...it can also sometimes be a gentle whisper.

In the middle of the night it can be as soft as a lullaby of peace.

At the end of a church service it can be as beckoning as a hymn of invitation to the altar.

In a waiting room it can be a moment of reason when facts are overwhelming.

It can be a simple verse from His Word on a written card from a friend.

It can be a memory of a time long ago in a Sunday School class brought from the recesses of your mind.

It doesn't always thunder or split our ears--but it will always, if we allow it, touch our hearts!

 CHANGING NAMES

Today's reading: Ruth

"Don't call me Naomi, she told them. Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has send such tragedy?" Ruth 1:20-21 NLT

There are many instances in the Bible where God changes the names of His people. Abram to Abraham. Jacob to Israel. Saul to Paul.

But in this instance, in these very verses, Naomi decided to change her name herself.

We do it sometimes, too.

We change our names.

We accept the label assigned to us due to our circumstances, our mistakes, our sins--or worst yet, the opinions of others.

We do that, God doesn't!

You see, had Naomi consulted God on the issue, had she taken the time to speak to Him about it? Well, there is a good chance He would have suggested she keep her monogrammed belongings because her future wouldn't seem so empty when He was done working His ways in it!

 DO THEY NOTICE?

Today's reading: Genesis 36-39

"The Lord was with Joseph and blessed him greatly as he served in the home of his Egyptian master. Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did." Genesis 39:2-3 NLT

Do folks notice God's blessings on your life?

I'm not asking if they hear you talking about them, do they see them?

Do they see His hand on you?

The opportunities He allows your way?

The situations He walks you through?

The conversations He covers you in?

Do they see Him working through you in tough spots?

During hard times?

In less than ideal occurrences?

Because what they notice goes much farther than anything they will ever hear!