In a few weeks it will be time to set our clocks ahead and lose an hour. In the Fall, it will be time to gain that hour back. Some things like this have to be done on time, but other things we think we can put off until another time. For example, my puppy needs her nails clipped but I know I can get by without that chore for a bit longer. I usually need to eat on time because I know how I will feel if I don’t! I will be empty, in need, hungry, weak and tired and probably grumpy.

Being hungry physically is a lot like being hungry spiritually. Just as physical food will eventually burn up and leave us empty, so will our spiritual food, the Word of God. Before long, because we are weak or needy and it will be time to feed on God’s Word again. One meal of God’s Word a week, say Sunday at church, will not sustain us. We can go to church, hear an inspired sermon, sing great praise songs and feel on top of the world because we are totally focused on Him. But if we never feed on God’s Word other than Sunday, we will not feel spiritually strong enough to handle challenges during the week. There is good news though!

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

Every morning, it is time to be fed from His Word. Before the enemy attacks with the lie that we do not have time to read even one verse, it is time to read God’s Word. When we are afraid, confused or stressed, it is time to read God’s Word. Even reading one verse when we are rushed sets our focus on God. It honors God that we do the best we can and feed regularly on His Word. He does not expect us to be perfect but be comforted and realize that He is perfect for our needs and always there to help us.

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for always, being our rock, our spiritual fount of wisdom that never lets us down.. We know that nothing the world supplies, no book or knowledge or self-control can make us right with You. We can’t be good enough or strong enough on our own and You do not expect that. Thank You for loving us as we are, imperfect! When we feel weak spiritually, nudge us that it is time to pickup the Bible. Guide us to pick it up daily and meditate on Your goodness and ability to sustain us. Please remind us, when our ways or attitudes start to look like the world’s, to feed more on Your Word. It is the only thing that truly satisfies our longings. We ask these things in Your precious and holy name, so we may honor You, not ourselves. We love You for always! Amen

Love and prayers to all. Have a great Monday.

Just me. Just His.

Tina

Did you ever have something good happen in your life for which you didn’t know who to give credit to? A long time ago, I received an unexpected raise and promotion. It came out of left field to me. Of course, I thanked my boss, but I wondered…was it God that made it happen? There were other deserving employees, after all…

I remember thanking God in a Bible study one evening. As other people thanked Him for blessings, I did too. I honestly told the group, ” I dont know whether God is responsible for my promotion or not, but I better give Him credit just in case!” Everyone laughed, but I was serious:)

Since then, I’ve grown to learn that God allows or disallows things in our lives and deserves credit for eveything. We should thank Him for what He doesn’t give as what He does give, because we trust His plan.

So now, whether I have a trial or a blessing, I try to remember this verse…

 Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Here is a poem I wrote about getting rid of a headache. Everything is a reason to thank Him:)

A headache can hurt, can ruin a day So at first sign of pain, I remember to pray. God hears all our prayers, no matter how small. It honors our Lord when we give Him our all. So, that being said, it’s ‘oft hard to tell If prayers have worked, or pills made me well. Thank you, dear Lord for listening to me, and Thank you for answers to my little pleas.

Love and prayers to all,

Just me. Just His.

Tina

As the season of Lent is upon us, I cannot help but think about all that I need to improve on or be more grateful for. There is just something about my personality that likes to be challenged constantly. That can be a plus and a minus. On the plus side, I am always trying something new and on the minus side of the equation, I do not tend to stick to things long-term. Like all the times I was trying to teach myself the flute, then making soap, then drawing, then making ornaments and crafts and the list goes on. If there was an award for starting new hobbies, I would win a prize.

But you know what? Only by the Lord guiding me, I have, for almost fifty years, stuck with my favorite relationship in the world. I still love to spend time with or talk about Jesus! I did nothing to earn His love and I knew very little about Him at first, but over the years, He and I have honed our relationship. He teaches me what I am doing wrong and I obey His guidance. He gives and I am grateful.

A relationship with Jesus is a lifetime learning process. We never arrive at the ultimate end of all we can learn from Him. He never runs out of things to teach us that we are meant to share with others. I love the tone of these verses as they lay out a syllabus of sorts of what our teacher, Jesus, and our Father God expect from us.

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. 1 John 2: 3-5

Even the simplest reminders like this can spark change in us when our desire is to be all that we can be for Jesus and God. That is what the verse does for me. It sparks a challenge to really “know Him” better “keep His Word” and let God perfect His love in me. What a wonderful focus!

So, as we go through 40 days of Lent, remembering Jesus’ 40 days in the desert alone,maybe we can focus on being alone. With no phone, tv or any distractions nearby, we can give Him our full attention. What if we didn’t ask for anything but just thanked Him for being with us? More time in His presence will change us, change me. It is not about what Jesus can do or give us. He has already done all He can. It is about what we can give Him more of, that we value. ..time and ourselves.

If you happen to be a parent, you know how valuable time is with your grown-up children. You need no gifts or prizes from them. Time with them is the most precious thing they can give you. The Lord is no different! He loves us so much and just wants us to be with Him. We do not need to use fancy words or presents, but in His presence, let Him speak. He just wants us to abide in His love, out of love for Him. How simple but oh, how sweet.

Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. John 15:9

Dear Jesus,

We know You love to be with Your Father, as His child. We love to be with You the same way. We get too busy, though, keeping up with the pace of life. Our hearts are considering all You gave us on the cross and we are so grateful. We want to spend more time in Your loving presence. We want to abide with You.Thank You for always being there. We look forward to being alone with You more and focusing on our greatest and most favorite hobby, coming into Your presence. Amen

Love and prayers to all,

Just me. Just His.

Tina

You know the story of the Pharaoh who would not let the Israelites go, even though God told him to, through Moses and Aaron? Why didn’t the Pharaoh do the right thing? The Bible says it was because Pharaoh had a hard heart, that he would not release the Israelites , but it also says that God Himself hardened Pharaoh’s heart. That whole “hardening” idea made me think. Why would God tell Moses to tell Pharaoh to do something that God already knew he would not do? Why would God keep Pharaoh from doing the right thing by hardening His heart? And wasn’t Pharaoh’s heart already hard? The answer to these questions is found in this verse:

And he said, “I will make all my goodness pass before you and will proclaim before you my name ‘The Lord.’ And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy. Exodus 33:19

We do not need to understand God’s reasons. Easier said than done, right? Like me, have you wondered why you have the trial you have or why your plans do not succeed the way you expect them to? As for me, I think it is because I like to know what is going to happen. God had given me many opportunities to see things His way by NOT allowing things to happen. Our expectations and our will can get in the way of His will, which gets top billing. He has been showing me where I need to obey more and expect only what He allows, for His reasons. God sees our obedience as His glory. He deserves it after all:)

I don’t believe Moses and Aaron understood all of God’s commands to them concerning the Pharaoh, but they exalted the Lord anyway, by obeying Him. They knew who He was, their God. Do we need any more reason to obey and exalt God? Like Moses and Aaron, we can trust God because He is Lord and deserves to be glorified.

And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” And they did so. Exodus 14:4

I see a loving reason in this story. God wants to bring more people to Him. He wants the Egyptians to know Him. If He feels He has to harden a heart to bring Egyptians into knowledge of who He is, isn’t that a good result? It shows His perogative as God, to do what He wants to do, because He loves us all. We can doubt Him and trust our own reasoning, or we can give Him our doubts and trust HIM. In exalting God, we are saying we know why He does what He does. He is God. He is loving. He has loving reasons that we cannot see, and that is okay. We know He loves us and He is good!

Just a thought… If we believe we know exactly why God does everything He does, who are we exalting? Maybe ourselves?

Dear God,

Thank You for being such a just and fair God. Because we are human, we fail at times to give You glory for all that you do. Like the Pharaoh, our hearts can become hard and we may exalt and trust our own opinions more than Yours . When we fall short, feel free to remind us that You are God, so that when You ask us to do something for You , we do it fully and with Your glory in mind. Fill us with the courage and ability to do Your will on earth, even when we do not totally understand it. We love You so much and ask that You bless us with opportunities to serve You more. Amen

Love and prayers to all! Have a great Thursday! Stay safe if you have snow and ice like we do here!

Just me. Just His.

Tina

Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message,and the message is heard through the word about Christ. Romans 10:17

Sometimes we cannot see the next step to take or the next decision to make. Sometimes we feel afraid because we do not know what God has in store for us. We feel life would be easier if we knew the answers to our questions.  Faith is the answer we need!

Faith does not come by knowing the future. It comes by knowing God. A step at a time in the right direction, towards God, is always our best option!

Here is a poem I wrote when I was questioning my decisions and uncertain future. It felt like I was trying to see through the fog, then the Lord shone the way.I had to accept small amounts of light at a time, just enough for each day:)

Faith in the Fog

Lord, I cannot find my way for fog has shrouded me.
Will You please just take my hand or help my eyes to see?

I cannot find which way to go when daytime feels like night.
Because You have no dark in You, I need to use Your light.

If You will lead me, show me please, just what you’d have me do.
No matter what the task may be, my answer,now, is “yes” to You.

You’re here with me; now I can see to walk within Your glow.
With faith in fog, I’ll follow You wherever you may go.

Dear Father,

We need hand-holding at times. As children do, we feel safer that way. We trust You to guide us in Your will because You already know our future.Thank You for Your light that we can walk within. As you give light, we will walk confidently in it. We love You so much. You are faithful! Amen

Love and prayers to all,

Just me. Just His.

Tina

In Mark chapter one there is a fascinating story. It seems pretty straightforward at first, but there is more depth to this story than meets the eye. In Mark 1:40, a leper came to Jesus:

And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 

The man was so desperate that he purposely sought Jesus, the only One who could cleanse Him. He kneeled down, in the begging position and looked up to the One He knew could cleanse Him. He wasn’t asking IF Jesus could heal Him, but if it was Jesus’ will to do so. That is faith! Success depended on faith and Jesus’ will. It wasn’t the power of the man to ask effectively, because he only said a few words. It was the effective power that the man knew Jesus had. That is a great model for us to follow! So how did Jesus respond?

Moved with pity, He stretched out His hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. Mark 1:41-42

Doesn’t this remind you of the salvation experience? As sinners, we come to Jesus on purpose, knowing He can cleanse and forgive us, and our cleansing depends on His will. He is very willing to do that for anyone! Instantly, Jesus cleanses us and gives us a whole new life, much like the leper. Can you imagine how much his life changed? Everything was different for him. In those days, a leper was considered unclean and was not to be touched. Only Jesus, out of compassion, was willing and touched the “unclean” man. After cleansing Him, Jesus told the man not to tell anyone but to go to the priest. I wondered why Jesus told Him that. Wouldn’t spreading the Word give Him glory and give God glory?

Barnes Notes on the Bible says, “The law of Moses required that a man who was healed of the leprosy should be pronounced clean by the priest before he could be admitted again to the privileges of the congregation.” Now it makes sense! The leper needed a pronouncement by a priest, who people would consider as one able to determine when healing had occurred. Then the leper could freely be among his brothers and sisters in Christ again! I can feel His joy! Though Jesus asked him not to, the leper could not help but tell everyone he met what Jesus had done. I think Jesus wanted the pronouncement by the priest so the cleansing would be regarded as a real and holy thing, not just some talk that others may not believe from a supposed “former leper.”

We are all “former lepers” of sorts. We used to be unclean, but through Jesus’ blood and will, we are made new! How can we not tell everyone we meet about it? Like the leper who witnessed his own miracle, how can we keep that miracle to ourselves? Like the leper, when we have a need of huge proportions, do we go straight to Jesus already knowing what He can do and simply ask for His will?

A personal note…I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday that surprised me. As I was talking to the triage nurse, she asked about my usual activities. I told her I write a devotion each day, then eat breakfast and so on. I didn’t get to finish what I was saying because she latched on to the fact that she really “needed to start those up again.”( her devotions) She was a Christian! She told me she kept her Bible in a certain place where she could see it every day but she didn’t read it consistently. We talked a little more about my health and before she left the room she asked about the site for my devotions. She purposely sought out a way to get closer to Jesus. It was so precious to me, having been in the position of seeking so many times. Whether she knew it or not, she encouraged me to reach out more. People are seeking Jesus or more of Jesus. We are all in a state of needing Him.

Dear Jesus,

We just read how You cleansed a leper. You touched his un-cleanness and he was instantly changed. If there be any cleansing needed in our hearts, will You clean it also? Sometimes things and attitudes sneak in our lives that do not exactly glorify You. Like You did with the leper, please heal us of it all with Your touch. We would love the opportunity to tell others about what You have done for us. In the doctor’s office, grocery store or mall, we will reach out and love others with our cleansed heart. Help us to be compassionate like You are and love others deeply. We ask these things in order to honor You, our most holy and wonderful Savior. We love You so much! Amen

Love and prayers to all!

Just me. Just His.

Tina

Yesterday, after returning from our daughter’s wedding venue and planning the decorations, my husband and I were in a joyful mood, thanking the Lord for her new family and husband-to-be. We were also excitedly in-route to my mother-in-law’s birthday party. Then something changed my mood all of a sudden. We were at a long stoplight that had me gazing around outside. On the grass outside our car was an empty plastic cup, a sign that said, ‘Anything Helps’ and some price tags with strings on them. I felt sad instantly . I understood what the cup and the sign were for, but not the price tags. Someone had been asking for help, but they were gone now.

Did they get help? Were they one of those people who stand on the corner regularly and depend on what everyone else gives them? Would I have given that person money if I saw them standing there? Did they get what they needed? What experiences brought them to where they stood on a corner like that? All of these questions weighed me down as we continued to drive.

Even this morning, the image of the cup, sign and price tags is staying with me. It reminds me of how we come to Jesus over and over, needy. Our cup is empty and we need to be refilled. “Anything helps.” We may come to Him every day and ask for help and He always does. He does not give to us because we are worthy. He gives to us because HE is worthy. Only He can fill any emptiness we feel or take away the heaviness we feel. Not only do we come to Him constantly, we SHOULD come to Him constantly. He is worthy of our adoration, glory, honor and service.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. Psalm 145:3 NIV

About the price tags on the ground? I have no way to know for sure, but maybe someone had bought him something. Maybe they thought he was worth it. All I know is that Jesus thought our salvation was worth the price of death on a cross. He paid, even though we didn’t deserve it and did nothing to earn it and may not accept the gift. For all that Jesus has done, maybe we can give more of ourselves. Because Jesus lives in our hearts to be given away to others, let’s do it! Let’s not take the gift and example of Jesus and walk away content, but use Jesus’ example to meet someone else’s need. Let us, with grace, deem others worthy of what we can give. It is easy to give out of our abundance, but maybe sweeter to give out of our sacrifice so we really feel it. Like the widow’s mite in the Bible. Definitely, this is a good matter for prayer and growth, as Jesus tells us to give sacrificially.

And He looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the treasury, and He saw also a certain poor widow putting in two mites. So He said, “Truly I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all; for all these out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she out of her poverty put in all the livelihood that she had.” Luke 21:1-4 KJV

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16 ESV

Dear Jesus,

You sacrificed all You had to give. You could not have given more. We can, though. We have extras and stored up things that someone else can use. Will You please speak to us individually about what You would like us to give away? Humble our hearts, Lord and make us re-live the day we realized we needed You desperately and You gave us all that You had. We will always need You. As You have blessed us, make opportunities for us to bless others, even if we have to sacrifice to do it. Thank You for being our provider, caretaker and shepherd of our souls. Thank You for sacrificing for us .We love You so much that we will do whatever You ask. You are worthy of any and all glory. Amen

Love and prayers to all. Have a great day!

Just me. Nothing without Him. Just His.

Tina

What the Lord laid on my heart this morning is fighting. Yes, fighting. We are in a battle for our souls and though we may already know this, we seem to let the enemy tell us lies that throw us off course. It started this morning for me already. I realized I was in the mood I was in because the enemy told me a lie about how my day would go. How dare he! When I realized I had no reason to feel that way, I prayed that the Lord would help me stay on track. It dawned on me that the enemy’s attacks often happen first thing in the morning. We must be prepared for the little lies he will tells us, which can shape our day.

Preparation for battle means we must be on guard always; we must know our enemy, and expect our enemy and his invisible attacks (Like lies that take us off course) With our own knowledge and strength we cannot fight well against an invisible enemy. Therefore, we need to be prepared for the invisible attack with our weapon, the Word of God. Here is what Jesus says to some religious leaders about the enemy’s character:

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. John 8:44

Jesus is saying to religious leaders that they are not sons of Abraham, because they do not follow in his footsteps. Those leaders chose to adopt some practices which were copies of what the enemy does. He lies! He makes the point that the enemy lies due to his own lying character. Thinking about this reminds me… how much more wonderful a Father is God, whose character is love and truth and light!

So, can we know the nature of our enemy? Yes. Can we expect Him to attack? Yes

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 ESV

How do we fight the enemy? By submitting to God, by choosing His way over our way and listening to His still small voice that tells us when we are being attacked. It is so tempting to think little lies are okay or “little” sins are okay, but all temptation and lies are of the devil. All truth is from God, our Father, the Father of truth! That is who we need to follow.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

So, let’s be prepared for attacks by praying to God throughout the day, that we will recognize and fight the enemy with truth. He just hates that. It goes against his character. By the way, our enemy is not other people in our crazy changing world. It is the evil one that influences them. We can only fight a good fight with God’s truth and HIS wisdom and in a huge part, His love. 🙂

Dear Father,

We are so thankful that You tell us everything we need to know, in order to follow You and defeat the enemy. We cannot do it on our own, nor do we want to. We can’t see the enemy, so please help us to recognize those things that we do or say or think, that are not in Your character. You are so loving and just and truthful to us. We love You so much and just want to please You in all we do. Amen

Have a great weekend, friends! Love and prayers to all,

Just me. Just His.

tina

As I think about the politics of today, I am tempted to be dragged into the swirl of opinions, of which there are many. In a nutshell, it is God’s opinion that matters most, so I pull myself away from the edge and resist the urge to wallow in misery. And it would be easy to do, wouldn’t it? Our world is changing so fast! Wait…did I just say OUR world? It is God’s world, we are God’s creation and we are here to serve Him. That kind of changes my whole perspective this morning! It is like God just “refreshed” my page to show me how things are supposed to look, to me.

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 ESV

Whatever God chooses to allow in this world, He allows. Whatever God chooses to make of me, I will allow. Whatever we do, should be a reflection of Him. Is it really that simple? It really is. With faith, we accept what we cannot see, that God is not sitting idle while things change on earth. He is busy working things to an end that He designed. HE really is in control.

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Psalm 121:1-3 NIV

We can know that God loves us. The Bible says so. He sent His Son as a sacrifice. That is how we can have faith. We see God has a plan! When God’s plan started to become knowledge to Jesus’ family and friends and disciples, they must have been so grieved with how their world was changing! The One they followed was going to be crucified! The rulers of the time seemed to be against them. It must have seemed like the world was going crazy and they could do nothing to stop it.

We are not being crucified and our suffering cannot begin to compare to Jesus’. The parallel is more between how Jesus’ followers may have felt and how we feel. They knew God had a plan because Jesus told them. We know the same, that God doesn’t sleep and He is busy working all things for our ultimate good. If God wanted to change what’s going on in our world, He would. He can do anything He wants, and according to the Bible, this is what He wants:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 ESV

When I pray, I often say this to God out of pure frustration…”God, I know You would change things if it was in Your will. Help me to remember that.” In the above verse, ‘so’ and ‘that’ are bolded. He made a plan SO THAT His purposes would be accomplished. That is where hope is found. In truth and in God’s purposes.

Dear Father God,

Sometimes we feel like an alien in this world because it is not the same world we know. When we look up, though, we see so much hope. It is there for the taking! Thank You for whatever Your plan is. Thank You for Your word that is like our GPS to our home in Heaven. Give us opportunity to share our certain hope, instead of the world’s uncertain opinions. You are and always be the answer to everything we face. Lift our eyes when we forget to do it ourselves when we are in a trial. We thank You and ask these things from You in Your most high and holy name. Amen

Love and prayers to all. Have a safe and happy Friday in the Lord!

Just me. Just His.

Tina