The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19 NIV

How many moms, including myself, have said to their children, when going somewhere with them…”Stay close to me?” Children have a way of wandering off if not watched, so to keep them from coming to harm, we often tell them that, or “Stay where I can see you.” Do they always obey? Nope! Once, when my daughter, Jessie, was about six or seven years old, she wandered off in a J.C. Penney store. Her sister, Kellie, and I hollered and searched for her, but a few minutes went by with no sighting of Jessie. Oh, the panic I felt! Just a few days earlier some babies had been snatched in a department store in a nice area. My mind ran straight to that scenario!

Suddenly, I heard, “MOMMY!!” Across the sales floor, a scared little girl-voice screamed for her mother. What a smart girl too. She had climbed on top of a clothing display so she could find me easier! Standing atop a rack of clothes, she announced to me, and everyone else, that she was lost! I was so relieved and proud at the same time! Needless to say, I scolded her. It was only after we got home that I told her that she did a smart thing with a bad situation.

She and her sister were gymnasts so they naturally climbed, jumped on, ran around, flipped over or cart-wheeled on everything! I was more grateful than ever that she did what came natural to her. She climbed up on top of something!

This story is not just a story to me. It is a lesson and reflection of our relationship with Jesus. He wants us to stay close to Him and not wander off, but do we always obey? Nope! As His children, we are curious and want to see what’s around the next corner or aisle. Plus we want to be independent and strong and brave with our own strength. When we get too far away, we realize we are unsafe and need His help. We cry, “Father!” We even climb on top of our problems, meaning we put ourselves in a position where we can see Him better. Letting go of our pride, we announce to Him. “I want to find You!”

And you know what? He already knew where we were, even though we thought we were all alone. He does not love us less because we wandered. In fact, I think He is proud of us for turning around and looking for Him, knowing we need Him. He always hears His children’s cries and answers as a loving Father does, saying, “I am here with you.”

Here is a verse for encouragement, which we all need, don’t we? David tells us this:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17

I think the Lord is awesome! I hope you think so too! Have a great day:)

Christina

The LORD is righteous in all his ways and loving toward all he has made.18The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.19He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. Psalm 145:18-19 NIV

How many moms, including myself, have said to their children, when going somewhere with them…”Stay close to me?” Children have a way of wandering off if not watched, so to keep them from coming to harm, we often tell them that, or “Stay where I can see you.” Do they always obey? Nope! Once, when my daughter, Jessie, was about six or seven years old, she wandered off in a J.C. Penney store. Her sister, Kellie, and I hollered and searched for her, but a few minutes went by with no sighting of Jessie. Oh, the panic I felt! Just a few days earlier some babies had been snatched in a department store in a nice area. My mind ran straight to that scenario!

Suddenly, I heard, “MOMMY!!” Across the sales floor, a scared little girl-voice screamed for her mother. What a smart girl too. She had climbed on top of a clothing display so she could find me easier! Standing atop a rack of clothes, she announced to me, and everyone else, that she was lost! I was so relieved and proud at the same time! Needless to say, I scolded her. It was only after we got home that I told her that she did a smart thing with a bad situation.

She and her sister were gymnasts so they naturally climbed, jumped on, ran around, flipped over or cart-wheeled on everything! I was more grateful than ever that she did what came natural to her. She climbed up on top of something!

This story is not just a story to me. It is a lesson and reflection of our relationship with Jesus. He wants us to stay close to Him and not wander off, but do we always obey? Nope! As His children, we are curious and want to see what’s around the next corner or aisle. Plus we want to be independent and strong and brave with our own strength. When we get too far away, we realize we are unsafe and need His help. We cry, “Father!” We even climb on top of our problems, meaning we put ourselves in a position where we can see Him better. Letting go of our pride, we announce to Him. “I want to find You!”

And you know what? He already knew where we were, even though we thought we were all alone. He does not love us less because we wandered. In fact, I think He is proud of us for turning around and looking for Him, knowing we need Him. He always hears His children’s cries and answers as a loving Father does, saying, “I am here with you.”

Here is a verse for encouragement, which we all need, don’t we? David tells us this:

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. Psalm 34:17

I think the Lord is awesome! I hope you think so too! Have a great day:)

Christina

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV

Sometimes I get frustrated with events in the news. My husband and I try not to watch too much news because it affects our mood, our hope. It seems that our world is changing so fast and not in a way that is always good, but more so, head-scratching, to be honest. What is our world coming to? It looks like it is coming apart, at least to me.

However, I know the One who holds all things together. ALL things. So even when we see the daily crises, the political divide, unheard of severe weather tragedies, riots, increases in crime, un-American behavior, or the very sad Miami building collapse recently, we can know we are only seeing what human eyes can see. God sees the whole picture , though. He sees what we cannot.

It is kind of like we are looking through a camera lens at something in the distance but we do not have a zoom lens or a panoramic view, so we just see one part of the view. God sees all. He has a view of everything all at once. Though we would probably be overwhelmed if we saw everything, including the future, nothing surprises Him. He has everything in control and will allow what He allows. He has our best in mind and the big picture in view.

Someday, we will see Him face-to-face and know more. We will understand better by and by. But for now, we need to be content that we are not God and what we see is only a part of our journey to a future with Him. Though we see only a little picture, God has the big picture in focus! We just have to trust the professional:)

Have a great weekend and enjoy the blessings He sends:)

Christina

Do you ever imagine what heaven looks like? I do, but not as often as I used to as a child. A friend sent me a poem the other day that reminds me of the times I did imagine heaven and how happy it made me. When I read this poem today, I sort of melted with happiness. She sent it because it reminded her of me. It reminded ME of me! This poem is about imagining seeing our beautiful Lord.

Every morning lean thine arms awhile

Upon the window-sill of Heaven

And gaze upon thy Lord,

Then, with the vision on thy heart,

Turn strong to meet thy day.

Author Unknown

Isn’t that just beautiful? It makes me want to gaze long and hard enough to carry that vision with me all day long. Sometimes we may feel rushed in doing our devotions, but it does not take much time to gaze toward heaven and imagine your Savior sitting there. While we are gazing, we can also imagine what it looks like up there! We have this hint from John, in Revelation.

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever. Revelation 22:1-5

Doesn’t that sound beautiful?If I take the liberty to imagine right now…I imagine there will be lots of trees and flowers and friendly animals and bodies of water. We will have beautiful places, hills, rocks and rolling meadows with butterflies, where we can all sit and talk and revel in the beauty of our Savior, with no thought of time. There will be no clocks, no rushing! What will that feel like?

There will be no band-aids or ventilators or ambulances or hospitals. There will be no medicine! What there will be is tangible joy that makes puffy clouds when we express it. (That is the kid in me coming out!) Everyone will hug everyone and call each other brother and sister and mean it. There will be no phones!! We will talk face to face all the time!

I imagine the streets of gold will feel cold to my bare feet. I imagine everything will be tall and grand and precious. It just will be wonderful because He is wonderful. We won’t be able to stop singing about our Lord! He is preparing our homes now, maybe even our choir robe. Can you imagine?

Thank you, God for giving us imaginations that gaze at You and our beautiful forever home. Thank You for Your Word and promise that we will spend eternity with You if we follow You all the way there. Meanwhile, help us to love others as much as we can here and spread the Word about You. You are awesome in every way! Amen

May you go throughout your day with the promise of heaven in your mind. Whatever happens on earth, it will all be worth it in the end:)

Christina

I wrote this free verse, of sorts, because I feel such an urgency in my heart to tell others about Jesus. With our world being so volatile, for lack of a better word, the need for Jesus seems more urgent than ever! The question is….why don’t I do it more? What if someone remains lost because I didn’t tell them about Jesus and what He did for me? It scares me a bit. Does witnessing sort of scare you too?

Since writing this, I have prayed and realized, we can pray for opportunities to tell others and God will definitely answer that prayer. He did that for me recently! I honestly believe He tailor-makes opportunities for shy ones like me, outgoing ones, bold people too. He made us with all kinds of different personalities and He can use all of them for His glory. If we tell Him we want to tell others, He will give us a chance to eat our words or feed them to the hungry:) His Word is filling to everyone!

So many questions roll around in my head. How much am I doing for Christ? Shouldn’t I tell that there’s really a hell? So nobody has to die? I am saved for heaven by Jesus’ grace. His forgiveness is God’s design. But do I tell everyone about our dear Lord, That He is a friend of mine? What about those who don’t even know Jesus can give them peace? Can I sleep at night, just feeling right When someone has such a need? The answer is ,I am ready to move In a much needed, better direction. I don’t dare fight it, or keep it quiet, My heart’s true and pressing reflection. Show up or shut up. Know what I mean? Time to speak from the heart. Give a loud cry, don’t hide what’s inside. Today is a great place to start. The theme is “Show and tell for the world,” It’s time to fight for the right. Let no one miss out, without a doubt, on God’s love and guiding light. Why do this, you ask? Because our Lord, He showed up, He shut up sin. His blood paid the price, our sin’s sacrifice. Now we can have Him within! Tell it now, for the love of your brother, Your sister, your friends you hold dear. They deserve the chance, a love circumstance. Tell them what they need to hear. Tell it now, tell it now! God will show you how, Tell it now!

©copyright 2021 Christina Crute

I hope you have a wonderful day! May God bless our words we use for His glory:)

Christina

Remember in the devotion yesterday, how Jesus cleaned out the temple? And the teachers of the law were not too happy about the wonderful healing that He did? The next day, while He was teaching at the temple, He was confronted by those rulers about His actions.

Jesus entered the temple courts, and, while he was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to him. “By what authority are you doing these things?” they asked. “And who gave you this authority? Matthew 21:23 NIV

Is it just me or do you think they were purposely trying to accuse Him of something? In my mind, they probably had a meeting of some sort before deciding what questions to ask Him. I think they wanted to trap and attack Him verbally. Why do I think that? Because they asked in a way that suggests He had NO authority. Plus, a few verses later, after Jesus asked them a question about John’s baptism they had to conference together before answering.

 Jesus asked them…”John’s baptism—where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or of human origin?” They discussed it among themselves and said, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will ask, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ ²⁶ But if we say, ‘Of human origin’—we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” Matthew 21: 25-26 NIV

So you know what they answered? They said, “We don’t know.” (verse 27) They figured together that they did not want to answer that either John or heaven was responsible for the baptism. Therefore, Jesus did not answer their question about whose authority He was acting under.

What this means for us:

It matters, who we follow or whose authority we acknowledge and allow in our lives. We follow the doctor’s authority, the mechanic’s and the plumber’s, for the most part. Our spiritual authority, though, is God. Our pastors’ spiritual authority is God. Jesus’ authority was God too! It is important to note that God gave Jesus the authority to do what He was doing. He approved of it. He approved of Jesus doing things in His name.

This made me think, so here’s a few questions for you and me… What do I do under God’s authorization? What do I do that He has approved me to do? What do I do in His name, representing Him? Also…do I do things without His authorization sometimes? (I think so. Sometimes I rush ahead and do what I want and then when I hit a brick wall, I ask for help.) Am I a good worker for Him?

 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. ¹⁶ Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Timothy 2: 15-16 NIV

Wow, part of being a good worker is watching our words; what a good reminder. All we do should be subject to God’s approval. Aren’t you thankful for the Holy Spirit that whispers to us and urges us in right directions? I am. Because I cannot do it on my own. None of us can. It is a lie of the enemy that we can.

Here is to remembering to live a life authorized by God, while thanking Him for the opportunity to be His worker!

Have a great day! With love from the Father to you,

Christina

Do you ever look forward to “Spring cleaning?” I do! Really, at any time of year, isn’t it nice to take a fresh look at what you have in the house and get rid of things you don’t need? We accumulate things without realizing it, don’t we? Some things are tossed or donated because they do not fit the house anymore. Some clothes are given away because they aren’t worn anymore. Some furniture no longer serves the purpose as I brought new things in.

I realize now that we are always in a process, at least in my house, of revaluating what needs to be in the house. It often drives my husband crazy that I clean and organize so much! He cannot find things He needs. Oops, sorry sweetie!

In Matthew 21, Jesus did some evaluating and cleaning of His house, the temple. It was supposed to be a house of prayer, Jesus said, but instead of offering prayers to God, people were offering items, to make money for themselves.

It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’ Matthew 21:13 NIV

Those two scenarios seem quite opposite of each other, don’t they? A house of prayers or a den of robbers… One serves God and one serves self. Jesus thought so. That’s why He cleaned His house by ridding it of things that He did not want there. That meant the moneychangers had to go. He overturned the tables and drove them out. Then, once the temple was clean of all that clutter and selfishness, the blind and lame came to Him and He healed them.

Now that seems fitting for His house, I think, but the chief priest and teachers of the law were, the Bible says, INDIGNANT!

But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. Matthew 21:15 NIV

Their anger confused me until I thought about it and researched a bit in the Bible. From what I can tell, the chief priests laid down the law and were the authority on what went on in the temple. And here was Jesus doing ‘wonderful’ things that were not approved by them.

I can see how they would be questioning Jesus’ authority to clean a temple without their approval or permission, but He was HEALING people. Surely they cared that people got healed and were amazed that He was doing it, right? Not exactly. They were mad that He was usurping their authority. It was all about them.

Does Jesus really need permission to do God’s work in His own house? I do not think so! Jesus did what needed to be done. He wanted a fresh cleaning of all the extra, un-necessary clutter that was keeping His house from being the house that it was meant to be. So should we all do in our hearts, the temple of the Holy Spirit.

Let’s do a little cleaning of our own, throwing out the clutter, selfishness and things we do not need in His house, our heart. If we have trouble parting with some of it, no worries. Just ask Jesus to turn the tables over and run out the bad, as He sees fit. Then, let’s get to God’s business at hand. When our hearts are clean, we have plenty of room for God to do God’s work:)

May you have a blessed day in the Lord. Remember He loves you so much!

Christina

And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 1 John 4:16 NIV

Every day is a blessing. When we consider our blessings, we may list some of these:

Spouse, family, church or employment, passion or talent for something that drives our days, good weather, a working car, clothes, food or shelter, pets that adore us, friends that are golden, neighbors that are faithful friends, safe travel, good doctors, etc. The list is endless. Know what else is endless?

God’s love is endless! Though He allows trials, let us not lose sight that He is the loving One putting our life together in the way and order that He deems best for us. He already knows what it looks like when completed, though we do not.

As I see it, He lovingly places each event or piece in its proper place at the proper time. We can accept the pieces, whether blessing or trial or lesson, as a perfect fit and made especially for us. He knows what He is doing.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:17 NIV

His blessings are like love letters with the return address of Heaven. We can send letters back to Him in the form of prayers and thank Him that He does all things for our good. He loves us, even though He allows trials. After all, He loved His precious Son Jesus, and He was given the trial above all trials! Trials are a part of life and an opportunity to praise God for more than just our blessings. Easier said than done, but a worthy challenge!

Look up to God today and see where your blessings and trials come from, and if you are able, thank Him for both, because they were made just for you, with love and a good reason that only He knows for sure.

I pray especially for those in severe trials today. It is easy to say God has a reason for everything and even believe it, but a whole other step of faith to praise Him and love Him for His plan. May you feel loved and cherished for the precious child of God that you are:)

Christina

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Love to others is like artwork. It creates joy and bright color in someone else’s life:) The beginning letters of each line below spell the word, Encouragement. It is a little abstract, comparing a painting to the bright colors that get painted in someone’s heart when you encourage them, but it makes sense that kindness brightens the day of others. I hope you like it:)

An Encouraging Word Expressive like a master’s art Nice words paint a person’s heart Cause is love combined with action Optimism, love’s reaction Ultimately hearts are changed Rewards are bright with smiles exchanged Another’s brightened soul will cry Grateful for love’s care supply Emotion born of palette blues Meanwhile tints to cheerful hues Encouraging wash of color bright Needy souls infused with light Transformation art by love done right.

© Copyright 2021 Christina Crute

With love from the Father to you, let’s create “artwork” (beautiful heart-work!) by encouraging someone else:)

Christina

I just trashed the devotion I had written for today, after I became convinced that it is not what I want to put out there today. Now, more than ever, I long for the right words to say how beautiful and wonderful Jesus is, but sometimes the words sound too much like my own and not His. It is just because I am that desperate to shine Jesus bright, to counteract the negative in the world.

So what does God’s Word say about being in this world? In my devotions just now, I ended up in John 17, where Jesus is praying for His disciples. It is a tender passage. How He loves the disciples and how longingly He talks to God about them being okay in the world once He is gone.

 I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. ¹⁵ My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Matthew 17:14-16 NIV

1. We can hold God’s Word in our human hands! We have been given God’s Word. I hope I/we never lose that reverence for such a valuable gift. Through Jesus’ words that come from the Father, we know who we belong to and it is not this world, if we so choose! The Word saves lives and we can hold it in our hands.

2.We can also hold God’s Word in our hearts. We can take to heart all that God’s Word directs us to see and do. God’s Word, which comes from heaven can navigate our lives to His glory. God’s Word is a light! It directs and commands we follow in His way, the best way!

3.We can give God’s Word away. We can cheer the hopeless, help the hurting and tell the desperate that God loves them and we can show it to them in the Bible. We can give them our Bible or another Bible. There is such good news in there!

Though our world seems crazy, God has a plan and it is not for me to get all negative and caught up in bad news, like I do sometimes! We are here to spread good news! We have today. We may not have tomorrow, so let’s plant seeds today for the Lord. Let’s pray for opportunities today before we make our to-do list.

Dear God,

Just as vigorously as bad news is told, let us counteract with love and Your good news. We still have a voice and Your words. Help us to use them please. Let us hold Your Word in our hands and cherish it and feed on it. Let us hold Your Word in our heart and let us give away Your Word to those who are going through hard times. when we lose focus, or focus on the bad in the world too much, please lift our chins up to look at You and be filled anew with Your fresh vision. We love You so much and want to spend our days as You see fit. Amen

With love from the Father to you, have a wonderful day today!

Christina