Ignorance is not bliss

"I know that you did it in ignorance .... But those things which God foretold by the mouth of all His prophets, that the Christ would suffer, He has thus fulfilled. Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord."  (Acts 3: 17, 19)

Those who continue to live ignorant of The Truth will one day find themselves in eternal torment. There will not be an opportunity to turn away from your sins and turn to Jesus. If you are searching now, don't wait, don't stay ignorant. Ask questions. Find answers. Time is fleeting.

I Heard The Voice of Jesus Say (Kingsfold) - Audrey Assad (+playlist)

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Trust Him

God desires us to trust Him. We often say we do, but when it comes right down to it, it is questionable.

A bow broke on my glasses. I went through all the questions of how to get it fixed … and then I remembered --

God knows my need. God knows I need my glasses to read and to work. God knows.
What have I to worry about? He knows. He will take care of it. It won’t be too late, but right on time.

He said He would. Remembering what He has said is important, but then we need to act on it.

He said He would and I believed.

That is Trust.

You live one place. You want to live elsewhere. You want a house. You look and search, you find. You think this could work, and then almost immediately, you start thinking of all the negatives -- There’s no basement, It costs too much, It’s further away from work, There’s not enough time to pack, We have too much stuff.

The negatives crop up all the time. There is no end in sight of all that is wrong or could be wrong  or might be wrong.

But there are positives too -- closer to schools, closer to shopping, closer to playgrounds,
It has a big yard, It is more private.

And a chance to trust God.

Even if you are not yet a believer, chances to trust God are at every turn and the more we learn to trust Him, to believe in His promises, the more we will know Him.

He hears your request, He helps you find, He makes it work for you, He knows what you need.

Of course we don’t see the big picture. We think the time is too soon or it’s too late or we should wait.

God knows what we need always. He is the one who sets things in motion, who arranges things to best suit His plan for us. Of course we do have to keep our focus on Him.

We think everything moves according to our personal timetable, but it does not.

My husband, Jim, likes to teach Bible Study. He usually fills in for another in an adult Sunday School class when they are gone. But this time, no. In late December, another
was asked – 13 weeks and it wasn’t going to be Jim. He was disappointed. He didn't understand why.

But God saw the bigger picture. He knew what was coming and He knew Jim would be needed. God knew a pastor in Dunkerton, north of Cedar Rapids, would take his own life.  He knew Jim would be the one asked to help lead the congregation through the troubled times ahead. God knew Jim was the right person for such a time as this. But Jim didn't know any of this at the time. He had to wait for God to reveal it to him. He had to trust.

God called Jim to preach many years ago. He called him too into the hospice ministry.

God knows everything.

We know He is able. We know there is much we cannot do. We think we can do anything, but without Christ living in us and through us, the strength we have is very weak.

God is our strength. And it is Him we Trust.  

The Lord Is my Shepherd

(Based on Psalms 23, 27 and 31)

The Lord is my Shepherd
True and Good
Master and King 

It is His voice I seek in the morning quiet
and throughout the day.

I seek too voices of loved ones
My husband
My wife
My children

My parents

My friends 

and I listen to what they have to say. 

But The Lord is my Shepherd

It is He - Jesus Christ
who guides my steps in the way I should go. 

If I do not follow Him,
I am like a lost and frightened puppy dog who doesn't know the way home or where the next meal is coming from. 

The Lord is my light and my salvation. He is the strength of my life.  

None of this comes from our loved ones.

The Lord illuminates our mind so we can understand better.

He lightens our path so we do not stumble and fall, saving us from harm. 

His strength gives me strength to face the day no matter what sorrow may come my way. 

The Lord is my teacher, my guidance counselor, my helper.

I can learn from my loved ones too, but even the best intentions can be faulty. 

The Lord is good and pure and true. He is faultless, blameless, sinless. He is always with me, everywhere I go. 

My loved ones are with me too and I think of them throughout the day. 

The Lord's Spirit lives within me. We converse. It is a blessing to speak to God and hear His reply.

The Lord desires a deep relationship with me, not superficial, not once in a while, not when the mood strikes. To know Him. Really know Him as He knows me. 

We have relationships with our loved ones too. They are important, especially the relationship between husband and wife. 

But even that relationship should not take precedence over our personal relationship with The Lord Jesus Christ. 

Teach me

Lead me
Show me The Way 

Do not deliver me to the will of those who come against You, who do not know You.

The Lord is my Rock, my refuge, my redeemer.

Let me never be ashamed of You my Lord. 

Do not allow my personal troubles to take priority over meeting with You. 

How will I bring another to You if I myself don't come? 

How will another see Jesus if they don't see Him in me? 

How can I be a faithful servant of my Lord if I don't follow Him at all costs? 

After all, He suffered, He bled, He died and He rose again .... for me and for you. 

Where is Christ in you?

If God desires us to build up another,
not prejudge or pre-sentence based on personal reasoning, not say this is how you should be 

If -- since God's desire for us is to build up another, encourage in whatever they are facing

What does it say about us when we turn our back on one who is hurting?  When we say "snap out of it" or "you should be ... this, that and the other, but not what you are this moment."

We say we are there for another. We say we will go. And we may go to the one in need. 

But once we get there, what then?  Do we listen?  Are we gentle?  Are we patient?  Are we humble?  Are we loving?  Are we tolerant? 

Or do we simply remind them of their shortcomings? 

Being reminded of our failures is not God's plan. God knows our every success and failure and I daresay so do we. But He isn't the one who stands at the gate and points them out at every opportunity. 

That is Satan's plan of attack, and uses others -- unbelievers and, yes, believers in Christ too, to stomp on and put down another.

Is it any wonder we succumb to levels so low we question our sanity and our reasons for living? 

In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us to walk worthy, to live our lives according to God's standard, not our own. 

"...live a live that measures up to the standard God set when He called you. Be always humble, gentle and patient. Show your love by being tolerant with one another. Do your best to preserve the unity which the Spirit gives by means of the peace that binds you together. There is one body and one Spirit, just as there is one hope to which God has called you. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism; There is one God and Father of all people, who is Lord of all, works through all, and is in all." (Ephesians 4:1-6, Good News Translation)

God sets the standard and He shows us how to abide by it, but we are human and we often miss the point He makes, often miss His illustrations, and often respond to another based on our inaccurate thinking.

God tells us to fine tune our hearing so it is only His voice we hear. We are to tune out all others. 

The Lord is our Shepherd. We know His voice. We are to follow Him and be obedient to His leadership. Follow Him. 

If we would all follow the Lord and His teachings, perhaps it would be possible to show love to our fellowman and not disdain ... perhaps it would be possible to be patient and tolerant and not hold an "holier than thou" attitude over another..

But unfortunately, we all do not follow the Lord. 

Some still seek
Some have found
Some are sinking in the midst
Some care
Some do not

God alone cares for every one.

"casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

His love, His unconditional love is for us all. 

We reach

He grasps

Why when we reach out to a fellow human,
do you pull away, recoil? 

Where is Christ in you? 

Just Jesus

This year's devotional book is all about trust. The book, Jesus Calling by Sarah Young was given to my husband from Iowa Hospice but was really more in tune to women, so he gave it to me. 

The devotional is based on what Young perceives God has spoken to her in her quiet time with Him. I understand that because there are times when God speaks to me and I write it down in the I format. 

Recent readings have dealt with affirmation. We are to stop judging and evaluating ourselves. We are to affirm ourselves based on God's unconditional love for us, not on what we think or someone else thinks of us. God's discipline is from that love, not hate. Hate is a tactic Satan uses and uses well. 

Listen more to God, less to your doubts, less to your fears, less to your worries, less to your pain, less to the circumstances around you. 

When we fail to listen, to talk to God, to seek Him, to study and meditate on His word, and instead listen and talk to ourselves,  we forget God is with us ... He goes before us, behind us, alongside us. But we think we are all alone. We act as if we are. We take action based on our thinking, instead of praying to God for answers He will give us. 

We are to Follow Him. Not any other. Just Jesus. 

Who else can bring peace to your guilt-ridden life?

Who else will listen to every turmoil within and not turn away, who will respond lovingly? 

Who else can make things right? 

Can you? Have you? I can't, I haven't. 

Only in and through Jesus Christ do I have hope. 

Follow Him.

Just Jesus

God's word enlightens us, illuminates the path of work, play, health, children, wherever we are, so we can see clearly and not stumble into unknowns. (see Psalm 119:105)

If we have nothing (everything according to world standards is money, possessions, insurance, etc.), but have God's peace we are rich. 

Peace is a good thing to have. No matter what comes along, we are okay, because God is with us, because we trust in Him, because He is our all. 

If we don't trust,
we don't have peace
we have turmoil

If we don't repent,
we don't have peace
we have doubt, disbelief, distress

If we don't have Jesus
we don't have peace
we have Satan
we have destruction
we have death
we have nothing. 

Follow Him. 

Just Jesus