God Cares for Us

He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them
close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.

Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)



As we live and work in this 21st Century, the landscape looks bleak. Unemployment creeps through our society, the people of our nation are polarized by the actions of our government. Freedoms have been taken away from us. Persecution exists in our world and could soon cause intensified issues for all who hold God’s Word holy.

In checking out one of the devotional magazines my church orders for distribution, I found the scripture for this entry. I received a mental picture of a shepherd carrying a lamb in the crook of his arm with his free hand stroking the animal as he walks toward a grove of trees and safety.

We refer to God as our shepherd. Yes, there are times He carries his children, as He protects them from harm. God has always loved us, his children. It was that facet of Himself in His plan that makes it so dear to us..

As we go through each day, we should look at all the times God protects us. Then we need to thank Him for his embrace and for holding us close.

Does God Like our Excuses?

“Then the master said, “Go out into the highways and
hedges and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.
For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall
taste my supper.’” Luke 14:2324 (NKJV)

Jesus told a parable about a rich man who planned a feast. When the host told those invited that the feast was ready. He received a whole host of excuses: business ‘reasons’, work ‘issues’, and family ‘things’.

When the host heard of these excuses, he sent the servant out to invite anyone, especially those who were forgotten by the social world at that time.

In the 21st Century, do we make excuses for our not doing God’s work? Sometimes we do. We have times when we rationalize our inaction as being too busy. Other times, we allow family issues to color how we feel about what He asks of us. We have been guilty of working too many hours at our ‘day job’. Some of us don’t feel we are gifted enough to work in ministry. Our we don’t believe we have any Spiritual gifts to use for the Kingdom.

We will have to answer about these excuses when we go to be judged by Jesus. How do we want to be judged? Something tells me the decision is ours.

Revere His Name

You shall not misuse the name of the Lord, you God,

for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who

misuses His name. Exodus 20:7 (NIV)



Revere, to regard with deep respect, love, and awe; venerate. (Webster’s New World Dictionary.)

Do we sometimes become flippant with God’s name? We hear people speak His name casually, in an effort to impress others, or even in anger.

The Hebrew people didn’t use a name for God. When they wrote about Him they used the designation *YHWY* (pronounced Yah Way) but they never spoke His actual name. This practice stemmed from their respect for their creator.

Our Drama Ministry at church presented a skit depicting three situations where people misuse God’s name. The head of the ministry asked me to take the concept from another member’s script and create these four scenes. I struggled through the inputting of the situations. Some of the actors helped me get the scenes chosen but the typing of the script was difficult. I planned to place a disclaimer at the beginning. My reason for this was I didn’t want people to think we disrespected God.

This has been a time of learning and growth for us all. We all have had to learn how to speak God’s name. The Hebrew people spoke their name for God as a whisper, as a sign of respect. Maybe we can learn to do the same

Trust in His Name

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

Psalm 20:7 (NIV)





We hear a lot about trust in these times. Usually we hear of someone letting another person or group down. When we have certain issues come to light, we get all defensive and react harshly. Then sometimes we regret what we have verbalized.



The issue as Christians is, who do we trust? We see people who put forth a lot of time, money and effort in things that, in the scheme of things, seem silly. Sometimes what we see people pouring out a lot of work to the point that what they do and the object they work toward becomes their god.

The scripture above tells us that people trusting in possessions is not a new thing. It’s a human frailty. Cars have need of gasoline, and new plug wires, or the tires have to be rotated or replaced. Yes, even these possessions require looking after. They are not always going to be in topnotch shape. They do let us down.

A former pastor told us that Christian ministry is hard. People will let us down, we might let others down. These things happen because of humanity.

But, God doesn’t let us down. He may not answer our prayers as we want but He does that because He believes 1.) We aren’t ready for what we ask, or 2.) He has something better in mind for us or for whom we intercede, 3.) He has some lesson we have to learn before He can allow our request to be answered.

We learn to trust Jesus and the name of God when we go through the valleys of life. God teaches us to exercise our faith in Him each time He works out an issue we may have.

This issue of trust reminds me of the hymn, Trust and Obey.

Abide In Him

“If you remain in me and my words remain in

You, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.”

(John 15:7 NIV)

Jesus tells us we can ask things of Him in several places throughout the Gospels. One of my favorite passages is the one above. In the King James Version, the word “abide” appears for the verb “remain”. I find comfort in both words.

When our son was young, I worked in another city. I had about an hour trip home in the evenings. Some nights, I had a meeting to attend. When I arrived home at 5:00, I had to pick him up from the sitter’s. Do something about suppereither cook or drive through a restaurant and leave home to get to either prayer meeting, women’s missionary meeting, or a committee meeting for a board I sat on. Looking back, I felt as if I was ‘touching base’ when I came through the front door and quickly left again.

Sometimes, we approach God in the same way. We mentally run up to His throne and say a few words and turn around and run onto the next item on our agenda. He wants us to spend time in our places of prayer. The time we spend with the Father energizes us, strengthens us for what lies ahead, and gives us peace about the issues of our lives

Spiritual Blessings

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus

Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ.

Ephesians 1:3 NIV

God bestows numerous blessings on us through Jesus Christ. They are precious to us, His children.



Salvation the remission of our sins.

Eternal Life the promise we will spend eternity with God.

Peace our knowing that because of Christ we don’t have to worry.

Contentment being satisfied with what God has given us.

Grace His unmerited love, given to us.

Justification He looks on each of us “justas ifI’d” not sinned.

None of these blessings are material they are given to us by God to strengthen our spirits. We can’t attain them in the marketplace. The only place we receive them is at the feet of Jesus.

God By Our Side

Read: Isaiah 41:810

“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

As humans we have times when we fear. The world hands us circumstances where we don’t know what to do. God tells us He is with us. He doesn’t qualify this thought. He simply says, “I am with you.”

Our Father states further that we are not to be disappointed because He is our God. Whenever I read this thought, my heart gets full and my eyes fill with tears. Knowing God is there for me comforts me as I walk through my life.

El Shaddai reminds us that he makes us strong while he helps us understand the circumstances that have come upon us.

The creator of Earth and all that is in it stands beside us and allows us to survive the meanness of our world. He acts as a fortress against the nastiness of those who try to hurt us, be it with words or deeds.

As my husband and I traveled,earlier this week, to the area he called home as a child, he noticed our car was doing strange things. The further we drove the more it misbehaved. We reached our destination, first going out to visit his friend’s mother who lives out in the county. When we arrived at our motel and checked in, the engine would not slow to idle speed. Husband’s friend got us into the dealership that handles our make of car. The mechanic thought he had found the problem. We drove home and didn’t have any problems until we got about 45 miles into our return trip. Our car got overheated and started doing as it had done the day before.

Today, he called our mechanic and then drove around town trying to get the vehicle to do what it had done the past two days. He took past the mechanic’s garage twice. The second time the man could see how the car acted. He said the problem could be electronic.

I (We) have tried to stay calm about this. But  signs of stress bother both of us over this. We have vacation plans made for the two of us. They might have to be canceled. If the problem can’t be remedied, that means we need to be looking for another car. All the other times we have looked, it was because we wanted to.

Prayer:

Dear God, We thank you for Your presence with us as we go through days of dread, difficulties, and uncertainties. We thank You that You are our God.   Amen