June 24

Isaiah paints a beautiful picture of Jesus high and lifted up upon His throne. It's a place where He is ministered to by the angels, and most likely the same angels who ministered to Him as he was tempted in the wilderness. His robe fills the temple. And where is His temple? The World! The earth is his footstool. This is where my imagination brings me comfort; I imagine that the sky that we see is His robe, and the stars are multifaceted diamonds encrusting it, and that it is perfectly draped over us for our protection. Though this is just my imagination, there is a bit of truth in this vision, He does encompass the world and the earth is filled with His glory! One day, we will see Him face to face, but until then, see Him with your heart, and remember how big He is and how fearless we should be, because we are loved and protected by the Most High, our Savior, Jesus. I hope this brings you peace and you are comforted knowing this.

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Isaiah 6:1

June 23

I've often shared my positive experiences of living in Florida on a fresh water lake. One thing that I probably haven't mentioned are some of the drawbacks. One major issue is bugs! I'm not talking about a few creepy crawlies, I'm talking about blind mosquitoes! They rise up out of the lake like a biblical plague lining every tree, bush, and blade of grass. You don't really see them until you walk through the yard. If you don't keep your mouth shut, you'll swallow five or six! They don't hurt you and they're good for feeding the birds and the fish, but they are obnoxious! However, I have learned how to control them. Every six weeks or so I spray the yard and lo and behold that plague disappears. Prayer works like that spray. If you remain in contact with God, you may be able to keep those nuisances under control. I'm not implying that everything will be perfect because you pray, that's not how life works, but it sure makes it easier to cope with when He is involved.

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?" Luke 18:7-8

June 22

Do you ever want things so perfect that it works to your disadvantage? Trying so hard to make things flawless is a worthless endeavor and will only make you miserable, and will zap every bit of joy out of your heart. Getting yourself worked up with worry over unnecessary details only promotes misery. Letting go of perfectionism may be a hard task if you have been living with it your whole life, but for your own well being, you need to start turning loose of some of that control. As an example, if you love things clean and it eats you up to see a dish sitting out, you may have to train yourself to let it sit there for a while. We aren't perfect and the things around us aren't perfect. The story of Mary and Martha is a good example of this. Mary wanted to sit at Jesus feet and hear everything He had to say and Martha wanted Mary to help her. Jesus told Martha that Mary chose the good portion. Try not to get yourself so overwhelmed with tasks that you forget what is truly important.

 But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42

June 21

During the spring, I sometimes go overboard planting flower beds. By the summer, my yard is bursting with color! After doing that for many years, a yard that was once easy and manageable, can be a lot to handle and may sometimes be a little overwhelming. The reward for putting in the effort outweighs the work involved in maintaining it. To have a lush tropical landscape with flowers blooming year round and trees producing fruit, is a feast for the eyes and a treat for my taste buds, and that makes it worth the labor! Our walk with Jesus is the same way. Year after year, we plant new flower beds in our hearts. Yes, sometimes weeds grow in those flower beds and we have to go in and pull them out, but what we're left with is this beautiful landscape that matures and produces the fruits of the spirit. There is never a regret when you cultivate your relationship with Jesus, He is the ultimate reward.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

June 20

Surrender. If you really want God's plan to be worked out in your life you must surrender. To have your own preconceived idea of how things should go or to try and guess the direction God wants you to go, is not living a surrendered life; it's putting your own will before the Father's. Staying on the straight and narrow path will get you there quicker. If you constantly get side tracked and follow your own selfish desires, it will take you longer to get to the reward God has waiting for you. Look at Moses and the Israelites. If they had just followed God's plan, He would have led them through the desert into the promised land a lot quicker. However, sin and a preconceived idea of how they thought things should go, set them back forty years! If you want to live within God's will for your life, stop fighting Him at every turn and let Him lead you out of the wilderness and give you what He has promised you.

The LORD your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place.' Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the LORD your God, Deuteronomy 1:30-32

June 19

What helps console you when you're feeling hurt or broken? Is it love? Understanding? A gentle tone? What if you never get that? How do you go on? You must remember that this is just a moment in your life. Though it may continue for a time and you wonder why God hasn't answered your prayers or if He even hears you, you can be sure that He does. I find comfort in knowing that one of the great kings, who was constantly being tormented physically and emotionally, chose to write it down. I'm not comforted, because he was tormented, but because I'm not alone. David was very forthcoming with his feelings and expressed them well through the psalms. So, when I'm feeling emotional and alone and have no one to confide in, I reach for the Bible and open up Psalms. The words are like a salve that coats my heart and brings me healing.

Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. Psalms 43:5

June 18

It's great to have a view as I write, but for some reason, I began to notice a home on the lake that has junk cars sitting in their back yard. I'm pretty sure they've been there for a while, but I've always focused on the beauty and maybe that little hummingbird that keeps flitting by. Now that I've seen the negative, it's hard to ignore it. If the owner decided to move those cars today, I would probably forget about it and not even notice that they were gone. What junk do you have sitting around, that's causing people to notice you in a negative way? There are a lot of things that can cause us to have a sour attitude, but when you are a follower of Christ, you need to identify the source and handle it promptly. We should always be a reflection of Jesus, so when something gets you stirred up, take that to the throne immediately and lay that burden down. Let the beauty of Jesus and His light shine through you.

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32