Author: Claire's Prayer

𝗜𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝗼𝗱. Knowing the character of God. Knowing that He is a God who gives liberally, openly, and with sincerity. A God who never for a moment thinks to remind you of how unworthy you are. The Father weaves wisdom into your life until it is just an unexplainable part of who you are. He braids in the knowledge of both things human and supernatural, gives the gift of interpreting dreams and always having a word in season. The Great I AM pours out intelligence upon you and teaches you how to impart truth, He lavishes you with the knowledge of how to live a Godly life.

This is wisdom, given liberally! “𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒅𝒐𝒎, 𝒍𝒆𝒕 𝒉𝒊𝒎 𝒂𝒔𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒄𝒉, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” (James 1:5.) Not simply a ‘help me make the right choice,’ but so much more! The ability to walk in what can only be the supernatural, for who, by themselves and in their own strength can interpret dreams like Joseph? Can have the sagest of advice to encourage and strengthen that believer who is struggling? Have the right words to pierce the heart of the one who doesn’t know Jesus? For this, we need the wisdom of God.

𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗵! Not wavering between the hope that He will give it and the fear that He won’t! We need faith, simple faith in The One who gave us life, salvation, redemption. Faith that Jesus Christ is who He says He is and that we can trust Him. Faith that God will do what He says He will do. Faith in the character of God, in His goodness, in His kindness, in His love for us.

We don’t need mountains of faith, just faith in God. I was once told, “It is not the quantity of your faith that matters, only the object of your faith.” Who is the object of your faith? Who do you put your faith in? Let’s trust, believe, and rest in who God is. Let’s not be like the double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. 𝗟𝗲𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘀𝗱𝗼𝗺, 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝘂𝗯𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗚𝗼𝗱’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁!

It’s hard when your friends turn against you, harder still when it’s your family or own flesh and blood.   Studies say that almost everyone will experience this kind of betrayal at some point in their life.  When we read Psalm 3 and the cry of David’s heart, we realize that even King David experienced this kind of bitter betrayal. 

Psalm 3 starts out by stating; “𝑨 𝒑𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒎 𝒐𝒇 𝑫𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒅. 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑨𝒃𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒎.”  I cannot imagine the pain that was in David’s heart – his own son!  The son that he had loved, cared for, nurtured, and raised turning on him, out to kill him!  Absalom had carefully and with much calculation won over the hearts of Israel.  And so, King David fled, over the brook Kedron with a meagre group of faithful men to the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, where he wept. (2 Samuel 15:30)

You can sense the pain welling up in David as you hear the cry of his heart; “𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒆𝒔! 𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒆! 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒆, “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒎.” 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆, 𝒎𝒚 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑶𝒏𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉. 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏.”  I love how David just KNEW the LORD would be a shield to him, he would be the one who lifted his head and would answer him.

Do you remember another King weeping in the garden?  Our King Jesus, a far greater King than David, followed that same path King David took.  Betrayed by one of His best friends, one of the 12, He crossed the brook Kedron into the Garden of Gethsemane with a feeble group of followers, where he wept, drops of anguished blood dripping from His forehead.  Israel had rejected Him, the ones He loved turned from Him. 

𝗕𝗨𝗧 𝗚𝗢𝗗 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻, a plan for our Savior and a plan for David.  A much greater plan.  David was restored to rule over Israel and Jesus conquered the grave and will rule and reign forevermore!  Interestingly David’s son Absalom was found hanging from a tree, just like Judas, dying the very same death.

Our glorious, gracious Father has a plan for you too.  A much greater plan.  A plan to restore you, to lift your head, to answer your cry.  When the pain of betrayal hits, remember that your King Jesus knows your sorrow, and has felt your pain, He is working behind the scenes, working on your miracle, planning all things for your good!

“𝑴𝒚 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒏, 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆.”  James 1:2-3

Trials and patience?!  When I first read these two verses my reaction was one of dislike.  I’m not sure I like these verses; how can you possibly be joyful in your trials, and I don’t like having patience or the process that produces patience! 

But then I realized that we need to see our trials through God’s eyes, to have a revelation of the potential and possibility they will bring.  A knowledge that this burden will take us deeper, deeper into the things of God and His will for our lives.  We do not need to be happy in our pain, but we need to have joy that the hard season we are in will ultimately bring growth to our spiritual lives and draw us closer to our Savior.

It is yet another renewal of our mind, a conscious decision, a choice, definitely not an emotional one!  “𝑪𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒋𝒐𝒚!”  Count meaning consider or have rule over.  Taking authority over the thoughts that make the trial big in our own eyes, the ones that consider the worst that can happen in any given situation!  Instead asking God for His view of our affliction, how can this bring growth and patience?  Having the faith to see the potential that this particular trial may springboard you into the plans our good Father has for us!  Taking those negative thoughts captive, seeing the things that are not as though they were.

How interesting it is that it is not a healing miracle or breakthrough that proves our faith but the trials we walk through!  1 Peter 5:7 puts it this way; “𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒖𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑰𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅—𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅. 𝑺𝒐 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒇𝒂𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒔 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒔, 𝒊𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒖𝒄𝒉 𝒑𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒓 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝑱𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒔 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅.” 

Your faith is worth more than gold!!  Your faith brings praise and glory to the LORD.  We do not sit passively in our pain but believe fervently for that miracle, for the release, for the breakthrough.  We may not see the end product, the liquid gold that comes out of the refiner’s fire, no dirt left, pure, refined, filling our hearts with joy at the outcome of the test.  But we have faith to know that 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹, 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿!

I like clear directions, distinctive, and well-defined. A GPS versus a vague turn right by the blue house or go north at the end of the road. You could say I like to hear; loud and clear! There are times in the Word of God when God’s people hear that audible voice of the Great I Am, but more often it is that ‘still, small voice.” Take Elijah for example; “𝑨𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓.” (1 Kings 19:12)

As Elijah rested in a cave at the top of Mount Horeb an incredibly powerful wind tore through the mountain, ripping apart the rocks. Then a fierce earthquake shook the mountain and finally a burning fire, but the LORD was not in any of these significant events! Finally, a small, gentle whisper breathed into the air, in Hebrew, ‘𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲!’ A quiet voice, a powerful whisper!

You see, so often a loud shout or yell can frighten us or make us nervous, but a soft, gentle whisper is the sound of soothing calm and quiet serenity. Absolutely, a loud noise can certainly get your attention, but that whisper is the sound of closeness, of intimacy. If I would like my husband’s attention in the middle of a crowd, I may raise my voice, but at night, just before the lights are turned down low, in the closeness of our bed, I whisper – “I love you.” When our loving Father takes the time to whisper in a still small voice; it means He is near.

God’s desire is to be close to you and He wants you to draw near to Him and so He whispers! He speaks to you in that still small voice. In the secret place where it is simply the two of you our LORD leans in and whispers gently! Draw close, draw near, and listen carefully, our Abba Father is in that still, small voice!

Martin Luther once said; “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘴, [𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘩] 𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘦, 𝘮𝘺, 𝘵𝘩𝘺 – ‘𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘏𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦’, ‘𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘓𝘰𝘳𝘥,’ ‘𝘚𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘺 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘦.’” It is the difference between a Savior and MY Savior, the distinction between the LORD is a deliverer and the LORD is MY deliverer!

𝗜𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘆 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲! My LORD, my Rock, and my Redeemer. It is the difference between saying “Look at that beautiful house, and that is MY house!” Suddenly the relationship is personal and individual, you are taken from knowledge to knowing. Knowing that the God of the Universe is your personal God.

Psalm 91 is certainly the Psalm of pronouns; verse 2 says this; “𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫, “𝑯𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒖𝒈𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔, 𝒎𝒚 𝑮𝒐𝒅, 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒕.”

In these uncertain times and stormy days, we really do need to know that we have a God who is our refuge. One in whom we can trust with our lives, one that delivers us, rescues us, and takes all fear from us.

But how do we go from knowledge to knowing, learning to understanding? I believe that secret sits rights at the very beginning of Psalm 91; “𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝒍𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚.” He who sits and remains in the presence of the LORD, will experience protection, refuge, God’s faithfulness, God’s power. When you call on Him – He will answer you, and He will be with you in trouble, and will deliver you! When you take the time to sit with your Savior you will get to know Him, you will experience His goodness, His kindness, His constant faithfulness, and He will become Your God, Your Savior, and Your King.

The sound of the early morning alarm often rings stridently in my ears, way too early for me! Sometimes I choose to turn over and press snooze, maybe more than once! First thing in the morning my beverage of choice is coffee, I’m sure that’s the same for many of you. Then begins a day of choices, decisions. What to have for breakfast, what to wear, will the office be cool? Should I take a sweater?

A study done by researchers at Cornell University concludes that we make 226 food related choices every day and other studies tell us that as adults we make up to 35,000 choices every single day! No wonder I feel so very exhausted at the end of the day! The Word of God has much to say about choices too – for instance, Joshua 24:15 says; “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒎𝒔 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒄𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆.”

Sometimes the choices we make are a one-time thing, but perhaps this is one of those 35,000 choices that we need to make every day. We need to wake up in the morning and say; “𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘓𝘖𝘙𝘋, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦, 𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘺 𝘎𝘰𝘥.”

As Jesus sat with His disciples His words to them were, “𝑾𝒉𝒐𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒅𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆.” (Luke 9:23) The choice here is not an easy one, it is one where you deny yourself and take up your cross, choosing death daily! The disciples knew this choice their Savior was offering them was one of absolute death to self!

Of course, choices have consequences – good and bad. Choosing healthy eating impacts our health, choosing to get out of bed when that alarm clock rings and spending time with Jesus impacts our spiritual health, choosing to be kind impacts the lives of others. Choosing 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒃𝒍𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒆, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒚, 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 impacts not only your day but the day of those around you. I’m sure you can agree, choices matter! Let’s choose Jesus daily, to pick up our cross daily, I know it will be the most important of those 35,000 choices you make!

“𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒔𝒐 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔.” (Rom 5:19)

This scripture blows me away for two reasons – I thought about Adam and Eve, if they had not eaten that apple this world would be full of righteous people. No sinners at all! Wow! Think about that for a moment!

As I thought about Eve and her disobedience, I thought; “I’m sure that someone further down the line would have been disobedient and eaten of the fruit, if not Eve then her great-great-granddaughter!” And the LORD said to me; “𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧!” Ouch! I am the first one to boast about breaking a rule. Especially if it doesn’t make sense to me. I would have broken that command. The Father told Adam that he would die if he ate the fruit in the middle of the garden but Satan, in all his manipulative power, told Eve that the fruit would make her wiser, smarter, more intelligent. That certainly sounds like a good thing! Surely God’s command wasn’t logical?

Well, it wasn’t to Eve and so she ate, as did Adam, and as a result we are all sinners. Were they smarter and wiser? Perhaps, they knew the difference between good and evil but from that very moment they began to die!

More mind blowing than this is the statement; “𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒏’𝒔 𝒐𝒃𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔!” Because of Jesus’ total obedience in the face of so much pain and heartbreak, we are made righteous!

The very thought that being totally obedient, absolutely surrendered, can change the face of history. Amazing!

Are there areas in your life where the LORD is calling you to step out in obedience? Even when it doesn’t seem logical. Step out! It could change the course of history.

At the beginning of chapter 2 in Nehemiah, great care was taken to record the specific date that certain events took place. Often, I skip over these small facts and move quickly on to the next verse, but this time I took a closer look. “𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝑵𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒏, 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑨𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒙𝒆𝒓𝒙𝒆𝒔…”

The month of Nisan, or ‘the month of flowers’, or the first month of the Jewish year in which Passover occurred. Today the Assyrians call it ‘the month of happiness.’ It was the day when all creation began, the day when the Great I Am spoke heaven and earth into existence. It was the month when the Israelites crossed the river Jordan and when God split the sea so that His chosen ones could escape. It was also the month in which Jerusalem would be rebuilt.

100 years before King Artaxerxes gave the command to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, a prophet named Daniel gave this decree; “𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑱𝒆𝒓𝒖𝒔𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒎 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝑴𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒂𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒚-𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌𝒔; 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒃𝒆 𝒃𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒕 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒍, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆𝒔.”  (Daniel 1:25) Daniel proclaimed that in 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟯,𝟴𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 from that very date, the Messiah, the Prince of Peace, Jesus the Christ, would be presented to all of Israel! Quite a bold prophesy to give, right down to the very day!

Fast forward 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝟭𝟳𝟯,𝟴𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 to another Passover, another beautiful spring day in the month of Nisan. We see Jesus, riding a colt into Jerusalem. It was a day unlike any other, a day when multitudes laid branches on the road before the Messiah and shouted, “𝘏𝘰𝘴𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘢 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘋𝘢𝘷𝘪𝘥.”  𝟭𝟳𝟯,𝟴𝟴𝟬 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗹𝘆! The triumphal entry of Christ!

What a mystery – this tiny little verse that contained so much meaning, how intricate the plan of God! Sometimes I stand amazed at those little details, everything thought out so beautifully, that marvelous plan for our complete redemption. Certainly a – “𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕤𝕠 𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕫𝕚𝕟𝕘, 𝕤𝕠 𝕕𝕚𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕖, 𝕕𝕖𝕞𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 𝕞𝕪 𝕤𝕠𝕦𝕝, 𝕞𝕪 𝕝𝕚𝕗𝕖, 𝕞𝕪 𝕒𝕝𝕝.”

The incredible selflessness of our Savior is completely overwhelming, drawing us to a place where we contemplate His remarkable character, His kindness, His goodness, His faithfulness! My thoughts have been on John 17, that extraordinary moment where Jesus prayed for His disciples. Verses 11-13 say this; “𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒚 𝑭𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒃𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎, 𝑰 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒌𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒔𝒂𝒇𝒆 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒆. 𝑵𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒆𝒙𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑺𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅. 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒏𝒐𝒘, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅, 𝒔𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒋𝒐𝒚 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎.”

At a time when you would most expect Jesus to be thinking of himself. He wasn’t. When our Redeemer’s darkest hour was upon Him, facing a brutal death on a cross, you really would think His cries to the Father would, understandably, be selfish. They weren’t. His thoughts and prayers were for His friends, His disciples, for you and me! Astounding. 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀!

What was it that Jesus prayed for those He loved so much? He prayed that the Holy Father would protect them by the mighty and awesome power of His name – just as Jesus had protected them. He prayed that they would be one just as the Father and Son are one with the Holy Spirit. And He prayed that they would have the full measure of Jesus’ joy within them! The full measure of Jesus’ joy!

Our Savior, our Glorious LORD, wants joy fulfilled in your life, his desire is to multiply your joy – not subtract it. He wants you to have joy, and joy abundantly, so much so that this He prayed for you! My prayer is that you would have that full measure of Jesus joy, that calm delight, and abundant rejoicing that characterizes our Savior! 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀!

From the very beginning of our lives, we are taught to be proud! Be a go-getter, achieve perfection, climb the ladder, or be an assertive self-starter. Hustle goes with the bustle and busyness, and we become performance driven in all aspects of our life! When told to be humble, we say, “𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁!” Almost as if it is another achievement or notch on our belt of success!

Frederick Meyer gave this thought-provoking quote; “𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘴; 𝘺𝘦𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘰𝘥𝘨𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘦 𝘰𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘣𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘪𝘵 – 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧-𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦. 𝘞𝘦 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘥𝘪𝘴𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘵𝘴 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘬 … 𝘞𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺, 𝘷𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴; 𝘢𝘯𝘥, 𝘱𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.”

 I must confess that many a time I have been gratified by my own independence, self-determination, and self-reliance – not seeing their root in pride!

In 1 Peter 5 we are told; “𝑨𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 “𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘𝒔 𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆.”  Clothe yourself! Dress yourself in a garment of humility much like Jesus, the King of Kings and LORD of Lords did. As Jesus prepared to wash the feet of those He taught He; “𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒖𝒑 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒍, 𝒕𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒂 𝒕𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒍 𝒂𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒕.” (John 13:4) That towel our Savior wrapped around Himself was the white scarf or apron of a bondservant! Jesus was more than prepared to be identified with those who selflessly serve, to be associated with a bondservant who would quietly merge into the background at any King’s feast!  Did you notice that He didn’t tell everyone that He was dressing in the clothing of a servant, He just did it.  True humility!

Who was this message to? All of us! “𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆, 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝑮𝒐𝒅’𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅, 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒖𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒅𝒖𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆.” If we will submit to one another, take on the garment of a bondservant, be prepared to merge into the background, and carry out the lowest of tasks, our Wonderful Father will lift us up in due time, at that appointed season, and in His timing!