SOMETIMES

 
Sometimes I just sit and think about the heart. It is such a fragile thing. It can be hurt. It can be broken. It can cry. Seems like that's all many people's hearts go through. Theirs feel broken or hurt all the time. I'm sure people sometimes wonder why God gave us a heart at all, if it's only to be broken or bruised.
 
Yet, this same heart can be so full of joy and laughter, love and goodness! Just think of how much Jesus gave us when He opened His very own heart! His heart bled and He died on the cross for us.
 
I don't think He would want us to dwell on all of the bad things our hearts have withstood. After all, His heart broke wide open for ALL of us that we might have life, and have it abundantly!
 
Ephesians 1:7a: “Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, His blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people - free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free!”

Author: Denise Dulaney

MARRYING MONTH

"For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife,

and the two will become one flesh."

Ephesians 5:31

July is "marrying month" in our family, it seems! My Charlie and I celebrated our 44th anniversary on July 16; our daughter Kelly and son-in-law Shane celebrated their 18th on July 11; and on July 3, our son Chuck married his beautiful bride Suzanne. With the wedding and the two anniversaries all in the same month, of course marriage has been in my thoughts a lot lately.

I'm very aware that marriages don't always work out as we'd dreamed. The stories of my friends and family members who have suffered through divorce break my heart. I am so sorry that, for whatever reasons, their dreams of marital happiness didn't come true. And I know from their stories, that quite often, the end of the marriage came only after valiant efforts to make it be right. So what I write here is not a commentary on what's right or what's wrong, what was or wasn't present in anybody's relationships.

But as Chuck and Suzanne begin their married life, I do have these pieces of advice for them:

Father God, I ask Your blessing on both my children's marriages and on my own. Bless these unions, I pray. Grant us Your joy, and guide us as we live and serve You.

Author: Kay Bradburn

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACCOMPLISH?

Two of my children and I went to work in our garden, the other day, and we took two of our dogs with us. Since Nate and Amber have this awesome five acres of land (where my garden is), and 2.5 acres of it are fenced in – with a pond – our dogs love to run long and free, and one of them even gets in the pond and swims to his heart’s content. I love it! And since the temperatures have been hovering around and above the 100-degree mark, I’m sure the dogs love being able to get wet, at will, also.

Anyway, we were watering the garden, and after a while, I noticed that one of the dogs was parallel to my peripheral vision, and that was not right. The dogs were behind the fence; I was outside the fence. As Heather and I watched and processed what we were seeing, the second dog was also parallel to us, meaning both dogs had gotten outside of the fence. If you remember last Labor Day, these were the two dogs that had run away from home and got picked up and taken to doggie jail until I could bail them out four days later – after the holiday was over. I have to admit, since Labor Day, they haven’t gotten any better at the voice command, “Come!” and this day was no different. I told Heather to try to get Brindle, the smaller of the two dogs, and I’d get Atlas, the huge mutt. Well, I lucked out because Atlas came running to me (more like, at me, full speed ahead!), and didn’t quite knock me over, but close. I got his collar and dragged him back inside the fenced area, as Zachary took off down the fence line to close the gate that someone had left opened after they finished mowing their yard a few days prior. We didn’t even think about making sure that gate was closed – we assumed it just was! 

In the interim, Heather was taking off after Brindle, who listens even less than not, and the next thing I heard was “honk-honk-honk-honk-honk-honk-honk-honk-honk-honk-ad-nauseam-to-infinity.” I couldn’t see to the road, but I could see a line of cars that had stopped, so I assumed (once again) that the dog and Heather were in the middle of the road, and some driver was very impatiently trying to “help” them get off the road by laying on his horn and blasting away. All I could think of was, “Tu es stupide! Tais-toi!” In English, loosely translated, that means, “I don’t think you’re helping the situation much, mister.”

As I started running toward the road, here came Heather, dragging Brindle by his collar, and then he plunked himself down on the ground and planted himself there. When I asked Heather what happened and how did she catch the dog, she said, “He just ran out to the middle of the road and lay down on the yellow line and wouldn’t move.” And what about the person honking the horn? “Yep, he just stopped in front of us and honked his horn until I could get the dog off the road.” Well, that was helpful, wasn’t it?

What did he hope to accomplish by creating a noise right in Heather’s and the dog’s ears? I’m thankful it didn’t cause the dog to run farther away, and I’m glad the two were safe because I guess the driver could have just run over them, but what was his problem? It’s not like these two play out in the middle of a busy road just for the heck of it!

I guess the point of this devotion is that sometimes, our actions (which always speak louder than words) tell the world a lot about us, whether we realize it or not. That driver could have just as easily sat there and waited without making the noise. He could have gotten out of his car to see if Heather needed some assistance (although with a strange dog and a stranger person, that probably wasn’t a good alternative). For sure, he could have just been quiet and listened to his radio and tapped his foot to the beat – or read his IPOD daily devotional. Even an encouraging word out of the window to Heather would have made her feel less stressed in an already-stressful situation, whether the dog ever moved or not. . .

Naturally, the parable that pops into my head is the one of the Good Samaritan, where two people passed by the beaten-up man in the middle of their path, one being a priest (you’d think that was synonymous with “helpful,” wouldn’t you?) and the other a Levite (same race as the man lying in the road). The only one who did stop and help, without getting all bent out of shape, was the third traveler, a Samaritan man, a diametrically-opposed species (a.k.a., enemy) of the Hebrew victim.

So the next time you come upon a kid and a dog in the middle of the road, don’t honk if you love Jesus. Do something constructive, instead. Be a good Samaritan!

Author: Judy Burhans

Love my Enemies…WHY?

“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High,

because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.”

Luke 6:35

I don’t think ‘wicked’ begins to describe some of the enemies I know are out there. This subject of “loving your enemies” has been on my heart lately because of a special someone in my life who is…not on my team. I cannot get away from this person; they are bound to my life. I feel sorry for them, I try to be loving to them, try to set a good example to the children of how to be kind to difficult people…but GEEZ…how did Jesus do it?! Because I feel like if I were Jesus, I would just go ahead and rain down some justified judgment. That way, the decent people (like me?) could catch a break!

I know; this isn’t how it works. Thank goodness the decision isn’t in my hands. I don’t think getting even is really in Jesus’ nature. The hard part of the verse is at the beginning, trying to love those people whom you actually hate. The comfort comes in the second part of the verse, the explanation, the ‘why.’ We are to keep our eyes on heaven and remember that Jesus loves that other person no less than He loves us. We want to please God, and it is unpopular, and we will be picked on, and it will be harder than what we imagine we can do…but that’s what is asked of us. And when we keep our eyes on heaven, then we can see in perspective that we aren’t any more decent than those we hate.

RIVERS FLOWING

Rivers flowing wide and narrow
Sometimes shallow, sometimes deep.
And we move along , straight as an arrow
Remembering His word and trying to keep.
Then evil creeps in and tries to break us
His grip on us, full of passion, full of hate!
And suddenly our minds become like the rivers
Flowing fast, too fast for us!
Then we remember that we have a date
With Our Lord God Almighty
And make no mistake!
He'll be there forever and always you'll see,
Keep telling yourself, it's God who's with me! 

 1 Chronicles 16:34: “Give thanks to God - He is good and His love never quits. Say, ‘Save us, Savior God, round us up and get us out of these godless places, so we can give thanks to Your holy Name, and bask in Your life and praise.’ Blessed be God, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then everybody said, ‘Yes! Amen!’ and ‘Praise God!’”

Author: Denise Dulaney

A GODLY MAN

"Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself...."

Psalm 4:3

"Godly" isn't a word you hear much in conversation, is it? And when you think about it, what in the world is a "godly man," anyway? According to my synonym finder, "godly" means God-fearing, reverent, devoted, moral, good. So, now that you have those adjectives in mind, can you think of someone you'd describe as a "godly" man or woman? I can, and I've been thinking about this man even more than usual lately, as we approach his 90th birthday.

He entered my life when I was eight years old. He and my widowed mother married that spring, and he became my stepfather, but  the word "stepfather" just doesn't seem adequate somehow. Since my biological father had died just a few months before my birth, this new person in my life was the only father I'd ever known, and from the first, he became not just my mother's husband but my very own Daddy. From that time to this, every day of my life, he has been there for me ─ a wonderful, kind, understanding, supportive parent in every sense of the word. No father could possibly love me more or be loved more in return.

Being a good dad is a tough job under any  circumstances, but being a stepdad adds another whole dimension of difficulty. Daddy has fulfilled that stepdad role to perfection not just once but twice, because several years after my mother died, he remarried. And with his second marriage, he acquired not just my great stepmother Eileen, but another daughter, my sister Betsy!

Daddy has had an enormous influence on both his daughters: our values, our faith, our sense of being secure and loved. God has blessed Betsy and me over and over through the awesome earthly father He provided for us, and both of us thank God for him, this godly man.

Author: Kay Bradburn

MORE AND MORE

“Jesus went with him, and all the people followed, crowding around him. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe.

For she thought to herself, ‘If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed.’”

Mark 5:24-28

I have a friend who has bleeding problems. She gets transfusions periodically to get her blood count back up, but it doesn’t stay there very long. Her body needs treatment, treatment that she can’t afford. And so, the cycle continues.

“Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition.”

Mark 5:29

It’s too bad Jesus isn’t here, physically, so she could touch the hem of His robe and be instantly healed, isn’t it? It seems that the circumstances surrounding some of our problems are just too great for us to handle, and then when we say, “pray for me,” we wonder if that’s even going to work.

Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with his disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him up, shouting, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”

Jesus responded, “Why are you afraid? You have so little faith!” Then he got up and rebuked the wind and waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.

The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked.

“Even the winds and waves obey him!”

Matthew 8:23-27

 It takes strength and faith to be able to lay it all in His hands. It takes putting aside our preconceived notions of how it needs to be done, of how we think it needs to be done, and it takes letting God work it out for us, in us and to us. If we doubt, does that cut us off from His healing?

Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.
About three o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.
When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out,
“It’s a ghost!” But Jesus spoke to them at once.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!”

Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you,

tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

“Yes, come,” Jesus said.

So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.

Matthew 14:24-31

He is our healer and our physician. If we have no insurance and no possible means of taking care of our problem, He has the answer. He will do what needs to be done for us because He promises He will. For us, it may seem interminably long before we get the answer or the resolution, but we just have to continue to believe and pray and knock on His door. And when He answers, it may not be in the way we expected healing to come, or it may be exactly the way we imagined it to happen.

“Look at the lilies and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? And don’t be concerned about what to eat and what to drink. Don’t worry about such things.”

Luke 12:27-29

God, You are mighty; You are totally awesome; You are true to Your promises. You have promised to take care of us, just as You take care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field. Your promises fulfilled are seen everyday in the world You have created. For my friend, God, please lay Your hand of love and healing on her and cure whatever needs to be cured in order to stop the bleeding. Increase our faith in You to know You more and more, and may You be glorified in all that You work through my friend. Amen.

Author: Judy Burhans

GET THERE FASTER!

 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.

Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Matthew 6:34 (NIV)

As I write this, I have to smile because I know that worry is just a waste of time. I think the majority of people would agree with that. So, if I know it is a waste of time, why do I waste so much time worrying? I trust God with everything in my life, but when I am faced with an uncertainty, I worry. I know God is in control, I know He will take care of everything. So I go into a phase of trying to convince myself that everything will be okay and God's Will, will prevail.

It takes me a while to go through this process - to get back to trusting God with everything. I spend time alone, I sing a lot - Britt Nicole, "Don't Worry Now" - hahaha! I cry a little, I talk a little and I pray. I do eventually get to where I need to be, and when I look back, I still can't explain why I wasted so much time worrying.

I was talking to Judy, a very wise friend, the other morning, and I explained to her, with a tear in my eye, that I will get there. In time, I will get there. She looked at me and explained to me that God already has everything worked out and that I shouldn't cry or be sad. She looked straight into my eyes and said, "Get there faster!"

Wow! That is exactly what I needed to hear. God does have everything in control. He put Judy where she needed to be and gave her the words she needed to say to Get Me There Faster!

I know for me there is still some uncertainty, but I am confident that all that happens is in God's plan. I will still have to work on the worrying, and the time it takes me to get "there," but I am assured that God is with me and in control.

I do so love you, God!

http://brittnicole.sparrowrecords.com/music/?id=517574#

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIU_rfoW77U

Author: Michele Mazur

PURE IN HEART

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

Matthew 5:8

She's a grown woman now, but I still remember a day years ago when she'd been listening to me talk to her mother, bewailing the latest chapter in my life-long battle of the bulge (a battle that's still going on!). A few minutes later, she slipped her arms around me and looked up at me with her big, earnest eyes.

"Don't worry about your diet, Miss Kay," she said. "I think God just means for you to be fat. I can't imagine you any other way."

I kid you not...That's exactly what she said!

Now, if anyone else had said those words to me, or if they'd been said spitefully or even teasingly, I very likely would have been offended. Wouldn't you be?! But this sweet child didn't have a mean molecule in her body, and her words and gesture came from a caring heart and total honesty. She could see that I seemed upset about my weight, and she wanted me to feel better, so she offered me her love and total acceptance and the unvarnished truth as she saw it. What a wonderful gift!

So what did I do? I accepted her gift. I hugged her back and genuinely thanked her. And I saved my chuckles for later because I surely didn't want to hurt her feelings or do anything to discourage her reaching out in love to others.

That little girl taught me some things that day about love and acceptance, about encouraging those around me, and also about purity of heart. Oh, for a heart that pure...a completely selfless, totally loving, and generous spirit.

Lord, please renew a right spirit within me. Help me to be a source of comfort and support to others as that dear little girl was to me. Amen.

Author: Kay Bradburn

GET THE LIGHTS, WILL YOU?

When I was much younger, my mother remarried and my stepdad's two daughters came to live with us. While this took a lot of adjusting on my part, since I was an only child, I did my best to like those two girls. Now, mind you, I didn't always like them. They used to get away with things that in my book were totally unfair.
 
We shared a room - they in bunk-beds and me in my single. I decided that the youngest, who slept on the bottom bunk, could serve a serious purpose. You see, I was afraid of the dark. Since I was the oldest, I got to stay up later than they did. Here was my dilemma - I didn't have a lamp next to my bed and there weren't any nightlights. The only light in our room was the overhead.
 
So, a good many nights, when I wasn't racing to the bed after turning the light off myself - you know, before something snatched me from under the bed - I'd get into bed and call and call her. Quietly, mind you, so that I didn't alert my parents as to my cause, and I'd keep on calling her. "Debbie, Debbie, wake up."
 
After many tries, she'd wake up and I'd say, "Get the lights, will you?" Since she was a sleepwalker, at times, and never remembered that, I'm not sure she remembered me waking her to turn the lights out, either!
 
 I'm sure you've heard the old saying, "I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel." How many of us actually get lost in that tunnel, wondering where the light is and if we will ever see the light again!?
 
In this case, we want the light on. We are tired of the darkness and need to have some light, any light, to shine through so that we can have some hope that we are headed in the right direction .
 
Take heart. God's word is Light. Do not be afraid. He'll show us the way, through His Word , and the whole time He is showing us His ways, He'll be walking there, right beside us!
 
Psalm 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
 
 
** I'm off to bed now.  (whispers) "Hey! Hey! Get the lights, will you?"

Author: Denise Dulaney