New Morning Mercies

Rachel came home for Christmas break, highly recommending this devotional by Paul David Tripp.  I quickly ordered one for me, and one for Tim.

I've been using mine since Christmas, but here is the one for the first day of the new year.

It's a great way to start the new year with a focus on who our life is supposed to be about, not ourselves, but about God.  I'm looking forward to how the Lord may use this book in my life this year.

Happy New Year!

Pondering This At Christmas

Tim read to us from the devotional book he reads from daily.  It was written by Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian pastor, who was tortured for his faith in communist Romania.  You can read about that in his book, Tortured for Christ.

The devotional for December 17 was this - 

Isaiah 53:10 - "It pleased the LORD to bruise him."

"Therese of Lisieux had her place at evening prayers just in front of a sister who had a nervous affliction.  She always made a little curious noise, rather like on would make by rubbing two shells together.  This tiny noise got Therese down, but she never chided the offender, not even with a look.  Something insider her told her that the right thing to do was to put up with it for the love of God and spare the sister any embarrassment.  Only she could not ignore the disturbing noise.  Perspiration poured down her in the attempt to pray not-withstanding, but it was useless.

Then Therese hit on the idea of liking this exasperating noise.  Instead of trying vainly not to hear it, she devoted herself to listening hard, as if the sound were that of delightful music and her prayer consisted of offering the music to the Lord.

It is wrong to escape the anxieties and troubles through vain hopes or through quarreling with those who disturb you.  Do not only bear sorrows, but positively love them.

In giving to Abraham the order to sacrifice his son, God gave him the additional happiness of specifying an alter three days' journey away, so that he might enjoy for a long time the idea of giving his most beloved for his Master.  He could have placed the wood for the fire on an ass, but Isaac preferred to carry the wood up the hill himself.  Great sacrifices should be borne, not with patience, but with delight.

The heavenly Father Himself, because it was necessary that His Son should die on the cross for the sins of the world, did not sacrifice Him grudgingly: "It pleased the Lord to bruise him." Adopt this attitude toward whatever disturbs you in life and you will be happy."   Reaching Toward The Heights by Richard Wurmbrand.

This is giving me a lot to think about.  It certainly is not the western way of thinking, or even the American way of thinking.  It's challenging and I thought I'd share it with you.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

Pondering

I have been reading Oswald Chambers' devotional Bible. Reading 21 has challenged me, I keep pondering it so I thought I would share it with you and see what your thoughts are.

Genesis 41:1,14,42

It is the will of God that human beings should get into moral relationship with Him, and His covenants are for this purpose. Why does not God save me? He has saved me, but I have entered into relationship with Him. Why does not God do this and that? He has done it, the point is - Will I step into covenant relationship? All the great blessings of God are finished and complete, but they are not mine until I enter into relationship with Him on the basis of His covenant.
Waiting for God is incarnate unbelief, it means that I have no faith in Him;I wait for Him to do something in me that I may trust in that. God will not do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man has to go out of himself in his covenant with God as God goes out of Himself in His covenant with man. It is a question of faith in God- the rarest thing; we have faith only in our feelings. I do not believe God unless He will give me something in my hand whereby I may know I have it, then I say - "Now I believe." There is no faith there. "Look to Me, and be saved."
When I have really transacted business with God on His covenant and have let go entirely, there is no sense of merit, no human ingredient in it at all, but a complete overwhelming sense of being brought into union with God, and the whole thing is transfigured with peace and joy.

I think I too often want Him to prove Himself to me, in order for me to believe it, rather than simply Believe Him.

Daily Devotions

Forgive me for being absent from the blog. We have been busy finishing those big and little projects around the house, that get put off until you are going to be having people over!

Ahh, it has been alot of work, but so worth it and I will show you hopefully tomorrow!

Tonight I want to post about having daily devotions. I went to a day long seminar on Saturday and was reminded again of my need to be in God's Word daily. I often put it off thinking I will get to it "later". So I have made a committment to get up when the Lord wakes me up and spend my time reading and praying. Sunday morning I was awakened at 4:30 a.m. Yikes! But I was awake and had my time with the Lord uninterrupted. I then felt free to go back to sleep for awhile, which I did!!!

I am reading "My Utmost Devotional Bible". I like that it has Old Testament scripture, a Proverb and Psalm a day, and a New Testament reading as well.

I feel like I have been less stressed and much more in tune with the Lord, which I really need.