Tomorrow’s Hope #Covid-19 #faith #children

“I was just thinking about a friend of ours.” Bethany looks at her lion friend.

“Who is that Bethany?”

“Her name is Christine. Several of her children have attended our class.”

“Oh yes I remember her. The last time I saw her she was very sad.”

“Many of her tribe didn’t want the baby in the village; they said the baby was cursed.

A tear falls from Judah’s eye. “How can a baby be a curse?”

“It is our fallen world Judah.” Bethany holds his paw. “Broken people have little hope.”

“But there was one who came to give hope to the broken. His light breaks through darkness.The Gospel of John talks about light: “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light lest the darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.” John 12:35

“Judah, We need some of that light during Co-Vid pandemic. There are some families who have lost many people to the disease. ”

We can’t be afraid though: “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, Be strong, do not fear! Behold your God will come with a vengeance.” Isaiah 35:4

“No, Judah, you are right we must hold fast to Jesus, because our Tomorrow is filled with eternal hope. ”

 

So many of us are dealing with uncertainty. Are you afraid? Ask God to help you be strong. The Bible says God will come and be with you in your dark and fearful times.

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Cross Roads #sundaydevotion

 

Life’s road  uneven

filled with pain

I’ve know the sting

of sin’s dark reign

*

the fork it beckoned

from afar

succumbed to flesh

I see the scars

*

His light it shines

in darkest place

removes the stain

no one can trace

*

I gladly trudge

this burden bear

to heaven’s cross road

my savior’s there!

 

 

“A highway will be there, a roadway, And it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, But it will be for him who walks that way, And fools will not wander on it.”

Isaiah 35:8

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Matthew 11:28

 “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Matthew 28:20

Life’s Road is filled with rocks and uneven spots. Some days we have little strength to crawl. Though this life is tough, Jesus promises that He is there to walk over the toughest terrain  (carrying us if need be).

Sharing with God Interest

 

Unbalanced #devotion #poetry

 

I stand alone

tilting in the wind

needing no one

balance only sand

*

I stand alone

cold feathers is my plight

I fall like a stone

rejected in my flight

*

no longer alone

warmer with you there

you calm my inner groan

life together gladly bear

 

 

 

No need to stand off balance and alone.The Bible encourages  companions who stand firm and keep us from being foolish.

“He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will suffer harm.”

~Proverbs 13:20

“A man of too many friends comes to ruin,
But there is a ^[friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

~Proverbs 18:24

 

“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone?”

~Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

shared with Godinterest

Joy’s Smile #orphans #uganda #sundaydevotion

Goodness in those eyes

kindness in his smile

 little fingers wrap in mine

 never want to let go

God is the maker

children such a gift

may actions always match

the love I feel inside

 

I am always disturbed when I hear of children who are cast-offs. Our world has grown careless with its real treasures. We would never throw away gold, but these little ones are much more precious than any gem.

I am grateful that there are those in the world who have hearts willing to pour their love into a heart and rekindle precious smiles.

“He called a little child to him, and placed the child among them.

And he said: “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

 And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.

 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.'”

~Matthew 18:2-6

 

Another Call… #sundaydevotion #phonecalls

The phone rings, it’s ignored

it rings again, such an irritant

his phone jumps about the table

exasperated he answers

“she isn’t here, she’ll call you back”

(sobbing on the other end of the line)

“My car was just hit.  I’m sitting on the side of the road”

“Are you okay honey? Here’s mom.”

 

 

How often do we get calls that we don’t pick up?

I have family on their own ring tone and I still miss their calls.

Ever think about this? God always hears our cries for help and He knows each of our voices (kind of like heavenly ring tones.) Not only does God hear our cries, He hears us complain, whine, beg for direction. The phone exchange in Heaven has no down time and our calls are always answered – no dropped calls. Try prayer the next time you feel at the end of your earthly rope – He is listening!

 

                                              “In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried to my God for help; He heard my voice out of His temple,  and my cry for help before Him came into His ears.”

                                                                                                                 Psalm 18:6

“The righteous cry, and the Lord hears And delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

Psalm 34:17 & 18

                                              “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Psalm 50:15

 

 

 

One Step Toward Eternity #poetry #devotion

a portal of tomorrow

I see horizon’s line

an outline of such beauty

 hope’s dreams are there defined

I want to rush forward

 am petrified by my past

What if I’m unwelcome?

my failures permanent cast

In Heaven there’s a future

I can never “measure up”

the price paid by another

he drank of sin’s dark cup

I must move alongside

eyes closed like a child

 Eternity reaches for me

I get closer all the while

rushing forward, stumbling

I gulp the joyful air

open arms for my Savior

hold fast I’m almost there

 

Door to Heaven by Clare

 

We all wonder what our tomorrow’s will be. We also can fear that we won’t meet up to the expectations of Heaven. Faith is closing our eyes  and trusting that our feet will meet solid ground with each new step. Easy? No! Possible? YES!!!

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11:1

“Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.”

Ecclesiastes 3:11

“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”

1 Corinthians 13:12

No Burden – Kindness #poetry

 

A hand offered in silence

a smile to soothe the days

eyes light hope’s tomorrows

cast warm summer rays

you choose to accept another

 to greet with friendly smile

burdens often we carry

lighter for two over miles

lean forward into fellowship

melt frost on coldest days

sun breaks the mourning

for God’s gift you can never pay

I am daily graced by the kindness of others. The gesture need not be a grand one but just in a simple act, a smile, a word kindly spoken.  The difference can have a profound effect on a person’s day. Try it!

“Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart.:

~Proverbs 3:3

“Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

~Ephesians 4:32

Painted in a Corner #sundaydevotion #poetry

always striving holding tight

no room for error failure in sight

squeezing out hope before day’s dawn

what was I thinking night lasts so long

welts of frustration fume like disease

more than downtrodden, driven to knees

no air is left a sullen choke

hot tears on my face rising in smoke

Lord please clear fog dims my path

align me with peace stem this tides’ wrath

give me somewhere solid to place one foot

and room for another for faith I will look

shake the dust away my eyes

set love like flowers its fragrance rise

I can walk not knowing where

Christ leads me onward my load he bears

*

Are there days when you feel you can’t go left or right, north or south? Neither our minds nor intuition can get us out of the corner we are painted into. Then truth filters the fog “Trust not in your ways but God’s.” I’m glad God knows the way out of life’s maze. He alone can release the choke hold that the world has on us. His love is a powerful remedy for the ailments of this life.

My son, let them not depart from your eyes—Keep sound wisdom and discretion;²² So they will be life to your soul
And grace to your neck.²³ Then you will walk safely in your way, And your foot will not stumble. 

~Proverbs 3:21-23

 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; ⁵ does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; ⁶ does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; ⁷ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

~1 Corinthians 13: 4-7

 (KJV) Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

~John 15:13

 

Orphans #devotion #poetry

You left alone at birth

or some other season

how does a life make sense

find a perceptible reason?

Deserted at 8 or 9

making grown- up plans

 learning to coordinate

little arms and hands

Dear child there is One

who sees you very clear

never letting go of you

He holds you ever dear

the further others are away

the closer is the One

cry to the stars and sky

He will always come

Each tear your sorrow shed

is sweetly kept and  saved

through life’s hardest ship

in celestial love you’re bathed

 

Some know the barren loneliness of the land  Forsaken. It is never a place you would choose to go. But many are dwell here all the same.

There is one place where you will see God’s wrath—>  that is in the mistreatment of orphans.

If you have been left adrift in life’s storm, call out to the Master- He answers your cry. He will be there in the land of the forsaken.

 

John 14:18

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

Isaiah 1:17

“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”

Psalm 27:10

“For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.”

 

Those of you who know me know that I have this expanse in my heart for children who are orphaned, abandoned, abused. I lived in the land of Forsaken as a child and I am grateful.  I’ve been grateful to share (my lap or hand) with so many timid, hurting children. As the scrawny little hand reaches out she can  see “It” in my eyes and can trust the love that God has sent.

 

 

Safe in Grace #devotion

encompassed in sweet fragrance

held together by His grace

bold sunshine rises golden

each day you warm my face

I fear the passing days

you assure me with your love

so little within my grasp

all I have comes from God above

Do you have those days where you turn a corner and you lose your resolve? Is it hard some days to get out of bed and face trials, pain, recent loss? We are held together so lovingly tho at times it seems just a breath that suspends us and keeps us from falling into a pit of despair.

2 Corinthians 12:8-9 Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Hebrews 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.