out of the way

Luke 5:16 As often as possible Jesus withdrew to out-of-the-way places for prayer.

some days we are the ones in the way. God beacons us to come, to sit with him, but our plans and agenda's push us in another direction. then we wonder, who moved? even good things aren't necessarily godly, even good intentions can move us from the path. yet He beacons with His still small voice "come"..... withdraw to an out to the way place and meet with me. do what I tell you to do regardless of the jeering crowd, regardless of what they say and how they may treat you. "come". I see the end results, I am your guide, I am the way, I see YOUR heart. don't worry about "theirs". pull out into the deep waters. cast your net once again. pray. wait. watch.

hands in your pockets

Thurs. March 25 Having one of those weeks of discouragement. Knowing that 5 kids from our small church would not be participating in our Egg Hunt due to Ball. Had a reminder from God that this was outreach and that I shouldn't so much worry about our own kids if we are to reach "them."

Outreach means taking your hands out of your pocket.

*Update March 27
Today's egg hunt was GREAT! So much better than my mind would comprehend. We had 800 eggs, 56 hot dogs with some left over and 56 people....... and 2/3 of the people were visitors!!!!!! Go God. May I never question you again!

achan and joshua

^{joshua 7:20 -21} Achan answered Joshua, "It's true. I sinned against God, the God of Israel. This is how I did it. In the plunder I spotted a beautiful Shinar robe, two hundred shekels of silver, and a fifty-shekel bar of gold, and I coveted and took them. They are buried in my tent with the silver at the bottom."

He saw, he coveted, he took, he buried.

joshua 9: ¹⁴ The men of Israel looked them over and accepted the evidence. But they didn't ask God about it.

They did not ask God about it.

restraints

Oh, to love God and serve God without restraints! What is holding you back, me back from serving God with all we are, all we have? Money, debt, doubt, fear or what other's expect (all of these and the list goes on and on)????

Easter

Mark 15:^{40 -41}There were women watching from a distance, among them Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of the younger James and Joses, and Salome. When Jesus was in Galilee, these women followed and served him, and had come up with him to Jerusalem.

^{42 -45}Late in the afternoon, since it was the Day of Preparation (that is, Sabbath eve), Joseph of Arimathea, a highly respected member of the Jewish Council, came. He was one who lived expectantly, on the lookout for the kingdom of God. Working up his courage, he went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate questioned whether he could be dead that soon and called for the captain to verify that he was really dead. Assured by the captain, he gave Joseph the corpse.

^{46 -47}Having already purchased a linen shroud, Joseph took him down, wrapped him in the shroud, placed him in a tomb that had been cut into the rock, and rolled a large stone across the opening. Mary Magdalene and Mary, mother of Joses, watched the burial.

calluses

Deut. 30: God, your God, will cut away the thick calluses on your heart and your children's hearts, freeing you to love God, your God, with your whole heart and soul and live, really live. God, your God, will put all these curses on your enemies who hated you and were out to get you.

^{8 -9} And you will make a new start, listening obediently to God, keeping all his commandments that I'm commanding you today. God, your God, will outdo himself in making things go well for you: you'll have babies, get calves, grow crops, and enjoy an all-around good life. Yes, God will start enjoying you again, making things go well for you just as he enjoyed doing it for your ancestors.

¹⁰ But only if you listen obediently to God, your God, and keep the commandments and regulations written in this Book of Revelation. Nothing halfhearted here; you must return to God, your God, totally, heart and soul, holding nothing back.

we have a lady in our church that had foot surgery....where the dr. removed some calluses. she is 80 years old and who knows how old the calluses are.... who knows how long she has walked with them. she finally got to the point that they caused her so much pain that she had to "deal" with them the right way and have surgery to remove them. i am sure if she would have gotten them removed months before, years before, the surgery would have been easier to recover from and walking much less painful.

sin is just like that. we do "it" and walk on taking it with us, when all along we need surgery..... the longer we put off the repentance, the easier we think dragging the sin becomes...until one day........ we no longer need a simple procedure...... we now need major surgery. not to repair the heart, but to get a new one.

the curse, the confusion, the contrariness

Deut. 28:20 "God will send The Curse, The Confusion, The Contrariness down on everything you try to do until you've been destroyed and there's nothing left of you—all because of your evil pursuits that led you to abandon me."

Father, I see my sin. I know my mistakes. My past haunts me, my present feels numb, and my future makes me scared. I know You want to use us. I know you want to use Me. I need a clean slate, a new start. I give you my past and I say I am sorry for letting you down, for not following your will and way. I have forgotten what repentance truly is. Show me again. Give me feelings of joy in replace of this numbness. Help me to love when I don't want to love, to be friendly when I just want to not be noticed. Forgive the lack of faith for today and the future. Don't over look it. I need Your help! Father God, I need You to show up and show out in ways that I can't image. I really want to see you working in Me.

heart, eyes, ears

Lord, bless me with an understanding heart, perceptive eyes, and attentive ears.

Deut. 25:3 "If the guilty one deserves punishment, the judge will have him prostrate himself before him and lashed as many times as his crime deserves, but not more than forty. If you hit him more than forty times, you will degrade him to something less than human."

They must have known this by having done this to someone before.

dependable God

Deut. 7:9 "God, your God, is God indeed, a God you can depend upon. He keeps his covenant of loyal love with those who love him and observe his commandments for a thousand generations."