We have all to find our niche in life, and spiritually we find it when we receive our ministry from the Lord.
From Acts 20:24: “But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.”
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917) was a Scottish evangelist and Christian teacher. Following his death from an illness while in Egypt during World War I, his wife took on the task of transcribing the detailed notes she had written from his lectures and sermons. Gertrude Hobbs Chambers’ efforts resulted in the publication in 1924 of MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST. I frequently read from this devotional, and it has greatly deepened my faith and understanding of God’s Word.
Man’s mind is not a container to be filled but rather a fire to be kindled.
From Colossians 3:23-24: “Whatever task you must do, work as if your soul depends on it, as for the Lord and not for humans, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ.”
Dorothea Brande (1893-1948) was an American writer and editor. From the 1920s and 1930s, her most sustaining works deal with beginning any writing enterprise.
From Ephesians 1:4-5: “Just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love. He destined us for adoption as His children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will.”
From 1 Corinthians 13:4-6: “Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing but rejoices in the truth.”
Because God love us, we can trust how He wants to shape our lives.
From Isaiah 45:9: “Woe to those who strive with their Maker,earthen vessels with the potter! Does the clay say to the one who fashions it, ‘What are you making’?or ‘Your work has no handles’?”
Dry, parched farmland stretches for endless miles. Tender wheat sprouts are beginning to wither under early June’s hottest sun. Will rain arrive in time to save this year’s crop?
At the intersection of two country roads sits a small, wood-framed church. The location is called Fertile Prairie, which seems appropriate with the scattered farms up and down either road.
Today the church gathers farmers and their families. They have been assembling daily to join as one voice in prayer. Their petitions focus on God’s faithfulness. According to His plans, in time He will release nature’s rain-filled drink for their wilting fields.
While prayers continue to be lifted from the inside of the church, dark clouds are filling the outside sky. Will they finally bring the Lord’s blessed rain?
At first, a few drops find the parched ground. More follow in unison until a steady, grace-filled rain is watering the fields.
Outside the church stands six-year old Tommy. He has been waiting outside and smiling at the darkening clouds. His young heart feels joy as the rain begins to nourish the land.
Inside the church, the assembly hears the falling rain. They gather at the door to look out. Smiles, filled with hope, share praises to the Lord.
They realize that Tommy is standing under an umbrella. He is the only person who brought an umbrella. This young boy has never wavered in his own faithfulness.
Tommy’s mother asks him, “What on earth caused you to bring an umbrella today?”
Tommy confidently replies, “Last night during my prayers, God reminded me to bring an umbrella. Never doubting, I made sure that I brought one today.”
This series of poems (written in the German-inspired style of Elfchen or Elevenie) shares a total of eleven words in each poem, with a sequence by line of one, two, three, four, and one words.
I love you, Lord, not doubtingly, but with absolute certainty. Your Word beat upon my heart until I fell in love with you, and now the universe and everything in it tells me to love you.
From Ephesians 1:3-4: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love.”
Welsh-born Methodist preacher William Williams (1717-1791) wrote the inspiring lyrics of the hymn, “Guide Me Ever, Great Redeemer.” When one hears the verses, it is easy to appreciate his nickname, “Watts of Wales.” Some translations of the hymn are titled “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah.”
Why does God lead us through desert places? That He might humble us, that He might test us, and that the true condition of our hearts might be revealed. There’s nothing like the desert to help you discover the real you.
From Ephesians 4:21-24: “For surely you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as truth is in Jesus, to put away your former way of life, your old self, corrupt and deluded by its lusts, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to clothe yourselves with the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.”
Big Sky Buckeye 