Pay attention to the people God puts in your path if you want to discern what God is up to in your life.
From Romans 8:28: “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to His purpose.”
Henri Nouwen (1932-1996) was a Dutch priest, professor, writer, and theologian.
From Psalm 34:4: I sought the Lord, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.”
In midst of dark wilderness
Lost, yet seeking His cover
Praying for Father’s response
Forgiveness whitens sin’s color
Life’s journey shall remain hard
Moral compass guides each heart
Praising Father’s steadfast love
Shallow hope finds blessed restart
Ember of faith’s glowing light
Mercy shared from Heaven’s voice
Treasuring Father’s wisdom
Holy Spirit guides every choice
Righteousness conquers darkness
His answers more clearly seen
Walking in Father’s refuge
Grace, flowing with truth, intervenes
Rescued from evil’s shadow
Faith growing, no longer crushed
Breathing through Father’s spirit
His Son’s promised peace, never hushed
From Matthew 3:17: “And a voice from the heavens said, ‘This is My Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.'”
The very voices of the night, sounding like the moan of the tempest, may turn out to be the disguised yet tender voices of God.
From Psalm 85:8: “Let me hear what God the Lord will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His faithful, to those who turn to Him in their hearts.”
John Ross MacDuff (1818-1895) was a Scottish pastor and prolific Christian writer.
On our own, we can accomplish nothing. But with God, we have access to power beyond our comprehension.
From John 15:4-5: “Abide in Me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who abide in Me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from Me you can do nothing.”
Think it over. Are you living every day as if it’s your last for His Glory? Do you remain balanced, cheerful, winsome, and stable, anticipating His return?
From 1 Thessalonians 4:16: “For the Lord himself, with a cry of command, with the archangel’s call and with the sound of God’s trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
A man’s obedience is to what he sees to be a need; our Lord’s obedience was to the will of His Father.
From Hebrews 10:9-10: “Then He added, ‘See, I have come to do Your will.’ He abolishes the first in order to establish the second. And it is by God’s will that we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
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.
We act like pagans in a crisis, only one out of a crowd is daring enough to bank his faith in the character of God.
From Luke 9:61-62: “Another said, ‘I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.'”
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.
From Psalm 1:5-6: “Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous, for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”
Time forever witnessed
Gathered in God’s hands
Blessing with His patience
Every minute planned
Given choice of two ways
Passed on wicked’s advice
Choosing God’s righteous path
Grace pays entry’s price
Faith guiding each next step
Called by God to pause
Waiting for His command
Timeless counsel draws
Spirit, water, and blood
Filled with purity
Believing in God’s Son
Hope’s security
Deeply-rooted faith sown
Watered with God’s love
Overcoming darkness
Harvest’s light above
From 1 John 5:6-8: “This is the one who came by water and blood, Jesus Christ, not with the water only but with the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one that testifies, for the Spirit is the truth. There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood, and these three agree.”
From Deuteronomy 10:12: “So now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you? Only to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Facing yet another day
Father’s mercy offers hand
Overcoming each challenge
Solid ground covers sinking sand
Trusting path of wisdom’s light
Father’s Word guides each step
Escaping evil’s darkness
Destined for Calvary’s doorstep
Looking back at long journey
Father’s love fills wayward heart
Trading pride with humbleness
Hope renewing from faith’s restart
Embracing His proven ways
Father’s grace shining ahead
Resisting darkest shadows
Filled with Son’s everlasting bread
Blessing Savior’s righteous road
Father’s sovereignty leads
Offering bridge to follow
Blood of Christ saves each tender reed
From John 14:5-6: “Thomas said to Him, ‘Lord, we do not know where You are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.'”
God’s specialty is bringing renewal to our strength, not reminders of our weakness. Take it by faith.
From Proverbs 3:1-2: “My child, do not forget My teaching, but let your heart keep My commandments, for length of days and years of life and abundant welfare they will give you.”
Big Sky Buckeye 