Messenger Moments

1st Corinthians 10:12 NIV

     Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 

     Christians are under attack worldwide! Sometimes I think we forget how downright deceitful Satan is in his quest to undermine everything related to our walk with Christ. The landmines he sets are becoming more frequent as our time on earth draws to a close. When he has done everything he can to cause us to sin, he attacks this little member of our body called the tongue. 

     Speaking personally, it doesn’t take too much prodding for me to open my mouth and out comes a flood of words that need little interpretation to make me look less like a child of God.

      I have, as do many of you, a disease that has no cure and many unseen symptoms called “open mouth and insert foot disease.” 

God’s word clearly tells us of the power of our diseased tongues.

     James 3:5-8 NIV

     5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

     7 All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and sea creatures are being tamed and have been tamed by mankind, 8 but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.

     I used to think I was alone in this negative “open mouth insert foot” disease but a close Christian friend confessed to having the same deadly poison affect her life.

     God gave us an answer regarding this little member in 1 Corinthians 10:12. We need to be very careful when speaking with others lest we look more like our enemy, Satan than our Savior Jesus Christ.

     Remember to ask God for grace when sharing anything that might be misconstrued as being critical or hurtful about anyone especially regarding our Christian brothers and sisters.

     “Father God, help me to think and pray before I speak out about others lest I be misunderstood and cause negative feels about you and my own Christianity.”

Amen and Amen

A Christian’s Personal Account

By A. Jennings

     We often wonder why God walks us through things in our life that we’d prefer never to experience. These past ten months have been that type of experience for me.

     On July 14, 2024, I lost my second son, this time to multiple illnesses that attacked his system and eventually resulted in his death from Sepsis. Geoff was more than a son, he was my brother-in-Christ, a walk we had shared for several years. He was my partner in beginning a Christian website, Mygospelmessenger.com.

     Less than a month after his death, as I turned from doing my makeup, I heard and felt a slight pop in my left knee but since I experienced no pain, I thought nothing more of it at the time.

     For the next few weeks, I was consumed with the details of Geoff’s passing and a church project for a Fall ladies' bible study. However, in late August, I began having a difficult time walking because of debilitating pain in the left knee.

     After several weeks of hobbling around with my cane I’d “had it” with the pain and “gave up” and went to a local Emergency Room where, after extensive testing, I was diagnosed with Arthritis and a possible fracture of my tibia and was dismissed with instructions to visit an Orthopedic surgeon if the pain did not go away in a week or two.

     No way was I waiting for two more weeks of the intense pain I had already experienced, so I made an appointment with a surgeon who took x-rays, said it was Arthritis, injected the knee with cortisone and sent me home with instructions to return if the pain did not go away.

     Not waiting for the pain to "go away” I made an appointment with an Arthritis Specialist who finally said, “this does not sound like arthritis to me, let’s do an MRI.” The MRI results showed a fracture of the head of my tibia in my left knee. Back to the Ortho who said, “surgery” but only a “partial left knee”.

     Next came a visit for a second opinion where I was told that “surgery is indicated, but since 8 weeks have gone by, and your pain has subsided due to the fracture healing, you could wait to see if the arthritis gets worse.

     It did, and in January 2025 I returned to the Orthopedic surgeon who gave me the second opinion and scheduled a “total knee surgery” on March 3rd.

     My surgery went well. But two bouts of severe drops in my blood pressure after the surgery. After my dismissal came two trips to the Emergency Room that culminated in an admission for dehydration and an acute bacterial infection requiring 10 days of IV therapy, which saw me being dismissed from a rehab center on April 17, 2025.

     Throughout all of this my Christian friends and relatives kept up prayers for me and my recovery. What they could not do was see the fellowship I desperately needed and missed. 

     I write all of this to show how experiencing many months of a non-life-threatening illness can take you away from the physical companionship of other Christians. 

     Having been a part of a Homebound Ministry, I never understood how important it was to the excellent Christian and non-Christian souls that I visited with fruits, treats and Christian literature. 

     In addition to visiting with Christian encouragement and literature, we established contacts with service groups that we could refer interested individuals and family members to for any other type of healthcare or personal need they might have.

     Homebound Ministry is indeed an outreach organization of our churches and a ministry to those in need of encouragement, hope, love, and compassion. Something we all need. If not now…sooner or later.

Matthew 25:36 NIV

35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

     When I was a little boy, we used to have our family reunions and vacations down at my grandfather's cottage beside Carancahua Bay, near Palacios, Texas. It was a sleepy, little spot that smelled like shrimp 24/7. We would seine for shrimp early in the morning, fish for speckled trout and redfish during the day, and go floundering at night. Wonderful memories, all!

     My maternal granddad was the most influential adult in my life as I grew up. One day he said to me, "I want to explain something to you." And he used a big word I had never heard before: erosion. The bank that dropped off into the bay was continually being eaten away by the pounding waves and rainy weather. We walked over near the edge, and he measured a certain distance from that point to where the bank dropped off down to the water. He drove a stake into the ground. "You're going to be here next summer," he told me, "and we'll measure this again then."

     When I came back the next summer there had been two hurricanes, several super-high tides, and rough waters. Eight inches were gone from the bank. I would never have noticed if we hadn't measured it. I think the next year he wrote me and said, "Twelve inches dropped off this year."

     No one I've worked with in ministry who has fallen morally sat on the side of his bed one morning and thought, Let's see, now, how can I ruin my life? How can I implode my reputation? Erosion doesn't happen like that. It is always silent; it is always slow; it is always subtle. But its final blow is always severe.

     Paul's words to the Corinthians haunt me, as well as challenge me: "Let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall" (1 Corinthians 10:12). He goes on to write, "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man" (10:13). Even the apostle Paul back in the first century lived with the horrible possibility that after even he had preached to others, he might disqualify himself (9:27). All of us who preach must remember his solemn warning.

     Every day is a day I could begin the fall. Every day is a day I could choose to compromise . . . secretly, subtly, and silently. And the public would never know it . . . not then. But I would know it. Those close to me would someday begin to sense it, but the world at large wouldn't know it until the final implosion.

     I regularly evaluate my life. I measure the depth of my devotion to Jesus to discern if any commitment has eroded. My daily time with God is good for that. Driving around town in my pickup is also an excellent opportunity for self-appraisal. And of course, the Lord's Table was designed for such self-examination. Whenever I find that erosion has occurred, I refuse to justify it or ignore it. I begin the hard work of repentance and renewal.

     Take a moment to examine your life. Are there areas where subtle erosion has begun to occur? What measurements can you put in place to detect it early?

Insight for Living Ministries

The Bible-Teaching Ministries of Pastor Chuck Swindoll 

By Oswald Chambers 

                    MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST DEVOTIONAL

     They said, “Rabbi . . . , where are you staying?” “Come,” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went . . . and they spent that day with him. — John 1:38-39

     Some of us never spend more than a day with Jesus before our worries and self-interest come flooding in. We break our fellowship with the Lord, imagining that it is impossible to abide in him when circumstances are hard. We have to learn that there is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus.

     “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (John 1:42). God writes our new name in the places where he has erased our pride and self-sufficiency. Some of us have the new name only in spots—like spiritual chicken pox. When we have our best spiritual mood on, we act like saints. But don’t look at us when we’re not in that mood!

     Disciples are those who have the new name written all over them. Their pride and self-sufficiency have been completely erased.  Pride is the deification of self, but there are many forms of pride. Today, many of us are prideful not like the Pharisee, who was obsessed with his own virtue, but like the tax collector, who was so humble he “would not even look up to heaven” (Luke 18:13). To say “Oh, I’m no saint” sounds humble to human ears, but humility before people may be unconscious blasphemy before God. It means that you think God can’t make you righteous, that you’re so weak and hopeless the atonement can’t reach you.

     Why aren’t you righteous? Either you don’t want to be or you don’t think God can accomplish it. There would be no problem, you say, if God had taken you to heaven the instant you were saved. That is just what he will do! “My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). Make no excuses. Let Jesus be everything, and he will take you home with him not only for a day but for always.

FURTHER READING: Ezra 3-5; John 20

Wisdom from Oswald
There is no condition of life in which we cannot abide in Jesus. We have to learn to abide in Him wherever we are placed.  

By Oswald Chambers 

                    MY UTMOST FOR HIS HIGHEST

     No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them. — John 6:44

     When God draws me, the issue of my will comes in at once. Will I react to the revelation he has given me? Will I come to him? It’s a question of obeying, not of ruminating and discussing.

     Never discuss with anyone when God speaks; discussion on spiritual matters is an impertinence. Belief isn’t an intellectual act; it’s a moral act in which I deliberately commit myself to him. Will I hand myself over entirely to God and act on what he says? If I will, I’ll find that I am based on a reality that is as sure as his throne.

     When you preach the gospel, always push the issue of will. Make it clear to your listeners that belief must be the will to believe, that there must be a surrender of the will. Each of us must deliberately launch forth on God and on what he says until we’re no longer confident in what we’ve done, only in him. What holds most of us back is that we won’t trust God, only our own understanding.

     As far as feelings go, I must put them to the side, staking everything blindly on what God says. I must will myself to believe, and this can never be done without a violent effort on my part to break with all my old ways of looking at things and then to hand myself over to him.

     Each one of us is made to reach out beyond our grasp. It is God who draws me, and my relationship with him is first and foremost a personal one, not an intellectual one. I’m introduced into this relationship by the miracle of God and by my own will to believe. Only later do I begin to get an intelligent appreciation and understanding of the wonder of our transaction. 

Reference: Micah 6-7 & Revelation 13

By Anne Jennings

AND THE GOD OF EVERLASTING LIFE

     Where was God when an American Airlines passenger Jet collided midair with a Military helicopter on a training mission at busy Ronald Regan National Airport near Washington, D.C? 

OR

     Where was God when a Jet Rescue Air Ambulance medical flight dropped like a rock onto the streets of Philadelphia less than a week later? 

Sixty-nine souls were taken that evening near D.C. and seven souls were taken that evening in Philadelphia.

Psalm 139:16 NIV

Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book.

     In my lifetime numerous mass disasters have occurred around the world. From airplane crashes to fiery explosions, to tornado’s, floods, earthquakes and typhoons.

     A question that, at times, has haunted me with restless nights and, at times, has sent me searching for answers from scripture and fervent prayer. 

     Why so many deaths in one place at the same time?

     This can only be a Godly miracle He has performed to gather so many souls together to take to Heaven or send to Hell to await judgment for denying His Son Jesus Christ entrance into their hearts and lives.

Luke 12:7 NIV
 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. 

     It’s true hundreds and thousands of souls pass each day into life everlasting in heaven with God the Father, Jesus His Son, and countless saintly souls, or they have gone to await God’s final judgment in a place called Hell.

     As Christian Believers, we know God is the God of disasters and that He is also The God of Love and Forgiveness. How brokenhearted He must be to watch so many souls live their final moments on earth end with no hope of reconciliation.

Matthew 10:29 NKJV

Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 

     Where was God when disaster struck last week? Where will God be when the next mass disaster strikes? He will be welcoming believers' home, He will be comforting their loved ones on their loss, He will be sorrowing over lost  souls, and whispering to their loved ones….I am here. I sent my son to die that you might live. You still have time!

17:26-27 NIV

From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us.

Amen and Amen

By Anne Jennings

     Roaches are nasty creatures; I know because I’ve fought the battle. When my boys were in grade school, we rented several homes that came equipped with roaches as uninvited guests. Each home supplied a huge army of these loathsome creatures.

     Nighttime was our “guests” favorite time to roam in kitchen cupboards, underneath the sink, and sometimes be seen climbing the walls of our dining room.

     Their roach attack was a 24-hour onslaught of epic proportions despite professional exterminators and my ever-present can of Raid. It was a losing battle had by all. Fortunately, I didn’t respond to the drastic measures heard about on our local news. It seems one man was so determined to rid his home of a spider, he killed it with a blow torch….in the process burning down his whole house. LOL

     As Oswald Chambers writes in his January 27 devotional “My Utmost for His Highest.” “The cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things…..will choke all God puts in. We are never free from the recurring tides.” He continued that it comes in the line of the clothes we wear, the food we eat, money or lack thereof, friends or lack of friends, and even the difficult circumstances of life itself. “It’s one thing after another.”

     If we allow these “roaches of encroachment” to overcome us, we will allow the Spirit of God to be silenced in our Christian life just as the returning waves of the Red Sea silenced Pharaoh and his army.

     Jesus knows our circumstances better than we do! Dear children, do not let your life circumstances become the primary concern of your life.

     Here is what God says in our Bible, His words to us.

Matthew 6:25 says, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Matthew 6: 34 ESV

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Luke 12:24 NIV

Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!

     In other words, keep your mind focused on Jesus, your study of related scriptures, a quiet prayer time, fellowship with Christian friends, church-related activities, and thoughts of Heaven…your eternal home.

Amen and Amen

By Anne Jennings

       Conversion is a mental decision affecting behavioral changes in someone while regeneration is a new birth. It is spiritual, holy, and heavenly and results in a person being made alive spiritually. This is salvation. 

     To be saved you must first be lost. Paul wrote to the Romans that a simple acknowledgment of God is not enough. James 2:19 tells us that even demons believe in God!

James 2:19 ESV You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder!

     In his January 10th devotional, Oswald Chambersl says, “conversion is not regeneration. This is one factor neglected in our preaching today….People register their vows, and sign their pledges, and determine to go through, but none of this is salvation.”

     Salvation means we are brought to a place where we seek Jesus Christ’s forgiveness and remission of our sins. 

     An Open Windows January 10th 2025 devotional tells the story of a six-year-old boy who told his parents that he wanted to be saved and baptized. Imagine their concern and many questions. They decided to schedule a meeting with their minister to confirm that their son was indeed serious about salvation.

     At the meeting, their son successfully answered all of the pastor’s questions regarding salvation. The pastor had one final question for the young man. “Young man are you a sinner seeking salvation?” With tears of sorrow the young man answered, “yes!”

     Even at the age of six, God’s Holy Spirit had convicted this young man that he needed to seek God’s forgiveness for sins and repent.

     Our Bible contains many examples of God’s standard for regeneration. It is only through the call of God’s Holy Spirit that we are invited to surrender our lives to Christ, repent of our sins, be baptized and thus receive salvation and eternal life.

Matthew 22:14 ESV

14 For many are called, but few are chosen.”

     Everyone has ears to hear the gospel message; through creation, the conscience, or the preaching of the Word. But only a “few” will respond because they are the ones who are truly listening and hearing God’s call. They are the ones who have a heart open to respond to the Spirit’s calling.

     No one by his or her own decision decides to surrender their life and give their all to Jesus Christ. There must first be a calling by God’s Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 1:3-5

3 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,

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love

5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

     When we respond to the call of God’s Holy Spirit we deliberately give up our right of ourself to Jesus Christ. This is the regeneration of our soul. This is salvation.

Amen and Amen

By Anne Jennings, www.MyGospelMessenger.com 

     I was recently studying about Anna the Prophetess in John Macarthur’s “Twelve Extraordinary Women.” It occurred to me how God’s Holy Spirit causes people, places, and things to happen just-in-time. 

Luke 2:36-38 reads as follows:

36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.

38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

     John Macarthur says: “The scene is the same one we left near the end of our previous chapter. Simeon had just picked up the infant Jesus and pronounced a prophetic blessing on Him.” “In that instant, Luke says, Anna happened by and immediately understood what was going on and who Christ was.” Yet it seems unlikely that Simeon and Anna’s paths had ever crossed. 

     Dr. Macarthur describes the temple in this way.  “Herod’s temple was a massive building, and the temple complex was huge, surrounded by a courtyard with thousands of people milling around at almost any given time. Joseph and Mary did not know Simeon, but by God’s providence and through the sovereign direction of His Spirit, He had brought them together (v.27). At that very instant, Just while Simeon was blessing the child…the Spirit of God providentially led this elderly woman to a place where she was within earshot”.

     How often has this happened throughout the course of the history of creation? How often does it happen today? Quite often, I would say, “It is how God’s Holy Spirit has operated in every way since the beginning of time. That is why there is no such thing as coincidence."

     Anna had been praying and fasting for many long years, perhaps as many as 64. She had been fervently praying that Messiah would come. Now, He had come. He had been miraculously born to a carpenter and his wife in the small, little-known town of Bethlehem. Anna could tell everyone she would meet from that moment until she died that Messiah had come.

     Simeon had been promised to not see death until he saw Messiah.

Luke 2:25-26  And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ." as he did that day in the temple.

     Can you remember a time when you were operating on Holy Spirit Time? When some event occurred that “never in a million years” could happen to you, but it did, “just in time”? Perhaps the event saved your life or a loved one’s life? Perhaps something happened in your life or a total stranger’s life, perhaps it was filmed, and your only comment when you saw it was to say, “No way that could ever happen?”  My Friend, That’s God’s Holy Spirit at work!

Amen and Amen    

Romans 8:28 NIV

     28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

     Recently, while editing a book for my husband, I found a couple of paragraphs that I personally need to firmly implant in my heart and mind.

     So, I thought I would pass them on to my family in Christ. Because of everything that is going on with each of us, storms hitting the East Coast, wars and threats of wars, and worldwide political unrest. I was led to share them.

     It is impossible to remain a pessimist if God’s children firmly believe the following in their hearts: “You know best in everything that You permit as You are sovereign. I believe in Romans 8:28 that all things work together for good for those who love You and are called according to Your purpose.

     Help me to look away from life’s events, put them into Your loving hands, and leave them there.”

     “Please give me the heart of Job and Peter. Without Your help, I will not have the strength to look at You, dear Lord, instead of the turbulent waters of this life’s journey. I need to trust You and Your will and believe that You know best no matter what.

     Help me be an optimist who consistently remembers that You are God Almighty, the Sovereign Ruler of the universe; therefore, nothing happens other than what You permit or cause.

     You have promised to turn things for Your children eventually into good, no matter how impossible or painful they seem. Help me look at the big picture, in which You are in charge, not the present temporary picture painted with the colors of my concerns and fears. Help me to be controlled by Your Holy Spirit.”

Kathryn

Matthew 11:28 NKJV

28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

     Christians often talk about a “come to Jesus Moment.” This means that God’s Holy Spirit has spoken to their heart and that they realize how empty, hollow, and needy they are without Christ for the first time in their lives.

     The bubbling up of God’s Holy Spirit in your life often reveals Himself when you are abandoned to Christ.

     As I've come to understand it, abandonment is not a one-time event. It's a daily commitment, a continuous act of giving our all to Jesus Christ. This act of surrender is not in vain, for being used by Him is not only for our good but also for His divine purposes.

     In 2011, I embarked on a journey to purchase a new car. My son, being the helpful soul he is, assisted me in researching vehicles and their safety records. He even went the extra mile to contact dealers throughout the Phoenix area. After setting up a meeting with a salesman, I was ready to visit and purchase my new car. But before I even started the engine, I offered up the vehicle for God’s work, a symbolic act of surrender to His will in my life. 

     I recently came across a profound thought: As Christians, we cannot consecrate our possessions to God. It's a paradox, isn't it? How can we give away something that is not ours to give? When we give our hearts and lives to Jesus, our hearts are the only thing we have a right to give. Everything else, our possessions, our wealth, our time, all belong to Him. This, my friends, is our true and proper worship.

     Romans 12:1 NIV

    12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters givenf God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

     It is God who engineers our circumstances, both the good and the bad. Why? His purposes are for our growth as Christians and His glory.

     Never have the mistaken idea that we are human pawns in God’s hand to do with as He pleases. We show the love of Christ by living our lives in close harmony with Him. We are not human experiments. We are living examples of Christ’s love.

     These words from the hymn “Only Trust Him” say it all.

           Come every soul by sin oppressed there’s mercy with the Lord

           And He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word

          Only trust Him, Only trust Him, Only trust Him now,

          He will save you, He will save you, He will save You Now

Amen and Amen

Luke 11:9-10 ESV

9 And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.

     In my morning devotional by Oswald Chambers, he asked this question. “Have you ever sought God with your whole heart, or have you only given a languid (half-hearted) cry to Him after a twinge of moral neuralgia (nerve pain)?” 

     If your answer is yes, make this your daily prayerful commitment to God.

     If your answer is no, it’s probably because you have too many earthly concerns and crises that detract from your wholehearted devotion to God.

     When my mother lay dying more than 2,000 miles from a conference, I was attending in Miami, FL., she had my sister telephone me so she could say goodbye. After a tearful goodbye, Mom said, “I’m so scared, I haven’t lived a good life.” She knew that she would soon meet God, and she was simply not ready to be under the microscope of God’s judgment of her Christian life. 

     How about you? Are you ready?

     Knowledge of our impending death should strike the “fear of God” in our Christian hearts. My mother was totally aware that she would soon meet God. Are you aware that you're standing at the edge of eternity every moment of every day?

     Are you desiring less of your own selfish desires and more of God? Oswald Chambers say, "“are you asking God for things from life instead of desiring more God?” Then you ask amiss!

    Turn to God this very moment and tell Him you desire more of Him. Make this a day of total commitment to Him.

Amen and Amen

John 17:21 NIV

20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message.

21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

     Father Tim, an Episcopal priest in author Jan Karon’s Mitford Series is one of the novel’s colorful residents. Throughout the series he says that the prayer that never fails is “Thy will be done.”

     The Bible tells us that God designs our circumstances for our own good. No one enjoys a trial. I can say amen to that. However, trials, once they are over, either make us more like Jesus, or leave us self-centered and useless to our Father God. The difference depends on whether we rely on God's word and prayer to see us through or try to "fake it and make it on our own."

     Today’s morning devotional by Oswald Chambers cites OC's statement: “God is not concerned about our plans…..He allows these things for His purpose.” After all, we are created with certain gifts and talents that God has planned to use in His time and for His purpose.

     Acts 17: 24-25 NIV “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.

     25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else.

   Psalm 139:13, 16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
    16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 

     I own an excellent CD that I often play as I navigate the speedways of Phoenix, AZ (yes, I have a CD player in my 2012 KIA) that the BTC (Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir) sings as a prayer a song called “Use Me Lord." The song's lyrics speak of the desire of Christians to be used by The Lord. Every time I listen to this hymn to God, I am moved spiritually because it speaks to the spiritual desire of my heart, which is to be used by God.

     Our bodies are much the same as jars of clay. Vessels used for God’s purposes but only after Our Master has shaped and formed us. Do any of us enjoy this “shaping” process on the wheel of life? Certainly not! But Jesus prayed to His Father for all of us to be just like Him in John 17:20-21.

     Whatever your current circumstances and God's plan for you as He turns the potter's wheel…know that He is forming you to be MORE LIKE JESUS. Yield to His forming of your vessel by prayer and the study of His Word. The result is that you will become a beacon of light that shines with His love to the unsaved in our troubled world.

Recommended Reading John 17 

Amen and Amen

2 Corinthians 4:8-11 ESV

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair

9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 

     “Do I manifest the essential sweetness of the Son of God, or the essential irritation of “myself” apart from Him?”

     Oswald Chambers asked this question of his students in the early 20th century.

     As believers in Jesus Christ, we were “saved to serve.” Not all of us are preachers, teachers, or missionaries in God’s fertile field, but we are representatives of Christ manifesting His word in our flesh.

     We are living examples of Christ. Do we whine and struggle with our lot in life, or do we obey God as examples of His saving Grace? Whenever you experience a disturbance of your spirit, pray this prayer immediately: Father God, help me to do your will in this matter. I praise and thank you for your help.

1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV says.

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

     Let’s stop wallowing in the cesspool of self-pity and be delighted to obey God as His earthly examples.

     First and foremost, let your light shine before men so that they can catch a glimpse of your Heavenly Father and give Glory to Him.

Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden

15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Amen and Amen