He is All Knowing

Psalm 139:1-6 (NLT)
For the Choir Director:  A Psalm of David.

"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.  You know when I sit down or stand up.  You know my thoughts even when I’m far away.  You see me when I travel and when I rest at home.  You know everything I do.  You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

You go before me and follow me.  You place your hand of blessing on my head.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!"

 

How reassuring it is to know that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our God, cares about every single thing we do!  He has examined our hearts and He knows everything about us.  Everything--the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of our life.  Even when we are filthy in sin He stays with us.  He promises to never, ever leave us or forsake us.  What does that mean?  He won't turn His back on us when we disappoint Him, as we are so easily prone to do to others that have hurt us.  He won't abandon, discard, or disown us.  We belong to Him!  He treasures us.  He longs for us to know Him.

 

He knows our past and our future.  He is always with us.  Why?  Because He loves us!  To Him, we are His greatest workmanship.  We were not meant to be away from Him.  Until the fall of man, He enjoyed walking with His creation in the cool of the morning.  He took care in creating us, being delicate and deliberate. He crafted our brains to be so complex man will probably never figure out its detailed workings, yet He knows even our most inner thoughts! 

 

He has blessed us!  We are His children.  Sit back and take that in.  Just breathe it in, you are loved by the Most High God!  You are cared for by the Author of Salvation.  Bask in His glory for a while today and let Him know how grateful you are for His goodness!

 

 

Faith and Obedience

Hello dear Reader,

Each morning I read several devotions. Today one quoted 2 John 6.

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." (NIV)

The devotion* goes on to say, "If you've made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you've already taken the first step of obedience." 1 Corinthians 12:3b (Voice) says, "...and no one confessing “Jesus is Lord” can do so without the Holy Spirit’s inspiration."

Faith follows the same suit.  If you change the word 'obedience' in the last paragraph to 'faith' it reads, “If you’ve made Jesus Christ the Lord of your life, you’ve already taken the first step of faith.”

The day I gave my life to Jesus was one of the most emotional days I ever had. When the Holy Spirit started calling me, and I stopped what I was doing and listened, the urge to turn my life over to Jesus became so great I couldn't resist it.  I almost literally ran down the aisle during that altar call only 4 days shy of 30 years ago. 

A week had gone by since the very first time I heard those words, the words that formed the most beautiful invitation my heart could receive.  I resisted on that particular day because I was filled with religion and its laws.  But during the week that followed, my heart yearned more and more for Sunday to come again so that I could answer the call.  All week I was thinking about that invitation to ask Jesus into my heart to be my Lord and Master. I had never been asked such things before.  My upbringing in my former religion held me back from receiving the gift of salvation a week earlier.  Being born again wasn't something I was taught, so I knew absolutely nothing about it. I shudder to think where I would be if I had died that week before asking Jesus into my heart.

I always believed in the Trinity, and that Jesus came to earth as a human and died for us. I learned that at a very young age, so I had absolutely no doubt it was true.  It was faith--believing without seeing; and believing with all my heart.  Jesus says in John 20:29b NKJV, "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."  Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

It requires faith to give your life to Christ.  So we must spiritually accept and understand in a way that our hearts cannot deny, but instead needs more than anything else, to pursue.  This is our greatest faith.  We believe without seeing, and we 'run to the altar' without a second thought. 

The enemy has never wanted this day to come, so he has helped you sin by temptation as often and as long as he could.  You kicked him in the teeth the day you were born again.

The devotion says that when you accepted Christ as your Savior you took the first step of obedience.  That still small voice inside you kept calling, and each time, your heart beat with a yearning and desire to answer the call.  And when you did, when you couldn't say "not now" any longer, you obeyed the Spirit of God.

Was it difficult?  Not for me.  As I said, I almost ran up the aisle.  And as I gave my life to Jesus that day, as I recited the Sinner's Prayer (also called the Prayer of Salvation), the joy in my heart poured out in uncontrollable sobs.  What was empty in my life became filled with the love and forgiveness of God!  It was by far the most incredibly emotional and spiritual day of my life.

I confess that over the last 30 years my faith has wavered and I wasn't always obedient.  Since that Sunday morning on June 14, 1987, the enemy has attacked again and again, sometimes causing me to doubt many things.  That's his main objective--to cripple the Christian and make us doubt God's love for us or that we are precious in His sight.  Satan will tempt us into doing or saying things that will make non-believers have a very poor opinion of Christians.

Though there have been times of great struggle, God has kept His hand on my life.  He has shown me many things, and brought so much joy to my life there aren’t words to tell you. He gave me the armor that defeats the enemy.  He reminded me that faith will carry me through the valleys up on to the peak of the great mountain where the view is magnificent.  I trust that He will always be by my side, that He will never desert me.

We must be vigilant, my dear brothers and sisters, and keep in mind how we 'ran to the altar' without trepidation or doubt, or second guessing, or analyzing our feelings.  We really can have faith in all situations and be obedient.  We just need to remember the first time we did it.  It was so easy and proved to be the most significant moment in our lives. It was the moment that gave us eternity with our Father!

* From Faith to Faith by Kenneth and Gloria Copeland  

It's a New Day, Dear Readers!

I am back after a long season of being away.  My life was in turmoil for a good part of 2016.  I had some physical challenges as well as some very hard emotional challenges.  In March, the pain of losing our unborn granddaughter at 28 weeks tore at my heart like nothing I had known before.  The sorrow I felt for my daughter and son-in-law was all consuming, but I had to put it aside in order to help out with taking care of Makayla Grace, their now 4-year old.  

I had extensive oral surgery in May, and one week later I contracted Shingles.  By the end of the year I had lost my desire to write, and my faith was greatly tested.  I doubted God's presence in my life, and I struggled to believe that I would ever write again. I couldn't see the point, and I felt as though there was no reward.  By the time 2016 ended, my hope was just about gone. I was feeling pretty down and useless.  On top of that, I gained eight pounds which doesn't work on my small-framed body. That in itself depressed me.

On 1 January, my church of almost 30 years, Grace Christian Center in Killeen, TX, began its third annual 21-day Daniel Fast.  This is a time to eat only fruit and nuts, veggies and seeds, and only drink water.  There are no sweeteners, caffeine, breads or desserts, chemicals or preservatives, meat, fish, or fowl.  More importantly though, it is a time to pray and draw closer to God.  When we deny our flesh the things it craves, such as ice cream, coffee, steak and potatoes, pizza, or any other foods we desire, a battle ensues over the flesh. 

After the third day of headaches from withdrawals of the above mentioned delicacies, it gets a little easier. I found I wanted to spend as much time with God as possible.  Some days I sat in my office and read and studied the bible for hours on end. It's true that meditating on the Word brings you closer to God.  As the days and weeks went by, I found myself being filled with joy once again.

In those times when I starve the flesh and stay in the Word of God, my heart's ears are opened and I hear so much more clearly what God is speaking to me.  It will work this way for you too. As my body was cleansed of impurities, so my soul was filled with the Bread of Life. 

Since the beginning of the year, God's message, whether through my Pastor's sermons, devotions that I read, or studies that I attended, was very simple.  Listen and obey.  That's all.  Don't procrastinate, do!  I had to go back to remembering what it was that God put me here to do.  He blessed me with certain gifts.  His plan for me is to reach as many of His children as possible and to share the Good News of the Gospel through my writing.  Jesus lives! He reigns! He is eternal and He loves us!

Let me encourage you today to listen and obey without delay.  We have no need to fear, He is ever by our side.  I am happy to be back at my keyboard and being with you once again. I may change up the format of my blog, but I won't change the purpose - to be His representative.  Have a blessed and grateful day, and know that you are loved by Your Creator.

Deirdre

The End of the Day

The evening has arrived in the land.  I hear the birds holding a very busy conversation.  One starts and another finishes, and I wonder what they may be saying.  As dusk encroaches on their banter, are they making plans to see each other tomorrow?  Are they finishing up their day's work before retiring until the sun breaks the twilight and rises from its sleep?

The crickets will soon take over the quiet of the still night air.  Their chirping will awaken the cicadas and an insect party will begin. The owl will fly and the animals of the night will begin their day.

And I will rest in the arms of my beloved once more, peaceful and unaware of the night games.

"The flowers are unfolding in the fields; the birds are warming up their songs, the cooing of the turtledove is heard throughout the land."  Song of Solomon 2:12 Voice

Her Name is Morgan

Her name is Morgan Elizabeth Woods and she is captivatingly beautiful like her mother and older sister. I'm sure her eyes must be blue and clear and deep. Her hair is light brown and curly. Her nose is that sweet little nose that only babies have, and her lips are perfect. I imagine they speak intimate words to God all the time. The day her life began in heaven was a Monday.  Monday's child is fair of face. Yes, that's a sweet way to put it. Fair of face. 

She will never know earth and the beauty of a mountain sunset, or the sun rising over the ocean on a tropical isle. She won't know snowball fights, or competing in a swim meet. She will never have a bath or pull her hair up in a bow. She can't wear frilly dresses and highly shined patent leather shoes on ruffled socks. She won't feel her mother's caress or her father's kiss. She won't play games with her big sister. She'll never swear and she'll never lie, she'll never get caught up in the ways of the world. She went from the womb to heaven.

Each Mother's Day I post something for those Moms that have lost a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, hours or days old, or abortion. I always emphasize that they are Moms, even if there was no other pregnancy in their lifetime. You can read one of those posts here. 

This year, I know what it is like to not meet a grandchild.  I try not to use the term 'lost a baby', because we never lost her, we know exactly where she is - in Heaven, playing with and worshipping the only One she has ever known - Jesus Himself. She was not born, and she didn't die. There is no birth certificate and death certificate, only Morgan Elizabeth Woods, daughter, 21 March 2016.  She was 28 weeks along, 2lbs 13oz, and 16" long when she decided to spend her 'life' with Jesus. She chose to live for eternity instead of being born into a corrupt and sin-filled world.

The fear and pain we felt was tremendous. Our daughter's placenta had separated from her uterus and she hemorrhaged.  Her own life was in grave danger, and here we were almost 500 miles away. The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming.  Although the doctor tried to give Morgan life that day, his efforts were futile. We called our Pastors and asked for some prayer and counseling before we began our long, trusting God-filled ride from Central Texas to Southern Arkansas. We spoke for almost two hours and they filled us up, and gave us encouragement and reminded us that God has a purpose for everything, whether we understand it or not. They comforted us and told us that they were always available to help.

Mary was in ICU and then transferred to Little Rock ICU, three hours away. She was given more blood, plasma, platelets, and saline than I ever knew the body could hold. She was in a good place being well taken care of, and was able to come home on Easter Sunday! Just as our Savior rose that day, so did our hearts soar that He chose that particular day to remind us that life is everlasting for those who believe.

It is heartbreaking to not hold a child you looked forward to knowing. Everyday from when we found out Mary was pregnant, my husband and I each wrote in the book I wrote for her and her three year old daughter, Makayla.  Dear Child of Mine is a devotional for pregnant women to read out loud over their unborn baby. There are 141 different devotions from week 6, Day 1 until Week 41, Day 2, and finally You Are Here! Each day has lines for the mother or grandmother to write her own thoughts and prayers for the baby she being carried.  We wanted this baby to know her grandparents, so we wrote in our own copy each day.

Morgan will never read those words, but they are there for Mary and her husband to read and remember how much Morgan was loved and how much we couldn't wait for her arrival. I wrote funny things, and my husband always called her, 'Little One.'  I hope our words give them comfort for years down the road.

I wish my daughter a Happy Mother's Day from the bottom of my heart.  My Mary has suffered a loss only a mother could feel. I only wish I could take all her pain away.  She is a wonderful Mom to Makayla, and one day she will once again see Morgan.  She will be that beautiful child with the light brown curly hair and cute nose who will be standing with Jesus with a big smile on her face!  She will know Mary, and Mary will recognize her immediately! 

I thank God for His goodness and love.  I thank Him that Morgan's life touched ours, that it was not for nothing. The excitement we felt at another grandbaby was joyful!  I smile even now remembering it. I still smile, although I won't hold her in this world, because I know I will hold her in the next.

For all you Moms that have felt the stabbing pain of not watching your precious child grow up, rest assured that they are in excellent hands, those of our Creator.  They are more alive than we are, and will be forever more! Whether you didn't know your baby or grandchild because of miscarriage, stillbirth, or abortion, you will someday, if you have become born again. So smile in your heart and know that they are in the midst of love so beautiful and strong there are no human words to describe it.

I wish you all a very Happy Mother's Day, and I wish you love and comfort and peace. Your baby is alive!  God bless you and keep you close to His heart. Rely on Him for your answers.

Deirdre