MORN’N ERRBODY! 2DAYS DEVOTIONAL: MY JOURNEY: I cannot help but ask: How much longer Lord? The start to another work week and I sit here at 430am trying to find that inner peace I need to get going this morning. I do know that four more days and I will be getting some well-deserved time off work. God willing I will be able to leave this hot, flat, desolate place and go away to a place where I can find some physical rest and relaxation in the beauty of Gods handy work. I look forward to having some time with nature and with Sally to enjoy the outdoors and refresh my very broken heart and weary soul. But once again this morning I have to reach down with what little strength I have today and grab yet more broken pieces of me and hand them to the Father. I know from coming thru huge adversities in my past that in time I will be restored AND be at a better place in my daily walk after going through this current phase in my life. I will not, in my frustrations, turn from my God, hide from Him, nor run from Him. I am not perfect and stumble daily, but God’s grace and mercy is extended to me and offers forgiveness, hope and love. I hope , I love, I plead to God , refresh my weary soul today and give me strength for the journey Lord !! I leave you with this quote by Vance Havner: “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” DAILY DEVOTIONAL: Humans are born “bent away” from the Lord. Our natural inclination is to please and serve self, which is the opposite of a Godhonoring lifestyle. When we become believers, our Father begins to bend our will and ways back towards Him. But we must cooperate with Him and yield to the process; otherwise, we are of little use to the kingdom. The Lord wants to eradicate every thought pattern and activity promoting dependency on anything other than Him. This means that relying on oneself to attain security, salvation, or physical and emotional comfort are outside His will. Actions that advance a person at the expense of others are also ungodly. In areas where we resist bending toward the Lord, He may break us by allowing pain into our life. As a result, we are driven to Him in surrender. To break a person may sound harsh, but God does this work in love. He sees beyond the hurt to the outcome—we will be more mature and faithful servants for having walked through trial. And our loving Father takes each hard step with us, offering guidance and comfort. Seeing the benefits He has brought about through my hardships, I can honestly thank Him for every period of brokenness I’ve experienced (Romans 8:28). The truth is that we all have areas of selfishness that need to be bent or broken by God’s hand. When we honestly look inward to discover wrong habits and thought patterns, our heavenly Father will bring them to mind. Then, we must surrender to His work so we can become wise and useful servants. SCRIPTURE FOR 2DAY: 1 Thessalonians 5:21-23 > 21 But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; 22 abstain from every [a]form of evil. 23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Jun 2013 10:32:44 +0000