With God ...
"When
his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus
beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25-26 KJV) I love how the Message puts verse 26: "Jesus looked
hard at them and said, "No chance at all if you think you can pull it off yourself. Every chance
in the world if you trust God to do it."
We try everything
to fix our situations of our own will - then when we finally release it and give it to the Lord isn't it amazing how things
just come together?! It might not be as we expect it, it may take years and it might not even be the way we want it
- but nothing is a surprise to the Lord. He knows every hair on our head.
No matter what you face today that seems impossible, know that everything is possible for the Lord. This does
not mean go out and play a million dollar lottery and think that the Lord will give you the winning ticket! It means
when you face a storm the Lord will see you through it and He will provide all you need. I was thinking about the Hobbs
family from Rock Hill. If you remember she was a teen that was killed in a car wreck by a drunk driver. They had
no insurance so they are faced with an enormous financial burden. They have faced many storms since their daughter was
taken from them, but the Lord just keeps brining people into their lives that are letting His light shine. A gospel
group will be doing a benefit concert to raise money not only for her family but also the family of her passenger
who is also faced with many medical bills. It is not to put them in the spot light. It is to show the love of
the community. It is to show that people can make a difference. Praise Him in the storm. Jesus will provide
a way. His way is the only way.
I hope you all have a blessed
Friday. Please remember these families in prayer (I think the other girls last name was Treynor - I will check on that)
and please continue to remember The Craven family and the Melton family. Presley is making remarkable progress, but
it is a long road for her. Have a great weekend, invite someone to go to church with you this Sunday, if you don't
go to church pray and ask the Lord to guide and direct you to where you need to be. Love, Tracy
Knowing The True Way "Search me, O God, and know my
heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24 KJV)
I try to make this
my prayer each day. It is so easy to get caught up in our day to day circumstances and take our eyes off the Lord.
But knowing that each day that I wake up is a new day and we have new opportunities to grow and share our faith is amazing.
Have you ever thought about your days and what you do each day? Do you start
each day off in the Word of God? Have our days become so full of stuff that we find we have to "make time"
for Jesus? I heard someone at work yesterday say you have to "schedule time for you." Some people like
a life like that. Hustle and bustle always going somewhere. I used to like that life ~ for about five minutes!
But that life just passes us by and we've missed so much. I received an e-mail from an old classmate from Elementary
school the other day and he said, "I didn't amount to much in life, but I am happy and I have no regrets."
Really? I found that so sad that he felt that way about himself. I didn't amount to much. We have so
many opportunities to amount to a lot. Each day is a new opportunity. People are searching to be all they can be
- but for the wrong reasons. They are searching to make all they can make, to have all the "things" money
can be, to be everyone's friend, to have a social calendar full, etc ... But when it all ends and we are at the
end of our journey, all that matters is what we have done for Jesus. Ask anyone who is at the end of their journey!
They will tell you ~ nothing else matters. God will work out the small stuff.
Search me O God, know my heart. Try me. Know my thoughts. If there is any wicked in me, lead me
in the way everlasting! What a great prayer of David.
I hope that today is a new day for you and that you will make this day the start of your new journey to serve the
Lord. Have a blessed Thursday! Love, Tracy
"Oh To Be More Like Job!" "So went Satan forth
from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. And he took him
a potsherd to scrape himself withal; and he sat down among the ashes. Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain
thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What?
shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips." (Job 2:7-10 KJV)
In Chapter 1, when Job's
attack starts, he says (verse 21), "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither:
the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Blessed be the name of the Lord.
The Lord let Satan attack because He knew the heart of Job. Even Job's wife said ... all this you are going through
and you are still going to trust God? Curse God and die. His own wife - boy that will encourage you! But
Job said no. Are we only to accept the good things of God? In other words, we need to praise the Lord in the trials
and the valley's too. Count your Blessings, but count it a blessing to be through the trials of a valley as well.
Do we want them? No. But we know at some point and time they are going to come! Get on your knee's
and talk to the Lord. I know Lord that this valley I am facing will serve a purpose, help me see the purpose Lord,
help me grow in it. Don't we especially need that prayer when raising our children? Oh my goodness, talk about
expect the unexpected!
I love verse 11 verse 7, it says, "Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the
Almighty? ... their measure is longer than the earth and wider than the sea." God's love for us is enormous.
It is huge! Then in verse 42, verse 10. "After Job prayer for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and
gave him twice as much as he had before." In my bible I wrote in the margin ... "be careful how you judge
other people ... you never know the plan God has for that person's life." I am not sure who said that - I am
sure it was not me, but that is good. We may never know why we face certain valley's, but nothing is s surprise
to the Lord. Draw near to Him today.
I hope you have a great Wednesday, please
continue to lift the Brown family up in prayer. Love, Tracy
What a Day That Will Be!
"Devote yourselves
to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim
the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you
act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt,
so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:2-6 NIV)
Over the past couple of days I have had the opportunity
to converse back and forth through e-mail with a handful of classmates that I went to Elementary/middle school with.
A reunion is being planned and that has connected us once again (well, through computer anyway). What joy to my
heart it has been recalling those happy-innocent memories from our preteen years. 8 years we spent together in Catholic
school and some of these people I have not seen or spoken to since walking out the doors at 8th grade graduation in 1981.
Oh the memories that flood our minds, especially of the teachers, so any teachers reading this - remember what an impact
you will have on those students you face each day.
As I was reflecting on these e-mails morning, I started thinking about the "Grand" reunion
we will all face one day. When it is our appointed time. I thought about not only seeing Jesus, but the reunion
with my Mother and Father. My children sometimes ask me about Heaven. My son who is into skateboarding asks, will
we have bikes and skateboards in Heaven? My daughter says, will we eat, drink and have toys? In all honesty, I
do not know I say, but one day when we go to Heaven we are just going to be so in awe of the Lord I don't think we will
have questions like we do here on earth. We will just be so happy to be there.
What will your reunion be like? Are you serving the Lord today with gladness, so that
on that reunion day only JOY will flood your soul? Don't be ashamed to stand up for Jesus. Don't
be ashamed to take a stand for His Glory. Start thinking about that reunion day. Start serving Him today - for
His glory, honor and praise. He loves you. Draw near to Him today. Have a blessed Tuesday. Love, Tracy
Some things just make you think!
"Likewise,
ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for
God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that
he may exalt you in due time: Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because
your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith,
knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace,
who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish,
strengthen, settle you." (1 Peter 5:5-10 KJV)
Last night when I went to bed, my husband had the football game
on in the bedroom. Although he was asleep I did not change the channel, you know how it goes you think they are asleep
and the moment the channel is changed it's "hey, I was watching that or hey, I was listening to that."
So I decided to just leave it - it was just noise to help me go to sleep anyway. As I was laying there with a kazillion
thoughts racing through my mind the voices on the TV caught my attention. The owner of the team that had just won the
AFC (I think that is right) was being interviewed and he was asked - "How do you think your team won?" Without
hesitation, the man said, "I must be humble and say this victory is because of God and we must first give all the glory
and honor to Him." I thought, wow that was nice. Then they interview the coach of the team, they ask him
almost the same question and he too, without hesitation says, "All the glory and thanks go to the Lord, for without Him
we are nothing." WOW. What leadership for these men.
It immediately reminded me of verse 5 "... God opposes the
proud, but gives grace to the humble." For most of us it is so hard to be humble. Oh we want to be known
as being humble, but it is just so hard when our own attitudes take over. It is hard to pray for those who have wronged
us. Isn't it? It is hard to be kind when we've be offended. God honors that though. His
Word tells us, be humble, pray for your enemies. I had a thought about that - our enemies, so to speak, can't pray
to the Lord until their heart is in the right place. God will not hear the prayers of a person that has hatred
in there heart - that is sin. Who better to intercede then a Christian who has been wronged. God honors a sincere
heart, He will take care of the valley and He will take those feelings away and turn them into something else. You are
robbing yourself of joy, when you hold bitterness. You say, oh but they were wrong and they did this and they did that
to me. But Jesus says, love your enemies as I have loved you. Oh, I know it is hard, but is it not more
important for that person to have their heart rightly related with the Lord, than for us to have bitterness and want
revenge? What does that solve? Personal satisfaction? For how long? Find a place for healing
and pray for your enemies. Love them as Christ loves you. No one is saying you have to befriend them, just be
humble and pray. Did you ever wonder what life would be like without Him? If so ... pray for your enemies, because
that is what life is like without Him!
I find it interesting some mornings how the Lord turns this devotion in another direction then my thoughts have started
out. It is amazing to me how the quiet time I have in the morning turns into a word that is shared with hundreds and
a message of the heart that Jesus has for more than one. I love you all and I hope that you lift this servant up in
prayer as I learn to become more humble and trust in the Lord and His Word more and more each day. Everyday that we
wake up is one more opportunity for us to serve Jesus and tell others about Him and His love. Encourage others in Him
today! Have a great Monday. Love, Tracy
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