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Do You Hear His Call?
Isaiah 65:24
"And it shall come to pass, that before they
call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
I wonder sometimes if we missed something
that God has for us because all we do is whine and complain about about something we think we should have and God says "no".
This verse reminded me this morning that the Lord knows our needs before we do. We must be open to His will for our lives
and listen to His word in order to receive the Blessings He has for us. That is really something good to think about!
To open our hearts, our minds and our lives to Jesus. Just to trust in Him at all times.
I hope you
all have a blessed weekend. Please continue to pray for Vicki, Steve, Terry, Bill, Alex and for Rich as he
recouperates from his surgery earier this week. Please also pray for my sister Mary today. Love, Tracy
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Do You Know Him?
Psalm 26 1-3
"...I have trusted in the Lord without wavering. Test me, O Lord, and try
me, examine my heart and mind; for your love is ever before me, and I walk continually in your truth."
Are
you ever in the midst of a trial where you find your self worrying day and night over an issue? You sleep, but
you are not rested up in the morning? You are always on edge and then you finally just say, God, I just can't
take it any more. You will have such a sense of relief when you finally do what you needed to do to start with! Finally,
you get a good night sleep. You feel rested.
When we read the Word of God daily, we will find rest.
His words bring great comfort. Yes, there are times we are so low we can't see it, but God is there. During
those times is when God will use a friend, a family member or even a stranger to reach out to us and encourage us. I
love to be renewed through christian music. I have a certain CD of songs that I like that I put on one CD
and I listen to them over and over and over. The words encourage me each morning before I start my work day.
The older we get, the more we can see that everything in life has a purpose, we may not like it or understand
it but it does. Also, all things happen in God's timing, not ours. We need to trust in Him and not try and create
our own destiny. Psalm 23:4 says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear
no evil for you are with me." Each one of us have our own journey that the Lord will take us through, we
may have to go down to the valley, but the Lord will meet us there! He will carry us up and bring us (once again) through
the trial. I am praying that if you are facing that journey today that you will surrender all to Jesus and seek
His way for your life. Know that it is a daily walk with Jesus, your circumstances may not change in that instant, but
through God's mercy and His grace He will give victory.
I hope you all have a blessed day. Please continue
to pray for Alex, Terry, Steve, Vicki, Bill and Rich. Count your blessings dear friends ~ their is victory in Jesus!
Love, Tracy
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There is Victory ... in Jesus!
Psalm 107:6-9 "Then
they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress. He led them by a straight way to a
city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for
He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things."
I read this quote this morning ... "The
Lord will always be that one to give permanent satisfaction. anything else is just a temporary fix!"
I
am not sure who said it, but as I sat here I kept re-reading it. That is so true. So many of us are trying
to fly solo. We get overwhelmed by our own circumstances and then we "try" to make a plan to "fix"
the situation, but if we are not seeking God and His plan for our lives this solution is just a temporary fix and
the actual problem or situation is never resolved.
Read the verses to Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus:
- O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s
light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free! - Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.
- Through death into life everlasting
He passed, and we follow
Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion—
For more than conquerors we are! - His Word shall
not fail you—He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect
salvation to tell!
Tell the world about Jesus. Do not be ashamed, for God so love the world that He gave
His only begotton son ... No matter what (which means no matter what!) you are facing today, Jesus is your reason and your
answer. He loves you and will comfort you through these times.
Please remember to pray for Rich today as
he has his surgery. Also, continue to pray for Alex, Steve, Terry, Vicki and Bill. Have a great Wednesday.
Love, Tracy
Put Your Hand in The Hand
Psalm 91:14-16
"Because he loves me, says
the Lord, I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me, and I will answer him
in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life will I satisfy him and show him my salvation."
Are your eyes open to what the Lord has planned for your life? Are you willing to seek Him and change your ways of thinking
to the plan He has for you and not pursue the plan you have for yourself? God created us to be unique - not a carbon copy
of our neighbors (you know the saying keeping up with the Jones'). Our prayer life and spiritual walk with Him should
be unique, because it is a personal walk with Him. Not a mirror of someone else's relationship with Him.
Read the words of this verse - He will rescue us from trouble, He will protect us, He will answer our
prayers, He will deliver us, He will satisfy all our needs and He will give us the greatest gift.......Salvation! WOW.
Can you feel the love that Christ is sending to you right now as you read those words? Give Him your all today and watch him
restore and reform your life. You have to be willing to take that leap of faith.
I hope you have a great
day today. please continue to pray for Alex, Terry, Steve, Bill and Rich. Rich will be having surgery tomorrow
so please pray that all will go well and that the doctors will do what they need to do for him to be cancer free. Please
also pray for a dear friend Vickie who will be meeting with doctors next week to determine what treatment she will need to
take for her cancer and pray that they caught it early enough where it has not gone anywhere else.
Count your many
blessings dear friends! Love, Tracy
Isaiah 40-29-31
He gives strength to those who are tires and more power to
those who are weak. Even children become tired and need to rest, and young people trip and fall. But the people who trust
in the Lord will become strong again. They will rise up as an eagle in the sky; they will run and not need rest; they will
walk and not become tired." Matthew 11:28
"Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
I love the book
of Isaiah. The words are so beautiful. In my quiet time this morning, I am just reflecting on the last few
weeks. In reflection, I realize sometimes how much I limit what God can do in my life! When I read these
verses this morning it was like Jesus was sitting in my living room talking to me. Really, that is how our quiet time
should be! A quiet conversation between you and the Lord. Full of not only prayer requests, but praise and worship
to Him, thanking Him for this life we've been given. Asking Him to guide our steps. This life (unlike Heaven)
is filled with many trials. God equips us with the means to get through them (reading your Bible, praying, talking to
a sister, talking to a friend, etc...). Just because I am a Christian doesn't mean that at times I won't have those valley's.
it doesn't mean I won't hit lows and feel a little depressed, have low self esteem or have a bad day. We have
to remember that is human nature. Sometimes I think we hide behind that mask to convince people on the outside or maybe even
ourselves, that we're OK and have this perfect life ~ filled with no problems. We need to face the Valley. Also
remembering that it doesn't mean that we love the Lord any less or that He loves us any less! Some of my devotion books are like
a life map, one weeks scripture is all about coming to the Lord with all of our brokenness and then the next weeks the
scriptures are about Him taking us out of the Valley and back to the mountaintop. I really thank the Lord this morning
for the Valley's. I know He is my ROCK and will deliver me out of it. I know that the experiences I face today,
tomorrow or next year will bring me closer in my walk with Jesus and I know that by my experiences, I can help others by sharing
what I've gone through and where Jesus has brought me. I give thanks to Christ, for the childlike faith that He
has given to you and to me, because while yesterday we were broken, today we can be set free. It is a new day! If we cry out
to Him, He will never leave us in that valley. We have to just grab on to His outstretched arm and He will guide us down the
path we need to go. Get into His Word. He has a Word of encouragement for you today. Let Him fill your cup, because at the
end of the day when it is empty ... then there is tomorrow to start out all over again. His fountain is endless and His Blessings
are Eternal. I pray that His Word has touched your heart. That it has encouraged you to seek His direction for your
life. May the Lord bless you and keep you today and always. Have a great weekend, invite someone to church with
you this Sunday! Pray for our Soldiers! Love, Tracy
I Believe
1 Thessalonians 5:14-23
"We urge you brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the
timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Make sure nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each
other and to everyone else. Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will
for you in Christ Jesus. Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold
on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole
spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and He will
do it."
What an encouraging chapter of
scripture. As I read line by line this morning, I realized how much I fail to please God at times, but I am so
thankful for that reminder. Jesus is the only one who is perfect. We have to realize that He does not expect perfection
from us, we may fail Him ~ but He expects out best efforts. We can't do it without Christ! But, by the Grace
of God, He picks us right back up! I am like the man we read about in the book of Matthew, Jesus says to him "everything
is possible for him who believes." The man replies, "I believe Lord, but help me overcome my unbelief!" I have
to say that daily. It is not unbelief in Christ, we know the Lord is going to handle our needs, but we want to hold on to
them. Maybe I should change my prayer to say "Thank you Lord for helping me overcome my unbelief!" and have
the faith in Christ that He will take care of all my needs.
I hope you all have a had a blessed week so far.
Thank you for the prayers for my travels. Please continue to pray for Terry, Rich, Steve, Bill and Alex. Love,
Tracy
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Rest in His Promises
Psalm 31:24 "Be
of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart,
all you who hope in the Lord." I used to
receive a devotion from a web site called " Silentgrief.com". I discovered this site after my mother passed away. The writer, Clara Hinton's devotions
are often comforting and uplifting. All of us suffer grief in our lives. For some of us it is the passing of a
loved one, for others it may be mourning a broken marriage, a lost job or simply change in our lives. Below I have added my
own thoughts to Ms. Hintons devotion. At first it feels like the pain will never end. Grief is all-consuming. Reminders are everywhere.
Every song that is heard on the radio. Every pleasant smell that fills the rooms of your home. Every sound of laughter that
echoes in the distance. All are painful reminders of the lonely ache felt from the suffering occurring in our lives.
Life has suddenly become dark and for some it has even lost all meaning. Will it ever end? Will the painful reminders ever
go away? Will the gnawing ache of being alone ever ease? Everything feels so cold even on the brightest, sunny day.
Grief,
like the winter snow, does surely melt away. It is gradual like a slow warming of the cold winter earth. Grief keeps melting
away until suddenly one day you realize that the landscape has changed. Green grass is beginning to push through the cold,
dark soil of the once frozen earth. Flowers bud and then burst into brilliant bloom. Butterflies appear and bring messages
of new hope and joy.
Grief, like the melting snow, did not disappear. It simply took on new form. It will always
be part of our lives. It will not be lost. But, by being warmed by the touch of hope, it will be transformed. We will grow
(spiritually) and our lives will be forever changed. With the guidance of the Lord we will move forward, we will touch the
lives of others by our word of testimony. Nothing on this earth is about us by the way - it is all about growing in this life,
to tell people about the joys and Glory of Heaven. An eternity with Jesus Christ. Because there is another eternity, when
we are not praising and worshiping Christ, we are putting the devil at the top. Some times we don't want to acknowledge
that.
Our lives (by example) may be the only Bible that someone will read - do we encourage or discourage?
How do we explain how we persevere through the hard times? Do we give God the Glory or is it all about us? I'm telling
you, Jesus will just Bless our lives when we give Him the Glory and Honor that He deserves. He is the reason we live. He will
bring us out of any valley we enter! Have faith. I pray that He touches your life today and changes your heart!
What kind of "bible" will people see when they see you today? Remember Proverbs 3:5-8 ... Trust
in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and
he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will
bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.
Jesus - loves and will comfort you today!
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