God Is Still In Control!
"Seek the Lord and His strength, seek
His face continually." 1 Chronicles 16:11
So many people are facing a valley today. The economy is bad and
people are losing jobs every day. God's Word guides us each day. We get down and discouraged about our circumstances, but
Jesus is the light! He will take us to new places we've never been. Life is a journey. To have fulfillment, Christ needs to
be the leader in the journey. When He is not-we find ourselves searching, we disappointed, we're lonely, we moody, we think
we're missing out on something, because we're trying to direct ourselves. We need Him to guide us and direct our path ways.
So today, remember that valley you are facing is merely a stepping stone in the picture that completes your life. We learn,
we grow and we trust that the Lord holds us and will see us through.
Have a great Friday and weekend! If you live
in Rock Hill, Calvary Baptist Church has revival starting this Sunday morning through Wednesday night - come join us. Please
continue to pray for Massimo Phillipy, Terry Murray and Vicky Brakefield.
Love,
Tracy
It is Not Too Late ...
"And Jesus answering
said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither." Luke
9:41 KJV
The last part of that line in NIV says, "How long shall I put up with you ..." I kind of got
side tracked in my reading this morning and glanced over at this verse. I thought how true! My husband and I were watching
the news last night. A story came on about a man my husband bowls with. It said that this man had been charged with molesting
a 3 year old! I pray that the charges are false. Oh my goodness. My heart just sank when I heard that. I ached for the emotional
scars this child will have if it is true and the heartache her mother and Dad feel because of what happened to their baby.
The truth is - we do live in a sick perverse society. I said to my husband, what on earth would possess a man
(or woman) to fondle a 3 year old? So sad. Something had to have happened to this man to possess him to do such a horrible
thing.
Our people are so far from God. The sad thing is - is that our Nation is the closest thing to Him as well!
We are out in the mission field in other countries trying to tell everyone about Jesus, yet right here we have people that
reject His Word. Listen, we can't live the way we want in life and then expect to enter the gates of Heaven like "we've
arrived!" I often wonder what people are thinking.
Like people who don't read the Bible and study the
Word. What do they think happens when they die? I wonder if they think about Heaven or Hell ... do they believe that there
is a hell? Do they believe "good" people will be in hell? I used to have a neighbor who would joke and say I have
to go to hell, all my friends will be there. It really is not something to joke about! Actually in my opinion, eternity is
the only thing you should care about. It should not matter to you what other people think of you - just what Jesus thinks.
You know, even if you are 60 and have lived an OK life all these years getting by on your own - it is never to late to come
to Jesus! Christ died for all sins.
Come to Him with repentance in our heart, seek forgiveness and change your
ways. Jesus loves you!
My heart has just been burdened this week. I have had so many people write to me and say,
I have just lived a wicked life, God could never forgive me. Oh yes He does, can and will! The Lord is not like us. He sees
a repentive heart and He forgives and forgets! Whatever we have done is forgiven and we must move on and heal. I pray if you
are struggling with a stronghold that has you beaten down, that the Lord will just give you strength today to come to Him.
To ask Jesus to heal your broken spirit. He loves you. Push pride aside and ask Jesus into your heart to guide your steps
and your days ... today.
Please continue to pray for Massimo, Terry, Bill and Vicky. Have a great Thursday!
Love,
Tracy
Lift Each Other Up
"But let us, who are of the
day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed
us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should
live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." 1 Thessalonians
5:8-11 KJV
I love 1 and 2nd Thessalonians. We need to encourage one another in Christ. So many people are facing
valley's today. They are searching and searching for a "better life". We think, oh if I can only have this - my
life would be so much easier. But really all most people are missing is one thing. Putting Christ at the head of their home.
Living for Him, turning to Him and desiring a personal walk with Him. As we get into the Word each day, we learn more and
more how to trust Him and how to place our faith in Him. Not to have faith in faith - but have faith in Jesus - there is a
difference.
Most people don't go to church - and even some that do go out of habit - not to worship Jesus.
Our kids see that time as a social time, instead of the starting of a relationship with the Lord. How do we expect them to
learn if we don't talk to them about it? We talk to our kids about everything but Jesus sometimes. They know about Him, but
don't know Him. If we don't tell them - who will?
It is our responsibility as Christians to lift each other up
- not insult each other. It is our privilege to tell others about the journey we have been on and how we continue to grow.
Encourage someone today in the name of Jesus. Even if you are in a valley - you have seen a rainbow.
Have a great
Wednesday. Please continue to pray for Massimo, Terry, Vicky, Brian and Bill.
Love,
Tracy
Jesus Has Gone Before You
"This is what the LORD
says" your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who
directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river,
your righteousness like the waves of the sea." Isaiah 48:17-18
I like how the Message puts it as well ...
"And now, the Master, God, sends me and his Spirit with this Message from God, your Redeemer, The Holy of
Israel: "I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had
listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from
the sea. Children and grandchildren are like sand, your progeny like grains of sand. There would be no end of them, no danger
of losing touch with me." Isaiah 48:17-19
I often think about why ... I am one of these people who loves
to pray about every little thing, but also loves to grab it back sometimes and worry about "what will happen" or
"why things happen." The Lord=2 0is our strong tower ... we don't always understand What will happen or why things
happen; we need to just place all our faith and trust in Him and know that All things work for the good of Christ. In the
past week I have heard about so many people touched by rare virus' that are numbing their bodies and attacking their brains
... so scary and sad. But God has a plan, when we are in the midst of the storm it is so hard to see and trust in His plan.
But we must remain faithful and know that He is God and He cares for us and loves us.
I love this old Hymn ...
You shall cross the barren desert, but you shall not die of thirst. You
shall wander far in safety though you
do not know the way. You shall speak
your words in foreign lands and all will understand. You shall see the face
of God and live.
Be not afraid. I go before you always. Come follow me, and I will give
you rest.
If you pass through raging waters in the sea, you shall not drown. If
you walk amid the burning flames, you
shall not be harmed. If you stand
before the pow'r of hell and death is at your side, know that I am with you
through
it all.
Blessed are your poor, for the kingdom shall be theirs. Blest are you
that weep and mourn, for
one day you shall laugh. And if wicked men insult
and hate you all because of me, blessed, blessed are You!
I
am sure we all have special memories of a song or time. When I think of this song of promise I think about how the Lord tells
us, don't be afraid, I have experienced everything before you and I will be with you always! Just follow me. Serve me. Trust
me! No matter what you face today. Jesus is with you. Don't feel alone. Turn to Him, trust in His Word to see you through.
Have a great Tuesday, please continue to pray for Massimo, Josephine did place an update on his caringbrindge
site yesterday.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/massimo
Love,
Tracy
Back to the Basics of Prayer
"Then said Jesus
unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say
unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of 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. Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold,
we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore? And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That
ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters,
or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
everlasting life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first." Matthew 19:23-30 KJV
Try not to misinterpret what this verse is saying ... the main message is ... With men this is impossible; but with God
all things are possible. Anything is possible - with God. If it is not the plan of the Lord, the will of the Lord or the path
that the Lord has for you He will change your direction. This verse is not saying if you have money you can't go to Heaven,
this verse is saying, money will not save you and get you to heaven. Jesus then said, follow me and you too will be with me
in Heaven. So many of us try to follow the path and plan we have for ourselves without even praying to Jesus about it. What
our desires are may not be the will of the Father. That is why doors are being closed. Troubles will come, but lets bow our
heads in humble prayer. It is not our will that will get us through. We are still left empty when we are not in the will of
the Lord. We can have everything materially and still feel empty and have nothing because we are without Christ! We may seem
happy on the outside, but our hearts still desire more because we have not satisfied our spiritual heart. We may know Jesus
with our heads, but until we know Him in our hearts the emptiness will continue to grow.
Knowing the Lord and having
a personal walk with Him each day is so special. Each one of us will grow and travel down different roads. The Bible says
(Jesus speaking), "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you before My Father in Heaven." Why is it that
we let what other people think of us rule our thoughts? Who cares if you do not meet the expectations of your peers? We should
be ashamed of that behavior! The only one who we should care about is Jesus. I think the saying "What Would Jesus Do?"
has become a thoughtless comment. But honestly, we should think that about every action we make. We should wonder, is God
being honored here? Or will He be ashamed of me. Don't get caught up in the moment of things - do the unexpected. When people
see you ... do they see Jesus?
Please continue to pray for Massimo, I have not received an update lately so I have
to assume he is about the same. Please pray for his parents Kyle and Josephine, that God will give them strength, I am sure
they are not getting a lot of rest. Pray that they can soon go back to New Jersey where they can be near family and get help
they need to take care of Massimo.
Have a great Monday!
Love,
Tracy
Listening To God
"Then Jonah prayed to the Lord
his God from inside the fish. He said, 'I cried out to the Lord in my great trouble, and He answered me. I called to you from
the world of the dead, and Lord you heard me!" Jonah 2:1-2
What a heap of promises in Jonah's story. It is
not just a story for children either. Jonah was disobeying God and God got his attention. Then Jonah repented and turned to
God for help and God saved Him.
Can anyone relate to this? Look at your life, look at the times (even now) when
God was trying to get our attention and we are turning away and going down our own road to meet our wants and desires. Instead
of following God's desires for us-which are way better than the greatest thing we can imagine!
Listen, God is
trying to get your attention. He doesn't cause bad things in our lives. He says trials and temptations will come-but turn
to Him and He will lead you down the path of righteousness. If we are not following Him......we are following someone else
and rejecting Christ. Just something for us to think about. I love you all. Have a great midweek :-) Please continue to pray
for Massimo, Terry, Brian, and Vicky.
Love,
Tracy
Pray Without Ceasing!
"Trust in the Lord Forever,
for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock." Isaiah 26:4
As we begin to pray, we should do so with
an understanding of the purpose and meaning in our prayers. We need to be aware of the Holy Spirit working in and through
us. His loving spirit works through us restoring our mind and our bodies. He is love and the light that should shine out of
us. God will always be with us, healing our brokenness, we need to turn to Him and not only seek His help, but receive His
love and forgiveness. A prayer in a devotional I read today says this - "God, you are always with me as a healing and
revealing presence of life and wisdom. My Amen is not an end to my conversation with You; it is my commitment to bring an
awareness of You to every moment of this day."
I love that prayer. A lot of times the Amen is the end of the
conversation until the next day or until the next crisis! Don't you want to make that your prayer today? We need to start
making God a part of our daily life! Not just when He is needed in a crisis or when we are in a state of panic, but 24/7.
He loves us and His desire is for our desire to want Jesus to be the center of our lives! To wake up each day
with the desire to know Him more, to study His Word more and to help others in this direction too. I pray that the spirit
of the Lord will touch each person that reads this devotion and place a desire in our hearts to make a change today and desire
a closer walk with Him! It is my favorite Hymn ... Just a closer walk with thee ... Just a closer walk with thee Grant it,
Jesus, is my plea Daily walking close to thee Let it be, dear Lord, let it be
I am weak and thou art strong Jesus,
keep me from all wrong I'll be satisfied as long as I walk Let me walk close to thee Just a closer walk with thee Grant it,
Jesus, is my plea Daily walking close to thee Let it be, dear Lord, let it be Through this world of toil and dispairIf I falter,
Lord, who cares? Who with me, my burden shares? None but thee, dear Lord, none but thee Just a closer walk with thee Grant
it, Jesus, is my plea Daily walking close to thee Let it be, dear Lord, let it be Let it be, dear Lord, let it be .
Have a great Tuesday! Please continue to pray for Massimo, Terry, Brian, Bill and Vicky. Please also pray for a friend,
her name is Brandi ... she is in the hospital because she lost feeling in her right side from her head down to her feet. She
is a young mom with small children. Thank you all.
Love,
Tracy
Casting All Your Cares
"...You praised the gods
of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood and stone, which cannot see or here or understand. But you did not honor the God
who holds in His hand your life and all your ways." Daniel 5:23
I read this last night. Isn't this so true
of many of us. We say we love God, yet most everything comes before Him. Some of us skip church to sleep in or so we don't
miss our favorite TV program.
What we're really missing is the Blessing God had prepared for us. We put so many
things before God and then expect Him to be there for us when our hard times come. He is always there for us too. Sometimes
we can't feel His presence because it is us that is so far from Him! Draw near to Him today ... cast all your cares and troubles
upon the Lord and He will give you rest.
Please continue to pray for Massimo, Terry, Brian and for Bill. Have a
great Monday.
Love,
Tracy
Giving It All To God
"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive
yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but not do what it says is like the man who looks at his face
in the mirror and, after looking at himself goes away and forgets what he looks like." James 1:22-24
How
many times have we read God's Word and said "oh, that is a good word, or that was powerful" then we make excuses
why it did not apply to our life? Every part of the Bible is true today just as it was in our Lord's day. There is hurt and
despair, there is love and fellowship. There is guidance and discipline.
We need to start applying the truth
to how we live each day. When we do, Jesus will change our hearts. We will become more compassionate Christians. We can begin
to fulfill the purpose God has for our lives when we let go and He is the one leading!
Have a great Friday.
Please continue to pray for Massimo, Terry, Brian, and Vicky.
Love,
Tracy
Figuring Out YOUR Testimony
"Be ready at all times to
answer anyone who asks you to explain the hope you have in you, but do it with gentleness and respect."
I
found this old pages of notes on my computer and it got me thinking of all the times I get down and start to have a pity party
... I read the questions and thought, my goodness, everyone has something they are going through, but we all have a testimony.
If you don't think you have a testimony get a piece of paper and write these questions down. Then go through and answer each
one. That is your testimony of God's Grace in your life.
1) What has God taught me from failure?
2) What
has God taught me from lack of money?
3) What has God taught me from pain or sorrow or depression?
4) What has
God taught me through waiting?
5) What has God taught me through illness (mine or someone else's?
6) What has
God taught me from disappointment?
7) What have I learned from my family, my church, my relationships, and my critics?
I think you will find that God has brought to you a blessing in each one of these. We grow through the valley's
so we can learn and grow in Christ. It is not me who brings me through it - but Christ. When I am in a valley, I try to remember
to thank God that I can cling to the knowledge that Jesus loves me and will see me through it. Even when we feel like no one
else is there for us, Jesus will never leave. His love is unconditional and never ending. Open your heart to HIM and He will
direct your path. I pray you all have a great day! I love you.
Love,
Tracy
Seeing Hope In the Valley
"Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that
thou mayest be wise in thy latter end." Proverbs 19:20
I read a quote....The true secret of giving advice
is, after you have honestly given it, to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not. Sometimes I think that is how
God feels. He guides and directs us. He puts obstacles in our paths where we should not go. When we try to create our own
path to move through that obstacle, I think sometimes He lets us through just so we can learn to trust Him more.
Godly people are placed in our lives for a reason, not for a season. We need to learn from each other. We need to encourage
each other and we need to build each other up. Trust that God will bring us through the hard times and that we will have grown
through the experience.
When you going down through that valley, stop questioning why and ask God how ... show
me how Lord to endure and appreciate what you are teaching me through the trial. Have a great Tuesday, please continue to
pray for Massimo, Brian, Vicky and Terry.
Love,
Tracy
Through the Midst of Trouble
"Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand you save me. The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me; your love, O Lord,
endures forever- do not abandon the works of Your hands." Psalm 138:7-8
If you ever feel like you think God
has forgotten you remember this verse! He will never leave us. Even though we will experience trouble, heartache, pain, sorrow
and difficulty in our life - and even when we don't understand why we might be facing this road ... God is there! His desire
is for us to draw closer to Him.
I hope you all have a great Monday! Please continue to pray for Massimo, Vicky,
Bill, Brian and Terry.
Love,
Tracy
