Sabbath Keeping

"Call upon me and I will answer you..."

~ Jeremiah 33:3 ~

For those old enough to remember prefixes, God's phone number is JER333. Prayer is a dialogue, not a monologue; God hears the prayers of His righteous people but the only prayer God hears of a sinner is the prayer of salvation. Tennessee Ernie Ford sang a great song, Give Me Jesus On The Line, here.

"We have to take the first step as though there were no God. It is no use to wait for God to help us. He will not; but immediately we arise we find He is there. Whenever God inspires, the initiative is a moral one. We must do the thing and not lie like a log. If we arise and shine, drudgery becomes divinely transfigured.

Drudgery is one of the finest touchstones of character there is. Drudgery is work that is very far removed from anything to do with the ideal-the utterly mean grubby things; and when we come in contact with them we know instantly whether or not we are spiritually real. Read John 13. We see there the Incarnate God doing the most desperate piece of drudgery, washing fishermen's feet, and He says--"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash another's feet." It requires the inspiration of God to go through drudgery with the light of God upon it. Some people do a certain thing and the way in which they do it hallows that thing forever afterwards.It may be the most common-place thing, but after we have seen them do it, it becomes different. When the Lord does a thing through us, He always transfigures it. Our Lord took on Him our human flesh and transfigured it, and it has become for every saint the temple of the Holy Ghost." ~ Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest ~ 

"Do not forget to meet all your difficulties with love and laughter. Be assured that I am with you. Remember, remember it is the last few yards that tell. Do not fail Me. I cannot fail you. Rest in My love.

How many of the world's prayers have gone unanswered because My children who prayed did not endure to the end. They thought it was too late, and that they must act for themselves, that I was not going to act for them. Remember My words: "He that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved."

Can you endure to the end? If so, you shall be saved. But endure with courage, with Love and laughter. Oh! My children, is My training too hard?

For you, My children, I will unlock the secret treasures hidden from so many. Not one of your cries is unheard. I am with you indeed to aid you. Go through all I have said to you, and live in every detail as I have enjoined you. As you follow implicitly all I say, success-spiritual, mental and physical-shall be yours. Wait in silence while, conscious of My presence, in which you must live to have rest unto your souls, and Power and Joy and Peace." ~ God Calling ~ 

The above are today's devotions, along with the last five chapters of Romans, the book of Romans being the story of God's relentless grace. I try and pay attention to God's whisper, His guidance and direction. I don't always know what He means by what He's saying but I do recognize His voice and, these past few days, He's been speaking to me through God Calling, Oswald Chambers, Romans and C. S. Lewis' Narnia and Prince Caspian. There's a point in the film where Lucy alone sees Aslan and he bids her come. Her siblings cannot see Aslan and they deride Lucy, eventually persuading her to turn and go with them and, almost immediately, things begin to not go well. To hear God's call and ignore it is a frightening thing with unknown circumstances, but in even those circumstances, God will be with us.

It makes me ask myself the question...when and how have I gone my own way and, in doing so, missed out on God's blessing, protection, promise? While I never question my salvation, I'm always questioning how I can better follow Him, hear His voice, do His will. 

If you're a Christian, I strongly encourage you to read and watch all of C. S. Lewis' books, especially the Narnia series, either chronologically or published order. When you do, hear God's whisper through the books and apply to your own walk.

The epic mess, begun January 8, continues but the contractors have sheet rock in place and primed and, on Friday, the floors were stained. Since then, my body has all but shut down from the horrific odor. Today, I went to WalMart pharmacy and asked for help; they sold me allergy meds and eye drops and I can see a little improvement. What frightened me most were my eye balls (and lids) swelling...red, irritated, weeping...but the eye ball swelling and the headache since Friday is most frightening. Please pray people men will come tomorrow to work on the camper (yes, the one that's for sale) so it can be moved to the house, hooked up to electric and I can live in it for the next week or two. At least until the poly odor, putting down poly tomorrow, abates. (The dogs and I tried staying at Super 8 but the dogs were good watch dogs...every time someone walked down the hall, the dogs barked...not so good.)

Friends, these more than five years since Dave's death, I have leaned on God as never before in my life. I know God keeps me, the animals and the farm safe; I know He's gone before me, carried me at times and yet, sometimes, I feel abandoned. That lie is from the father of lies and has no place in my home or in my life! You are being lied to as well...it might be health problems, a wayward child, marital difficulties, financial, job, vehicles on the fritz, isolation...you know your difficulties but, better yet, God knows them. He will never leave you nor forsake you; He has written your name on the palm of His hand, you are the apple of His eye. Do NOT listen to lies; focus on God...His promises, mercy, grace, love, forgiveness. Feed yourself on those things that will encourage you and give you life and a future both now and in eternity.

"For God so loved the world 

that He gave His one and only Son

that whoever believes on Him

should not perish

but have everlasting life."

~ John 3:16 ~ 

Please pray one for another.