Daily Archives: 2 Dec 2009

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Tea Cups

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IDOK DEVOTION FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2009

As I was driving across the Bay on Tuesday mulling over recent days a picture formed on the wall of my mind and I want to share it with you.  I want to share it because I really believe the Holy Spirit of God gave it to me for me and for you.  I believe it will help us. 
When we first begin to bring our thoughts into captivity unto Christ; you know what thoughts I am speaking about.  Those thoughts that Scripture calls fiery darts; those that begin with ‘what if’; those thoughts that can send us into an emotional heap – those kind! And so when we first begin (or maybe, begin again) to resist those thoughts rather than laying in an emotional heap beneath them, it can FEEL like we are standing before the mouth of hell with a teacup of water trying to put out the fire. And as we are about to pitch that teacup of water on the fire, we are hit with more fiery darts, like: ‘What’s the use? Who do you think you are? And what good do you think this is going to do?  This is too much, you can’t win this.  You can’t put this fire out with a teacup! And then what he hopes to be the clincher: You know if God really loved you, He would not allow you to suffer this way!’  Please refuse to listen to that trash!  Please don’t give up.  Let us keep on keeping on with our teacup of water pouring every drop we got on those raging fires and the Holy Spirit WILL come in and He WILL turn our teacup of water into a FLOOD and He WILL extinguish those flames.  And YOUR victory will be oh so sweet!! 
Here are some verses to put in our tea cups.
Psalm 27: (New King James Version)
 13 I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living.        
What a confession is this one!  The Psalmist knew unless he believed, he would lose heart, he knew he had to keep on keeping on with his ‘teacup’ until he SAW the Goodness of the LORD in his ‘here and now’.
 14 Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!  Look at that promise!  If we will wait on HIM (and the wait means trust, rest upon, lean back on; curl up in His Lap, so to speak, and rest our head on His Heart), HE shall, not maybe, but SHALL strengthen us.
Hebrews 13: (New King James Version)
5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Deuteronomy 31: (New King James Version)
6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”
Philippians 4: (King James Version)
 19 But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
Psalm 37:(New King James Version)
 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;
         For the LORD upholds him with His hand.
Amen! Stuff is going to happen and we are going to get cut and bruised and wounded BUT we shall NOT be utterly cast down!! AMEN!          
 25 I have been young, and now am old;
         Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
         Nor his descendants begging bread.
I’ve seen the time that this one got me through some really lean times but in HIM we knew we would NOT starve.  And today you and I can know, we may not always be comfortable but in HIM we will get through any hardship, even debt and financial losses. Amen!  And this one.  Now this one in years passed I wrote it and others out on index cards and taped them over my kitchen sink, the bathroom mirror and various other places, as well as carried them around with me so I could read them again and again.  Sound radical?  Maybe so but when one is desperate, desperate measures get the job done.  And at the time I didn’t even know Beth Moore.  :) I’ve since learned she does the same.  
This one I particularly like in the NASB  Psalm 145:
17 The LORD is righteous in all His ways  And kind in all His deeds.
18 The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth.
This one said to me that even though what I was experiencing was not right and certainly was not kind that my GOD was Right and He was Kind even though He was allowing me to stay and stay and stay in that season.  If I had not chosen to believe those two verses moment by moment, I don’t believe I would not have kept on loving Him in that season of my life.
Today we may want to pick up 17, 18 AND 19 to put in our tea cup.
  19 He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them.
As I complete this writing I am so excited about it that I am having to curtail myself to keep from posting it early.   I so want you to have His Word to sustain you, encourage you and lift you higher than you have imagined.  I love you all, my dear, dear IDOKs.
A P.S. from later in the day from page 209, day 4, week 9 (The Patriarchs by Beth Moore): Remember, the goal of all true discipline is to disciple.  God never chastises His child past the point of teaching.  He never punishes just to punish.
As I post this it is 43°F and partly cloudy in Baghdad, IQ (Airport) and the time is 7:24 AM AST and on December 3, 2009.
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IDOK DEVOTION FOR WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2009

Without viewing previous devotions I cannot say how long it has been since we were encouraged to personalize the Scriptures, yet today I am inclined to say it again after reading Beth’s comments relative to Genesis 43:15.
I am again encouraging us when we read Scripture to take it personally; to put ourselves in the place of the person in the passage. Today in lesson 3 of week 9 of the Patriarchs’ study it is Jacob.
11 Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be, then do this: Put some of the best products of the land in your bags and take them down to the man as a gift—a little balm and a little honey, some spices and myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds. 12 Take double the amount of silver with you, for you must return the silver that was put back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps it was a mistake. 13 Take your brother also and go back to the man at once. 14 And may God Almighty grant you mercy before the man so that he will let your other brother and Benjamin come back with you. As for me, if I am bereaved, I am bereaved.”   15 So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also. They hurried down to Egypt and presented themselves to Joseph.
This is what Beth said: “My heart aches for Jacob as we reach the end of our reading today.  Can you imagine his sorrow as his sons, including “the boy”, disappeared over the horizon?  Read verse 15 slowly and carefully as we conclude.  Don’t miss the order of things taken on the journey back to Egypt.  “So the men took the gifts and double the amount of silver, and Benjamin also.” And Benjamin also.  The agonizing phrase almost seems postponed until the last possible second.  “The ‘and Benjamin’ hangs like the resigned sigh of a father trapped between the need to live and the possibility of a life made utterly empty through another loss.’ ” I can almost hear the father’s prayer: “Have mercy, God Almighty. Have mercy.” 
My eyes are spilling tears as I hear Jacob cry, “Have mercy, God Almighty. Have mercy” because many times I have cried ‘Have mercy, ABBA, have mercy’.  And no doubt if life here continues I will cry it again – ‘Have mercy, ABBA, have mercy.’
And I have one more cry from seeing Jacob this way and that is ‘ABBA, teach me this way of seeing the life, the emotions, the pain, the joy, the encouragement, the hope, the struggles, the triumphs, the failures, the instructions, and on and on in Your Word in the faces and lives of our Spiritual Ancestors, real people who lived and died and who yet live with You and who we will one day see and talk with.  Train me Holy Spirit, to see what You have written on these pages for us. Amen and amen’. 
ABBA, thank You for Your Word and for Your Servant, Beth, who ministers so well to us; I pray that her love and knowledge of Your Word continually increase; I pray You will protect her, and her family, and all of Living Proof Ministries from all enemies and that she will remain a faithful servant filled with Your Spirit to every good work that You have called her to.    Thank You for today’s message to us; hear our cry and fill us with wonder at Your Word; fill us with Your Word that we will not sin against You.  Thank You that Suzi’s surgery has been approved and scheduled and we pray that it be textbook perfect and that Suzi will receive the relief she is seeking.  We pray too that this experience will inspire and yield a new lease on ‘Life’ for Suzi.  Lord, so love on Suzi that she ‘falls head over heels in love’ with You I pray.    Again, today, we thank You for our IDOK Troops and we ask You to continue to protect them from harm in spirit, soul, and body, and it is still our desire that each of them come home safe and sound at their appointed time and added to that we pray that their love and devotion to You will grow and grow.  We pray for each one whose name is written here; in particular, Roy and Julee come to mind this morning, oh, Lord Jesus, be so there for them; be so there for them that they can feel You holding them there in the room where they are.  And, we are still waiting for word on Logan, so we are still praying for that precious little boy asking You Lord Jesus to touch his little frame and restore him to his family.  And, we still have specific unspokens fresh with us this morning giving You praise that You are Good and You are mindful of every need and You are meeting our needs day by day.  Thank You, ABBA.  And as we bring this to closure and as we send it to our treasured IDOKs and Readers we pray each of them will hear Your Word individually and personally and especially for them; that each of them will just know that they know You are for them; You are with them; that You will not leave them or forsake them or fail them; that Your Word is true; that You can be trusted; that You are worthy of our love and trust; that You are in love with us; that we are Your Dear Children in Christ Jesus, Your Only Begotten Son. We love You, ABBA, and we pray when this day is done that we will be more in love with You than we are right now in this moment. Amen and amen.  
As I post this it is 66°F and clear in Balad, IQ (Airport) and the time is 3:33 PM AST and on December 2, 2009.

Please understand this is not a blanket endorsement of the aforementioned Author or all the works coming from her pen.