The weekend is all but gone. It was a good one for the Thompsons and we hope all of you enjoyed the Peace of JESUS and a goodly measure of laughter and relaxing.

Allow me to borrow from Sunday School this morning for a quick Monday morning word.

Jeremiah 29:4 Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says to all the exiles I deported from Jerusalem to Babylon:
via Jeremiah 29: 4 HCSB – This is what the LORD of Hosts the God – Bible Gateway.

Th Author of our Sunday School curriculum (E. LeBron Matthews) points out while this is Jeremiah’s letter to the Exiles it is God speaking to them and we should notice He addresses Himself to them as LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel. In doing so He is reminding them of His covenant with them.  That He is their God and they are His people – their sin and rebellion has not changed that. He is forever Yahweh to them.

Perhaps some of us will find comfort this Monday morning  (or any morning) that even though we missed the mark of perfectly following after Him, He is still Father to us.  He has not breached His covenant relationship with us.

And I followed that with this:

Perhaps I am going out on a limb here but I also see ‘ownership’ in this verse.  Yahweh said: “I deported”. I believe we can learn from our GOD how important it is to take ‘ownership’ of our actions. He does. What would happen in our society if people would take ‘ownership’ of their actions?

Class members this morning proffered if we took ownership of our actions it would lead to repentance and forgiveness.
That blessed me!
Perhaps it will you too.

Perhaps there are some actions we need to ‘own’ and in so doing we will receive the mercy and forgiveness that God so desires to give us. It bears meditating upon, don’t you think?

Thank You, ABBA, for Your Word, for lesson writers, for people to share Your Word with and, HOLY SPIRIT, thank You that Your Word does not return void. Thank You for our IDOKs, their faithfulness in prayer and the study of Your Word. I pray for grace and faith to take ownership of those things hindering us from fellowship and obedience; that we may confess, repent and receive the restoration You desire for us.
We commend to You again each dear one on our list asking for health and healing and provisions as each one needs. Thank You for Dylan’s recovery. Diana, Kerri, Carson, Scott,  and others come to mind, specific unspokens, Israel, Our Troops, Churches and Pastors and America. Many needs, LORD. Thank You for carrying these burdens; thank You for giving rest to each obedient soul. Amen and amen.

PFT-  click HERE

His Ministry to you,
Kathie

Oh this is hard.

Got the GRANDS settled in again; they had waited so patiently to do something fun as I worked to complete  this devotion. It was all but finished; only needed to tweak it for presentation.  I clicked all the right buttons for it to be saved, both in Word and on-line. But perhaps the thunderstorm had its way instead of mine – no words survived. Not one. Anywhere.  Other than my mind and what’s there, well that is questionable. So I am here to begin again, getting to practice what I “preached” so well just a little bit ago. :)

Isaiah 59: New International Version (NIV)
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall, feeling our way like people without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead.
via Is 59:10 – Passage Lookup – New International Version – BibleGateway.com.

I wrote earlier that this is a graphic picture for me this morning, depicting life lived by FEELINGS and not FAITH.  Or something like that – I need not insist that this new one be like the old one. Romans 8:28.

And right now I have feelings galore. Feelings vying for top position, and all of them detrimental to FAITH – so I prayed for help. And I’m still here; albeit jumpy.  The greater struggle in this moment is a desperate want to recreate what was. How many of you know that is not going to happen? Romans 8:28. So forgetting what is done, we press on. :)

Hebrews 10: 21st Century King James Version (KJ21)
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him.”
via Hebrews 10:38 – Passage Lookup – 21st Century King James Version – BibleGateway.com.

Blind groping a wall, trying to get somewhere; trying to journey this life with all its decisions and responses and defenses that bumping up against others demands. Feelings scream to rule. FAITH waits quietly to empower.

At midday we stumble as if it were twilight. Feelings do that. They ignore the Ever Present, Voluminous, Abounding (redundant, I know – but you get it) LIGHT we have at our finger tips, as close as breath, that we could call upon by FAITH. But feelings don’t want to, so we don’t.

Even in this land, Strength and Might surround us; but feelings refuse to receive and we are paralyzed. We are like dead men moving about in chains as we push and shove to get to where we think we should be or else we just despair and roll over and play dead.

That’s Feeling Life – it keeps us blind and weak, stumbling, falling, crabby, complaining, negative, pessimistic, and moody.  Trust me, I know whereof I speak.

Just this morning as I sat to write (the first time), feelings came – big and bad.  Big and bad would have won and the first devotional message would not have been written (much less this second one in process now) had not Faith Life rescued me.  More than just breathe out a prayer, I had to write it.  It’s a legacy thing.

“I cannot do this – I cannot let this happen. I am praying now for help to release these adverse emotions that have come upon me to drive me to sin and frustration.”

And so Faith Life prevailed. Faith Life won’t always prevail. Not because it’s too feeble. No it is well able to succeed every time; yet Feeling Life will in all probability deceive us again, catch us off guard and we will plunge in again. But even so we have hope.

Let me share a picture in closing.  We had a gardenia bush (more like a tree) in our side yard. It was diseased to near death.  Black soot disease was choking out the sun, preventing photosynthesis; and you know that is certain death for vegetation. Yes. Had we not waited so long other treatment might have spared drastic measures; but we didn’t. (You are getting the analogy here, aren’t you?) I finally prayed over it.  And the clear word that came was prune to nubs and burn.

Yes. Deep, deep pruning and fire. Is the picture worth a thousand words? Shall we refuse Feeling Life to embrace Faith Life so that deep, deep pruning and fire (refining) be not necessary?

Even so – New Beginnings are possible.

Just one of the LORD’s handmaidens,
Kathie

Please pray. PFT Click HERE for names.

ABBA, I see with this piece there are many avenues You could highlight, many messages You could give to Readers as they come here; even so, ABBA, as You will in JESUS Name.  Amen and amen.