Purpose

www.bible.com/1171/psa.138.8.mev

I’m still discovering daily God’s purpose for my life. Yes, I am old, but I truly believe that I’m still on earth because God isn’t finished with me yet. That has always meant to me that He is still perfecting me, helping me daily to become more like His Son Jesus. But, with today’s Scripture verse, I also think it means that God is still looking to use me here, to fulfill His purpose for me.

The two greatest days in your life are the day you were born and the day you find out why.-Mark Twain

Think about that quotation, my friends. We each have a purpose in life, and God is merciful to us, giving us the days on earth to discover that purpose and to fulfill it. I pray God’s blessing on each of you as you set out to continually work for Him and to discover His purpose for your life. You were not an accident! You were wonderfully made for a specific purpose in God’s kingdom. Isn’t that praiseworthy news?

Standing Strong

With one setback after another recently, including a broken foot that kept us from visiting our son and his family in Maryland, I was whining and crying last night to my husband. What brought on this discouragement? An announcement from Maryland’s governor that one cannot enter his state without a negative Covid test. What?!? I have been looking forward to a visit to my family for months now. We were supposed to go at the beginning of the month, but then I broke my foot and ended up in a boot and can’t manage stairs. So, we postponed it only to have Governor Hogan throw a wrench into the works. Well, I am calmed down now, prayerful and hopeful that God will work things out. I have no idea how, especially since I don’t even know where to go to get a Covid test unless I have symptoms. And praise God that neither my husband nor I have experienced those! So, what will we do? We don’t know yet. It’s in the not knowing that the stress comes in.

Then there is the election that has been called by the MSM and Fox News but not certified by the states. So, in this election cycle, I am still holding fast to my faith that God will work things out. If President Trump in still in the White House, then praise God that He has saved us once more from socialism and leaders who may claim to know God but who perform ungodly acts. Nevertheless, if there is a President Biden, that doesn’t mean that God has lost His power. He is still our firm foundation and will see us through whatever happens in our beloved nation. My prayer is that, no matter what, we will continue to have freedom of religion and speech and will not fear what man can do to us.

Dr. Denison’s forum today was encouraging for me, so here it is for you to read.

Dr . Denison November 18, 2020

And here are the Scripture verses that really stood out to me and touched my heart and mind.

Doesn’t seem very encouraging, does it? But wait….the book of Habakkuk doesn’t end here and our story doesn’t end with the wicked winning along with injustice.
I rejoice in the midst of the troubles because God is still on His throne and I am still a Christian, on the earth temporarily, and headed for my real home in Heaven.
God helps me to stay on top of things and not on the bottom looking up. Instead, I am on the top looking down at all of the chaos and waiting for God to settle things, in His time and in His way.

May the Lord bless and keep each of you in the palm of His hand, and may you find contentment in His presence. ♥️

God’s Judgment?

I have almost turned off all news yesterday and today. I cannot watch as the election shenanigans continue and the votes are taken away from our President. I do not think that Joe Biden is evil, but I do believe that he is bad for America. Nevertheless, the election process and the legal challenges continue and the stress has been too much for me, so I just turn it off. I did read Dr. Denison’s take on the election and this is part of his forum for today.

In America’s Expiration Date, Cal Thomas makes this prophetic statement: “Given the history of other empires and great nations, the decadence that now is tightening its grip on America almost guarantees our demise, or at the very least a radical decline that will leave the country devoid of the liberties we now enjoy but are rapidly exchanging for a license to do whatever we wish.”

God destroyed the nation of Israel because of its sins (Amos 9:8). The less we fear divine judgment, the more we should (cf. v. 10). If a tiny virus can bring the world’s greatest superpower to its knees, what of the judgment of an omnipotent and holy God?

But as we discern and grieve for the sins of our nation, we must remember that it is always too soon to give up on God. And never too late to intercede for a mighty movement of his Spirit.

Methodist minister Samuel Chadwick wrote, “Satan dreads nothing but prayer. His one concern is to keep the saints from praying. He fears nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. He laughs at our toil, he mocks our wisdom, but he trembles when we pray.”

Will you make Satan tremble today?

Article taken from:

Dr. Denison November 6, 2020

I was particularly drawn to the paragraph about interceding for our nation. We need to pray as never before that God will be merciful. I must admit that I had a conversation with God last night (or actually early this morning since I couldn’t sleep) and in my discourse, I just frankly told God that I’m angry about everything that is happening. I honestly told him that in the past I prayed for presidents that I had absolutely no real love for, like Clinton and Obama. And I told God that I just didn’t think I would be able to pray for Joe Biden. He calmed my heart and told me that He would give me the prayers to pray and the words to say when I need them.

Again, when I talk to God, I speak to Him from my heart and my frustrations came through clearly. I have not been able to attend church since March, although my husband has been going to our old church. I, in fact, chose to leave that church in August when the pastor kept preaching from commentaries instead of from the Holy Bible. The big issue was that he never makes it clear that what he is saying is from a commentary, so what he spoke was “extra-scriptural.” To me, that was wrong because the pastor is held to a high standard to preach God’s Word and I felt that He was adding things to God’s Word for the purpose of unnecessary theatrics. After speaking with the pastor, I decided that it was best for me to walk away since he does not see that he is erring at all and my heart sees things differently. I have spoken to the pastor since I left the church membership and even helped him edit a story that he wrote, but the relationship is not what it should be between a sheep and the shepherd. With my trust in my pastor fading and then disappearing, I made the only decision that I could, prayerfully, of course. So, I have been pastor-less, and I told God that I was upset about that, too. He has spoken to me repeatedly that He is my Shepherd so I don’t need to fear. Unfortunately, my husband is on the board for the church and is trying to fulfill his duties there, even while he searches for a new church for us to attend. In the meantime, when I have prayer requests, I have two good friends whom I contact as well as my daughter, and it is to them that I pour out my heart. I do miss praise and worship, so I keep worship music on most of the day, as I do my devotions, write this blog and read my books. But I miss the corporate worship in a way that I can’t describe. I miss the people in the church, but not the errors in the message that made me cringe.

I say all this to just say that we all need prayer, but mostly, our nation needs us to stand together in prayer. We need to stand our ground and pray for God to make things right and to protect us from the coming judgment.

Lauren Daigle “O Lord”

Prayers

I have struggled with all of the events going on in the USA these days. First, there was Covid-19 which brought on unemployment and uncertainty and a quarantine along with masks. Then, there was the rioting and looting which some say is a protest, but I call it what it is…lawlessness. Now there are fires all over the west, with Oregon and California being the center of many tragic stories. This morning, I read about a thirteen year-old boy who was trying to escape with his grandmother and they both died in the fires. What is going on here? Is God still there? Is He being silent?

My belief is that God is indeed working on our behalf in the background, but so many people in the U.S. have embraced the lawlessness and are not ready to call on His Name that God is not acting as strongly as He could. It’s like we as a people have told Him for so many years that we can take care of ourselves that God is letting us see that we really can’t.

I recall when my children were little that they would insist at times that they could do it themselves, whatever “it” was. Most generally, it was getting dressed. Then, they may have come out of their rooms with pants on backwards and shirts wrong side out, but they were clothed. I would gently lead them to the right way to do it and for some reason, they did not feel that I was taking over and trying to do it all for them. I think that’s a picture of God’s work in these days of chaos. He is letting us try to figure it out, which includes turning to Him for help, but He hasn’t really left the scene. He is right there, as close as our next breath.

So, since God is so close, just as He always is, let’s pray to Him. What should we pray for? Oh, so many things! But Covid-19 comes to mind and all of those affected by it. We had church services canceled this week as a member of our worship team was exposed as well as our pastor. There are the fires in the west, where rain really needs to fall. Then, there is a new hurricane forming in the gulf, with over two feet of rain possible for the low-lying areas of Louisiana and Mississippi. There is the unrest from the rioters and looters, those who blocked an ER with the purpose that policemen who had been shot by an assassin could not get in to get treatment. (Folks, I don’t know what you call that, but I call it pure evil!).

So much to pray for, but mostly we need to pray for God to restore His hand of mercy on our nation, to look on His people and to give us grace. I am sure that there are many prayers going up already, but I want to join my voice in, with a fervor that I don’t think I have felt in many years. We need the Lord! We need to see His hand at work, and we really need to repent of the sins of our land. Following the Bible is not easy at times because these days the tenets of God’s Word seem to be in direct contrast to the way the world is living. We are standing in the gap, praying. With heartfelt prayers, let us take our nation and all of its problems before the Lord.

Casting Crowns Praise You in This Storm