God is moving in CR

Hebrew 13:56--I will never leave your or forsake you. Sometimes do you ever have what seems an empty place in your heart that needs to be filled? A place that others cannot fill? You call a friend and are unable to reach them and when you do reach them they seem preoccupied or put you off. You decide to call someone in your family and they are busy doing their own things so you don’t want to keep them from doing what they need to do. Could it be that you are experiencing some major changes in your life and you don’t understand yourself what is going on? Are you looking to them to fill the void in your heart, to ease your loneliness? That is when you feel it -- a sense of loneliness deep within your heart that no one cares, I don’t belong any where, I’m not like the others, I don’t fit in, people say they love me, but have a strange way of showing it-- I feel so alone. How do you respond to feeling the emotion of loneliness? Loneliness is a strange emotion. You can be ...

"Arise and eat." 1 Kings 19:5 "The angel did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable; he told Elijah to do the most ordinary thing, viz., to get up and eat. If we were never depressed we should not be alive; it is the nature of a crystal never to be depressed. A human being is capable of depression, otherwise there would be no capacity for exaltation. There are things that are calculated to depress, things that are of the nature of death; and in taking an estimate of yourself, always take into account the capacity for depression. When the Spirit of God comes He does not give us visions, He tells us to do the most ordinary things conceivable. Depression is apt to turn us away from the ordinary commonplace things of God's creation, but whenever God comes, the inspiration is to do the most natural simple thing - the things we would never have imagined God was in, and as we do them we find He is there. The inspiration which c...

Valentine’s Day -- the great day for expressing your love one for another. God’s love. We do not need a day set aside to celebrate His love for us -- it should be a daily celebration. Think about it, nothing can ever separate us from it, it is everlasting and eternal, it was so strong for us that He died on the cross for us, and covers all our sins. He loves us in spite of ourselves and our wicked ways. By His example, He gives us the guidelines to show His love to others. I always go back to I Corinthians 13, because that is the plumb line for love. (Vs. 4-7 ) There is forgiveness, patience, kindness, love of truth, love for justice, love for the best in a person, loyalty at any cost, belief in a person no matter what. It does not allow for jealousy, envy, pride, a haughty spirit, selfishness, rudeness or demand one’s own way. It is not irritable, or hold grudges. There are no stipulations on whether or not we are worthy. We are not worthy of that love, but He is the one w...

Gracious Uncertainty . . . it has not yet been revealed what we shall be . . . —1 John 3:2 Our natural inclination is to be so precise— trying always to forecast accurately what will happen next— that we look upon uncertainty as a bad thing. We think that we must reach some predetermined goal, but that is not the nature of the spiritual life. The nature of the spiritual life is that we are certain in our uncertainty. Consequently, we do not put down roots. Our common sense says, "Well, what if I were in that circumstance?" We cannot presume to see ourselves in any circumstance in which we have never been. Certainty is the mark of the commonsense life— gracious uncertainty is the mark of the spiritual life. To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation. We are uncertain of the next step, but we are certain of God....

I have two favorite perfumes that I like equally but recognize they are appropriate for different uses and occasions. Both are from the Philosophy line of products and both have appealing names, Inner Grace and Amazing Grace. Inner Grace is a subtle scent that, in the company’s own words, “is your own personal heaven and was formulated with a scent to help bring peace and balance to your life.” Amazing Grace, on the other hand, is a more vibrant, floral scent that “allows a woman to embrace her beauty and express her femininity. Finally people will say "you smell so good" instead of "what is that perfume you're wearing?” Both scents are filled with grace, but different kinds. As I was preparing for my day last week, and mulling over one of my recent lessons from my Celebrate Recovery Step Study, I couldn’t help but realize the connection between these fragrances and lessons throughout the Step Study. In lesson 20, which reflects on Step 10, we learn about taking ...

Good morning: Sing unto the Lord a new song, then sings my soul, My Savior God to thee, how great thou art, Ps. 89 - I will sing of the Lord’s great love. Eph. 5:19 - sing and make music in your heart. The Lord is most worthy of praise. His praise will always be on my lips. How has everything been going for you lately? For some, things are as usual, but for others, times have been discouraging, depressing and painful. Maybe you have experienced loss or are suffering in some way. Maybe you are in the desert. Sometimes we have to travel these paths when we don’t want to. God wants us to have an abundant life, but that does not mean without pain suffering, discouragement or trials or desert times. John 16:33 -- in this world you will have tribulation, but take courage I have overcome the world. Are you cast down in your soul or are you praising God for being with you in the midst of the trial? We don’t always get the privilege to understand why we have to travel the path tha...

Good morning Leadership? What has God asked you to do recently that you just don’t want to do or even feel equipped to do? Is your attitude been like that of Jonah? God had a burden for the people of Nineveh and asked Jonah to go. Jonah thought that these people were undeserving and should die. He just did not want to go and teach a distasteful message to a distasteful people. In the beginning of Jonah did you ever count how many times the word “ down” was used? He thought if he kept a comfortable distance between himself and God, he wouldn’t have to do it. He certainly did not want to obey nor did he fear God. He did not realize there would be consequences for his disobedience and rebellion. He did not see that God’s will - will be done. He failed to see that God is sovereign. God begins to show him his sovereignty. He boards a ship and goes to the lower deck. God calls the waves and the storm and they respond to him. Jonah’s sin had consequences for the sailors. ...