Monday, January 17, 2011 - MLK Day - When It Dawned on Dawn

     Dawn was baptized yesterday morning and her daughter-in-law, Brittany, read her testimony. Dawn wasn't a believer nor had she given God much thought until her beautiful grandbaby, Lyla, lived only a few days before moving into heaven's hands. Although the entire family was heartbroken and grieving, Dawn saw in her son Marcus and in Brittany's side of the family something she didn't have: peace and hope.

    "Even though Pam is the other grandmother, I could see she was handling Lyla's death better than I could," her testimony read. Dawn started asking questions and Pam revealed Jesus as the reason for her strength and hope. Pam explained to Dawn that although she grieved losing Lyla, she knew she would see her again in heaven. After much prayer and many similar discussions the Truth dawned on Dawn and Pam led her to commit her life to Jesus. God used this earthly tragedy to bring heavenly victory and because a family allowed God to reveal His Son through them, another child has been adopted into the family of God.   

God of heaven You call us to let You live unsquelched in and through us. Forgive us when we check You - when we try to tone down Your work in us. Forgive us when we hesitate to obey because we're afraid or anxious that You'll embarrass us by expressing too much of Your nature through us. Father, strengthen us beyond worrying what people will think. Strengthen us to stick to You like superglue and to let Your Love outpull the gravitational pull of what others think. Shine through us and may the Truth dawn on many other people because of the difference You make in our lives.

In the Name of Jesus Who revealed Your Nature so perfectly that people didn't know what to think

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 

by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, 

present your requests to God. 

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, 

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

 Philippians 4:6-7

"And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." 

Philippians 4:19

"But when God, 

Who set me apart from birth and called me by His grace,

 was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, 

I did not consult any man," 

Galatians 1:15-16

Verses from My Utmost for His Highest and Jesus Calling
photo by Linda Sprinkle Thomas

Wednesday, November 10, 2010 - Nicknames

     When Nick was three or four he heard us talking about someone with a "nickname" and he did his best to assure us that he was the only one with a Nick name.
     In only a few viewings of the television show "The Office" you quickly learn that for Andy Bernard, nicknaming is part of the male bonding process. He concocts unimaginative nicknames such as "Big Tuna" for  Jim who brought tuna for lunch one day. When Jim is promoted, Andy changes the nickname to "Boss Tuna."
     When I call God "God," "Lord," and "Father" it's because of what He's done in my life. The problem is I don't have enough names for God when I attempt to acclaim and proclaim  all He does in my life but it's a joyful exercise to try. Today He is my Rest -  Rest from Worry, Rest from Darkness, Rest from my own weaknesses and failures, Rest from the Need to Please Others, Rest from guilt, Rest in Grace, and God of the Rest of my life. Oops, was that more than one name?
    Thank You, Father-God, Healer and Rest for being a God we can't give enough names. You never change Who You are but You find an infinite number of ways to express Who You are! Thank You for being bigger than our imaginations and creativity!


In the name of Jesus, God saves, a favorite nickname for God!


"Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim You, who walk in the light of Your presence, O LORD. They rejoice in Your name all day long; they exult in Your righteousness." Psalm 89:15-16


"This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in His presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and He knows everything." 1 John 3:19-20


"To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy" Jude 24


"In my integrity You uphold me and set me in Your presence forever." Psalm 41:12

Sunday, October 24, 2010 - Caught napping

     It's a shame we hear Psalm 23 mostly at funerals and somehow relate lying down in green pastures with being buried in a graveyard. No wonder many believers are rest-a-phobics! We're afraid to lie down for fear someone will toss a shovel-full of dirt on us.
      I once heard that more women than men go to church because it's the only place a gal can sit for a couple of hours and not feel guilty. Today's "Jesus Calling" devotional rebukes the twisted thinking that we can't meet our basic need for rest without feeling guilty. Admit it: If someone catches you sitting, napping or enjoying a day to yourself, don't you feel the need to explain how hard you've been working? Many of us won't even rest as we should when we're sick or recovering from surgery, so following God's plan to rest as a proactive step in our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical well-being is simply foreign to us. Below is an excerpt from the self-pronounced atheist and Tour de France king Lance Armstrong's website Livestrong.com:
"One of the most important, yet overlooked, aspects of any exercise or training program is the recovery phase, or time spent resting. It is all too common a thought that rest time is a period of doing no work, and while you are not actually doing any physical work, physiologically your body is seizing the opportunity to repair itself to become stronger in preparation for the next exercise stress placed upon it. It is during rest that the body becomes stronger."
(Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/110639-importance-rest/#ixzz13H1KoleP)
     Albert Einstein kept a cot in his office and when a problem stumped him (imagine the problem that stumped Einstein!) he would take a nap and wake up with the solution. Doesn't it tickle you pink when the worlds of medicine, science, and psychology agree that God knew what He was talking about in His Word?   
     We're in training and part of our discipline is to learn to rest and allow God to restore our souls. He "blessed the sabbath day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating He had done." God set the example and found a stopping place. What kind of witness to God's sovereignty and peace are we if we work nonstop, as if there is no Good Shepherd guiding and guarding us?  Take a nap, for His name's sake, take a nap. 
Father, forgive us for the pride that leads us to work like fools, as if everything depends on us. You are our sweet, loving Shepherd and we can rest in Your sight because You're looking out for us and call us to rest. Help us take care of ourselves by planning times to rest so that when You're ready to assign us a new mission, we're restored and ready. Teach us to praise You rather than spending our precious energy speculating and planning for every possibility. Teach us to relish the peace You came to give us so others will be drawn to the God of Peace. 
In the name of Jesus, Prince of Peace 


"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." Psalm 23:1-3


"By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He rested from all the work of creating that He had done." Genesis 2:2-3


(prophesied about John the Baptist's ministry)  
"to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace." Luke 1:79