Streams in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

Alone (Deuteronomy 32:12).

The hill was steep, but cheered along the way
By converse sweet, I mounted on the thought
That so it might be till the height was reached;
But suddenly a narrow winding path
Appeared, and then the Master said, 'My child,
Here thou wilt safest walk with Me alone.'
I trembled, yet my heart's deep trust replied,
'So be it, Lord.' He took my feeble hand
In His, accepting thus my will to yield Him
All, and to find all in Him.
One long, dark moment,
And no friend I saw, save Jesus only.
But oh! so tenderly He led me on
And up, and spoke to me such words of cheer,
Such secret whisperings of His wondrous love,
That soon I told Him all my grief and fear,
And leaned on His strong arm confidingly.
And then I found my footsteps quickened,
And light ineffable, the rugged way
Illumined, such light as only can be seen
In close companionship with God.
A little while, and we shall meet again
The loved and lost; but in the rapturous joy
Of greetings, such as here we cannot know,
And happy song, and heavenly embraces,
And tender recollections rushing back
Of pilgrim life, methinks one memory
More dear and sacred than the rest, shall rise,
And we who gather in the golden streets,
Shall oft be stirred to speak with grateful love
Of that dark day when Jesus bade us climb
Some narrow steep, leaning on Him alone.

"There is no high hill but beside some deep valley. There is no birth without a pang."
--Dan Crawford

The Authority of Our Message..... Dr. Charles Stanley

The Authority of Our Message

Dr. Charles Stanley

1 Kings 17:1

King Ahab's first thought after encountering the prophet Elijah may well have been, Of all the nerve! Just who does this guy think he is? Bursting onto the scene out of nowhere, Elijah confronted Israel's wicked king with a message that would soon disrupt life throughout the entire region.

The validity of the revelation rested with the Source, not the mouthpiece. Elijah was a man of great faith who believed what God told him; he could boldly speak with authority because he knew and trusted the One who gave the message. He spent time alone with the Lord and listened as he stood before Him.

Our Father doesn't speak to us in exactly the same manner that He spoke to the Old Testament prophets, but the process of receiving His message hasn't changed. It begins with being alone in His presence and involves listening as He speaks through His Word. But it shouldn't end there.

Prophets had the responsibility of telling the people what the Lord revealed to them. Similarly, we are to share with others what we learn from God's Word. Devotional time with the Lord is not just about our own interests and needs. The Father reveals His treasures to us so that we can share them with others.

Begin each day alone with God in His Word and in prayer, listening as He speaks to your heart. Believe what He says in Scripture, apply it to your life, and then share with someone else what He has revealed. Be bold and remember that the authority of your message comes from Him.

When You’ve Wandered Away From God..... ARLENE PELLICANE

When You’ve Wandered Away From God
ARLENE PELLICANE

“Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” John 13:1b, c (NIV) 

When our firstborn child Ethan was about four, we decided to lose him in the department store.

Yes, you read that correctly, but let me offer more explanation as to why we intentionally did that.

While he was young, we wanted to help Ethan learn to follow us closely in public places so he wouldn’t get lost. Like most children, Ethan would often run away from us when he saw a beloved toy character on the store shelf. The power of those toys to capture his attention was irresistible!

One shopping trip, when Ethan stopped to examine bed sheets that had his favorite cartoon character on them, we decided to hide around the corner from him. When he looked up from the sheets, we were nowhere in sight … at least not from his perspective.

We had disappeared! His eyes welled up with tears as he stood there, stuck in his spot, not knowing what to do.

About 30 seconds later, my husband James swooped in and picked him up. “Ethan, we have been watching you the whole time. We were just around the corner. We never left you. But this is a big store, and you need to keep your eyes on us so you won’t get lost.”

And from that day forward, he didn’t. He learned his lesson well. I didn’t even have to hold his small hand to keep him near when we went shopping.

Like my son, we have a heavenly Father who guides us through this huge department store called life. There are many distractions along the way — shiny objects that vie for our affection and attention. It’s easy to take our eyes off Jesus, to wander, to get lost. We ask questions like “Where are You, God?” and “How could You abandon me?” Maybe you feel far away from God right now or like you’ve hit a spiritual ceiling you can’t grow past.

Yet even right now, God is near. We cannot shake ourselves from His presence. The psalmist David writes in Psalm 139:9-10, “If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast” (NIV).

Our key verse assures us of the unshakable nature of God: “Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end” (John 13:1 b, c). He loved them to the end. Even the cruelest death on a cross could not stop Jesus from loving His disciples and loving us.

There is nowhere you can go and nothing you can do to shake the love of God.

Human hearts are prone to wander, but God’s heart is always toward you. You are never alone or abandoned. As we pivot away from worthless things and turn our eyes toward Jesus, we discover He’s been waiting for us all along!

Dear Jesus, thank You for loving me so much that You went all the way to the cross. Forgive me when I walk away from You, when I turn away from Your laws. Search my heart, and know my thoughts. I choose to follow You today and keep my eyes focused on You — and my future home in heaven. In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
2 Thessalonians 2:15-17, “So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (NIV)

A Hedge of Clichés by..... Katherine Britton

A Hedge of Clichés
by Katherine Britton

And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. - Matthew 6:7

A Bible study friend recently encouraged me to rewrite the famous passage on Proverbs 31 woman in my own words, with application to my own life. I took her up on the challenge, thinking the task wouldn't be too hard for someone who writes for a career. 

Crafting a modern application took an hour—much longer than I figured. Getting away from verbatim repetition to explore specific application required much more of my time and energy than I would typically spend journaling on a passage. Stepping back from the verse-by-verse analysis, though, I thought I saw the Proverbs 31 woman's characteristics a bit more clearly. Rewriting the passage didn't destroy the original language for me—on the contrary. The "words, words, words" seemed fresh and clear from my new vantage point. 

Unfortunately, reading and "hiding Scripture in our hearts" quickly slips into rote recitation for me. It's like Tim Hawkin's hedge of protection comedy sketch; the words have power, but we start spouting them off without much thought. Pretty soon, I'm sitting in church and halfway through a hymn before I realize that I'm singing. My heart gets left behind too when my mind is disengaged. Pretty soon, I'm praying a "hedge of protection" for somebody, partially because the phrase sounds good without making me think too carefully about their specific needs.

  The Pharisee Jesus described in Luke 18:9-13 had mastered the art of hiding insincerity behind the right phrases. He knew the turn of phrase that would convey holy devotion, regardless of the filth in his heart. "Words, words, words" became meaningless, as Hamlet saw them in the dead books - they became a socially acceptable key to avoid the real attitudes. 

Contrast this to the tax collector. He understood that social niceties wouldn't veil his sins before God, and he didn't continue with a recitation the way the Pharisee did. His simple prayer was, "God, have mercy on me, a sinner." That was it. He knew the impact of his simple phrase far better than the Pharisee did. He didn't need to "babble" to impress God or those around him; he simply spoke his heart, knowing that ability to pray is itself a mercy. 

The beautiful language of Scripture is best adorned with sincerity of heart, not how many words we can string together in holy sentences. After all, consider how simple the Lord's Prayer is written - and how difficult and miraculous it is to proclaim "Your will be done." 

Intersecting Faith and Life: There's not a "holy attitude" that we put on at "holy times" - we are called to be holy all the time, in our joking with friends as well as our prayers. We need to speak simply, truly, and to God's glory all the time. This week, practice this by eliminating Christian catchphrases from your prayers, instead journaling your prayers to bring a fresh application.

Praying for God’s Will, Not Our Own..... By Joe McKeever

Praying for God’s Will, Not Our Own
By Joe McKeever

When we pray, we say, “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” And we say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” We want what we want, but more than anything, we want His will. He knows what is best.

So, when we come to pray, we trust Him in answer in the way of His choice, not ours.

If we cannot pray and leave the answering of that prayer to the Father, accepting whatever He chooses to send as His will in that situation, we will quit praying. Some have quit praying.

If we cannot keep believing in God when He delays answering our prayers, we will quit praying. Many have quit.

If we cannot keep trusting when God disappoints us with the answers He sends, we will quit praying. And many have quit.

God knows what He is doing. God has His own plans. He wants our faith in Him to be strong and steadfast, to endure the hard times and to be pure in the good times.

God is at work this very moment. He will do things in His own way and He will take His own good time about it.

Do not be surprised if God’s answer to your prayers is not what you asked or wanted or expected. But what you said you wanted above all was His will to be done.

Think of Joseph: Joseph is thrown into the pit by his brothers (Genesis 37:24). Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers and taken to Egypt (Genesis 37:28). Joseph is betrayed by his mistress and abandoned by his master and thrown into prison (Genesis 39:20). Joseph is still in prison two years later, betrayed by fellow prisoners who had promised to help him (Genesis 41:1). Joseph is made ruler over the land of Egypt, second only to Pharaoh himself (Genesis 41:41).

God had been on the job all along, using these tragic circumstances to prepare His man for the pivotal assignment He had for him. Joseph trusted the Lord throughout all these ups and downs–mostly downs–and God exalted him.

If we cannot walk by faith and believe by faith–a redundancy, of course–we will stop praying.

A Prayer for Godly Wisdom..... By Tracie Miles

A Prayer for Godly Wisdom
By Tracie Miles

“Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.” Proverbs 19:20-21 (NLT)

Over several months of dealing with a difficult circumstance, I received a lot of godly counsel from beloved friends and family. Yet I found it hard to heed their good suggestions at times, because my feelings seemed to be in control of my thoughts.

Recognizing this struggle within, I bowed my head and prayed: “Lord, please help me see with eyes that are wise, not eyes blurred with overwhelming emotions. Help me act out of a heart that follows You, not a heart heavy with worry. Help me think with a holy perspective, not a mindset based on my own opinions or feelings. Give me wisdom and discernment, and the ability to recognize and follow wise instruction when I receive it.”

I opened my eyes and reached for my Bible, and immediately came across today’s key verses, Proverbs 19:20-21 … “Get all the advice and instruction you can, so you will be wise the rest of your life. You can make many plans, but the LORD’s purpose will prevail.”

My heart quickened at the thought of God whispering the comforting answer I had just prayed for. I sensed His assurance that it was okay to accept and trust wise advice that aligned with Scripture, because His plans and purposes would always prevail even if my decisions weren’t perfect.

Obviously my first place for wisdom and guidance is God’s Word and prayer, and I had been anxiously seeking His direction for weeks. But as I read this verse, I felt prompted to ponder all the people who’d offered me loving wisdom. With grateful humility, I bowed my head again to pray, intentionally thanking God for all the people who continually poured wise instruction into my heart and seeking discernment about the best advice to follow.

God sends people into our lives for many reasons, and in many cases, it is in response to a need we have — whether it’s now, or yet to come. No relationship happens in the Kingdom of God by circumstance or without reason, whether it’s to provide friendship, help us through a season of difficulty, provide wisdom or inspire us to stand strong in our faith when we feel weak and unsure.

Throughout Scripture, we are instructed to choose our friends wisely, because with godly friends comes godly wisdom — just when we need it most. Let's use this prayer to seek out God's wisdom and guidance in life:

Lord, thank You for the people You have divinely placed in my life who speak holy truth, love and words of wisdom. Give me a heart of discernment to know when You are using someone to speak instruction into my heart and my circumstances, and give me the strength and courage to follow through with that advice, even when it’s hard. Fill me with peace in knowing that even if I take a wrong turn, Your purpose will prevail. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.