Alone in the Desert......Streams in the Desert

Alone in the Desert

Streams in the Desert

And he took them, and went aside privately into a desert place (Luke 9:10).

In order to grow in grace, we must be much alone. It is not in society that the soul grows most vigorously. In one single quiet hour of prayer it will often make more progress than in days of company with others. It is in the desert that the dew falls freshest and the air is purest.
--Andrew Bonar

"Come ye yourselves apart and rest awhile,
Weary, I know it, of the press and throng,
Wipe from your brow the sweat and dust of toil,
And in My quiet strength again be strong.

"Come ye aside from all the world holds dear,
For converse which the world has never known,
Alone with Me, and with My Father here,
With Me and with My Father not alone.

"Come, tell Me all that ye have said and done,
Your victories and failures, hopes and fears.
I know how hardly souls are wooed and won:
My choicest wreaths are always wet with tears.

"Come ye and rest; the journey is too great,
And ye will faint beside the way and sink;
The bread of life is here for you to eat,
And here for you the wine of love to drink.

"Then fresh from converse with your Lord return,
And work till, daylight softens into even:
The brief hours are not lost in which ye learn
More of your Master and His rest in Heaven."

Prayer: Our Time Saver..... Dr. Charles Stanley

Prayer: Our Time Saver

Dr. Charles Stanley

Psalms 143:5-12

What do you think about when you wake up? Are your thoughts instantly focused on the day ahead, or are they centered on the Lord? Although most of us have busy lives that consume much of our time and attention, the most important and time-saving part of each day is that spent in quiet solitude with God.

Yet many believers feel so rushed that they don't think there's time for the Lord. They immediately jump onto the treadmill of life and then wonder why they're so frustrated, confused, and dissatisfied. Even if their desire is to follow God, they don't know where He's going since they haven't stopped to get directions for the day. There's also a disconnect because they've ignored their relationship with Him. No one can have intimacy with Christ without daily communication.

Perhaps the problem is our own human logic. We think spending time reading the Bible and praying each morning will result in having less time and lower productivity. However, when we seek Christ's direction and wisdom for the day and invite Him to control our lives, He'll accomplish more through us than we can do by ourselves. He'll give us wisdom for good decisions, increase our strength and energy, and free us from time-wasting anxiety.

Are you too busy for the Lord? If so, you're denying yourself the blessing of an intimate relationship with Christ. When you make time for Him, He'll fill you with peace and joy, guide your decisions, grant you wisdom, empower you to obey, make you more productive, and comfort you with His love.

Your Gifts Were Made for God and Others..... JAMIE IVEY

Your Gifts Were Made for God and Others
JAMIE IVEY

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies — in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV) 

I try every single year to grow vegetables in my garden. And every year, the results are quite sad. But this year, I was home because of the quarantine, and I got a head start on my garden. I’m happy to report I grew more tomatoes than ever before! I was truly so proud of my little garden … until I saw my friend’s garden.

She not only produced tons of tomatoes, but also okra, peppers, onions, spinach, kale and a bunch of other vegetables I didn’t even know existed. All of a sudden, my tomatoes — as awesome as I thought they were — suddenly didn’t seem like much when compared to all of her vegetables.

It’s laughable to feel this way over tomatoes — I know! But it’s a small and real example of something we’ve all felt over and over in life: envy and jealousy.

God blesses and entrusts each of us with influence, talent, power and spiritual gifts to glorify Him and build His Kingdom. But sometimes we look around at our friends, communities, neighborhoods or small groups and wonder why we got the JV giftings when everyone else seems to have varsity-level giftings.

As women, we struggle with comparison, and this often leads us to envy. It’s so hard, especially when we see so many truly faithful and inspiring women around us!

One day, I realized God didn’t give me these gifts for me. He gave me these gifts for Him! Our gifts are given to us by God in order to serve those around us. My thinking totally shifted. I began to truly see how God has blessed me, and then I began to trust Him with my giftings and value them — no matter how they compare to the gifts or talents of others.

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace … ” (1 Peter 4:10).

God calls you to use all your gifts, talents and influence to serve others. Fight the lie that her talents are better than yours. Fight the lie that God can’t use you for His Kingdom. Take inventory of your life, and prayerfully consider all the things God has given you to steward: your gifts, talents, influence, power and resources. You are meant to serve others with these. And you know what? That gifting you love … it’s meant to serve others. That gifting you aren’t sure is good enough … it’s meant to serve others.

I might never grow okra, but I’m certainly going to keep using my specific giftings to serve God and those around me. And my tomatoes sure were tasty!

Dear Lord, please remind us that the purpose of our giftings is to give You glory and serve others. We want to use our gifts to point people to You. Please help us to do that.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen. 

TRUTH FOR TODAY:
Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (ESV)

Matthew 5:16, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (ESV)

What’s There to Gain from Loss?..... by Laura MacCorkle

What’s There to Gain from Loss?
by Laura MacCorkle

At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.” - Job 1:20-21, NIV

In the next-to-last chapter of Dr. David Clarke’s The 6 Steps to Emotional Freedom: Breaking Through to the Life God Wants You to Live, a few sentences stand out in regard to our personal response to loss:

“You’re stuck if you have not genuinely changed as a person, in your relationships with others, and in your relationship with God. The whole point of loss is change.  Each loss ought to move you ahead in these three areas… God wants you to experience positive change, and one of His main methods to promote change is loss.”

Whoa. When’s the last time any of us has looked at a loss in our lives as something good? As something meant for positive change? As something from which we can gain?

It’s so much easier to become bitter, to stay depressed, to go into denial or to lash out in anger at those closest to us. 

When I think back about all the loss I’ve experienced in my lifetime, I don’t know if I can see resulting positive changes every time. Divorce, death, job lay-off, broken relationships, a church split… these are some of the losses that have impacted my life so far. Yes, some have grown me and strengthened my spiritual life.  But others are still a painful work in progress.

In the Bible, Job has got to be the No. 1 poster child for loss. He had it all: great wealth, good health and multiple children. And then one by one, God allowed it all to be taken away.

There was great suffering. Job agonized and felt alone. He cursed the day of his birth. I can imagine him thinking, Please, God, I am so tired of hurting. I have nothing left. Why are you allowing this to happen to me? I don’t know how much longer I can be ‘strong,’ hold it together and act like everything is fine.

But despite losing nearly everything, Job never curses God (although he is honest about his feelings). He honors His Creator and is faithful. Job sees that God’s way is the right way. He repents. And then God blesses him, giving him TWICE what he had before.

God doesn’t explain to Job why he allowed the suffering. And Job is okay with that. In fact, he goes on to live another 140 years: “He saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so he died, old and full of years” (Job 42:16-17).

We see that Job’s loss didn’t cripple him. He didn’t shrivel up his spirit and choose the bitter route for the rest of his days. No, what happened to Job only strengthened his relationship with God and matured his spiritual understanding. And that is the ultimate gain.

Like Job, we are to be faithful to God even when we endure loss in our lives.

Intersecting Faith & Life: Ask God today how, through your loss, He can help you gain positive change as a person—in your relationships with others and in your relationship with Him. Ask Him to use your experience to encourage someone else who has also suffered loss.

Further Reading

James 5:10-11, NIV

If John the Baptist Were Alive Today..... By Jennifer Waddle

If John the Baptist Were Alive TodayBy Jennifer Waddle

In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” - Matthew 3:1 NKJV

If John the Baptist were alive today, his message to the masses would be the same message he preached in the wilderness so long ago. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Yet, I wonder how many of us would take him seriously. In a world that is deafened by the constant noise and chaos, how many would actually listen to a man in the wilderness who claimed to be preparing the way of the Lord?

John’s timeless message is like a banner waving over every heart on the planet. It continues to wave bold and strong, even in the darkest of days. We need only look up and see that God’s kingdom is at hand. Our present circumstances are not our final destination. This is not all there is!

The beautiful thing about John’s invitation, is that it doesn’t require a whole check-list of things to accomplish. There is no get-your-life-together-first requirement. There are no rules you have to follow before repentance. For repentance is where it begins.

The Bible assures us that when a person, or a nation, repents of sin, God is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9). When people humble themselves and seek the Lord, He hears them. He heals them. And, He forgives them (2 Chronicles 7:14). What a simple, yet unheeded call: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

If John declared the kingdom of heaven was at hand, more than 2,000 years ago, how much nearer is God’s kingdom today? Every new day, we are one step closer to our heavenly home. Yet, we continue to live as though this is all there is. We continue to strive for the things of earth, which will one day pass away.

Today, let’s ask God to renew our hearts, minds, and souls, by surrendering everything to Him. Every hardship, trial, sin, and struggle, let us confess them and lay them at His feet. Will you join me?

Heavenly Father, We come before You, humbly seeking Your will and Your way. Forgive us, Lord, for doing as we please, in a world that is not our home. Help us to gain a heavenly perspective. Help us heed the timeless call of John the Baptist—“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 

Please, Lord, give us boldness and clarity to share this message with those around us, to break away from the noise and chaos and speak words of truth. Thank You, Father, for preparing the way through Your Son. There is no other way. Continue to work in our lives until the glorious day when Jesus returns. For it is by Him, for Him, and because of Him that we live, and move, and have our being. It is in His name that we pray. Amen.

A Prayer for True Love..... By Marjorie Jackson

A Prayer for True Love
By Marjorie Jackson

“The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” 1 John 4:8 (NASB)

God’s love for you and me is passionate, pure and beyond anything we’ve ever experienced, accepting us as we are. Our good, our sins, our past and our flaws are all bare before His eyes, yet being the perfect Gentleman and Father He is, He washes, changes, teaches and grows us tenderly. He reminds us of our worth and beauty as His daughters. He wants to forgive, bless and take care of us. He loves us with unconditional agape love.

Good news: His love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13:8) We can love like that, too — not in our own strength or willpower, but by the Holy Spirit perfecting God’s love in our hearts. (1 John 4:12) The deeper we know God and His arduous, purposeful love for us and for others, the easier we can love others as an act of loving obedience to God.

1 John 4:20 tells it like it is: “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (NASB)

Of course. How can we defy God’s command to love the people He has placed in our lives and still claim to love Him? Our obedience to God’s Word comes from our love and reverence for Him who gave His all so we could keep on giving and loving like He has done for us.

It is only when we love God first and foremost that we can reach our full potential in loving others as friends, sisters, daughters, wives and mothers. As we grow in our love for God and in our knowledge of His love, we begin to change. We begin to see and love others differently.

In reality, true love happens when the stars don’t align, sparks dim and butterflies fly away. Love happens when we sacrifice, knowing we’ll get nothing in return. We are patient, kind, never envious or boastful, modeling 1 Corinthians 13 in our hearts and with our behavior without expecting payback or accolade. We lay down our lives in love.

Today’s key verse, 1 John 4:8 says, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I hope you find true love. I hope you and I grow so close to God that we naturally begin to “love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5b, NASB). May you and I so overflow with God’s love that it runs up and over onto everyone we meet. His love will never fail, because God Himself is true love, and God never fails.

Heavenly Father, Thank You for loving me long before I ever loved You. Affirm Your love to me so I may know it well and pour it out on those around me. You are good, and Your love is perfect. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.