Heavenly Compost

Have you ever wondered why your life isn't growing a rich harvest of good? Do you question or blame God for bad circumstances? Are you easily angered? Do you feel depleted or ineffective? Maybe, you aren't tending to your soul the proper way? Our soul is like a garden and the attention that you give it determines whether the harvest is bountiful or distressed.

A couple years ago we revitalized our garden with compost, vermiculite and manure. With our hands and rakes we blended the rich fertilizers together and then planted our seeds. Our harvest that year was robust and flavorful! We took waste and turned it into nutrients and the results were obvious. The next year we just reused the soil as it was and the garden was full but nothing like the year before. Now, a few years later, we became lazy and never enriched the soil. The results were puny vegetables and scraggly vines. How often do we neglect our souls that way?

When we purpose it in our heart and mind to be good to ourselves, we focus on doing the right things such as eating healthy, exercising, going to church, reading our bibles, fellow-shipping, staying up on our chores... When we do those things we then see our lives give back to us a beautiful harvest. However, when we neglect ourselves and the things that we know are good for us we shrivel into hopelessness and despair.

God's will IS NOT that we struggle through life. He doesn't want us depleted and ineffective. His will is that we are living full lives filled with joy, peace, insight, self-control, love... He wants us to come to him and ask him to tend the gardens of our mind and heart!  This world is filled with pressures from world events to daily personal situations. It feels overwhelming and unmanageable to us as we try to navigate it. So, how do we thrive rather than survive? It's all in our focus. Is your hope in the world or is it in God? The world offers temporal happiness in small bites as it falls apart around us. Whereas, Christ offers hope, peace, joy and a safe place to find respite while he strengthens us and loves us. Our focus is key. Do you tell your mind that you're lonely, sad, depressed... Or, do you reaffirm throughout your day the promises of God? Whatever your mind chases, your heart is sure to follow.

God can take all the waste and manure that life throws at you and sift it through his beautiful hands until a rich, robust, nourishing compost is made. Then, if you'll allow him, he will use all that refuse that the world dumps on you to fertilize your life. You will be blessed and then become a blessing! This world is sins domain right now but Christ is working among it. He can and will use every bad thing to his glory and for our benefit. Romans 8:28 says, "For all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to his purpose." God is a God of renewal, restoration, redemption, revival... He recycles the ravages of sin and remakes it into lessons that bless us! He calls us to give him glory for his great love and then to go and love others with the love that has been shown to us. 

You can be a child of God by simply saying this prayer, "God, I've heard about you and how you sent your son Jesus to save me through his death on the cross. Today, I choose to believe that I cannot save myself and that it's only through your son that I can be saved. Forgive me my sins and guide me into a strong relationship with you. Amen."

Child of God, you are not worthless. You were worth dying for. You are loved unconditionally. Nothing and no one can pluck you from His hand. Even if you fall, He will pick you up. When you wander He will come for you. His thoughts toward you outnumber the sands. He will give you the same Spirit that rose him from the grave to guide you, heal you, teach you... Nothing can ever separate you from his love. Your sins are forgiven, they are removed as far as the east is from the west. You matter, you are eternally loved, you have a purpose. He made you in your mother's womb and is intimately acquainted with you. He calls you sons and daughters. He will protect you, stay with you, love you and save you. You are LOVED.

If you said the prayer of salvation then you are now God's child. You are eternally saved and you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit. Go and tend your garden with Jesus as you grow in the grace and knowledge of Him. I encourage you to get a bible and start by reading the gospel book of John. Also, read Luke Chapter 8, verses 4-15. Be sure that the seed of the good news falls on good soil.

John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but shall have eternal life.

Deuteronomy 31:8, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you or forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Isaiah 41:8, "I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the deserts into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs."

John 8:12, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life."

Don't Give Up

Who's Zerubbabel? I wasn't aware of him until I opened my bible the other day and decided to read what I opened it up to. Coincidence? No. I've read my bible cover to cover quite a few times but there is a huge difference between reading your bible and having God speak to you through it. God introduced me to Zerubbabel because he knew I would need this lesson just a few days later.

The last couple weeks were very difficult for me for many reasons. We all know that difficult times either set us running in our own strength or remind us to sit at the Savior's feet. I was pretty much winging it on my own. By that I mean that I didn't open up my bible or reach out for prayer... I felt myself sinking deeper and feeling more alone. Upon awakening this morning I felt the prodding of the Holy Spirit to get close to God but I chose to start a project first. Needless to say, my project turned into a hot mess and I just starting crying. While sitting at my desk with tears flowing I looked up and saw my bible open to The Book Of Ezra with the profile of Zerubbabel before me. The first sentence read, "Sometimes God's ownership of a project is only recognized after our best efforts have failed." My tears turned to laughter as I realized that the God of the Universe just spoke to me in a very personal way!

God's people had been exiled to Babylon for many years. In 539 B.C. Babylon was defeated by the Persian ruler Cyrus. He allowed the Jews to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple and Zerrubabel was the man chosen to lead the job. Long story short, he met some resistance and gave up on the project. His excitement turned to discouragement and hopelessness. It wasn't until sixteen years later that God sent the prophets Haggai and Zechariah to encourage him to restart and finish the temple. Zerubbabel lacked tenacity and faith when times got hard. When encouragement from the people stopped he stopped. He exhausted his own strength but did not turn to God for the strength to carry on.

John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches.If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." As I sit here in Upstate New York looking out my window, my yard looks like a tornado hit. There are dead branches all over our property! They are no longer connected to their source of life so they must be burned because their purpose is gone. Staying connected to God's power, purpose and joy is a moment by moment choice. When what we have been called to do becomes wearisome, unpopular, lonely... it is only the choice of drawing near to him that empowers us. Galatians 6:9 reads, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."

Zerubbabel may have given up but God did not give up on him. God will NEVER give up on us. His grace and mercy are bigger than us and he will always pursue us with his love. Seek him first, proclaim his might and find your strength in him. By the way, after I put God first and gave the project to him, it all worked out perfect.

Hebrews 4:7b, "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."

Beautiful Brokenness

Are we willing to be broken??? Our first reaction is to cry, "No! " However, my most precious moments were when I was broken in the presence of God. I felt full, whole and safe even as the storm raged around me. Compare that to when I am living out of my own strength and telling God to keep up behind me. My mind is overwhelmed, my spirit weak and empty, my body aching, dragging, my heart frightened and racing. We plow along like that because "we haven't physically and mentally broke yet!" We chase adrenaline, caffeine, sugar.... Squeezing every last drop out of our own abilities and trying to avoid breaking because we are so afraid to go there! Satan actually fools us into believing that it is the crash that represents God when in truth we are the ones who crashed and burned because we tried to live apart from God's love and strength!

The actual brokenness is beautiful. It's not a state of exhaustion but a voluntary step into the presence of God. We stand before him before we break in our own strength. We ask him to break anything in us that is self reliant and to give us a humble heart to trust him, follow him and work it all out for us. It's a nest of protection and unconditional love where we rest, laugh and confide with the One who adores us and restores us.

Don't confuse our crash with His grace. The notion that we must get to the end of ourselves before we crawl to him is a falsehood! Spending time in our bibles, praying, resting, having fellowship... Those are our daily flow stations. The enemy tries to make us believe that we should wear ourselves out and then make God a fill up station. The enemy tells us to run from brokenness. However, God tells us to have a broken and contrite spirit. We are NOT to be broken with weariness but to be broken in love. We should never be empty because God offers to flow his strength and love through us daily. Truth be told, he knows we are just sheep who need a Shepherd and every time we get lost he leaves the rest to come get us. Forgiving us over and over again. So let us try to stay near the Shepherd and not fear being broken in his presence. We drive ourselves like a relentless, cruel task master whereas Christ leads us with tenderness. Follow the Savior not the world. Be not afraid of complete vulnerability as you surrender your way to his. The world tells you its all about your power whereas, God empowers us with the same Spirit that rose Christ from the dead! I've done it both ways and trust me, his way is better.

Isaiah 41:18, "I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys. I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs."

Isaiah 43:19, "For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland."

Deuteronomy 31:8, "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Zechariah 4:6, "So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty."

Running ahead of God in our own strength is not wise. Be still and ask Him to go before you.

Update

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He's Listening

"Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. Listen to My Cry for Help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, oh Lord, you hear my voice; and in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:1-3

Having faith is about two things, trust and patience. When we are suffering, those seem to be the two hardest things to muster up. I found that it is in my daily time with the Lord where I have grown a heart of trust within me. You can't ignore God everyday and run at your own pace and then expect him to appear like a genie and solve your big personal dilemmas. He's an intimate God who wants to be a part of every small detail of your life. Until you still yourself before him by reading your Bible I assure you that you will live in more confusion than peace. 2 Timothy 1:7 says, "God has not given us a spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind." Wouldn't it be nice to not feel confused, overwhelmed or out-of-control? Growing in a relationship with Jesus builds a fortress of trust in our heart and mind.

Patience on the other hand is a muscle that must be worked every day. Every time you drop that pencil and it rolls way back underneath your desk, you have to say praise the Lord with a smile on your face instead of swearing. When someone cuts you off while you're driving you have to say a prayer for them instead of cursing them. When you're having one of those days and everything seems to be going wrong you must remember that they're just small inconveniences and not disasters. Not exaggerating our circumstances is one way to start to have patience. It's a moment by moment exercise that works incredibly by making you into a person of faith one tiny step at a time.

So, today why don't you purpose it in your heart to begin your day by seeking God. Crying out to him and letting him know what you need for the day. THINK ABOUT IT, the God of the Universe who created everything including you, wants to hear from you. He wants to know what you're up against, what victories you need. He wants to comfort you, guide you, heal you, and simply just be with you.  Getting to know him is how you will get to trust him and he will work everything out. Find comfort in the fact that the God of the universe truly listens to you and cares about you.

I've had some circumstances that didn't change but they changed me and that's what God intended. I've also seen clear cut miracles where someone who was blind received their vision and another where a situation that was believed to be impossible worked out perfectly! Each true child of God has stories of great miracles and victories. When your relationship with God grows, you will begin to have your own stories and miracles. That is how it is intended to be. God blesses us and then we go and bless others. The Great Commission is exactly that! Go and tell of the greatness of God! Take your heart to him and tell him what's going on in your life. He's listening.

Psalm 18:6, "In my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears." 

Psalm 34:4, "I sought the Lord and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears..."

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Stop

There are certain things in life that just cause you to stop dead in your tracks. It could be visual or audio or something such as a delicious food with the essence of all of the herbs, spices and flavors wafting through the air. I'm an avid lover of beautiful visions such as art and nature and the sounds of of good music and don't even get me started about how I stop to pet a puppy or kitten.You must admit that there are just certain things that make you stop and experience the wholeness of the moment. I'm sitting here in my car waiting for my grandson and as I am scrolling through my Tumblr account I thought it was funny that you can look at ten, twenty, thirty pictures but all of a sudden one particular picture will make you stop. It catches your eye and something inside of you says, "That is something I want to look at a lot." It makes my senses heighten or reminds me of some memory, but one thing I know is that it just makes me feel something.

During my bible study this week, Priscilla Shirer talked about how the sheep know the voice of their shepherd. His voice, his sounds and his inflections are set apart from all the other shepherds. He even has a special language for each individual sheep and when they hear that tone or call they stop, their ears perk up and they run to him. In biblical times there would be several shepherds that would all put their flocks in one huge pen. When morning came each shepherd would stand at the entrance and call out to his own and they would push past the others to follow him. When they heard his voice they immediately stopped what they were doing and payed attention only to him.

Do you know what comprises your soul? It is your talents, inflections, temperament, likes, dislikes, character, personality.... Each of us is so uniquely designed and crafted by God that not only do we all have a unique look but the things that make us stop are unique in their own right. Do you know why the sheep recognize their shepherds voice? Because he spends countless hours with them. He abides with them during their grazing, walks in the pastures with them, tends to their wounds, protects them from predators... He will take one small lamb aside at a time and teach it its own special language that just the two of them share. Each sheep is unique and special to him. Their shepherd is their father.

Some of us have our ears perk up when we hear the calling of God for us to come and repent, asking him to be our Savior. However, others may not due to defiance, stubbornness, rebellion or apathy. Those who choose to spend time with the Holy Shepherd learn from him. They commune with him in the pastures and allow him to set the pace for their lives. They grow in the grace and knowledge of him as they draw to his side and follow him. They allow him to feed them, heal them, guide them and protect them. Matthew 18:12 tells the story of the shepherd who left his flock to go after just one lamb that wandered. It continues by saying that Jesus will come for you if you are lost because you are of such worth to him. He doesn't desire for even one of his sheep to perish.

Do you know your Shepherds voice? Do you sidle up to him or do you wander? Do you trust him to set the pace for your journey? Do you believe he is the Savior or are you exhausting yourself trying to lead the flock yourself? Do you STOP and turn your attention to him when he calls? Oh, how we love to wander and seek out our own desires. Beware though my little lambs because Satan is out there and it is the one who is separated from the herd that he will go after. Draw near to your Shepherd, for all you need, he provides. He will never leave you or forsake you so stop looking over the fence. Follow where he leads and keep pace with him.

Read Psalm 139

Attentions Averted

Ever since the warm weather has arrived all the little critters have been busy around our yard. Prior to that I could walk our dog and he would be fully engaged in our experience. However, now that the deer, squirrels, bunnies and especially chipmunks are around it's impossible to keep him focused. His eyes and senses are keenly aware of the actions stirring around him and he no longer is engaged in our walk. I am constantly guiding him with the leash to redirect him and using my voice to get his focus on my commands. As I was walking him this morning I couldn't help but call to mind the lesson I studied this week in my bible study about keeping our focus on Jesus so as to not let the devil get a hold on us.

There are so many distractions in this world! I recently felt like I was in a hole and dirt just kept falling in on me slowly. I was so focused on the distractions that it took me longer than usual to cry out to God for help. (Read Psalm 4). My body was weary, my emotions tinged with anxiety and my spirit struggled with hopelessness. There wasn't any big crisis going on but it was a feeling like death by a thousand cuts. I had let my emotions trump my faith. That is how sneaky Satan is when he wants to take us down into a stronghold position! After reaching out to some dear Christian friends who re-focused me, I put my sights squarely back on Jesus. I got back into my bible to restore hope, gave my body rest, nourishment and hydration to get strong again and made a list of my problems to review with new eyes. In a matter of one day I had a new perspective and plan.

Satan's main goal is to get our eyes averted from our Savior. Like chipmunks to a dog we stray after earthly diversions. In this latest lesson from God I learned that we are no more than humans who are driven by self serving desires. I was trying to be everything to everybody and not let anyone down. My selfish desire to make all of life's wrongs right and play god backfired on me and broke me. I am not the Queen of Everything, I am a daughter of the King. It wasn't until I surrendered on my knees and told God that I want what He wants for me and to set the rhythm for my life. I want to march to His drum beat because mine was too fast and too furious! Guilt was my engine and it was revving!

Psalm 138:6, "Though the Lord is great, He cares for the humble, but He keeps His distance from the proud."

God will let us wear ourselves out. He waits for us to come to Him in our weariness so that hopefully we will let Him restore us and teach us His ways. His desire is not that we continue on a road of self destruction but that we would surrender in obedience to His good and perfect plan for us. He wants to give us an abundant life!

Matthew 7:24-27, "Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse, because it is built on the rock. But, anyone who hears my teaching and ignores it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come, and the winds beat against the house, it will fall with a mighty crash."

Keep your attention on Jesus.

God Goes Before Us

I wrote on my Instagram blog @Jesusdeevah today about how God's righteous right hand is on us. I explained that when a physical hand is needed to comfort us that God uses his children to do his work. We are his hands to serve others and we need to be attuned to his leading as we go through the day. There are people who need our compassion extended to them to show the love of God. I wasn't aware this morning that I would be that person who needed kindness.

My day started earlier than I wanted with someone who had an urgent request. As I tried to get this request accomplished I began to feel very overwhelmed. Multiple things were happening and my emotions got the best of me. However, God went before me and already had the blessings waiting! There was a lovey woman who saw the stress on my face and said, "It  looks like you need a hug." She gave me a tight, loving hug and her smile comforted me. Then, a clerk at the next stop saw that I had tears falling from my eyes and proceeded to empathize with me and gave me some tissues. I realized that God was saying to me that he had everything under control so I just started breathing steadily. The task still needed to be completed, after three attempts at other places that could not help I could have just gave up but God brought me a blessing. A young man came out from the back of the store and took an interest in the tech issue I was trying to accomplish. He quietly and patiently worked on the issue for longer than he should have but accomplished the task!

I gave God the time to work it all out for good rather than impatiently overreacting and quitting in discouragement. God goes before us and has our needs met if we just slow down and look for Him in our trouble. Learning and maturing in our faith is a beautiful thing. Practicing patience and trusting God with our issues brings us peace as it all works out. God does not bring us to it to not get us through it! The mind-set that we discipline ourselves to have as we trust in His promises is the key element. Think of some of the areas of your life where you're not experiencing God's peace and then search His Word for scriptures that counteract those doubts. Let His promises rule your mind rather than your emotions and you will come to find a new joy! It's a process but it's worth it!

Exodus 14:14, "The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still."

Proverbs 16:9, "A mans heart makes his plans but the Lord directs his steps."

Colossians 1:11, "...Being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience..."

Colossians 3:12, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience..."

Proverbs 16:18, "Pride comes before the fall.

Deuteronomy 31:8, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you, He will never leave you or forsake you..."

Invite God to go before you and prepare the way. In His timing He will work all things together for your good. (Romans 8:28)