Chooseday…

     Ever rescued a frog from the swimming pool? He got himself in there, but he can’t get out – and though he can swim, he can’t swim forever… So I take my net and scoop him in – but he hops back in the water before I can toss him in the grass. We do this ritual a few times before I win.

How many times has our Father tried to scoop us out of what we think seems like a great pool of fun? He tries and we hop right back in – we know best…

We start early in this knowing best – as a toddler we choose the ‘no-no’ thing and our mom swats our bottom, teens choose to try the forbidden and consequences teach them (or not), and so it goes.

At some point we stop hopping out of His safety net, that day is Chooseday. “Now fear the Lord and serve Him with all faithfulness…then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.” (Joshua 14:14-15 NIV)

But Chooseday becomes every day of the week when we walk in the courage of our Rescuer. Choosing to stay in His net or hop out and try it our way again. “He brought me out into a spacious place; He rescued me because He delighted in me.” (Psalm 18:19 NIV)

Delighted in me? Yes, because dear one, once you chose His Son, no amount of net hopping will make Him give up on you. You are a cherished child, needing your bottom swatted now and then but delighted in by a Savior ready to lead you in the way everlasting…

“See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:24 NIV) We have many offensive ways, we live in a world of offensive ways, hurting hearts all around us. Chooseday is all about Living Braver as we empty ourselves of offensive ways and forgive the offenses of others…

 

 

 

 

 

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Landing Strips…

     My step-dad had his pilot’s license, off and on he had a little plane that two to four people could fly in. He rebuilt most of one in our garage once. I remember the first time we flew and had to land in the early evening. It was almost dark and I got scared. I asked how he would be able to see where to go…

In our darkest hours we often don’t know where to go, but there is light for us: “Send forth Your light and Your truth, let them guide me.” (Psalm 43:3 NIV)

I watched a beautiful short film about a wondrous cave in China. Instead of stalactites, this cave had openings here and there from the top of the hill where light filtered in. Throughout those areas of the cave there was lush vegetation. Green ferns and mosses and other delicate plants. Wherever the light touched there was growth…

As we are touched by the Light so we grow in our faith: “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness’, made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:6 NIV)

I took a guided tour in a cave where no light reached in. There was no life in it, just rock. Lights were stationed along most of the trail but at one point deep in the cave, where it was very cold, they had us all stand still. All the lights were turned off. I had never been in total, black, deep darkness before. Our eyes did not know what to make of it. A far away light came on, our searching eyes caught sight of it right away. Light, even the tiniest amount, permeates the darkness…

Our eternal souls are saved by His Light: “For you have delivered my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.” (Psalm 56:13 NIV)

My step-dad had me watch closely in the last minutes before we landed. As we came closer and lower I could see the little running lights. They seemed like an arrow pointing the way: land here, this is the place… And so our Bible points the way for us: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105 NIV)

Let’s choose His light to lead us out of our darkness…

 

If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME!   So glad you are here!

Safest When…

     Safe – where is ‘safe’? Safe – from ‘what’?

There is much to pray about being kept safe from isn’t there? If we were to pray for self and loved ones only about safety, I suppose we could take up most of our day. So much to be kept safe from…

Do you long for a bubble around your children, around your car speeding down the road, around your heart throughout the day…

 

In this world there is no bubble, bad has its way. Mommas lose daughters to terrorists, daddys lose sons to drugs, wives lose husbands to midlife crisis, friends lose kindred spirits to old age… Where is safe…

“Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge.” (Psalm 16:1 NIV) Refuge – shelter or protection from distress or danger. Here? Now? Yes and no. As we walk in obedience to God we are kept safe from many pitfalls we may never know of. But in a sin-filled world, we aren’t exempt from troubles. Kept safe from utter destruction – Absolutely, Always, Forever…

This fearful, dreadful, tearful now is temporary… Perhaps safe isn’t where, or what, or when – but Who…

“But the Lord is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection.”  (Psalm 94:22 HCSB)

Max Lucado said “When fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our God… The New Testament lists some 125 Christ-issued imperatives. Of these, 21 urge us to ‘not be afraid’ or ‘not fear’ or ‘have courage’.” His second most common imperative was to love God and neighbor, and that only appeared eight times. Max went on to say “Jesus takes our fears seriously. The one statement He made more than any other was this: don’t be afraid.”

Safe when? When you are in the arms of your loving Father — and when you have Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you are always and forevermore in His arms…

If you stopped by because you read my devotion today over at Encouragement Cafe, WELCOME!   So glad you are here!  Click on the ‘Back to Paris Renae’ link at the top, where we chat about how extraordinary ordinary is…