Towards…

     Sometimes we just have to move. I am finding that moving with a sore back has to be deliberate. If I find a comfortable spot, I just want to stay put. But in the end, that leads to more pain.

It is the same in our relationship with God. We must always be moving with Him: growing in our knowledge of Him, seeking His wisdom, knowing His Word and His ways better and better.

Sometimes we find a comfortable spot in our God relationship – we want to stay there. To move would not be easy. But when we don’t move beyond this comfortable spot, we stagnate and grow stiff and in the end it’s not so comfortable after all.

“For in Him we live and move and have our being.” (Acts 17:28a NIV)

We have a heavenly destination. In this earth suit we wear we will not reach it, but when we close our eyes to this world and open them in the next we will have arrived. There is fuel for the journey: the Bible. There is protection for the journey: the Holy Spirit. There are travelling companions for the journey: fellow Christians.

Along the way there will be potholes, wrong turns. At those times satan will try to convince us that we are stuck, that our past is all we are, ever will be.

“The next time satan reminds you of your past, remind him of your future.” Sue Edwards

For every disappointment – be they backaches, financial downturns, loss of innocence, and so many other heartaches – there beats the heart of a loving Father who is with us. Nothing can touch us. Oh yes, here we will feel pain, but here is not our destination.

Buckle up, the journey is crazy good, crazy hard, but soon you will be home…

“Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight…So we make it our goal to please Him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it.” (2Corinthians 5:6-7, 9 NIV)

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

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October 28, 2014 Open the Gate…

     I am not an artist, if I were I would paint gates – I love photographs and paintings showing a gate – they beckon us to seek what lies beyond…

Each day we are faced with decisions. It may be an ordinary day: what to have for breakfast, what gas station to fill up at, what television show to watch. It may be a fear filled day: a phone call we didn’t want, words that cut deep, saying goodbye as our heart breaks.

Some days need to be seeking days. Some days we can’t fix things, can’t come to the end of a thing, can’t find the beginning of a thing… Some days we just need to…open the gate… 

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be kept safe.” (John 10:9 NIV)

Seeking days are preparation days. In the Old Testament Daniel prayed without ceasing for three weeks, limiting what he would eat and what he would do. At the end of the three weeks he was ready for what God was about to do in his life. Without that time of seeking, what happened next would have been too overwhelming and would not have made sense to him.

Because of Jesus we can seek God at all times – whether on our knees or while buying the groceries, whether with eyes closed or driving down the road, whether in quietness or out loud. What lies beyond The Gate is love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness, faithfulness and gentleness, and self-control (Galations 6:22-23 NIV) – these are ours to have and ours to give as the Holy Spirit fills us when we seek and enter through the gate that keeps us safe…

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)