Psalm 23-12

 Our weakness and inadequacies show us that we need His strength. The chaos and trauma of this world cannot be handled by ourselves. How can you listen to the Shepherd’s voice with all the noise and distractions around us? If ever we need to filter out what can distract us from His kingdom’s presence, it is now. Hammering out our faith and how it applies to today takes effort, but it also requires His grace  the mystery of the two forces merge into worship and surrender to Him.  He provides the safety and provision we need, but we must to run toward Him.  Whatever interruptions to our plans we encounter, He provides.

Proverbs 18:10 - The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

        the righteous man runs into it and is safe.

“It isn’t the hurts, blows, and bruises that rob us of the freshness of Christ’s beauty in our lives. More likely, it is careless ease, empty pride, earthly preoccupations, and too much prosperity that will put layers of dirty film over our souls.” - Joni Eareckson Tada, A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty

Bible 183

 I hope to be like a shepherd with the smell of the sheep, as Pops Francis advised. No one trusts a person who thinks they are better than the common sheep. God does extraordinary things through ordinary circumstances and ordinary people. The reality of His invisible presence is made available to us as we trust Him. 

David’s ordinary and common upbringing trained him to be a hard worker who took care of those under his responsibility. His integrity drifted into an arrogant blindness at times, but over all, he lived up to the phrase ‘a heart after God.’  As Nicky states, love and leadership go hand in hand, as demonstrated by Paul. Wouldn’t it have a thrilling experience to accompany Paul or Elisha?  Elisha had so many intense experiences of prayer, compassion, yet confrontation with resistance. 

Bible 182

 I’m guilty of not speaking up to change a conversation toward Christ or more appropriate topics. I’m trying to get better and more skilled to not miss opportunities. We can all drift into negativity which does no one any good. Group talk can go sour pretty fast. I’m trying to remind myself that I am just as prone to sin and be a negative Ned just like the next guy. I should never think I’m above this temptation to let a discussion deteriorate, which is not good for my mental health, not others. Even though Paul talked a lot in this reference, putting one person to sleep, Paul cares deeply. Elisha experiences God’s presence in Elijah, and wanted a double portion. May we have that effect - demonstrating God’s presence in us. 

Bible 181

 Trying to plan ahead with someone who is not a planner drives me nuts. I remember well a student who told me to not bug him about his plans for the future because he wanted ‘to see how things go.’  He said “I’m big a planner; I like to drift from Jen thing to the next.”   But at the same time, I resist being smothered by someone else’s plans. Im slowly learning to trust what God has for me today, and not freak out about what I don’t know might happen tomorrow. One great tip I’ve tried to practice is to do the next best thing with all the information I have right now. Somehow, God has protected me from financial and moral failure by trusting Him. Learning to act upon what I know to be true, regardless of a worthy life goal. Micaiah was faced with Ahab’s opposition, much like a Nazi resister. Hopefully, doing what is right never will go out of style. 

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Remember to check compatibility with your iPhone 8 and consider the storage capacity that best fits your requirements. Happy file transferring! 😊📱📷

Bible 180

 It’s difficult to see how a person could not see that the world is in a contest between good and evil. The evil intent of dictators like Putin, Stalin or Hitler who have had the conscience hardened to suffering loom in my mind to be on guard to lesser evils. Any one person could let their conscience harden to doing wrong. The power of sin affects every person. 

There is a danger, though, in focusing on evil to the extent we live in fear and anxiety all the time. God’s presence protects our minds and hearts from fear. Love conquers our fear so that we can live on purpose for what is good and right. Ahab and Jezebel may have been just as evil as Hitler in their day. The Bible is clear that we need to be on guard, yet live with the assurance of God’s presence. 

Psalm 23-11

 Being anointed / appointed to be the person to stand in the gap is seeing His kingdom at work. It’s easy to cruise along and not consider the eternal perspective in opportunities and decisions. There are so many opportunities, like Queen Esther, that we could consider ‘for such a time as this!’  Could we be the person to pray for a specific outcome, to be the person of character and integrity?  Could we the person to steer a conversation toward Christ?  Could we be the one to participate in His kingdom moving in a group?

“My strength in prayer these days is scant—I’ll confess that. So for all the concentration I can muster in prayer, I must not dissipate it in seeking physical blessings only. Rather, I must spend a good portion of it seeking spiritual growth and praying for Christ’s kingdom to go forth into this dark world. For such prayers are a way for me to know God and to know Him deeper, higher, richer, wider, and fuller—much fuller than if I comfortably cruised through life in my wheelchair.” - Joni Eareckson Tada, A Place of Healing: Wrestling with the Mysteries of Suffering, Pain, and God's Sovereignty