“They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?” Exodus 14:11

Being the naturally organized person I am, I tend to be a planner, planning as much as I can as far ahead as I can and getting irritated with anything that gets in the way. So it was only natural recently when I was planning a trip that after getting my airline ticket on-line, I mapped out the ground plan.

I was flying into a major city airport at afternoon rush hour that was exactly on the opposite side of town from my hotel. Not wanting to take the time and expense of a cab ride, I checked the train schedule and found out I could get on at the airport and off near my hotel. I then got an on-line map from the train station to the hotel and found it to be less than a mile straight down a well traveled road and then three blocks on another street. I decided I could walk and get some evening exercise.

Initially, all went as planned….. off the plane onto the train and then off at the station. I walked past three perfectly good waiting cabs and proceeded down the road. It was dark by then, but the sidewalks were wide and the lighting good. Then, about a half mile into it, the sidewalks ceased, as did the lighting. It was then I realized I had to walk under an Interstate highway the banks of which were covered with heavy underbrush.

So, there I was, walking on the highway in the dark, wearing a dark suit, pulling my luggage and wondering how many pair of eyes were looking at me from the underbrush like sharks eying a mackerel. Would I get run over or mugged? At least I had voted before I left.

Then, the road forked and I went the wrong way. Finally, after walking a couple of miles in a circuitous route, I found my hotel and wondered if those cabs were still waiting at the train station. It looked so easy and short on the map.

When our children were small, we would use each trip as a geography lesson and show them our journey on a map. It looked so short. Maybe that’s why they would say about an hour into the trip “Daddy are we there yet?”

The map of life is like that. Our plans look so easy on paper, but walking out life’s journeys is quite another story. Look at the journey out of Egypt when the people asked Moses if he brought them into the desert to die.

The key is that we have a map and in order to do that, we have to have a specific destination. If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.

I’m amazed that so often when I think I know where I’m going God shows me I’m absolutely wrong.  Certainly I do wander off of the path every once in a while, but God brings me back to that path again and again.  He is faithful in doing this no matter how far I stray.

As long as God’s will is your destination, He will provide the map to get you there, so follow His map for your life and enjoy the journey.
(a thought on life from John Grant)
John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/03/jg_map-of-life/

_________________________________________

follow us on Facebook
follow us on Twitter

Share/Save

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.” Isaiah 26:3

In January of 1960, two men went where no man had ever gone before … or since.  They plunged into the deepest spot in the ocean at the Marianas Trench … nearly 7 miles down.  That’s a full mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall!

At that depth, the pressure is tremendous… more than 200 million pounds.  And yet, they found life… as tranquil as can be.  No matter the storms that rage on the surface, the ocean below is calm and peaceful.

This is the way our Christian life should be.  No matter what storms rage around us, deep down, we have peace.  Under the greatest pressure, God gives us calm assurance to face every day.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/03/vb_gods-peace/

Share/Save

“People need loving the most when they deserve it the least.”

The above quote by John Harrigan has become a principle of life for me.  At the same time, it’s one of the hardest things for most of us to do, in our humanness, to love someone when they deserve it the least.

Have you ever had times when your behavior was so out of control that you couldn’t stand yourself?  When I was a young mother and wife, there would be one day most months when I was “PMS”-ing, in which I would find myself either yelling and screaming uncontrollably all day, or crying all day.  I was so miserable I couldn’t stand myself, I felt just plain unlovable!  It’s times like that when I think if someone had been able to just grab me and hug me it would have helped to get me out of that nasty mood, in spite of the hormones that were working against me.

I believe that loving someone to that extent takes a supernatural love. It takes the love of Christ flowing through us to be able to reach out to the unlovable.  Jesus was criticized often for associating with “sinners,” those people who others thought of as unlovable, not worthy of their time and attention – tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, etc.

The Bible says in 1 John 1:19, “We love because he first loved us.”

Christ died for the ungodly.  Romans 5:6

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8

Jesus said, “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”  Luke 6:32 & 35.

Prayer: Most gracious and loving Lord, how grateful I am that the you loved me enough to die for my sins, so that through you, I am able to stand before a just God and live in His presence throughout eternity.  I thank you that your love compels me and pray that by the power of the Holy Spirit within me, you will enable me to love those who seem unlovable, as you have loved me.  Through your power grant me the grace to extend mercy to all. Amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/02/sy_people-need-loving/
_________________________________________

follow us on Facebook
follow us on Twitter

Share/Save

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” Luke 12:6-7

Thoughts on today’s verse

In a universe so vast, what is our little planet? In a planet so diverse and so full of life, what are people? Among all the billions of people alive and who have lived and already died, what significance do I have? Jesus reminds us that our significance is great — not because we are so important but because we are known personally by God. We don’t have to be afraid, we are known and loved by the One who is and was and is to come!

Prayer:

Eternal God, Almighty Father, Tender Shepherd, you already know my heart. You know where I struggle with sin, so please empower and forgive. You know my fears, so please encourage and strengthen. You know my immaturity, so please nurture and grow. You know my weakness and disease, so please comfort and heal. But even if none of these are answered, I am still awed by the fact that you choose to know me. Thank you! In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/02/pw_worth-more/

Share/Save

“Now we are no longer slaves, but God’s own sons. And since we are His sons, everything He has belongs to us, for that is the way God planned” Galatians 4:7

In the sense of being under the servitude of sin, you and I are no longer servants or slaves. We are sons and daughters, children of God, adopted into His family, and are to be treated as sons and daughters.

What a glorious privilege is ours in Christ!

In our exalted position as sons and daughters, of course we are to be treated as sons and daughters. We are to share God’s favors, His blessings. And as sons and daughters, it follows that we have responsibilities – not only to our heavenly Father, but also to other sons and daughters in Christ.

All that God has, Paul is saying, belongs to us as well for we are His sons and daughters. But there is another side to our exalted position – obedience to the Lord. And His calling is sure: “Follow Me and I will make you fishers of men.”

If we are following our Lord, we are becoming fishers of men – soul-winners. We are regularly and naturally, as a part of our daily routine, sharing the good news of the gospel with those whose lives we touch.

That does not necessarily mean buttonholing people and making a nuisance of ourselves; it does mean being available for God’s Holy Spirit to speak through us in every conversation as He chooses. It also means being “prayed up,” with no unconfessed sin in our lives.

Bible Reading: Matthew 4:18-20

Today’s Action Point: With the Power of the Holy Spirit available to me by faith, I will behave like a child of the King – a son of the Most High. I will live a supernatural life for the Glory of God.

You can comment on this devotional online at:
http://thoughts-about-god.com/blog/2010/09/01/bb_belongs-to-us/
_________________________________________

follow us on Facebook
follow us on Twitter

Share/Save