The High Calling of God

 Matthew 1:1-23 "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.... And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  Now all this was done , that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying , Behold , a virgin shall be with child , and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is , God with us."    For the past couple years, I have been lead to purchase Christmas devotionals for the month of December known as Advent. The word advent means: "a coming into being or use"   It goes back to Latin, meaning arrival or appearance.. (Webster Online Dictionary). In Christianity, it is the period beginning four Sundays before Christmas. Some people observe it by a season of prayer and fasting, a time to set aside for reflection and prayer regard...

 "I will lift up my eyes to the hills-from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord Who made heaven and earth." Psalm 121:1,2 Recently I was reminded of this verse as I was navigating through a particular test. I was asking the Lord to send someone who could help me, encourage me, give me some answers. But that wasn't what God had in mind. As I continued to pray, the Lord brought this verse to mind- in a rather strong way. Actually, I had been asking Him to speak to me, and for days there was only silence. I was asking to sense His presence,  like I have in the past- but that did not happen either. Then, out of the blue- or I would like to say, out of His throne room, this verse boomed into my spirit. I had to repent and confess that I was looking for answers and for help in others, rather than in Him. This verse doesn't say our help comes from the hills. Sometimes we look to those hills, don't we? Those people who you think always has a good answer, an e...

 First posted in 2014   The other day as I was reading in Acts something neat happened. As I read a subtitle for a chapter, my eyes did one of those tricks that happen from time to time. The subtitle was   “Journeys in Greece”   but my eyes read it as “Journeys in Grace”. I chuckled to myself but I thought-how neat—Journeys in Grace. Our Christian walk truly is a Journey in Grace.   From the very first moment we are born again through the blood of Jesus Christ and every day thereafter, it is a journey of grace. As I look back at my 40+ years of serving the Lord, I can say it has been a journey in His grace. I haven‘t always made the right choices. I have done some pretty stupid things at times, but as I obeyed the Spirit’s leading, I was lead back to the right path. There are many, many verses about grace but one of my favorites is  2 Corinthians 12:9 . Paul is saying:  “And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfec...

   "Surely Your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,..." Psalm 23:6 (NLT)  I was reminded of this incident that happened last fall. Our English Lab had just had surgery to remove some tumors from her hip and leg. This is what I posted from that night:  So, I had a rough night. First, I was very nauseated, my back and hip were hurting and I couldn’t fall asleep. I got back up with a cup of tea and began reading my devotional on Emmanuel. Then shortly afterwards, Emma decided she didn’t like her evening meal and threw it up in the hall. Poor baby. I thought I felt bad. Nothing compares to throwing up with an E collar around your neck. (those who have pets will get the picture). So, at about 2:00 am I am cleaning up her and her collar and the floor. My back was already hurting but I got the job done. (And I was proud of myself that I didn’t break down in tears feeling sorry for myself). I went back to reading some more. Emma then went to...