Recalibrate

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Psalm 19 ESV

1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
2 Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
4 Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5 which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.
12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer!
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Let the Word of God recalibrate your
thinking about your circumstances.

Life can be difficult and painful can’t it?
There are days when we feel like we don’t know which end is up.
We have thought that we kinda, sorta understood how
things fit together; well, kinda…
and then something happens and we absolutely don’t know
how to fit it into our view of God. We are stumped!
When this happens we can start down a path in our thinking
that can get us into a world of trouble.
This is why we want God’s Word to be so strongly
established in our hearts and in our minds.
It is to be not only prominent in our thinking,
it is to BE our thinking.
We want our way of thinking to be HIS way thinking.
He can really challenge us on this!
We know that He is kind and He is good and loving,
but there are days He can put us to the test
and make an exam from the toughest
professor seem like a walk in the park.
But let’s be honest.
We are NEVER going to give ourselves a tough exam.
We don’t like to be tested, and we really don’t like discovering
sin or weakness that we haven’t overcome.
So, the reasons for our heavenly Father’s tough exams
are not always obvious, but they are always
oozing with lovingkindness.
Sometimes love just doesn’t feel so lovely does it?
Praise God and thank Him
because He is helping us see the hidden sins that aren’t so
visible to the human eye, especially our own eye!
May I state the obvious? Our Lord, our heavenly Father, knows
what He is doing and it is ALWAYS for our best.

TAKING GOD’S WORD TO HEART

Don’t miss this amazing Psalm.
How often do you stop and take time to allow who God is
to penetrate your mind, your heart, and your soul?
We often feel like there is no time. Even five minutes can
seem like we are wasting time. Fight this lie with Psalm 29 and
see that God and His Word are perfect and powerful.
He does know what is best for you. Your daddy does know best.
Meditate on His goodness, His power, His Word and
how it goes forth as He speaks. God is in control even
over the “floods” in our lives. May His Word be our Truth
so we can live for Him and proclaim His Name and
His Word with our lips and in our lives in good times and bad.

AND BRINGING IT TO LIFE

Choose one truth from today and apply it to your heart.
Take it with you throughout the day.

12 Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

PRAYER
Lord God, you determine our date of birth and when
we pass away. You know everything there is to know about us.
You know exactly how to grow and stretch us. I confess, Lord,
that I just don’t see my sin as you do. Please keep me from
my hidden sins. Please bring them out into the light.
Please destroy them and only leave your righteousness!
I am unable but YOU ARE ABLE! Please do it.
In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I am praying for you!

In His hands for His glory,
Laurie

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A Thistlebend Ministries eMoment devotion. To have eMoments emailed to your inbox, subscribe on the bottom right of our Home page.

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On Behalf of Self

by Susan Sampson

On behalf of self.  No, that isn’t what God’s word says is it?  Yet, this is how I live.  Recently the Lord brought back to my mind the time when Jeff and I got married, 18 years ago this coming November.  After being almost 30 years old and living on my own for many years, I remember thinking how happy I was to have somebody to take care of ME.

This weekend I am out of town with Jeff as he took me with him on a business trip so we could have time alone together.  Such a precious gift from the Lord.  As I was walking back to our room this morning after he left for work, suddenly it occurred to me that my thinking all these years has been the complete opposite of what the Lord’s will is for me.  I must no longer think, “how can Jeff meet my needs!”  Instead I must now change my thinking, taking my thoughts captive and making them obedient to Christ, and completely reverse my thinking to “how can I serve him, how can I live on behalf of him knowing that Christ died for me?”  Clearly, this is only possible through the grace of God!!!

“For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this; that one has died for all, therefore all have died, and have died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.”  2 Cor. 5:14-15

We all once lived for self, alone, separated from Christ, alienated, without God, strangers.  “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (Eph.2:13).

“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Jesus has made us partakers of Himself through His death and resurrection!  We are in Him, a precious part of His body, the church!  He is in us!!!

Most of you have probably seen the Disney movie “Frozen,” but the Lord brought the lyrics to “Let it go” to my mind yesterday.

A kingdom of isolation and it looks like I’m the queen…
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be.
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know.
Well, now they know!
Let it go, let it go!
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractiles all around
And one thought crystalizes like an icy blast
I’m never going back, the past is in the past!
Let it go, let it go!
And I’ll rise like the break of dawn.
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
Here I stand, in the light of day
Let the storm rage on!

By the grace of God I no longer live in the kingdom of isolation I once did!  By the grace of God He continues to show me that there is no good in me, that is in my flesh (Romans 7:18).  By His perfect and unconditional love for me in Christ, He is working in me to help me to let go of my fear and trust Christ.  By His grace, He is working on my continued fear of man and giving me the desire to no longer hide and live in darkness concealing my sin, pretending to be the perfect girl, but confess it and bring it into the light.  “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Eph. 5:13-14).

We are no longer in the flesh!!  We are now in Christ!!!  This is His work!!  His grace!!  His glory!!!  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.  The old has passed away; behold, the new has come” (2 Cor. 5:17).

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.  For one who has died has been set free from sin” (Rom. 6:6-7).

Lord, please help us as partakers of the promise to believe the truth of your words by faith and receive the truth of the gospel into our hearts that these seeds of truth would come to life in each of us and that we would bear fruit for your glory, living no longer for ourselves, but on behalf of Christ who died for us!

May we have more grace to now live humbly on behalf of those whom you have placed in our lives!

“Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.  Amen” (Eph. 3:20-21).

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When We Are Scorned

Thistlebend Quiet eMoment

by Laurie Aker

Focus Scripture: Luke 10:1-12 ESV

1 After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others
and sent them on ahead of him, two by two,
into every town and place
where he himself was about to go.
2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful,
but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord
of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.
3 Go your way; behold, I am sending you out
as lambs in the midst of wolves.
4 Carry no moneybag, no knapsack, no sandals,
and greet no one on the road.
5 Whatever house you enter, first say,
‘Peace be to this house!’
6 And if a son of peace is there,
your peace will rest upon him.
But if not, it will return to you.
7 And remain in the same house,
eating and drinking what they provide,
for the laborer deserves his wages.
Do not go from house to house.
8 Whenever you enter a town and they receive you,
eat what is set before you.
9 Heal the sick in it and say to them,
‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’
10 But whenever you enter a town
and they do not receive you, go into its streets and say,
11 ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet
we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this,
that the kingdom of God has come near.’
12 I tell you, it will be more bearable on that day
for Sodom than for that town.
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If someone mistreats one of Christ’s own,
it is as if they were mistreating Christ Himself.

When we are scorned, mocked, ignored, or slandered
because of our devotion to Christ, His Word, and the gospel,
it can be so very painful and so heartbreaking.

We can at first take it so personally.
We feel like a social pariah.
We second guess the things we said and how we said it.
We wonder crazy things like,
“Was it my hair? My outfit? Bad breath?”
It can take us back to junior high when
we were rejected from the “in” crowd.

Sometimes it is worse than that.
We can be passed over for a promotion,
lose a job, or lose a relationship with a dear family member.

In other countries, it is much worse.
They can be tortured or lose their life.

But if we are truly speaking and acting and living in
the Spirit of Christ, the rejection is profound.
It isn’t due to any temporal or passing thing,
it is a matter of life and death.
Eternal life and eternal death.

TAKING THE TRUTH TO HEART

Rejection for the gospel should remind us that we all are sinners,
all guilty, all deserving of eternal punishment and death.
Without God’s mercy and grace we all would reject Christ.

Take a moment and look back to that day in Jerusalem.
The day when everyone cried, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
It is a reminder to each of us that had we lived at that time,
apart from God’s grace, we would have been in that crowd.
Those words would have come from our lips.

The next time someone rejects us, condemns us,
or mocks us because of Christ,
let us remember that we did the same–
and much–more to Him.

AND BRINGING IT TO LIFE

Choose one truth from today and apply it to your heart.
Take it with you throughout the day.

PRAYER

Father, please help me to remember
that the only reason I received you is because of your grace.
Please grant those around me who are still rejecting you
that same saving grace.

In His hands for His glory,
Laurie
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A Thistlebend Ministries eMoment devotion. To have eMoments emailed to your inbox, subscribe on the bottom right of our Home page.

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