Bring it to the Lord

Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? {Est 5:3}

The Queen risked her very life approaching the King without a specific invitation. The penalty for this error was death. She did so to bring to his attention a plan that would result in the slaughter of thousands of her kinsmen, and at the same time reveal to the King that she herself was a Jew. God heard her prayers. She and her people were spared.

And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious. {Exo 22:27}

Jesus is our doorway into the court of the Almighty. His horrible death on the cross paid the price for us. We belong to Him. We owe EVERYTHING to Him; including our very lives. Jesus did this out of love. He loves us!

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (17) By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. (18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (19) We love, because He first loved us. {1Jn 4:16-19}

Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. {Heb 10:22}

For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. {Eph 2:18}...in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. {Eph 3:12}

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. {Heb 4:16}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

Bring it to the Lord

Then the king said to her, "What is troubling you, Queen Esther? And what is your request? {Est 5:3}

The Queen risked her very life approaching the King without a specific invitation. The penalty for this error was death. She did so to bring to his attention a plan that would result in the slaughter of thousands of her kinsmen, and at the same time reveal to the King that she herself was a Jew. God heard her prayers. She and her people were spared.

And it shall come about that when he cries out to Me, I will hear him, for I am gracious. {Exo 22:27}

Jesus is our doorway into the court of the Almighty. His horrible death on the cross paid the price for us. We belong to Him. We owe EVERYTHING to Him; including our very lives. Jesus did this out of love. He loves us!

We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. (17) By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. (18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. (19) We love, because He first loved us. {1Jn 4:16-19}

Let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. {Heb 10:22}

For through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. {Eph 2:18}...in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. {Eph 3:12}

Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. {Heb 4:16}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

LORD, What is my calling?

What am I to do?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; (30) and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. {Rom 8:28-30}

Saint Paul was convinced that he was on the Lord's ordained path as he chased, arrested and witnessed the deaths of those who were of the "Way" (Followers of Christ). One day, Paul saw the light, literally! His path would never be the same again. And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.. {Act 9:5} God had a plan for Paul and it all began before Paul was born. In his mother's womb, as his tiny bones were being knitted together, The Lord caused his tiny heart to begin beating. Paul would be gifted at this moment with talents, skills, and specific temperaments that HE, the living God, would call upon years later "On the Road to Damascus".

Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, were all equipped before birth with specific talents and strengths that would be called upon by the Creator in order that His will might be done. Accomplishing His will through these human vessels created by His hands. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased (16) to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.... {Gal 1:15-16} Paul showed up!

Army Sergeant Brent Crawford was an E-5 Sgt with over 22 years in the Army when we first met. Twenty-two years, never busted or reduced in grade. Let that sink in. He was perfectly happy being a buck sergeant, refusing promotion after promotion. Crawford's job was serving as a "Dumpster-Diver", an equipment and material recovery specialist. God had so ordained this soldier at birth with certain talents and characteristics that suited him perfectly to his adult soldierly task of recovering things tossed out, items of worth and value that should not have been thrown out. He was very good. Sgt Crawford was also color blind and barley five foot five in height. Both of these being usual dis qualifiers for Army service. The color blindness afforded Sgt Crawford the ability to see patterns and shapes that normal sighted people could not see. Camouflage was useless around this NCO. As a result, the Lord provided the needed waivers allowing him to continue serving, and the Army began redesigning their technique of camouflage.

Over his eventual 26 years of service, Crawford retired as a Buck Sergeant, and was recognized as saving the U.S. Department of Defense multiple millions of dollars in recovered, serviceable material and equipment. One of Brent Crawford's last official acts of "Dumpster Diving" resulted in the recovery of a newborn baby girl that had been disposed of at Robinson Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. His color blindness made her tiny body immediately visible among the various other colored material and food products in the Mess Hall dumpster. Tiny Hannelori survived and grew into a beautiful and intelligent young woman who founded a number of orphan support facilities in Europe. Crawford was right where he needed to be and exactly when God needed him. He showed up.

Crawford was a Godly man, born again, who quietly presented himself everyday to do his job. The Lord gave him a specific set of talents and characteristics that resulted in continuity of God's will through HIS Creation, HIS vessel. We know for certain that at least one tiny life was saved through his God given (or modified) abilities. Who knows if the millions of dollars of recovery he was responsible for shaped the lives of other folks over the years. Just by showing up and using that which the Lord gave him at birth, by God's grace, Sgt Crawford fulfilled the Creator's will. Praise You Lord!

LORD, What is my calling?

To serve and please your God, to love Jesus with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul; and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That is your calling. That is your purpose. That is your job.

What am I to do?

From the moment of your conception, the Potter fashioned you into a one of a kind vessel, endowed with unique talents and gifts of His creation. You are unlike any other. Just as the sunrise has never repeated in it's colorful glory, God created you to bring glory to His Majesty and Holiness. Whatever your talent, whatever you are good at and excel in, do that. Do what you do best but do it in HIS glory and in HIS name. Show up. Be available. Represent HIM well. Learn of HIM.

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. {Gen 1:31}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

LORD, What is my calling?

What am I to do?

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; (30) and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified. {Rom 8:28-30}

Saint Paul was convinced that he was on the Lord's ordained path as he chased, arrested and witnessed the deaths of those who were of the "Way" (Followers of Christ). One day, Paul saw the light, literally! His path would never be the same again. And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" And He said, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.. {Act 9:5} God had a plan for Paul and it all began before Paul was born. In his mother's womb, as his tiny bones were being knitted together, The Lord caused his tiny heart to begin beating. Paul would be gifted at this moment with talents, skills, and specific temperaments that HE, the living God, would call upon years later "On the Road to Damascus".

Noah, Abraham, Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, were all equipped before birth with specific talents and strengths that would be called upon by the Creator in order that His will might be done. Accomplishing His will through these human vessels created by His hands. But when God, who had set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, was pleased (16) to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.... {Gal 1:15-16} Paul showed up!

Army Sergeant Brent Crawford was an E-5 Sgt with over 22 years in the Army when we first met. Twenty-two years, never busted or reduced in grade. Let that sink in. He was perfectly happy being a buck sergeant, refusing promotion after promotion. Crawford's job was serving as a "Dumpster-Diver", an equipment and material recovery specialist. God had so ordained this soldier at birth with certain talents and characteristics that suited him perfectly to his adult soldierly task of recovering things tossed out, items of worth and value that should not have been thrown out. He was very good. Sgt Crawford was also color blind and barley five foot five in height. Both of these being usual dis qualifiers for Army service. The color blindness afforded Sgt Crawford the ability to see patterns and shapes that normal sighted people could not see. Camouflage was useless around this NCO. As a result, the Lord provided the needed waivers allowing him to continue serving, and the Army began redesigning their technique of camouflage.

Over his eventual 26 years of service, Crawford retired as a Buck Sergeant, and was recognized as saving the U.S. Department of Defense multiple millions of dollars in recovered, serviceable material and equipment. One of Brent Crawford's last official acts of "Dumpster Diving" resulted in the recovery of a newborn baby girl that had been disposed of at Robinson Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany. His color blindness made her tiny body immediately visible among the various other colored material and food products in the Mess Hall dumpster. Tiny Hannelori survived and grew into a beautiful and intelligent young woman who founded a number of orphan support facilities in Europe. Crawford was right where he needed to be and exactly when God needed him. He showed up.

Crawford was a Godly man, born again, who quietly presented himself everyday to do his job. The Lord gave him a specific set of talents and characteristics that resulted in continuity of God's will through HIS Creation, HIS vessel. We know for certain that at least one tiny life was saved through his God given (or modified) abilities. Who knows if the millions of dollars of recovery he was responsible for shaped the lives of other folks over the years. Just by showing up and using that which the Lord gave him at birth, by God's grace, Sgt Crawford fulfilled the Creator's will. Praise You Lord!

LORD, What is my calling?

To serve and please your God, to love Jesus with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul; and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. That is your calling. That is your purpose. That is your job.

What am I to do?

From the moment of your conception, the Potter fashioned you into a one of a kind vessel, endowed with unique talents and gifts of His creation. You are unlike any other. Just as the sunrise has never repeated in it's colorful glory, God created you to bring glory to His Majesty and Holiness. Whatever your talent, whatever you are good at and excel in, do that. Do what you do best but do it in HIS glory and in HIS name. Show up. Be available. Represent HIM well. Learn of HIM.

God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. {Gen 1:31}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

{Mat 11:28}

What a week this has been. In fact, the last few weeks, even the whole month has been quite a struggle. Where does all this turmoil come from?

In morning devotions with my Lord, I asked this question; "Father, Jesus teaches us to always trust in You; always include You in all that we do with the purpose of continually bringing glory to You through our obedience. Show me where I need to do better in pleasing You Lord, Amen".

I then went about my usual studies. When I opened Oswald Chambers, Utmost for His Highest, it was the chapter entitled Christ-Awareness that immediately bonded my full attention. I pray that you will find direction and comfort in what Brother Chambers has written as I did, AMEN.

CHRIST-AWARENESS

Oswald Chambers

Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once, asking Him to re-establish your rest. Never allow anything to remain in your life that is causing the unrest. Think of every detail of your life that is causing the disintegration as something to fight against, not as something you should allow to remain. Ask the Lord to put awareness of Himself in you, and your self-awareness will disappear. Then He will be your all in all. Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic. Don’t allow yourself to say, “Well, they have just misunderstood me, and this is something over which they should be apologizing to me; I’m sure I must have this cleared up with them already.” Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute.

A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.

If we try to overcome our self-awareness through any of our own commonsense methods, we will only serve to strengthen our self-awareness tremendously. Jesus says, “Come to Me…and I will give you rest,” that is, Christ-awareness will take the place of self-awareness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest— the rest of the completion of activity in our lives that is never aware of itself.

(My deepest gratitude to Oswald Chambers Publications - London with this heartfelt thanks by attribution)

It is so difficult for some of us to actually take our hands OFF the steering wheel and let HIM drive. Trust in Jesus. Satan's most effective tool of temptation is our impatience. We HATE to WAIT.

Let the Lord drive. Trust no one but Him.

Come into me Jesus, remove the me and replace it fully with Thee, AMEN.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (30) "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." {Mat 11:29-30}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest."

{Mat 11:28}

What a week this has been. In fact, the last few weeks, even the whole month has been quite a struggle. Where does all this turmoil come from?

In morning devotions with my Lord, I asked this question; "Father, Jesus teaches us to always trust in You; always include You in all that we do with the purpose of continually bringing glory to You through our obedience. Show me where I need to do better in pleasing You Lord, Amen".

I then went about my usual studies. When I opened Oswald Chambers, Utmost for His Highest, it was the chapter entitled Christ-Awareness that immediately bonded my full attention. I pray that you will find direction and comfort in what Brother Chambers has written as I did, AMEN.

CHRIST-AWARENESS

Oswald Chambers

Whenever anything begins to disintegrate your life with Jesus Christ, turn to Him at once, asking Him to re-establish your rest. Never allow anything to remain in your life that is causing the unrest. Think of every detail of your life that is causing the disintegration as something to fight against, not as something you should allow to remain. Ask the Lord to put awareness of Himself in you, and your self-awareness will disappear. Then He will be your all in all. Beware of allowing your self-awareness to continue, because slowly but surely it will awaken self-pity, and self-pity is satanic. Don’t allow yourself to say, “Well, they have just misunderstood me, and this is something over which they should be apologizing to me; I’m sure I must have this cleared up with them already.” Learn to leave others alone regarding this. Simply ask the Lord to give you Christ-awareness, and He will steady you until your completeness in Him is absolute.

A complete life is the life of a child. When I am fully conscious of my awareness of Christ, there is something wrong. It is the sick person who really knows what health is. A child of God is not aware of the will of God because he is the will of God. When we have deviated even slightly from the will of God, we begin to ask, “Lord, what is your will?” A child of God never prays to be made aware of the fact that God answers prayer, because he is so restfully certain that God always answers prayer.

If we try to overcome our self-awareness through any of our own commonsense methods, we will only serve to strengthen our self-awareness tremendously. Jesus says, “Come to Me…and I will give you rest,” that is, Christ-awareness will take the place of self-awareness. Wherever Jesus comes He establishes rest— the rest of the completion of activity in our lives that is never aware of itself.

(My deepest gratitude to Oswald Chambers Publications - London with this heartfelt thanks by attribution)

It is so difficult for some of us to actually take our hands OFF the steering wheel and let HIM drive. Trust in Jesus. Satan's most effective tool of temptation is our impatience. We HATE to WAIT.

Let the Lord drive. Trust no one but Him.

Come into me Jesus, remove the me and replace it fully with Thee, AMEN.

"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (30) "For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." {Mat 11:29-30}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?

I HAVE LOVED YOU

"I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness. {Jer 31:3}

We should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (14) It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. {2Th 2:13-14}

He who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. {2Ti 1:9}

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them. (17) How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! (18) If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. {Psa 139:16-18}

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. {Joh 3:16}

In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. {1Jn 4:10-11}

HAVE YOU READ YOUR BIBLE TODAY?