Devotions by Meredith

So BlessedI Chronicles 29:12Both riches and honor come from You, and You reign overall. In Your hand is power and might; in Your hand it is to make great and to give strength to all. The other day I saw a short video online of this poor, young African emaciated girl who could not even walk. I would guess she had never had the proper nutrition to be able to grow normally, and because of that, she, as she grew older, she had lost her muscle mass and tone to be able to even move properly. Presently she has to be carried every place she goes. She lives at a Children’s Home in Africa where she is getting the proper attention she needs, both physically and spiritually. One of the young men from the Home had taken her up in his arms and slowly carried her into their lovely pool. The look on her face was priceless, a combination of nervous apprehension, fear, and glowing delight. As the young man lowered her feet in the water, out came a shriek of trembling joy! This was the first time in this child’s life she had felt water encompass any part of her body. The young man, startled, lifted her quickly up, thinking that she might be in pain, and again, lowered her feet slowly into the water. This time there was an even louder gasp and shriek of unhindered delight! My heart leaped with hers at the sensation of this simple pleasure of life. Throughout the day, my eyes filled with tears as I thought of other scenarios that people have endured; many do not even know or have any point of reference of what they are missing. Think of those bound to a wheelchair for their entire life, or someone totally alone with a society buzzing around them, unaware of their lonely world, missing out on the laughter and camaraderie in togetherness. Loneliness, weakness, abandonment, pain, suffering, physically, mentally and spiritually. As I reeled under the incomprehensible weight of the forceful diatribe playing in my mind, I felt a powerful understanding of the unlimited blessings I have experienced in my life, too many to even begin to give account. It seems like the enemy of our souls, in his nefarious criminality, has no conscience for limiting suffering and hideous pain. That was my first pondering. The second was, what can I do to change these horrific scenarios in the lives of these victims? Can I do something, even if it be so small? I don’t want my thinking and imagination to be trapped in a weak, insipid mindset that I cannot make a difference somehow, somewhere. Can I develop a sense of high destiny? God certainly has that view for each one of us. Can I come out of my coma of staring at my navel, my own small world, to see and bare the sufferings and pain of others, even for a few moments? Can I dip an emaciated life in the pool of God’s great love? Can I include someone who usually is not included? Oh God, I want to be Your hands reaching out to the oppressed. As you have touched my life, as you have included me, pulling me into Your precious circle of love, and brought unending blessings coming down continually over my life, please help me to see as You see, and act as You would act. Seek Father today for His guidance to others who you can reach out to dip their feet in the waters of His powerful Presence and rivers of His great love.   

Give God His Due Malachi 3:7-10 7 Yet from the days of your fathers you have gone away from My ordinances and have not kept them. Return to Me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of hosts. “But you said, ‘In what way shall we return?’ 8 “Will a man rob God? Yet you have robbed Me! But you say, ‘In what way have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you have robbed Me, even this whole nation. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, and try Me now in this” says the Lord off hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessings that there will not be room enough to receive it.” In the Hebrew language the term “room enough” means sufficient, enough; a large enough quantity; plenty; measurelessness. In Exodus 36:5 a freewill offering of gold and other materials is taken. The people gave so lavishly that the Scripture describes their gifts as “much more than enough.” Many times people are handicapped by their own poverty, and too often their poverty is caused by their own disobedience to the Word. There are many ways in which we can be disobedient; one way is in robbing God! This portion of Scripture clearly tells us that those who keep back their tithes and offerings are robbing God. When we do this we are robbing ourselves of the blessings that God wants to give us. You see, when you do not tithe, you are breaking the law; and if you are breaking the law, then the benevolent law of God cannot work on your behalf. Nothing will keep a wise believer from tithing and giving, but he or she will never be found to tithe or give offerings just to get something in return. Instead, the act arises from obedience, and God always rewards obedience. I remember my Gramma Small telling me how when she was younger, Grampa would not allow her to tithe. He wasn’t a Christian yet, and he didn’t understand this principle that God was requiring from Gramma. Gram determined she was going to be as obedient to the Word of God as she could be. Gramma raised chickens. She set aside the first dozen eggs each week to give to the church. Out of the loaves of bread she would bake for the week, the first one was set aside to give to the pastor. God blessed her obedience and soon Grampa came to know the Lord for himself. They both, throughout the years, came to be faithful tithers and givers. They always had more than enough. They had some powerful stories to tell of how God provided for them during the years of war when rationing was going on. Up until the time the Lord called them home, they proclaimed His faithfulness to them in every situation, financial and otherwise. God is always faithful to all those who totally obey and trust Him. What about you? Are you tithing and giving as God would command you? If you are not, do you see your need of a greater trust in God to provide for you? Ask Him today to make you a great giver, then trust Him to take good care of you as you give to others.   

Give Thanks, He Knows Ephesians 5:20Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. There will be many trials in life. The question is how will we walk through then? Some people become confused when we discuss trials and tribulations. They wonder if they are supposed to thank God for the trial. They wonder if they are supposed to thank God for the trial. Maybe if you are a real spiritual giant, you could do this. I think God is asking us to thank Him and trust Hm as we walk through them. No where does it say we have to like them. Madame Guyon, an old matriarch of the faith, teaches that you can so embrace the cross of trial that when God finally removes it from your life, you miss the fellowship of the Lord you had been privileged to have during the trial. When we walk through hard situations, Jesus reveals Himself to us in very special ways, when in normal conditions He may to show Himself quite like He wold during the times of struggle. There are people in life who seem to be waiting for the least little challenge to come into their lives to give them an excuse for not having to be involved or committed to much of anything. Then there are others, who under great burdens, do more than those who have very light loads. It is said of Mother Teresa, when she fell to of bed, injuring her arm to the place where a bone was protruding through, that she refused to stop her ministries. The doctor bandaged it and recommended some rest time. She was up and about the next day. The bandages impeded her ministering to the poor and she promptly removed them. It was said that she continued on with her work with a smile on her face. Some of us get a sniffle or stub a toe and we excuse ourselves from having to do anything for the day. What babies we are! How are we walking through life? Are we known to be whiners and complainers, or are we thankful in all things and in all situations? I have found if I discipline my heart to always see God one everything, then I can be content and joyful in a five star hotel or in the deepest jungles of India or Africa, doing what He has called me to do for that day, even with a smile. What about you? Do you whine and complain? Do you express positive words or are you full of negativity and discouragement? Do others long to be around you because you are at peace with each day and each happening? Does the love of God in you shine through with a thankful heart? Make a list of areas you need to change and become thankful over. Make a conscious effort not to dwell on yourself, but to stay focused on Jesus, our Victory. Have a blessed day in the Lord.  

In Wisdom’s House Proverbs 21:20 TPTIn wisdom’s house you’ll find delightful treasures and the oil of the Holy Spirit. But the stupid squander what they’ve been given.  There are those specific people who you meet in life who you can be at ease with. You can laugh deep belly laughs with them at some hilarious story, and you can also cry hot, gushing tears with them over a traumatic happening in your life. They don’t have to fix you or have all the answers. Just their presence and real transparency of heart bring great peace and solace to your needy spirit. They are a treasure. I have had a few, very few souls like this in my life. Some are now home with the Lord, and oh, how I miss them and their sweet, priceless fellowship. Full of wisdom and delightful treasures, they were wells of sweet, sweet water. They were lamps whose precious oil of the Holy Spirit never ran dry. I want to be just that. Not someone who points a judgmental finger at someone going through rough waters, or a person who turns their back to those who need them at critical times, when instead, a delightful treasure needs to be brought to the forefront to encourage and comfort. We, as Christians, can sometimes come across as “better than thou” in our actions and words when we don’t even fully know someone’s story or heart, or what they’re living through in this season of their life. I believe our criticisms of others come from our own insecurities, when consciously or subconsciously we think we are so much better, and far more mature because we are not in the kind of situation and ramifications of poor choices, such as the ones we are presently criticizing. Wow! This for sure is not wisdom. Can we discipline ourselves to not  judge others so quickly, functioning in our “know-it-all” fashion? In wisdom’s house, there are delightful treasures. Wisdom would reach out in gentleness and kindness, not in harsh criticism from a scoffing posture. If we have been in the Presence of the Holy Spirit, soaking, listening, learning, would it stand to reason that we would illuminate the essence of Him rather than our own fleshiness? Sometimes to say nothing is the wisest posture one can take. Whatever an individual’s challenges may be, whatever the mistakes one has made, the poor choices taken, wisdom says it is not helpful to lay layer upon layer of inflated, belligerent “know-it-allism,” but to be a listening ear and a neutral sounding board for this struggling soul. Here you have an opportunity to be healing balm and a refreshing spring in the midst of turmoil. Wisdom says—be that! Remember, God sees and hears all. Let’s not squander the wisdom He has afforded us. Be wise for this day and every day. What about you? Would you consider yourself “wise?” Do you just have to state your opinion and “get everyone told?” Are you gentle and kind, or quick to judge and respond in harsh ways to someone who is struggling? Don’t squander the wisdom God has made available to you. Be a conduit of His love and mercy today and every day. Value the wisdom He has given you. Blessings on your day.   

My Presence Will Go With YouExodus 33:15 KJVThen he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” I have heard it said, “So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence.” I have lived my whole life in church. From my earliest memories to my present life, I have spent a good portion of my time in church from dead, dry services where a boring form was followed, that seemed like to me, it had be done a million times with the same outcome. There have also been seasons of my daily personal time with the Lord that was as dry as burnt toast. I don’t like it. I know there are times when God withdraws His Presence, I believe so that we will run after Him, press into Him and do what it takes to find Him. It’s a learning and testing time before Him to trust Him in the dark and a time for Him to access the hunger level we have for Him. I’m with Moses. What’s the sense of doing life in our own strength. We only receive back our own human reasoning, relying on our own intellect, still coming up empty. I am asking and seeking Him today to increase my awareness of His Presence so I can move with the utmost sensitivity to Him, the Prince of Peace. He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. Its true, He always is near. My heart needs to settle into the understanding of this and practice it, not from my human emotions, but from my spirit as I learn to receive Him by faith, quiet myself and listen and watch expectantly for Him. He will speak. He will guide and lead us. He will come in whatever way we need Him to come. Maybe its just that we need to quiet enough, slow down long enough and trust in faith long enough for Him to do His thing. What’s the sense of pushing on without His Presence, without His direction and His sense of wellbeing that He places on our lives? I, for one, am so done with manmade ideas, good ideas, maybe, but not God breathed direction. Wouldn’t it be much better to lay out our life situations before Him, not coming to Him, telling Him what and what not to do, like He doesn’t know anything about what the challenge may be? Then practice listening carefully to what He will say and direct. Yes, this means we have to slow down and really watch and listen in faith that He will speak, that He will guide. I’ve gone down too many roads of good ideas to only come up empty when its all been said and done. I have a certainty in heart now because of many learning experiences, that our heavenly Father will show Himself faithful, if I will but trust Him. Don’t move forward today in your life without His Presence. It leads to nowhere you really want to be. What about you? Do you have areas of your life you need to talk to Him about, people you need to surrender completely to Him, and then listen and watch for what He will say and for how He will lead? Let me reassure you, He can always be trusted. Let His Presence guide you today.   

God Will Teach YouIsaiah 48:17 NKJV Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God Who teaches you to profit, who leads you by the way you should go.The word “teaches”—lamad—in Hebrew, means to instruct, to train. It also means to prod, goad; teach; to cause someone to learn. I was raised on a Hereford beef farm in a little town called Exeter, located in central Maine. I’m so glad I was raised on a farm. Early in the morning before getting on my bus for my ride to school, it was my responsibility to take care of the baby calves. I would mix the calf feed with warm water and feed each one from a pail with a rubber-like bottle attached to the side of the pail so the calves could feed as naturally as possible. Cows can be stubborn animals to work with. The Hereford breed seem to have a pretty stubborn streak all their own. I was also trained and expected to help muck out the stalls in the wintertime, which honestly, was a pretty thankless job. One time as I was shoveling out cow manure from behind one of the steers, I noticed somehow the steer had managed to muck up the side of his stall pretty badly. Wanting to do a thorough job, I pushed the steer to the left so I could shovel out the manure on the right. I worked my way up the right side, shoveling and scraping as I did so. Then suddenly, this ornery bovine decided to move back over to the right, right where I was mucking out. In doing so, he pinned me to the barn wall. The impact of his sudden weight leaning over onto my pinned body, was a shocker. I immediately reacted by pushing as hard as I could back against this constant, considerate weight pinning me in place against the barn wall. Nothing seemed to work, and I was slowly losing my strength to push back. Then I remembered a tactic I had seen my Grandpa Small use in a similar situation. I quickly grabbed this mammoth beast’s tail and began to twist it. The twist wasn’t just a slight tug. It was a thorough yank of my full force to get this beast’s burdensome weight off me. It was a do or die moment! I had to do something to cause this gigantic animal to get it through to the deep recesses of his thought processes, to move. It was amazing how quickly he lightening-like stepped his body back to the other side of the stall. This is not unlike us, God’s children. There are many things He wants to teach us, yet we sidestep His leading and blow sweet human kisses to our spirits day after day, until we experience the prodding and goading touch of the Holy Spirit in our lives. It may be a difficult situation surfaces, or a decision that will take direction from Him. A sense of desperation fills our senses and then we finally agree to move into the position and posture He was trying to lead us to all along. Why is it we vacillating humans feel that many times we know better than God? We mess around in an experimenting way, to see how far we can get away with our own navigation tactics, without having to submit to His great leading and plan. Our verse says “He teaches” us. The question is, do I want to learn the easy way or the hard way? Do I need to be goaded, or prodded along on the pathway of my life, or will I quickly yield to His gentle, kind, loving touch? What about you? Are you yielding, or throwing your weight up against God’s direction and care over your life? Why not totally yield your all to Him today. He can be trusted, fully trusted. His ways are best.   

I Can Do All Things Philippians 3:13, 1413 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.Philippians 4:1313 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  There are times in our lives when our heavenly Father will stir up our spirit to do something out of our comfort zone, something that is new and stretching. Maybe it isn’t even so much about what the assigning commission given to us, as it is about our willingness to allow God’s power to sustain us in this stretching and difficult task assigned to our lives. These kinds of circumstances take us into a season of being drawn aside, not to punish us, but to draw us deeper into a place of isolation and aloneness. And for what purpose in the heart of God? I believe our Father does this so that we will be quiet and at peace enough away from the hustle and bustle of all the noise around us, so that He can speak to us, to grow us, mature us and even to reveal His great love and desire to draw us closer into this secret place of growth in Him. At first, you may feel bewildered, lost and even maybe a little bit down that this is the scenario you find yourself in. Dear one, God knows exactly what He is working in your life. The sooner you relent and labor into His rest, the sooner the greater work can begin in and through you. Always know our heavenly Father has your best interest at heart. The labor of learning a higher place of discipline and deeper trust, are all part of what you will find out you can do. How did the Apostle Paul write such anointed, powerful truths from a dank, nasty prison cell? Think about it, he wrote the book of Philippians most likely during his first Roman imprisonment, to the Philippian church to thank them for the contribution he had received from them. He even is thinking about the man, Epaphroditus, who had brought the gift from Philippi, and who was going to take Paul’s letter back to them. He encouraged the family of God in Philippi to stand united and steadfast together. He warned them not to fall for heresies that were going around. He writes with a tender, warm, and affectionate heart. He is personable, warm, and affectionate, all written from a dank, dark, cold and lonely prison cell. But here’s the best part: the theme for the book of Philippians is “joy,” true joy that is not a surface emotion that depends on favorable circumstances in your life presently. He teaches that a Christian’s joy is independent of outward circumstances, and that it is possible to have joy when all seems a battle never-ending. Remember, dear one, He would not give you a challenge for greatness in whatever He would speak to you, unless He would be with you throughout your journey, and empower you to accomplish your assignment with joy, even as He did Paul. What about you? Is the Lord stirring you up, pressing in on you for a task, an assignment you are trying to ignore? Know He is with you; know that He will empower you and that you CAN do all things through Christ who strengthens you. Blessings on your day. 

Friends Proverbs 17:17 TPTA dear friend will love you no matter what, and a family sticks together through all kinds of trouble. Proverbs 18:24 TPTSome friendships don’t last for long, but there is one loving friend who is joined to your heart closer than any other.  Proverbs 17:17 NKJV reads, “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” A true friend can be defined as a companion, neighbor, fellowman, a familiar person. It means to “associate with” and “to be a friend of” in Hebrew. The prescription for a healthy friendship is “a friend should love at all times.” We have a responsibility to our friends. The family of God, the Body of Christ as described in the Bible, is a shelter for each and every member of that family, from the youngest to the very oldest. This means we are there for each other, through the good times and the bad, through thick and through thin. Psalm 101:5 tells us, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him I will destroy; the one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, him I will not endure.” I have been in church families before who were no so nice, even to the point of lying and slandering others and me. All for what gain? It was to try to break those who they thought were standing in their way, for whatever reason they had in their mind at the time. Slander, lies, false accusations are what the enemy of our soul loves to get started and moving from one vulnerable listening person to the next. Proverbs 24:28 tells us, “Do not be a witness against your neighbor without cause, for would you deceive with your lips? 29 Do not say, “I will do to him just as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.” How childish and petty are those who act this way. There have been those brothers and sisters in the Lord over the years, that were there for me, even in my lowest hours. They have stood by me and loved and received me unconditionally. I felt the true love of God oozing from them. No judgment, no condemnation, just pure love. Genuine friendship shines through not in the awesome times of great blessing, not in prosperity. Friendship is at its best in the times of trouble. You know you can close your eyes in exhaustion and brokenness and your friend will have your back. There are the wise and prudent and then there is the fool, scoffer, or mocker. The former seeks wisdom and loves care and instruction; the latter fully neglects discipline and spurns reproof. Win at any cost, so says the fool, even to the detriment of others. Take inventory of what kind of friend you are. Do you love unconditionally or do you have unrealistic expectations and conditions on your friends? Take a good look at your own heart today. Be pleasing to the Lord and a blessing to others. What about you? What kind of a friend are you? What kind of friends do you have in your life? Are they a blessing, or are they users? Ask the Lord today to help you know and recognize what would be pleasing to Him in your relationships. Seek to be a true friend who loves at all times. He will bless you for it. Have a blessed day in Him.   

Hateful Speech Matthew 5:21-2421 You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. and whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your git there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.  Anger is a dangerous emotion. How many injuries, even murders have been committed in a fit of rage. If anger is held in your heart toward someone, it can become like a boiling pot ready to boil over. If allowed to continue, seething within you, you are putting yourself in a dangerous position. Whenever we demean and insult someone, especially fellow believers, we will be held accountable before the Lord for that. To call down curses and evil remarks on others, our verses tell us we are in danger of hell fire. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to walk that close to the edge of the burning eternal volcano of hell. When our children were small, each of them knew instinctively how to provoke the other siblings to anger. One way was to hum a little diddy, teasing and antagonizing their brother or sister about a supposed classmate. They would say that classmate liked them and they secretly liked them back. Even tapping the rhythm of the diddy on the dinner table was enough to set off hysterical yelling and tears. Words can kill, especially angry ones. The word “Raca” can mean “spittle” or “lunatic.” It is a word that could imply calling a fellow believer demon-possessed. The Greek definition is “worthless fool, imbecile.” No one enjoys being called these hurtful names. There are times I have heard conversations about someone where these exact words were not used in talking about someone, but angry, vile descriptive put downs, filled with sour vernacular. I have often thought how much this would hurt and damage this talked about person if they heard what was being said about them. I know it would me. The term “fire” is also called the Gehenna of fire. Gehenna which was an actual place where garbage was burned outside of Jerusalem, became a figure of speech for hell in the days of Jesus. It used to be the site of child sacrifice to the god Molech. See 2 Chronicles 33:6. The old saying we should probably practice that is worth repeating is “If you don’t have anything nice to say about someone, don’t say anything at all,” for their sake and for yours. What about you? Do you understand how hurtful your words can be to others? Do you understand how you put yourself in danger and out of alignment with God when we talk so flippantly about others? Let’s ask the Lord to help us to tame our speech, and if we have nothing good to say, to stay quiet and distance ourselves form evil conversations. Have a peaceful day in the Lord.  

My Presence Will Go With YouExodus 33:15 KJVThen he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.” I have heard it said, “So much of what we do is done out of ministry principles instead of out of the Presence.” I have lived my whole life in church. From my earliest memories to my present life, I have spent a good portion of my time in church from dead, dry services where a boring form was followed, that seemed like to me, it had be done a million times with the same outcome. There have also been seasons of my daily personal time with the Lord that was as dry as burnt toast. I don’t like it. I know there are times when God withdraws His Presence, I believe so that we will run after Him, press into Him and do what it takes to find Him. It’s a learning and testing time before Him to trust Him in the dark and a time for Him to access the hunger level we have for Him. I’m with Moses. What’s the sense of doing life in our own strength. We only receive back our own human reasoning, relying on our own intellect, still coming up empty. I am asking and seeking Him today to increase my awareness of His Presence so I can move with the utmost sensitivity to Him, the Prince of Peace. He says He will never leave us nor forsake us. Its true, He always is near. My heart needs to settle into the understanding of this and practice it, not from my human emotions, but from my spirit as I learn to receive Him by faith, quiet myself and listen and watch expectantly for Him. He will speak. He will guide and lead us. He will come in whatever way we need Him to come. Maybe its just that we need to quiet enough, slow down long enough and trust in faith long enough for Him to do His thing. What’s the sense of pushing on without His Presence, without His direction and His sense of wellbeing that He places on our lives? I, for one, am so done with manmade ideas, good ideas, maybe, but not God breathed direction. Wouldn’t it be much better to lay out our life situations before Him, not coming to Him, telling Him what and what not to do, like He doesn’t know anything about what the challenge may be? Then practice listening carefully to what He will say and direct. Yes, this means we have to slow down and really watch and listen in faith that He will speak, that He will guide. I’ve gone down too many roads of good ideas to only come up empty when its all been said and done. I have a certainty in heart now because of many learning experiences, that our heavenly Father will show Himself faithful, if I will but trust Him. Don’t move forward today in your life without His Presence. It leads to nowhere you really want to be. What about you? Do you have areas of your life you need to talk to Him about, people you need to surrender completely to Him, and then listen and watch for what He will say and for how He will lead? Let me reassure you, He can always be trusted. Let His Presence guide you today.