The scripture for today, June 18, is 2nd Chronicles 6:18a as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain you.”

Did you ever want to see God, to talk to him face to face? Perhaps something bad had just happened in your life and you had this urge to bawl him out, then let him explain why. Or did you ever want to touch God? Perhaps you were so very lonely that you desperately needed his arms around you, and feel his touch as he brushed away your tears.

But, if we could see him and touch him, it would mean that he could not be with others in the world at that time, and could not hear anyone else’s prayers at that time except yours. Let us be grateful that we cannot see and touch him for now. He is always available to all of us, regardless of where we are in this vast world and regardless of how many others are praying to him at that moment.

How he can sort out all our prayers at once is mind-boggling. How he can be everywhere at once is amazing.

The scripture for today, June 13, is Judges 6:13f as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

” ‘But sir,’ Gideon replied, ‘if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about?…But now the Lord has abandoned us and put us in the hand of Midian [enemies].’ The Lord turned to him and said, ‘Go in the strength you have.’ “

Sometimes we spend our time concentrating on our problem rather than a possible solution. Or we try to find someone else to solve our problem for us. Or we feel so helpless, we sit back and ask God to take care of our problem. When Captain Gideon did this, God basically replied, “You’ve still got strengths. Use them.”

Don’t sit idly by while bad things happen around you. Everyone has some sort of God-given strength. Look deep within your heart. It’s there. Then go forth in the strength you have.

The scripture for today, June 11, is Job 6:11 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“What strength do I have, that I should still hope? What prospects that I should be patient?”

Many people use the expression, “patience of Job.” But he had on-and-off patience, for he was very sick. By descriptions he gave of himself ~ sores, rancid breath, low voice, partial blindness, skin turned hard and black, bloating, nightmares, extreme pain, unrecognized by his closest friends, some believe he had a grotesque form of elephantitis leprosy.

What did he need from his friends? He surely didn’t get it, for they spent their time trying to prove that he had sinned and God was right to be punishing him. His reply? “I have heard many things like these; miserable comforters are you all! Will your long-winded speeches never end? What ails you that you keep on arguing?” (Job 16:2f).

So how do we comfort someone who feels utterly hopeless? We certainly don’t put the blame on them, nor do we tell them it’s “all in your head’ or to “snap out of it”. We can share times when we felt hopeless. We can weep with them. We can hold their hand. We can sit with them in silence. We can pray aloud for them. (Some people have never heard their name mentioned in a prayer.)

And we need to let them talk. Sometimes they will say things they don’t mean in the long run, but at that brief moment they do. Or sometimes they need to talk through things they are unsure about. They may even say contradictory things.

At one time Job said, “Surely, O God, you have worn me out; you have devastated my entire household… .God assails me and tears me in his anger and gnashes his teeth at me” (16:7f). But another time he said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth….I myself will see him with my own eyes ~ I and not another. How my heart yearns within me” (19:25f)

If you have a very sick friend, let your heart yearn with them.

The scripture for today, June 4, is Psalm 6:4 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“Turn, O Lord, and deliver me; save me because of your unfailing love.”

Sometimes we walk away from God and can’t figure out how to make a turnaround and get our life back on track.  When this happens, look behind you.  Though you are walking away from God, he is still on the right track.  All you have to do is call for him to come get you.

“Turn, O Lord!  Turn!  Deliver me!”

Why would God be so good to someone walking away from him?  Because he loves you and is always listening for your voice.  His love is unfailing.  

The scripture for today, June 1, is Psalm 6:1 as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

“O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.”

This is not only a good request to God, but it is a good request to each other ~ family and friends alike. When you disagree with someone, do you “back it up” with loud yelling or throwing or hitting things? Do you believe that your point of view cannot be accepted without a “tantrum”?

This scripture indicates that it is indeed possible to rebuke someone without the tantrum. In fact, it is more effective. When you calmly tell someone you disagree with them, it does not raise their blood pressure and put them on the defensive. They may react like you want on the outside, but you drive them farther from you on the inside.

Calm rebuke does not mean you don’t mean it; it means you are convinced enough that your point of view does not need reinforcement. In that case, the other person is likely to be convinced too. So today, practice saying calmly what you normally back up with a tantrum. Then, next time you disagree with someone close to you, you will be ready. Ready to not rebuke in your anger.

The scripture for today, May 30, is John 5:30 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.”

It is hard to judge people we know, and leave our own egos out. If we are jealous, we may judge them harshly. If we admire the person, we may judge them too loosely. Perhaps if we try to walk in their shoes, it will help us understand and not judge too harshly. And perhaps if we compare an admired person to Jesus, it will help us understand and not judge too loosely.

We’re not talking judgmentalism here where we go around sizing other people up all the time so we can feel superior to them. In judging, we judge, then we accept people where they are. Only then can we become their true friend.

If we truly love others, we will not, when judging, seek to please ourselves. But to please our Creator who knows our hearts and loves us all the very best.

The scripture for today, May 29, is Acts 5:29 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“Peter and the other apostles replied, ‘We must obey God rather than men.’ “

There are many countries in the world today where a person is beaten, imprisoned and/or killed for believing in Jesus Christ or owning a Bible. They must stay in the background and try to remain relatively unnoticed in order to survive. But their faith continues unabated, even amidst their fears. The church has survived persecution for 2000 years.

Even if they’re not killed, they are by-passed for promotion at work or fired, they are harassed when out shopping, they are threatened in public transportation, they are turned down for a good education, and they must tolerate derision just walking down the street or waiting at a bus stop. But their faith continues unabated, even amidst their fears.

Such events are usually covered up by governments and news media, and the good people of those countries never know it is happening. There are various newsletters on the internet about the persecuted that you can sign up for. One is at http://www.persecution.org that sends news as soon as it happens. Let us daily hold up these brave souls in our prayers ~ those who obey God rather than men. In eternity, it will be God that we turn to, not men.

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The scripture for today, April 18, is 2nd Corinthians 4:18 as found in the New Testament of the Bible:

“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

In a sense, what is unseen is the true reality. We cannot see love, but we see its influence, and it is stronger than anything in the world that we can see. We cannot see God, but we can see his influence, and he is more real than anything in the world that we can see.

Sometimes we all say we wish we could see God and touch God. But if that were the case, he wouldn’t be God, for he couldn’t be everywhere at once. He would only be able to hear the prayer of one person at a time, and only able to answer the prayer of one person at a time. By being unseen by human eyes, God can be everywhere.

Thereby each of us can feel that we are God’s special ones.

The scripture for today, April 14, is Esther 4:14b as found in the Old Testament of the Bible:

Today’s scripture is about a reluctant young lady who won a beauty contest and was chosen to be queen of Persia. Time has passed, and now a command had just gone out to kill all Jews. Esther was a Jewess but had not told anyone at the royal court. She could continue to hide her nationality and let all her people die, or she could intervene with the king. She was the only Jew the king would have listened to. So she took the chance that she, too, would be killed and spoke on behalf of her people. They were saved.

There are always situations in life in which you are the only one who can accomplish something very needed. Perhaps you are the only adult standing near a strange child who is about to run out into a busy road. Perhaps you are tall and a short person needs to reach
something at the store. Perhaps you know a particular language and others around you need you to explain something to them. Perhaps someone called a wrong number on the telephone and reached you instead.

As we go through life, there are situations in which you are the only one who can handle them. Do you? Do you watch for those situations, or do you walk around in your own little world?

Listen! It’s the silent cries of people only you can help. Do you hear them?