Aug

31

God’s GPS

By Julie B Cosgrove | 1 Comment


All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.  Psalm 25: 10

We often refer to life as  a journey, don’t we.  We call it the Path of Life.  Mine has definitely had its twists and turns. I am sure yours has as well.  At times, obstacles block our ways. Perhaps it is the avalanche of someone near to us becoming terminally ill, or disabled, or dying.  Maybe it is a washed out bridge when we lose a job or a marriage fails.  There is definitely enough rocks along the way on which to stub our toes – pride, jealousy, greed, negative thoughts.   Occasionally we have to stop in our tracks and choose what direction to go.  Perhaps, at times like Hansel and Gretal, we feel we are in the darkest woods and our bread crumbs are gone. We stand lost and cold and cannot find the path at all.

But the Psalmist said all paths – all- of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness.   When we put God as the navigator of our lives, whatever path we take, He will be there.  When we follow Him, trust in His word and remember His faithfulness in the past, we know we are  “on the right track”.  We will not lead us astray.

Whatever happens along the way is either in accordance to His plan, or ours. If it is His, it is for the best, even though we may not see why.  We must have faith that things do happen for a reason.  There is a lesson to be learned, an unforeseen obstacle to be avoided, a potential wreck that the detour saved us from having.

If we have gone our own way for a bit, His loving light will shine our way back.  God invented the GPS long before modern man did. It’s called the Holy Spirit - GOD’s  Protective Signal.  His steadfast love calls us back to Him. He is faithful to keep His promises.

Heavenly Father, guide us today and each day down the path of our lives. Whatever comes our way be there to protect us, steer us, detour us or helps us climb over it. Walk besides us, and in those times when we need to follow, walk ahead, and show us the way. When danger lurks, walk behind us and protect our backs.  And when we become too weak, carry us Home.  Amen.

 Make me to know your ways, O Lord; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; and my hope is in you all the day long. Psalm 25:4-5

Aug

31

Perfect Picture

By Kelly | 3 Comments


Today in church I got the perfect picture of  how God reacts when we show up to be with Him, in prayer, in worship, in praise, anywhere, anytime. There was a lady setting in front of my family, alone with an empty chair beside her. The service had started, the music was over and the pastor had began. A young man sat down beside her, I assume it was her son by the way she acted. She was almost giddy. This lasted all of 30 seconds or less but brought tears to my eyes all the same. She was almost bouncing in her seat, patted his back, hugged his neck, sat with her eyes on him and a wide smile on her face. The last thing she did was pull on the bill of his ball cap. I got a bit tickled at that. I am sure that was a dissaproving tug of a cap in church. I have two teen boys that were setting between my husband and me, so that touched home.  Then I thought, Oh my gosh! That is how Jesus feels when we show up! He is so excited to see us, He loves on us, He is giddy and correcting all at the same time. It was a very short but powerful lesson for me this morning. He waits for us to show up. If that young man had not shown up, that seat would have been empty for the service time that was intended to be shared with him. I don’t want my seat to be empty while He waits for me in silence. Lets fill our seat every day so Jesus can love on us. What a great picture! Thank you Jesus!

Aug

28

Apple of My Eye

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


Keep me as the apple of your eye;  hide me in the shadow of your wings  Psalm 17:8

Comforting words- but what do they mean? I had to surf the Web for answers.  What I found was even more of a comfort. We can picture what it is like to be always shadowed by His wings. It means He hovers over us and protects us from evil. The bird protects her young from the harmful rays of the sun or the blistery cold of winter by shadowing them with her wings until they have  enough down (protection) on them to regulate their body temperatures. Also, as the bird hovers, if the chicks are shadowed, they are harder to spot by prey.  Awesome image of being under God’s protection.

But, there is so much meaning in the first part, I want to concentrate on that. I had always heard being the “apple of my eye” meant I was special in that person’s view.  That’s true. 

The Psalms were written in Hebrew, then translated in Latin, then into English. The “apple” is what the 16th century English called the dark pupil of the eye, especially when it was large and full of emotion. Wide-eyed with excitement or love.  There is a reason why a pupil is that part of the eye and also a student.  Pupil in the Latin means “Doll”.  The Hebrew translation for pupil  is the dark of the eye, “ishon” which literally means tiny man. 

At first that is confusing. Why “doll” or “tiny man” ? Because when you look into someone’s eyes that are wide-eyed, you see a tiny reflection of yourself. A tiny bit of you is held captive in their view.  It is being the center of attention. The one thing they are fixated upon.

God loves us so much He is wide-eyed over our presence. We are the apple of His eye because He is fixated on us. We are the center of His attention as a child should be to the parent. He will never let us out of His sight. The eternal, all powerful eye of God is set on us with a loving gaze. We are so very precious to Him that  He is captivated by us and a small amount of us is reflected in Him. 

May we strive to return the favor!

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but in what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  2 Corinthians 4:18

Aug

28

The Potter’s House

By Jan Ross | Comments Off


From the moment I was put into my parent’s arms, they intended to make sure I grew to understand the importance of serving God.  As an adult, my husband and I have remained actively involved in a local congregation regardless where we’ve lived, and we made sure our children were given the same opportunity I was as a child.  Our goal was to teach them that serving God doesn’t depend on anything except their personal heart response to the Holy Spirit at work in them—in all of us.

For several years we attended “The Potter’s House,” a powerful church in Columbus, Ohio.  Across the front of the sanctuary were the words, “Where Broken Vessels Are Made New”.  The Word preached by Pastor Tim Oldfield is powerful, pure, and packed with Life-Giving truth that literally transforms the heart of those willing to respond with a submitted and committed heart.

Jeremiah 18:2 speaks of the potter’s house:  “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.”

The Master Potter works on each vessel individually to refine, to strengthen, to mend, to reshape and to prepare us to be the beautiful, useful, unique vessel He purposes us be.

It is His sovereign right to form our lives as He pleases. “As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.” How often do we have a preconceived opinion of the course our lives will take only to have the Master Potter change everything?  Through circumstances, situations, and other influences in our life, He Himself sets the course for us, most often not the direction WE would like to go, but the direction He has planned and purposed for us.  It is so awesome to realize that we are part of the Sovereign Creator’s plan for all of mankind.

Isaiah penned the words that continue to be my personal prayer, especially when I feel myself resisting the work of the Master Potter:  “Yet, O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand.”  (Isaiah 64:8)

We need not be dismayed when we feel the reworking and transforming work of the Master Potter in our lives but rather rejoice that His purposes are continuing to be accomplished as we remain submitted and pliable in the Master’s hands.

My desire, O Lord, is to be used of You, to please You, and to remain submitted to You all the days of my life. I submit to Your masterful work in my life as You mold me and make me after Your will. You are the Potter, and I am the clay . . . have Thine own way, Lord, have Thine own way! Amen!

© Jan Ross
All Rights Reserved

Aug

27

Anchors

By Julie B Cosgrove | Comments Off


 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land…And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.  Acts 27:27,29

In Jesus’s and Paul’s days, the navigating tools were crude in comparison to the electronics we have today. In the middle of the night, out on an open sea, they couldn’t see a thing.     They had to look to the heavens to get their bearings and some sense of direction.   The sailors’ expertise in their craft and maybe a gut instinct told them they may be dashed onto the reefs, so they dropped four anchors and waited, praying for daylight to come and help them see where they were.

Can you see the analogy?  When darkness surrounds us and we cannot see where we are going in life, we need to also look to Heaven for direction. And while we await the answer, the dawn so to speak when things are clearer, we need to anchor ourselves and pray.   To go on blinded by the unknown would be foolhardy. 

What four anchors do we have to keep us steady during the rough and tumble of the night?  We have faith, hope, past encounters and God’s Word.   Our faith that God keeps His promises set forth in His Word gives us hope. That hope and faith is assured when we see how God has guided us and others in the past.  Whatever rocks or reefs are out there that may dash our dreams, we can say firm in the knowledge that God is with us and can see what we do not, and knows what we cannot. After all, He is the one who made it all, isn’t He?

Paul believed he would make it to his destination, which was Rome. He trusted God would get him there no matter what because God had told Paul that was where He was sending him. Paul did not know how he’d get there or what would happen along the way. He  trusted and had faith. God had led him in the past, He ’d continue to do so. Paul believed God’s Word, remembered what He had done for him in the past, had hope the God would protect and guide him, and the faith that it would all turn out to God’s glory.

Heavenly Lord, guide us through the calms and storms of our lives. When we cannot see things clearly, let us hold firm to our faith, confirm our hope in You, trust the  promises of your Word and  recall the past examples as proof of Your love towards us. Give us direction when we pray and the peace to know that You will be right beside us. Amen.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault.  But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave at sea, blown and tossed by the wind.  James 1:5-6

Next Page →