****P A S T D E V O T I O N A L S**** http://baptistchurchnews.homestead.com Devotional Baptist Church News Canton, GA Copyright rights of devotionals written by Deborah Davis, other than scripture, are reserved by Deborah Davis Other credits are within the particular devotional. Devotional August 7, 2000 The Scripture: Depart from me, ye evildoers; for I will keep the commandments of my God. Uphold me according to thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope. Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.Psalms 119: 115-117. My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Proverbs 3:11-12 The Thought: When our home burned in 1986 my son called me at my work and I rushed home to find the neighborhood and fire apparatus at my home. Seeing my home come to this with no insurance was a shock and concern beyond description. It wasn't a fancy home, but it was all we had after 14 years of marriage and family. As I walked across the yard toward neighbors, a neighbor lovingly referred to as Aunt Bea came toward me. When we met we joined hands and tried to drop to our knees and pray. Thinking I was faint from the stress, one of the firemen tried to hold me up. I am sure he meant well, but he was keeping me from my greatest need at that moment. After some polite, deliberate movement onward to the ground we prayed right there in the front yard in the midst of the chaos. And it was the right thing to do-- it made a difference in how we coped with the loss. Many times people will uphold us in a manner which is actually a detriment to our life. Just like that fireman, people may mean well, but they hold us up in wrong situations to allow us to continue in something not for our best. It may be through telling us what we want to hear to justify behavior against God, or through actively helping us to participate in ungodly situations. We assume these people who appear to take our side and support us are our friends, and we turn against those who tell us the truth for our own good. Don't be held up by someone who is actually keeping you from getting down to business with God. Lord, give me the heart to bend my knees so I can get down to business with you. Deborah Devotional August 4, 2000 The Scripture: My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. Solomon 2:10 The Thought: I just can't let the day go by without acknowledging that this is the 28th anniversary of the day my husband, Frank, and I officially became engaged to be married. Frank never could have promised the unboring life we have had: near death in childbirth, wrecks, trips over most of the country, layoffs, illness, family problems, sorrows, answered prayers, blessings. On the 20th anniversary of our engagement we were planning for Frank to have open heart surgery the next day. On the 26th, we were preparing for surgery on my leg. Losing almost everything we had in a home fire with no insurance 2 weeks before Christmas 1986 was pretty disheartening, and yet we moved along to the next event. It took Frank about 2 hours to ask me to marry him on July 9, 1972 and his giving of the ring was very unromantic in the kitchen of my parents' home as he drug the rings out of his blue jeans pocket. I matched his lack of lustre in an engagement by promptly coming down with the measles at age 18. The rings have been repaired several times and even lasted through our home fire. I never will forget Frank as he found our rings in the charred rubble of our former home. It wasn't always pretty as you can tell. We discovered each other's faults as days came and went, argued, experienced alot of whatever can effect a marriage. We have failed alot and yet kept on with whatever it was that drew us to come away together. That which took two and turned them into one.... For better or worse, I promised to love even Frank's worst. We have had it alot harder than we originally envisioned, but we probably were just expecting the wrong thing. Instead the worst has been better than the best could have been because the trials have proved the beginning. Lord I come to you with a solemn prayer sincerely praying that you'll be there to guide us through the strife the toil, and struggle of life. Give me the courage to bear it all and never let me think our love is small. Bestowe upon me the spirit it takes to say, "I'm sorry." and the strength to smile through all the worry. Let me always know that You are with me. Ever after this day, you I'll always thank; What I want to say is, "Thank you, God, for Frank." Debbie Broughton December 22, 1972, the day of our wedding. Lord, ditto again today. Deborah Devotional August 3, 2000 The Scripture: Wilt thou not revive us again that thy people may rejoice in thee? Psalms 85:6 And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake the very dust from your feet for a testimony against them. Luke 9:5 The Thought: One of the things I remember about my father in law is that he had this one pair of dress boots that he must have had resoled, rezippered about a million times. Since his passing my husband has his old shoe shine kit. I can remember seeing "Papa" clean and polish his shoes many times. In the Old Testament the priests were to wash their feet when they entered the temple. Jesus, being the high priest for the world, practiced footwashing before he offered himself as our sacrifice (John 13:15). As the disciples traveled, obviously their feet became soiled with the dust and Jesus commanded them not to even keep this dust on them, but to shake it off. In essence what we are told is from time to time remove the grime of this world from our spiritual life. Like Papa's old boots, our spiritual lives need attention if we are to be eternally productive. As our church revival and all revivals approach, we should welcome the opportunity to clean up our walk. We need to be "resouled" from time to time. Lord, send reviving to cleanse away any dirt that stands between me and you. Deborah July 27, 2000 The Scripture: Romans 13:13&14 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wontonness, not in strife, and envying. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof. The Thought: I have recently lost some weight. I had become very good at reading labels in the grocery store and tried to keep the total fat below 30% optimum, but for high fat items the low fat version or 50% being acceptable, limiting sweets. Precious people brought food while my father in law was ill and when he passed away. I tried to stick with my program pretty much, but did eat too much pound cake. There is a reason why they call it pound cake! Now I have found the scale creeping back up just a little. I have gotten off my program, going down some aisles in the grocery store where I shouldn't, stopping to look at things I shouldn't, and avoiding some of the best aisles to keep me on my plan. I was confronted by doughnuts (lowfat, of course!)the other night realizing that I had made provision to tempt myself with those doughnuts by not leaving them at the store. I tried to justify to myself that they were lowfat, etc., and really weren't as bad as they could be. Nevertheless they were a temptation to me. You can just call me Eve now. Sometimes it becomes hard to see things as they really are. We make excuses. If we could just see things and situations in our life like they were danger lurking around a dark corner, we would probably avoid them better. Instead we put obstacles in our own way that can cause harm to our health, our home, our walk with god, our testimony, our Christian witness. Like my eating program, we usually know what works but decide to take brief detours thinking we can be strong later. The detour usually lasts longer, hurts more, and takes us further than we planned on going. When we take those doughnuts home, become too familiar with someone we shouldn't, or entertain thoughts we shouldn't, we are making provision to fill the lusts of our flesh. Lord, I don't know all my weaknesses yet, but please help me to not make provision for those I already know about. Deborah D E V O T I O N A L July 25, 2000 The Scripture: I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.** 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.** Romans 12:1&2 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.** 2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.** 3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. John 15:1-8 The Thought: Thursday I went to pay my phone bill. As I parked I could see the workers trimming the shrubbery in front of the telephone company. I was immediately reminded of the scripture above about purging being necessary for health of plants. While inside the telephone office one of the workers made a comment the shrubbery. One worker commented about the trimming and the second worker replied, "Good, now I can see out!" Sometimes we are in God's will, doing what He would have us do, but we still need to trim the overgrowth so that we can more clearly see outward what God would show us. Sometimes we have to regroup, rearrange, relearn, rethink our walk and our life. To properly do that we need to be able to see out and all need to have the shears applied. We are God's plants. His goal is the production of even more fruit. Remodeling is necessary, but it starts with a clear view WHEN WE CAN SEE OUT. Deborah . July 5/6, 2000 The Scripture: So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Psalms 90:12. I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13 The Thought: Tomorrow, July 6, is my birthday. I will be 46. I have given many birthday cards with this scripture included. Never has this scripture seemed so relevant to birthdays. My father in law is dying from cancer. Monday we were advised he probably has about 2 weeks to live. We knew in March when my father in law celebrated his birthday that it might be his last, and it appears it will be so. Each day when we say good night to Papa, my father in law, is one day off of those 2 weeks. On my calendar in my day planner it shows that on July 6 188 days of 2000 will be gone with 178 days remaining in this calendar year. So far on my birthday I will have lived 16, 802 days including leap years or 403, 248 hours or 24,194,880 minutes. Unlike Papa, I have no idea how many may be left for me to live. I could even go before Papa. But if we only knew-- our lives are like my day planner with so many lived of so many given. I have lived 16,802 days of however many God has planned. I still don't understand why God wanted any of us to live, or what purpose might be accomplished by my life, but I have come to see each day, each moment as a part of some unknown (at least to me) total. Lord, may numbering my days, understanding my finite existence here help me to be wise with my days, setting priorities on what is important, laughing when I can, crying when I must, loving at every opportunity, forgiving when needed, working toward the goal that was your purpose in giving me that number of days which will make up my life. Deborah July 6, 2000 post script: Papa passed away July 12, 2000 Friday June 30, 2000 The Scripture: Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. I Corinthians 12:4 The Thought: The ladies of our church draw secret pals and leave gifts secretly in the ladies' restroom. The recipient finds their gift or someone tells them about it. After the Bible School program a couple of years ago, a little girl found one of the presents in the restroom and thought surely it must be her birthday present. She took the present and went where the crowd was, still thinking this was for her birthday. She excitedly started to open the package disbelieving that it was not for her. It was nice seeing her tear into a gift she thought was meant for her and I couldn't help but think how we should all be as excited to get the gift God has for us. We don't need another's gifts, only the ones intended for us. If we would all look for and accept our gifts with such joy as that little girl had! Thursday June 29, 2000 The Scripture: Then Job answered the Lord, and said, I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee. Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not. Job 42:1-3 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; where there be knowledge, it whall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face; now I know in part; but then I shall know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity. I Corinthians 13:8-13 The Thought: While sitting with my father in law suffering from cancer, I have begun to wonder why God would allow cancer and all that comes with it for any reason. The question soon became, "Why would God even create the world and mankind?" "What are we to God?" I have in the past thought that God wasn't getting a fair deal when the tool he chose to work with was mankind. We are so feeble, so frail, so limited, so fleshly, why would God ever give thought to creating the world and mankind? Once I thought I had to have an answer to a 'why' and I wanted it right then. A friend whom I believe God sent into my life by miraculous means asked me, "Do you really have to know?" At the time I answered "Yes." I thought God owed me an answer. I thought God would want to affirm my faith in Him by revealing an answer. Instead my answer came in the I Corinthians scripture above. After studying this scripture I had to admit I did not have to know ever, and certainly not then. God was still God if I ever understood the why or not. Instead of worrying about what I don't know and probably couldn't understand if I did know, I can be sure of what God does want us to know-- that knowledge of somethings is simply not necessary and we just have to trust Him that HE knows the answer and if we know Him so do we. Yes, God has stilled many wonderments over the years. He has done it often enough for me to know that if I need to know that some questions will be answered and some will not. You might say that God operates on the honor system--if I trust Him he will honor that trust by an eventual revelation. Deborah D E V O T I O N A L Tuesday June 27, 2000 The Scripture: Luke 18:1-8 And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man: And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man; Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth? The Thought: Like most children I liked to color with crayons. There was the large crayon assortment-- the one with the sharpener in the box. They probably cost less than a dollar back then, but a dollar was alot of money, too. I really wanted that box of crayons. My mother had already said no so I began calling my biological father at his job asking for them. At first he said no, but I kept calling. Finally, irritated, he called my mother and told her to take me to get the crayons. You see, I was going to get the crayons from the beginning-- I just had to persist and wait for my father to say so. I had to make my desire and request known to my father in such a way that he knew I was sincere. It wouldn't be right for a father to give a child every whim or fancy, but to determine the sincere desire and need of the child. Our Heavenly Father won't get irritated or weary at our continual requests, but from them He can see our focus and sincerity. Sure, sometimes we don't get what we think we want or need, but we can still be satisfied by the way He answers our prayers once we have developed the relationship of frequent communication with Him about our request. Continual, repeated prayer about the same thing is an expression of faith in a Just Father. Lord, may we not grow weary of asking while you are letting us grow in faith. Deborah. ********************************************************* D E V O T I O N A L Monday June 26, 2000 The Scripture: For the Lord giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding. He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly. He keepeth the paths of judgement, and preserveth the way of his saints. Proverbs 2:6 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 The Thought: I have what I call "my lucky shirt," which I was wearing when I was arrested improperly. Somewhere there is a mug shot in that shirt though there should not be. Sometime that improper arrest will stand against me with people who do not know my heart as God does. It caused great harm to our family and prevented me doing the right thing. There are other things that occured in my life that were stressful. I know I will never like having had these things happen to me. I know I must forgive, but I also know that forgiveness does not require me to like seeing wrong done nor does forgiveness require me be mute. I believe God lets some pretty much unbelievable circumstances happen to me because He knows I will speak up and bring the situation to Him in prayer. God made me like this and without these circumstances, it would be wasted. What I can be thankful for in these circumstances is that God gave them to me. No matter how ugly they were, they were beautifully wrapped in God's trust and purpose. From these situations I gained understanding useful in many ways. I would rather be useful to God in bad circumstances than useless to God in good circumstances. It did not mean that God did not love me, but that He trusted me and had a purpose especially for me. Each time I wear that shirt until the time I put it aside as a momento, I will be reminded that I am yet wrapped in God's trusting purpose and that in the center of every hard situation is a nugget of golden understanding. Lord, may I gain enough understanding to fill your purpose. Deborah. D E V O T I O N A L June 23, 2000 The Scripture: Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. Proverbs 3:27 Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another. Romans 14:19 The Thought: Somewhere in my yard are bricks from one of the 8 elementary schools I attended. This one was special. My home had broken up, which was an unusual occurence then, I was thousands of miles from what I had known as home, and amongst strangers. The first school I attended after coming to Georgia, Calhoun Elementary, was ok. They did no harm, but they did little to help. Then there was Mrs. Essie Lipscomb at Cass Elementary- my fourth grade teacher. She made us say our multiplication tables frontwards and backwards instilling a math concept. She paddled our palms with a ruler when we misbehaved. She failed me in handwriting and I deserved it. When she corrected me I knew it was necessary and fair BECAUSE of the things she did to build me up. Under the guise of cleaning the clinic, she would inquire about me, the little girl with all the troubles. She would read us Bible stories daily as long as we would sit and listen quietly. She gave us hope for the battles by those stories. I knew this person genuinely cared about me with all my warts. She was constant. I want to be an addition to the "building" that she did. I want to multiply what she gave me. Sometimes just a smile, just a kind word, a little effort, just standing by someone in bad circumstances is what keeps them connected to humankind. Buildings of bricks can be destroyed, but build-ing in people by perpetuation can not be destoyed. Those bricks in my yard are merely a momento of the build-ing done in me within their walls. To be honest with those who read this I have to admit that I have received a blessing and am in tears of joy just recalling how God put somebody in my rocky path. Lord, may we do the right kind of building. Deborah. D E V O T I O N A L Wednesday, June 21, 2000 The Scripture: And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of a good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:7&8 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. Proverbs 23:7 The Thought: I was blessed to go to school with alot of smart people and had some excellent teachers. There was one boy, J.B. (initials used as courtesy), who was usually close to the top if not at the top of the class from the time I first knew of him in the 4th grade. He was studious- plain and simple. I didn't know until I was helping in the high school office as a student assistant that J.B. actually had a very low i q. His I Q bordered on the extreme low side. And yet J.B. had accomplished all he had and was 2nd in our graduating class. J.B. had been made to think he was smart. The emphasis was placed on the result and was achieved through effort from a mindset. I imagine he didn't think too much about what his limitations were, if he ever knew. His heart believed he was smart and carried him past his abilities. Why think on good things? Because we become what we think about. If we think about the truth, we become aligned with the truth. If we think of untruths, we allow them to become a part of us. If we constantly recount the problem instead of focusing on the solution, we get consumed by the problem. We don't have the ability to change alot of what exists in the world, but we do have the ability to control how we think. Nothing ever really gets done without it was first a thought--not a lie, not a crime, etc. That old excuse, "I just didn't think!", should probably truthfully be, "I just didn't think in the way I should." There is obviously alot of "not good" in the world that enters our lives, but we are still free to magnify the good. Its all in the thinking and as believers we have the benefit of the peace of God as soil for good thoughts. May you be blessed with some good thoughts today. Deborah D e v o t i o n a l Tuesday, June 20, 2000 The Scripture But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him. The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. Matthew 8:7-9 And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour. Matthew 8:13 The Thought: When I was a girl every mosquitoe bite or scratch turned into a sore, especially on my legs. I was having a pretty difficult time with this when I was about 10 or 11 and I decided I was going to do something about it. With the options available to a child I decided to cover the sores with band-aids. Upon my arrival at the neighborhood baseball game outside I instantly became known as "band-aid legs." (Go ahead--laugh) Although I was trying to deal with the problem as best I could, I had merely called attention to it, instead of getting the right help. Some people's hurts are on the outside, but some are on the inside. Some things people do are internal band-aids and should be a red flag for someone to speak the word so that healing can take place. We all need internal healing from time to time and our best first aid is someone who will speak the word. Deborah Devotional June 19, 2000 The Scripture: And he brought up Hadassah, that is Esther, his uncle’s daughter: for she had neither father nor mother, and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mordecai, when her father and mother were dead, took for his own daughter. And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favour in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan and fast ye for me and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day; I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law; and if I perish, I perish. Esther 2:7, 17; 4:16 The Thought: Esther had a beauty, a gift of God, which gained her favour. Esther was placed in a position where she had access to the king who could save her people. Esther’s beauty gained her favor, and yet she did not trust in the gift, but in the Giver of the beauty when she asked fasting for her and she bound herself to the same act, claiming no special position above the others. Esther used the position she had for the preservation of her people. She still considered herself a part of that from which she came, not above. She risked her very life to do this but she very wisely kept within the bounds of the alternate procedure. She was successful in her efforts. Any gift we have is from the Giver. We need, like Esther, to seek to use that favor to preserve and should proceed with caution where we may have favour. Even beauty, and yes what might be considered less than beauty, are gifts that should be used for God’s purpose. We can go to the King on behalf of our people, but we should do it properly and with a right heart which includes humility and consideration. Deborah ****Sunday*** Devotional (for Saturday and previous days see below) Devotional June 18, 2000 The Scripture: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Matthew 23:25-27 The Thought: Cleaning the bathtub is NOT my favorite chore. There are some cleaners that will make dirt appear to be gone, but germs will still be there. You just can't clean up dirt. If its there, its still dirt. If it is cleaned it must be rinsed away thoroughly or it is only diluted, but still there. Nope, you just can't clean up dirt, although we try to so many times. Marrying a person you have had an affair with while either or both of you were married to someone else will not clean up that sin. Paying back money stolen will not change the fact that it was stolen, etc We try to clean up the parts of our life that we know we shouldn't have in our life. Most times at best we merely dilute it or cover it until much later when the burden of carrying that clean dirt finally becomes too much. Thank goodness there is One who can clean us up on the inside if we will give Him our dirt. Deborah ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Devotional Saturday, June 17, 2000 The Scripture: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. James 1:2-4 The Thought: Beside a river in the Tennessee mountains I picked up a smooth stone. Standing next to the river I could see the water rushing over the rocks in the river, gradually smoothing them-rounding their jagged edges. Amidst the storms in my life at that time, I knew that all my life's storms had rounded jagged edges off me, making it easier for the current storm to go on over. I like lighthouses, the tall round ones. They encourage me for light in the storm as well as remind me that they have stood furious storms because they were rounded, harder for the wind to catch full force. Fighting the forces that would round us for our own protection for later storms limits our ability to stand future storms. Deborah ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Devotional Friday, June 16, 2000 The Scripture: Be thou my strong habitation whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. Psalm 71:3 The Thought: This is one of my favorite verses. Frequently in the busy-ness of the routine of life I stop for an instant and remember I can "resort" to and in God. I envision myself on a beach with a nice breeze, maybe near a lighthouse, under a big umbrella sipping tea also under an umbrella. Some may envision this verse as in a fortress protected in battle, but I like to think of myself in "God's Resort" with all the amenities of the beach still as if protected from the battle of life. In inquiring about a friend from church who did not seem herself she confessed to being tired and about overcome with the required duties of life. She said she needs vacation. I emailed that vacation sounds good and had some moans and groans about the boredom, the toil, the projects of just living and how I couldn't afford or have the time for the vacation I would like (mountains instead of the beach). Then this scripture reminded me I have a resort to which I need only check in and is open 'continually.' ............. As the waves lap my feet. Pull up a chair--there's room under the umbrella. Deborah _____________________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________ Devotional Thursday, June 15, 2000 Scripture: This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:21-23 The thought: I work evenings usually 3pm to 11pm. After I get home I compute and relax before retiring. Before I retire I prepare my son and husband’s lunch. Each morning they can reach into a specific place and get the lunch intended for them. Except once in a while I forget or am so tired I intend to do it in the morning and forget and they either have to buy lunch or I have to take it to them later. God isn’t like that. His mercies, no matter how often we reach in for them, are there and still the same-- and they are the mercies intended for us specifically. Dependable. Whether we need forgiveness, strength, wisdom, encouragement. Don’t be afraid to reach in and get your daily mercies. Deborah