The Way Out

I have been going through a rough stretch and I have been crying out to God for help and to show me the way through it. I want to thank all of my blogger friends out there for many times being part of God’s answer to me. Your faithfulness is important. There is a Bible verse that has come to me in blogs four different times, in four different translations, this past couple of weeks. And, as I don’t believe in coincidence, I’m taking notice.  

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 (Blogged by Beholding Him Ministries https://beholdinghimministries.org/2023/02/23/hope-for-today-a-way-out-3/ ) 

The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:13 NLT) — (Blogged by Ellie https://newcreationsministries.wordpress.com/2023/02/27/travel-along-the-right-path/ ) 

Believers, we must remember that NOTHING can come against us without the Lord’s knowledge of it before it ever happens. If the devil could destroy us at will, he would have wiped us out a long time ago because he hates man with a passion. But he does not have that power, so STAY IN THE FIGHT. God is faithful and will ALWAYS show you the way of escape. Keep this exhortation from God’s Word before you: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” —1 Corinthians 10V13 NKJV – John Bevere https://www.facebook.com/JohnBevere.page/  

And then, just in case I didn’t get the message: 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV (blogged by Chris Hendrix https://devotionsbychris.com/2023/03/03/god-our-provider/ ) 

But what, exactly, is God saying to me? The word translated “temptation” in this verse is peirasmos (πειρασμός). It means “putting to proof” by adversity or temptation (Strong’s). “[A]dversity, affliction, trouble … sent by God and serving to test or prove one’s faith, holiness, character” (Thayer’s). 

Yes, adversity, affliction – testing – that has been my experience (and I hope I am passing the test, but fear I am not). But that is not the part that grabbed my attention. It was the “way out” or “way of escape” part. The word means “an exit (literally or figuratively) — end, way to escape.” That sounds good to me. I am ready for this trial to be over. I am looking for the exit. But I am not seeing one. 

Yet, God promises that he will provide a way out. And he is faithful – trustworthy, sure, true. Picking up a wonderful book I have been reading I began to see how God provides this exit. 

“… when the fallenness of the world closes in on us and makes us want to throw in the towel—there, right there, we have a Friend who knows exactly what such testing feels like, and sits close to us, embraces us. With us. Solidarity.” … “Not only can he alone pull us out of the hole of sin; he alone desires to climb in and bear our burdens. Jesus is able to sympathize. He ‘co-suffers’ with us.” — Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly 

Yes, I want to throw in the towel a lot. But there He is, Jesus, faithful and true, right there with me. Understanding. 

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:15-16 

Jesus is always there with me through everything, sympathizing, co-suffering. But God promises something more. He promises to make a way so that I will be able to “stand up under” the temptation. That is, to bear up under and endure. To “bear from underneath.” Who does that? Who bears us up from underneath?  

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!’ Deuteronomy 33:27 

Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Psalm 68:19 

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 

I think I see the Exit light now. The exit is Jesus. It is always, always has been, always will be, Jesus. It is not so much that he will take me out of my situation – though nothing is impossible for him! – it is that he is the Way, the Gate, the Door. The Good Shepherd who carries me safely through as the wolf pack surrounds. Like John I lean back upon Jesus’s chest, in the Everlasting Arms, though the hordes of Hell are descending. Jesus is the Door into this rest and peace. And I don’t even have to drag myself through it. He carries me.

He carries you. Rest in his arms.

Photo of Glass Exit Sign from Wikimedia Commons, used under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported 

The Rest is Secondary

This was another week when God spoke to me through my fellow bloggers and devotions that I follow. He spoke what is so important – following our Lord. It is so important to resist the temptation to give in to fear and anxiety and struggle alone on the side of the path. So important to take His hand and walk with him in this way I have not passed before. The rest is secondary.

“When you come to a place you’ve never been before, for example a town you’ve never visited or, literally, every new stage of your life, and don’t know the way to go, the wisest choice is to follow someone who does.” — Mitch Teemley https://mitchteemley.com/2023/01/29/you-have-not-passed-this-way-before-2/  

When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God … then you shall set out from your place. Follow it, so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Joshua 3:3-4 

“The rich, young ruler was asking for direction, but unwilling to let Jesus lead his life. He lived life according to the Bible, but his heart kept him from experiencing the fullness of Christ. He valued his life, possessions and desires more. He wasn’t willing to nail them to the cross and follow Jesus fully. We’re all faced with that choice as Christians. Are we satisfied with being saved or do we truly want to become like Him learning Scripture and the lifestyle it requires? It’s a daily choice each of us must make.” — Chris Hendrix https://devotionsbychris.com/2023/01/25/discipleship/  

One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. Psalm 27:4

“Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:41-42 

“Follow me.” John 1:43 

Photo by Sheila Bair

God Does Not Leave Us Alone

Well, it sure is obvious when God is sending me a message. Here is what came to me in my email this morning. Maybe it is for someone else too. Thank you bloggers!

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; He will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. Deuteronomy 31:8 (ESV) — blogged by Beholding Him Ministries  

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5 

“You might need to read the verse again. Did you see the shift? God changes the focus for the Christian from what he has, to who he has. God tells us to do more than match our desires to our circumstances; we reconsider our circumstances based on the promise of enduring relationship with our God: I will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Greg Morse https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/in-love-with-the-life-you-dont-have  

Today, and every day, may we remember the secret of contentment in all circumstances: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.”—Philippians 4:13 (NIV) — Alan Kearns https://devotionaltreasure.wordpress.com/2022/01/30/when-little-is-much/  

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Psalm 37:7 — blogged by Beholding Him Ministries 

“What I find amazing is that our feelings of fear and doubt do not repel God from us. God does not label us as coward or weak when we feel afraid. In the Bible, whenever God meets a man who is fearful, God never turns away. He deals kindly, gently, and patiently as a loving father is to his child. So, His Word always instructs us not to fear. He always tells us, as if reminding us all the time and knowing that we easily fear and we easily forget, to ‘do not fear’. 

“For I, Yahweh your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Don’t be afraid. I will help you.’” Isaiah 41:13 (WEB)  

God does not leave us alone in our fears. Instead, He stays with us, comforts us, assures us, and helps us overcome our fears.” — Deborah Agustin https://lifehub.home.blog/2022/01/29/god-helps-us-overcome-our-fears/  

Thank you so much Lord that you do not leave us alone with our fears! 

Photo by Sheila Bair

The Dirty Work

(As part of the “sandwich generation” I have been called recently to a lot of caregiving. While I love deeply those I am called to serve, I am not always very willing and cheerful about it. That is why I am eternally grateful to my fellow bloggers this week for faithfulness to share their encouraging words.) 

“When you love someone you will do anything they ask; such is the case in relationships amongst young couples and even in old couples where the flame of love still burns strong. I have no problem admitting I love my wife and would do anything for her, to help her or make her happy. But sometimes our loved ones or those we respect will ask us for something which is difficult, something we would prefer not to do. Sometimes that loved one asking something of us that is difficult is God our Father.” — (blogged by Alan Kearns, Devotional Treasures https://devotionaltreasure.wordpress.com/2022/01/22/when-obedience-is-hard/ ) 

“You know, being a caregiver of any sort can be exhausting.  Being a mom…a homemaker…the one responsible for the needs of whomever is under our care…has its many moments of humbling work. Special needs or other health issues certainly add to the mix a new level of care. And a new level of seemingly lowly service … Even as Christ followers, we envision that the far-away mission field is more glorious and honoring than the dirty work we often do within the walls of our own home.” — (blogged by Patty hesaidwhatks https://hesaidwhatks.blog/2022/01/21/glamorless-glory/#like-6593 ) 

(Ah, yes, the dirty work!) 

“When Mary was not nursing her son, she placed Him in an unused feeding trough (of wood or stone) right next to her…But a feeding trough! Let us never be surprised at the humility of God. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks (Question 27) Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist? Its answer begins: ‘Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition…’ Its scriptural proof text for that ‘low condition’ is Luke 2:7. In a feeding trough, needing a mother’s breast and a change of diaper. How very incarnate the incarnation is! And yet what encouragement is here. For if Christ stoops so low, to such a ‘common’ level, does this not sanctify all that seems common and ordinary and unimpressive in the lives of His people? To be quaint and go back a few years–the weaver laboring at his loom, the farmer putting up hay, the mother cleaning her oven, or the teacher tutoring her ‘slower’ student in reading, the accountant preparing tax returns, the pastor reading in his study, the doctor diagnosing a perplexed patient. Jesus’ feeding trough suffuses all the glamorlessness of our callings with a touch of His humble glory.” (Dale Ralph Davis, “Luke 1-13: The Year of the Lord’s Favor”, pp. 46-47, blogged by Patty hesaidwhatks, same as above) 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4 — (blogged by Beholding Him Ministries https://beholdinghimministries.org/2022/01/21/hope-for-today-faith-produces-perseverance/ ) 

(I love this one by Tozer!) 

“The cross is rough, and it is deadly, but it is effective. It does not keep its victim hanging there forever. There comes a moment when its work is finished and the suffering victim dies. After that is resurrection glory and power, and the pain is forgotten for joy that the veil is taken away and we have entered in actual spiritual experience the Presence of the living God.” — A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God (blogged by beingcreatedinhisimage https://deepcallstpdeep.wordpress.com/2022/01/21/removing-the-veil/ ) 

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (blogged by Beholding Him Ministries https://beholdinghimministries.org/2022/01/22/leaning-on-the-everlasting-arms-2/ ) 

(Thank you Lord for your grace, your grace, your amazing grace!) 

Image copyright by Derek Bair

Gratitude and Jumping Off the Cliff

So, I keep getting this message about giving thanks no matter what. (Thank you to all my fellow bloggers and online devotionals!) I admit I am having a hard time getting there. Life is hard! Does gritting your teeth and saying it just in obedience count?? Maybe it does take flinging myself off the precipice. 
 

“When the storms come, and our trees of delight are bare and leafless, when He strips us of the comforts to which His love has accustomed us — or more painful still, — when He leaves us alone in the world, to mourn the absence of the chief desire of our heart; — to sing to Him then, to bless and praise and laud His dear name then, this is the work of His free grace only.” — Susanah Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel, December 1903, 606. From online devotional by Ray Rhodes, The Other Spurgeon https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-other-spurgeon  
 
 

“I have realised that irrespective of our circumstances, there is nothing as meaningful as showing gratitude irrespective of our current circumstances. For the apostle Paul states in the book of Philippians that. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.”  

This morning I would like to admonish you, irrespective of your current situation; there is nothing more potent than our great God. If he came through for people in times past, remember, He is still the same. He is unchanged. He expects you to leave the past behind and show gratitude for what He has done for you.  

Being alive is a miracle you should be grateful for. That incurable medical report? That declining academic report? The financial crisis? My friend, just leave it into His hands. He will come through for you.”  Blogged by Eliezer https://eliezerontim.wordpress.com/2021/10/15/gratitude/   

“The Psalmist wrote, ‘Our fathers trusted in you; they trusted, and you delivered them. They cried to you, and were delivered; they trusted in you, and were not ashamed’ (Psalm 22:4-5, NKJV). The Hebrew root word for ‘trust’ suggests “to fling oneself off a precipice.” That means being like a child who has climbed up into the rafters and cannot get down. He hears his father say, ‘Jump!’ and he obeys, throwing himself into his father’s arms … The trusting heart always says, “All my steps are ordered by the Lord. He is my loving Father, and he permits my sufferings, temptations and trials but never more than I can bear. He always makes a way of escape. He has an eternal plan and purpose for me. He has numbered every hair on my head, and he formed all my parts when I was in my mother’s womb. He knows when I sit, stand or lie down because I am the apple of his eye. He is Lord not just over me but over every event and situation that touches me.” — David Wilkerson, A Perfect Heart is Trusting https://worldchallenge.org/devotion/perfect-heart-trusting?ref=devos  
 

 
“The adult who has lived life and attained hindsight now fights with the  
ever present child who was born of rejection.  

Logic wrestles with raw emotion.  

Yet what we know, is that in the end, love does indeed win.  

Because we know that anyone who calls  
themself a Christian, is adopted by Grace.  

I am a child of Grace and I am a person who is so ever grateful  
to that of the unconditional…  ” Blogged by Julie, https://cookiecrumbstoliveby.wordpress.com/2021/10/15/an-adopted-path-to-grace/   

Yes! I don’t have to grit my teeth to be grateful for his unconditional love. Thank you so much my ever-present, loving God! 

Image in the Public Domain

My Eyes Are Fixed

But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge … Psalm 141:8 

This past month my father and I endured COVID. I have spent hours in the emergency room, in isolation, away from loved ones, and then away from home caring for my parents. I have had many sleepless nights, constant stress and worry, and even lack of food. I have whined and crabbed to God and cried a lot. I have found out how weak I am, and how much I need His strength for anything – especially to love and to serve. But praise to our loving caring God for his patience and care! And a big thanks to my fellow bloggers for your faithfulness to write what the Lord gives to you. 

“Look at Jesus and only Jesus. The waves and winds are there but don’t look around. Look to Jesus. When I look around me, I will sink because fear consumes me. But when I look to Jesus, I have peace. I have salvation! When Jesus taught me this, right that moment, I felt complete peace. I felt fear drawing away. Instead, fear was replaced with peace and confidence in Jesus.” — Deborah Agustin, Stop Looking Around https://lifehub.home.blog/2021/06/22/stop-looking-around/  

“‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what we see is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18). When we begin to look at the unseen, we perceive the reality that there are no delays in God’s operations. In fact, we get to realize that in the spiritual realm, everything is accelerated, compared to the physical realm. That is why Christians find it difficult living in the present world because we have already beheld the end in the spiritual realm. Our supernatural view then clashes with the natural, which is painstakingly slower and disturbingly different from the spiritual.” — Mulyale Mutisya, Appearances of Delay https://carolynemutisya7.wordpress.com/2021/06/21/appearances-of-delay/  

By faith [Moses] forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.  Hebrews 11:27 NKJV 

“In this one short verse we discover the essence of endurance: seeing Him who is invisible. How do we see that which is invisible? What faculty enables you and me to see it? The answer is faith. Faith is related to the unseen. Faith is a sure conviction concerning things not seen (see Hebrews 11:1). If you and I are going to hold out, the unseen world will have to be more real to us than the seen.” — Derek Prince, Endurance Through Focus 

“If you’re not already walking through a trial, you will soon. As you do, resist the temptation to hide your flaws or your sin. Fight the desire to pretend everything is okay. You’re surrounded by other broken people (like me!) who long to help you. And each one of us is strengthened not by our own gumption but by the gentle hand of a Mighty God. 

 It is good news that should cause us to proclaim with David: “I love you oh Lord, my strength” (Ps. 18:1).” — Hannah, For When You Feel Broken https://agratefullifelived.wordpress.com/2021/06/10/for-when-you-feel-broken/  

And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. Hebrews 12:1-2 

Image in the Public Domain

Mercy

This week, through the blogs and devotionals that I follow, came a clear message from God of mercy and hope.ⁱ Keep praying! 

“… Jesus declared: “The fields are ripe for harvest. And there is still time for laborers to go forth.” Nowhere in the Bible does it say that the Holy Spirit has fled the scene, leaving behind a withered harvest. God’s Spirit is still at work, convicting, wooing and drawing the lost to Christ, including those in apostasy.” — David Wilkerson (1931-2011) 

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. Daniel 9:9 

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners … Isaiah 61:1 

“Every ransomed man owes his salvation to the fact that during the days of his sinning God kept the door of mercy open by refusing to accept any of his evil acts as final.” — A.W. Tozer 

ⁱ (Special thanks to Beholding Him Ministries! https://beholdinghimministries.org/ ) 

Photo by Jack Bair

The Decision-less Middle

The message the Lord is giving me this week from the blogs and devotionals I follow is a sobering, but extremely relevant, one. Thank you to all the bloggers I follow. Be set free.

For the time is coming when they will no longer listen and respond to the healing words of truth because they will become selfish and proud. They will seek out teachers with soothing words that line up with their desires, saying just what they want to hear. (2 Tim. 4:2-3 The Passion Translation) 

“The Living Word exposes these self-inflicted boundaries to us—piercing our hearts, interpreting our innermost motives, and even challenging our cherished assumptions. This is why I contend that we should learn to let the Bible study us. 

For we have the living Word of God, which is full of energy, and it pierces more sharply than a two-edged sword. It will even penetrate to the very core of our being where soul and spirit, bone and marrow meet! It interprets and reveals the true thoughts and secret motives of our hearts. (Heb. 4:12 The Passion Translation) 

Here’s the danger. Without this continual ‘piercing,’ without the Spirit’s constant recalibration of our perspective, without letting Holy Spirit speak through other people we’re in community with, who may even irritate us at times, our unexamined life will be just be following our own confirmation bias. 

They will seek out teachers with soothing words that line up with their desires, saying just what they want to hear.  

Like birds of a feather flocking together, we’ll only be open to teachers we already agree with. We will have stopped ‘the eyes of our hearts from being enlightened’ (Eph.1:18), resting in a truth that makes us comfortable instead the Truth that makes us truly free.” — blogged by Mel Wild https://melwild.wordpress.com/2021/02/23/will-we-follow-holy-spirit-or-our-confirmation-bias/  

Matthew 16:26: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (NASB). 

“These words bothered me. They still do. They set up a stark contrast I have never managed to get past. On the one hand: the whole world. On the other hand: my soul. I so want to dwell somewhere in the decision-less middle. I want a life overflowing with monetary wealth and I want a soul filled with God. The text tells me I must decide on one or the other. As a kid, I somehow knew the splinter of this saying would pulsate with nagging pain until I aimed my life in one of these two directions. It was clear to me. These roads led to two completely different destinations, and one of those would look like great gain and yet be complete loss. Little did I know at the time how these words would stick in my soul like a tiny shard of wood even to the present day. As an adult, I now know this is not a one-time transaction. It’s an everyday decision. “– J.D. Walt, How I Got a Splinter in My Soul and How I Got It Out  https://www.seedbed.com/how-i-got-a-splinter-in-my-soul-and-how-i-got-it-out/  

“… Janet Malcolm from her book In the Freud Archives: ‘There are few among us who do not resist self-knowledge. We are all perpetually smoothing and rearranging reality to conform to our wishes; we lie to others and ourselves constantly, unthinkingly. When, occasionally — and not by dint of our own efforts but the under the pressure of external events — we are forced to see things as they are, we are like naked people in a storm.’ 

When naked in the storm of his own sin, King David stared at the unvarnished reality of his bad moves. He confessed his sins and asked for mercy, ‘According to your steadfast love….’ (Psalm 51) We like David can embrace our true selves and confess our sins. Because we know God is forgiving and our time is finite: life will end. And we can lose or win by our actions or simply lose on time … With God’s help, I’ll sweep away self-deception to reveal my true self. And make good use of the time I’ve been given.” — blogged by Carole Duff  https://caroleduff.com/2021/02/22/losing-on-time/  

“Not only will Jesus have to take up his cross – you and I will. There’s no nicer, refined, more reasonable way, even if we carefully surround ourselves solely with nice, refined, reasonable churchy people. 

For true life requires complete surrender to it. And what will be the point of gaining the whole world by thinking as the world thinks, if it means falling short of true life?”  -Suzanne Guthrie, At the Edge of the Enclosure 

“If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:31-32 (NKJV) 

Photo copyright by Derek Bair

Immeasurable Peace

Wow, I love it when God does this! These came almost one right after another in my inbox today. A message for all of us.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus had moments where He would withdraw from the crowds because He needed to fix His entire being on God. Our souls find clarity and peace when we step away from the world so we, too, can be with our Heavenly Father. We will undoubtedly encounter the healing our souls and even bodies need when we sit still in His presence. — blogged by Estera Marian, Eyes of My Heart  https://theyesofmyheart.com/2021/02/26/rest-for-your-soul/  

May I ask you, what is that thing that is pressing against you? That thing that causes pain, brings tears, and appears as though it can never change. Just want to share that God is able, nothing is too hard or impossible for the Almighty and Sovereign God. Please allow me to encourage you to look up and know that God loves you and is with you in this season. — blogged by Beholding Him Ministries   https://beholdinghimministries.org/2021/02/26/trust-god-in-the-hard-place/  

Jesus knew the disciples needed the kind of peace that would see them through any and all situations. He told his disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you” … Jesus added, “not as the world gives do I give to you” (John 14:27). This wasn’t going to be the so-called peace of a numb, zoned-out society. Nor would it be the temporary peace of the rich and famous, who try to purchase peace of mind with material things. No, this was the very peace of Christ himself, a peace that surpasses all human understanding. 

When Christ promised the disciples his peace, it was as if he was saying to them and to us today: “I know you don’t understand the times you face. You don’t comprehend the Cross and the suffering I am about to face. But I want to bring your heart into a place of peace. You won’t be able to face what is coming without having my enduring peace in you. You must have my peace.” — David Wilkerson, “Immeasurable Peace,” World Challenge Daily Devotional 

Lord, though we cannot see what you are doing, give us your immeasurable peace.

Who is Able to Keep You

So many times many of the blogs that I follow each week have a similar theme. I believe it is “what the Spirit is saying to the churches,” or at least what He is saying to me! Thank you to all you great bloggers out there!

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Isaiah 26:3  

Is your mind stayed on God or is it starved? Starvation of the mind, caused by neglect, is one of the chief sources of exhaustion and weakness in a servant’s life …  

Your mind is the greatest gift God has given you and it ought to be devoted entirely to Him. You should seek to be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…” (2 Corinthians 10:5). This will be one of the greatest assets of your faith when a time of trial comes, because then your faith and the Spirit of God will work together … 

“We have sinned with our fathers…[and]…did not remember…” (Psalm 106:6-7). Then prod your memory and wake up immediately. Don’t say to yourself, “But God is not talking to me right now.” He ought to be. Remember whose you are and whom you serve. Encourage yourself to remember, and your affection for God will increase tenfold. Your mind will no longer be starved, but will be quick and enthusiastic, and your hope will be inexpressibly bright. Oswald Chambers, From My Utmost for His Highest Updated Edition 

“Perhaps you are feeling right now as if your strength and your hope have perished. Perhaps you feel very far from a place of peace. Maybe you realize there is a troubled, unsettled spot deep in your spirit. Could this be the very set-up for a rebirth of your hope and peace? It is no mistake that the Bible tells us in Hosea 2:15 that God will sometimes take us through a gloomy, deserted valley called Achor [trouble] as a ‘doorway of hope.’” (blogged by Derek Prince Ministries) 

 
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind … Romans 12:2 

If it is our duty … 
  to redeem time, 
  to walk with God, 
  to do all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
  to follow the example which He set for us when He was upon the earth,  
  and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling 
–then it must of course be our duty to avoid a conformity with the world in those vain and sensual diversions, which stand in as direct contradiction to a spiritual frame of mind, as darkness to light. — John Newton (blogged by The Whole Armour of God https://steverebus.com/2021/02/07/this-precept-is-very-extensive-and-important/ ) 

We must keep in mind also that the grace of God is infinite and eternal. As it had no beginning, so it can have no end, and being an attribute of God, it is as boundless as infinitude. — A.W. Tozer (blogged by Beholding Him Ministries https://beholdinghimministries.org/2021/02/10/wisdom-wednesday-the-infinite-god-021021/ ) 

I remember my affliction and my wandering, 
    the bitterness and the gall. 
I well remember them, 
    and my soul is downcast within me. 
Yet this I call to mind 
    and therefore I have hope: 

Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, 
    for his compassions never fail. 
They are new every morning; 
    great is your faithfulness.  Lamentations 3:19-23  

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest 

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Philippians‬ ‭4:8‬) — (Brooklyn Tabernacle via Facebook) 

“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”  
― A.W. Tozer 

To Him who is able to keep you from stumbling … Jude 24 

Photo, Edge of Frosted Creek, copyright 2021 Jack Bair