Tag Archives: grace

GODZ EXPECTATIONS!

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GOD'Z EXPECTATIONS

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?  shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

Micah 6:6-8

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. 2 Corinthians 2:10

 

For those of us, who truly love God with all of our hearts, spirit, soul and body, yet feel an intrinsic urging to apologize to Him each and every day because it’s a guarantee that at some point between the time you get out of bed and the time you crawl back into bed, you have inevitably fallen short of living up to God’s Righteous expectations of you, have I got some great news for you!

Given the fact that He is our Creator, God is perfectly justified in establishing specific standards of behavior for us to live by. Hence, it also stands to reason that because He has shown such unfathomable loving-kindness, tender-mercy and unmerited favor towards us, that the only reasonable response should be radical thanksgiving and faithful obedience! Yet, try as we may, left to our own efforts, we’re totally incapable of reaching this level of holy worship that God so richly deserves.

I mean, even on those day where we actually do some righteous things, they could never equal out all our unrighteous thoughts, words and deeds! So we certainly can’t gloat in our self-righteousness. However there’s yet Hope for our terminal dis-ease!

According to God’s Word, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” John 8:32

Truthfully, my precious ones, what God really expects from each one of us, is failure! And from sixty something years of personal experience, I can testify, with absolute confidence, that we can surely do! Royally! Can I get a Hallelujah and Amen 3x?

Dontchakno?  It’s only when we come to the end of ourselves and acknowledge our weaknesses that God is truly glorified!

For without Him, we can do absolutely nothing, however through Christ’s strength, we can do all things.(Ref. Matthew 19:26, Philippians 4:13) As long as we think we’re capable of doing anything on our own, we deceive ourselves and deny God the pleasure of delivering us from any and everything that is trying to hold us captive. That’s why The Bible encourages the weak to say I am strong. (Ref. Joel 3:10) Therefore, with holy boldness, we humbly confess that the only thing standing between our strength and weakness, righteousness and wickedness, success and failure, is Jesus!

GLORRAAAA 2 GOD! Christ IN us, The Hope of Glory, guarantees our victory every single time! (Ref. Colossians 1:27)

WHO NU ACCOMPLISHING GOD’S EXPECTATIONS WAS THAT EASY, huh?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

EYES WIDE SHUT!

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EYES WIDE SHUT!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Mark 2:17)

 

Retracing the footsteps of Jesus, we soon discover that His Sojourn was earmarked with just as much skepticism as faith-filled devotion. According to The Sacred Scriptures, those who should’ve recognized Him, Emmanuel—GOD with us, were in fact, His greatest critics!

Religious scholars repeatedly tried to bait Jesus into disqualifying Himself in an attempt to muffle the rumors that were spreading like wild fire throughout Capernaum and Galilee that Jesus was indeed the Promised Messiah. The Pharisee were particularly perturbed by Jesus’ continued fellowship with those ‘misfits’ who didn’t deserve their time of day. And besides that, any REAL Prophet would’ve known better. Obviously, Jesus’ behavior was considered totally reprehensible to religious leaders. Blinded by their own pompous arrogance, they couldn’t see The Light that was right before their eyes! WOW! Apparently, the more things change the more people remain the same, in and out of church, huh?

Unfortunately, the 21st Century Religious Sect doesn’t fare much better. Although, they don’t actually say it, sometimes our actions typify that same message loud and clear. On the one hand the Born-Again Believer expresses a desire to see their friends and loved ones come into a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, yet struggle at the reality of sharing The Good News.

And if we do finally get around to telling them, how do we represent the Grace that was so lavishly poured out upon us when we were wallowing in our mess?

What good does it do to tell someone they’re a sinner and if they don’t quit sinning, they’re going to the Devil’s Hell. NEWS FLASH! As a regenerated, reformed serial-offender – can I tell you something? Most sinners already know that! What they don’t know is that GOD has already provided a way to escape the fatalistic-dead-end hell-bound-roadway. It’s called Repentance—the core of The Gospel. God has reserved a fully-paid 1st Class ticket to Heaven through The Precious Blood of Jesus for anyone who will place their trust in JESUS!

Our Compassionate Loving Savior testified that He was not sent to Earth to condemn the sinner nor condone sin, but to convict, heal and restore mankind’s sin-sick souls. And guess what? Jesus has commissioned every Believer to get THE WORD OF GRACE out while the deal is still on the table.

CDAT? OR… ARE YOUR EYES WIDE SHUT?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THURSDAY’S PRAYER!

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PRAYN AND FASTING PIC

GOOD MORNING FAMILY! GOTTA MOMENT? This is the day that our Lord God has created and bcuz ur able to ready this message, He’s blessed u a brand new day to rejoice and give GOD the Glory! Once again, The New Nations Worship Ministries Family invite u to join us in our Corporate Day of Fasting and Prayer between the hours of 6:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.

LET’S PRAY,

“Here we r to worship, Here we r to bow down, Here we r to say that You’re Our God! You’re altogether Love, altogether Worthy, altogether WONDERFUL!

Eternal God our Father, we’ll never know why You love us so; but we’re so glad that You do. We know that it’s because of this, it was You who awakened us to this new day, gave us the mind to recognize that for The Grace and Mercy of God, we’d be lost, outdoors, homeless, hungry, and without the strength to get up on our own! We thankya, Kind Jesus, for watching over us, while we slept, keeping us safe from murders, rapist, thieves and robbers; it was nobody but Your Sovereignty that rebuked, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, mudslides, fires, floods and death, allowing us to rest secure under the Shadow of Your Almighty Wings!

Father, we come today, acknowledging that it is indeed an honor and a priviledge that you have esteemed us worthy to approach ur Throne of Majesty, Grace and Mercy! It with humble gratitude that we come boldly without fear of wrath or retribution because of the Sacrifical Lamb, Jesus, who has destroyed every obstacle that our sinfulness has locked us outside of Your Covenant Care; and because of Your Faithfulness and acceptance of His Atoning Blood, You welcome and embrace us with righteous, peace and joy in The Holy Ghost!

We are fully aware that we, in and of ourselves, could never warrant such Lovingkindness, but because of Your Holiness and personal commitment to Your Word, You have adopted us into Your Royal Family, even given us Your Name, declaring to a thousand generations, that whosoever would call upon the name of The Lord Jesus, shall be saved and engrafted into The Kingdom of your Beloved Son, inheriting everything that we will ever need pertaining to life and godliness!

Heavenly Father, we thankya for recognizing the fraility of this human flesh and the deafness that too often causes us to ignore Your righteous commands, giving heed to the seducing spirits that intice our flesh to willfully and unwillfully disobey You and walk outside of the paths that Your Word have designed and directed us to shield us from destruction! But Your Patience and Compassion for us won’t allow You to leave us there, but shepherd us to return to Your fold, leading us to green pastures and still waters.

Father, You already know what’s going in the lives of each and everyone who is reading and echoing this prayer in their hearts right now, because You are Omniscient and You Omnipresence assures us that nothing happens in our lives by happenstance, but except You have allowed it, we pray that You will give us the confidence to walk through these circumstances, holding on to Your nail-scarred Hand, fully persuaded by The Hope that dwell is us, that You will never leave us, never forsake us, never tempt us beyond that which we can endure!

Abba Father, we pray that as we endure the hardships that are part of our living in this broken world, that we remain steadfast, immovable, always abounding in Your Work of Your Hands, trusting You even when we don’t understand why, what, how or when, nevertheless convicted and convinced by the faith that working in us, that Your Purpose yeilds peaceful fruit of righteousness that we’d never experienced except thru the painful process that You’ve orchestrated in our walk to Destiny!

Lord, we ask also, as You have commanded that You bless everyone who has yet to personally accept Your free gift of Salvation that You have wrought thru the life, death, burial and ressurection of Jesus Christ. Let today be the day that Holy Spirit quickens their stony hearts with God-inspired Repentance, that they’ll bow their hearts to You asking Your forgiveness and confessing Jesus as Savior and Lord!

Lord, we ask You to put a yes in the heart and mind of every backslider, let today be the day that they come back to You and come back Home to the local church.

Father, we also pray for every believer who is yet holding on to Your Hand by faith today, that You will release Divine power, Supernatural strength and health, provision, prosperity and protection. We ask that You will preserve them thru the tests that they must go thru and that You will bring them out wholly restored, renewed, refreshed and with the reward as You have promised them in Your Word.

Heavenly Father, we believe with all of our heart, mind, body and soul that You are able to make everything work together for our greatest good and your Highest Glory! As we pray, Lord, we’re lifting up our families, friends and anyone who needs to know Your Love and Help, trusting You to cover them in Your Blood; Jesus according to Your Word and your Name, we have been authorized to bind and rebuke every Satanic influence over their minds, to cast down every demonic spirit that would take our children away from you, we decree and agree that every negative spirit that would hinder our loved-ones and those who love you from walking in the God-Ordained plan and purpose for their lives, be dismissed today, in Jesus Name! We release, healing, hope, peace, love, joy, prosperity and wholeness in every area of our lives, suddenly!

We pray for every leader, government, judicicial, coporate, financial, educational official, every Apostle, Bishop, Pastor, Preacher, Teacher, Evangelist and Missionary, for we recognize that the kings heart is in Your Hands; we ask that The Holy Ghost break up the fallow ground and loose a spirit of repentance immediately, fill them with holy reverance and a burning desire for righteousness! Lord we ask you to equip every soul that You’ve called, empower them to perform Your Will that they may be pleasing in Your sight.

Father we pray that your favor rest upon Your people wherever they go; open doors that have been shut before them and close every open door that would detour them from Your Perfect Way!

We, with joyful thanksgiving and praise, and confident trust, rooted firmely in Your Loving-Kindness, Faithfulness, Power, Mercy and Grace, we fear no mere man or demonic spirit . We stand strong, resting in the shadow of Your Countenance because You are our Shield and Buckler! Your Words affirm that You are watching over us, listening to our hearts plea and Sovereignly granting even those unexpressed desires of all those who trust in You! You, O Lord, are always on alert, constantly on the look-out for your people, who are totally committed to you, we humbly thank you for these and all blessing, in Jesus Name! Amen 3x

R U OPENED, OR CLOSED?

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R U OPEN OR CLOSED 3 2018

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Mark 2:17

Remarkably, in following the footsteps of Jesus,  you’ll inevitably discover that His Walk was earmarked with as much skepticism as was faith-filled devotion!  A closer review of The Sacred Scriptures we’ll see recorded many instances where the very ones who should’ve recognized Him were His greatest critics! Time and time again, the religious scholars tried to bait Jesus into disqualifying Himself thereby discounting the rumors that were spreading like wild fire throughout Capernaum and Galilee that He is the Promised Messiah!

They were particularly perturbed by Jesus’ repeatedly allowing Himself to be drawn into the company of what was considered ‘the misfits’ who didn’t deserve their time of day. And in their minds, any REAL Prophet would’ve known better!  Their own pompous arrogance prevented them from seeing The Light that was right before their eyes!

Unlike some of today’s Gospel Icons, Jesus did not look down on sinners, neither did He consider Himself too Holy to be in their presence. While Jesus had compassion for the sinner, He never condoned sin! In fact, He openly pronounced that His mission for coming to Earth was to call sinners to repentance! Perhaps, this in a nutshell explains why Jesus’ behavior was considered totally reprehensible to the religious leaders of that day, who considered themselves holier, therefore worthier than any of their subjects! Imagine Dat!

Unfortunately, far too many of the 21st Century Church still ascribe to this ill-begotten-theology as well. Although they don’t actually say it, their actions typify that loud and clear. 

Case in point, when my husband and I were called to begin a new work in the Vineyard, God placed it upon my heart to order a banner that would be placed on the roof the the building that said, ‘SINNERS WELCOME!’  Much to our surprise and dismay, we were rebuked by the people of God for displaying such an invitation! “Pastor, don’tcha mean, ‘ALL VISITORS ARE WELCOME!’ Well, then we were really confused  because the last time we checked, the Bible clearly and emphatically discloses that “all have sinned and fall desperately short of God’s Righteousness”!  (Romans 3:23) Hence, every single human born into this world, must come by the Cross in order to enjoy the Divine Heritage that Jesus labored to freely give us!

Truthfully, sometimes we, seasoned saints, forget who we once were. (Ref. 1 Corinthians 6:11) For Real…the only difference between a sinner and a saint is Repentance, the core of the Gospel! Thankfully, it’s not our own self-righteousness—BUT the pure goodness of God’s Grace that causes any man to repent! (Ref. Romans 2:4)

Seriously! Think about it; what good does it do to tell people they’re a sinner and if they don’t quit sinning, they’re going to hell. Well I can tell you as a regenerated Spirit-Filled ex-habitual-sinner, sinners already know that they’re sinners! What they don’t know is that before the foundation of the world, GOD provided a way off of that easily-accessible-fatalistic-dead-end-hell-bound slippery-pathway and a that they have been pre-approved for a fully-paid 1st ticket to Heaven through The Precious Blood of Jesus,  awaiting their acceptance! (Ref. Revelations 13:8)

The problem is, too many of us who have accepted The Sacrificial Lamp’s offering, have a tendency to become so closed minded and mute-mouthed that we refuse to get the message that “JESUS SAVES” out of the CHURRCH and into this lost and dying world!  #OHYESISAIDIT!

In other words, instead of putting THE GOOD NEWS ON BLAST,  a whole of  us are quite comfortably content living lives as  “Secret Servants” aka “Under-cover Christians”!

OH, C’MON NAH! RELAX! I’m not talking about ‘you’, UNLESS I’m talking about ‘you’! OPENED or CLOSED?

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

THE BIGGEST LOSER!

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the-biggest-loser3

SELAH Daily Devotions!

“But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in him.” Psalm 37:39-40

 

You know how Ol Slu Foot (dat devil) is constantly bombarding your mind with negative thoughts designed specifically to sabotage your peace? Yeah, but do we really know why?

Most of what he does is just him acting out his frustration. You see, knowing what’s in store for him compared to what we have awaiting us, and having absolutely no power to stop what God has planned for our future frustrates hell out of him!

Oh don’t get it twisted; Satan is not GOD! He has no creative power! Therefore, whatever he’s doing is restricted to what he’s allowed to do by the Authority of GOD ALMIGHTY! The Bible says that he comes as a Destroyer! Unfortunately, down thru time, he’s become quite proficient in his endeavors by using the only resource available to him to accomplish his three-fold mission. (Ref. John 10:10) What’s his resource, you ask? Memories!

Ever notice how the devil keeps bringing up your past mistakes and past failures? He specializes in accusing you of what you did or should’ve done and didn’t! Well, this morning I was reminded of a message I heard years ago. The Man of Gawd told the saints, that “When the devil starts messing with your mind about your past, just remind him of his future!“ WOW! Deep huh?

Psalm 107:2 says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! As a born-again, Blood washed, Holy Ghost-filled, Child of The Most High God, we have been appointed, anointed and authorized to call those things that be not as though they are. (Romans 4:17) The problem is, most of the time we fail to exercise our power and continue to call those things that are as though they’ll always be. #4REAL!!!

Beloved, you don’t have to be intimidated by the devil. Jesus is the perfect example of walking in the overcoming life! Remember how Jesus dealt with Satan in the wilderness? (Ref. Matthew 4:1-11) And guess what, you can do the same thing that Jesus did!

Don’t be skuarred–take a stand! When believers say what God says by faith, it blows the devil’s scheme right out the water. When the devil starts dredging up your past, you better recognize that it’s time to go ol’ skool R&B on that bugga and, “Say it Loud…I’m Saved and I’m Proud!

Saints, you have to let the devil know that we know, What we know and in Whom we believe! Our God has an amazingly glorious future planned for our lives and it’s ALL good and not evil! (Ref. Jermiah 29:11)

The next time the devil tries to destroy your peace, put him in his rightful place, under your feet. Let him know in no uncertain terms, ‘Hey devil, all that stuff you keep bringing up, it’s ALL covered—under The Blood! Oh, and by the way devil, I peeped the end of the story and it ain’t looking all that good for you.

In the end, I win and you’re still a loser! It looks like you got Hell to pay!”  LOSER!!!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

 

DEMAND & SUPPLY

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demand-supply-2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: (Matthew 7:7)

Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. (Acts 3:6)

While there are undoubtedly many attributes that can rightly be ascribed to our Lord and Savior, may I submit to you that there’s one that is often neglected—Jesus The Master Economist! Jesus specializes in managing the world to ensure that nothing’s wasted, missing or lacking. Every Word that He speaks never returns to Him void but completes the very intent to which it is sent! (Ref. Isaiah 55:11)
Jesus is intentional! Jesus was commissioned to come into this earth by His Heavenly Father for a specific purpose; the expansion of The Kingdom of God in the earth. Strangely, though He chose to accomplish this seemingly impossible task by releasing the Seed of Potential into the hearts of His elect, thereby expanding the faith of humanity! “I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat is planted in the soil and dies, it remains alone. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives.” John 12:24 NLT
The Master Carpenter has a habit of setting you up in custom-designed circumstances to stretch your faith. I believe that anyone of Jesus’ disciples would readily testify how Jesus was constantly pulling them outside of their comfort zone. Remember that day when Jesus was preaching out in the desert to about 20 thousand folk, and suddenly turned to them nonchalantly saying, ‘Ok, it’s getting late so let’s feed the people”. (Ref. Luke 9:16) Can you imagine them looking at one another shocked, confused and wondering which one of them had pre-ordered a banquet lunch before they left town?
And what about that widow of Zarepheth, finding herself hopelessly trapped in a desperate situation, resolved to fix this last meal for herself and her son—and die when suddenly interrupted by Elijah The Prophet, who insisted that she make him a pancake first! Yet, the scriptures tell us that her faithful obedience released an unexpected miracle that not only sustained her and her household but outlasted the famine! (Ref. 1 Kings 17:7-16)
Guess what, He’s still doing it today!
I know, we’ve all heard preachers preach (and it’s biblically correct) that God doesn’t put more on you than you can bear; however, we can’t deny that sometimesssss, Jesus will ask us to do things that are way beyond our personal realm of possibility, comprehension and ability! Amen??? What we must come to realize is that we’re beckoned to these challenging predicaments, not to diminish us but to grow us! While uncomfortable to our flesh, they are God-ordained opportunities to experience the Supernatural Encompassing Sufficiency of God’s Presence, Power and Providential Care!
Beloved, Jesus invites you into these holy moments to prove that His Strength is made perfect in our weaknesses! (Ref. 2 Corinthians 12:9)
It behooves us to stop focusing on what you don’t have (deficiency) and set your attention towards WHO you do have, huh? If you will give God your trust, even if it’s no greater than a mustard seed, He will always exceed your expectations! #ijs
Sooooo, what’s going on in your life now, that’s too hard for you and Jesus to handle?
REMEMBER, ANY PROBLEM + JESUS = VICTORY! DEMAND & SUPPLY!
SELAH!
Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!
Ann Caffee

UNSHAKEABLE PEACE

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UNSHAKEABLE PEACE!

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Romans 8:18 

 

SOMETIMES! I wonder how much easier life would be, if in fact it was meant to be lived“Que sera, sera …Whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Que sera, sera …What will be, will be“ ? However appealing this perspective might appear, at first glance, truthfully, God Who Sovereignly created us  in His Own Image,  never intended us to be merely robotic beings devoid of the ability to reason and make decisions based on our individual free will.  God deliberately fashioned and formed us to be fully capable active participants in working out His Plan for each of our individual lives.  In other words, life, according to God’s Purpose, is not a spectator’s sport!

How childish and immature it would be to think otherwise, huh? As my son once reminded me, reminiscing back to the days when the most critical decisions he had to make that day was, ‘is it gonna be Fruit Loops or Captain Crunch’? But now, finally, as all-grown-up adults,we no longer enjoy the privileges childhood innocence affords to casting off the burden of personal responsibility and accountability for our own actions unto unsuspecting parents, school teachers, coaches, counselors, professors, supervisors, pervasive racism, financially scrapped government institutions, corrupt politicians, over zealous police officers, the collapse of basic moral ethics and inevitable endangered decaying environmental resources. And we couldn’t wait for this?

God uses all of these, (and much much more) to train and transform us into the persons that He’s Divinely ordained us to be—a reflection of His Amazing Grace and Ominous Glory! The problem is, we’re hell-bent on thinking that God expects us to carry out this work, totally independent of His Sovereign Controlling Interest in the Process! And we all know how that eventually turns out, huh?

Hopefully, sooner rather than later, we having exhausted all our our own fire, are forced to acknowledge “This ain’t working, Lord. I need Your helllpppp! Lord, save me!” Thank God, Who steps right in, rolling up His spiritual sleeves, bears us up under The Power of Holy Spirit, places us back on The Potter’s Wheel, gracefully presses, pinches, prodding, pounding, purges and pushes us through the next phase in His process of Restoration.

When we pray and ask God to restore us, we must be willing to submit to the process. Here is where most of us miss it. We don’t want the pain, humility and the lack of control that’s often required in order to equip and empower us for the next level of spiritual growth and development. So often we, the unwilling participants, come kicking and screaming, murmuring and complaining, doubting and accusing God of miscalculating just how much we can bear.

Until finally, we surrender, committing our care to His Loving Hands, trusting His Purpose to be greater than our personal pain, embracing His Will rather than ours, finding more power than you ever imagined, are comforted by HIS UNSHAKEABLE PEACE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

Ann Caffee

DESERT GRACE

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desert-grace-2

SELAH Daily Devotions!

 

“Thus saith the Lord, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things. For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the Lord our God.” Jeremiah 31:2-6

What a Life, huh? Sometimes, you just gotta take a deep breath and make a moment of reflection and introspection in order to put things in proper perspective. Granted, this is no easy feat, given that we’re all so busy now with so much to do and never enough time to do it, right? However, these day it’s no longer optional, but rather essential! Didjaheardat?

Considering the very fact that God communicates with such lowly creatures at all yet continues to baffle the regenerated soul. BUT HE’S JUS THAT KINDA GOD! What a blessing God has reserved for those who seek His Presence and guidance in the pages of His Holy Word.

Today’s scripture text allows us to mine the surface of our Creator’s loving devotion towards us as God unravels the historical context of a somewhat capricious (on our part) relationship with His Beloved Israel. Notice how tactfully The Holy Spirit enumerates the way that God’s endless loyal love is reciprocated with our disloyalty, rejection and unfaithfulness!  Even so, God’s desperation, despair and disappointment seeps out of His Yearning Heart onto the pages of these sacred writings, piercing the hearts and minds of generations who earnestly await, longing for His appearance. Don’t you just Love The Lord? Who else would go to such lengths to draw such a people, steeped in rebellion and prone to wandering back into His Providential Care?

The Holy Spirit labors to impress upon us the attentiveness by which The Heavenly Father consistently demonstrates His commitment to gently lead, guide and train us thru courses of harsh terrains, plagued with extreme hot and cold, poisonous thorns, sand storms and drought of desert life!

Lest we forget that it’s God’s Faithfulness that gives us the faith and hope to live through the dearth, every now and then we come upon random respite oasis of joy-filled celebrations to convince us not to focus on present temporal circumstances but entrust our hearts to His Hands that He might carry us to the places He wants us to go.

For some of us, the journey may start out as a dance through the tulips filled with wonder and hope-filled ease until the tide shifts and we’re encompassed about with confusion, heartache and void of all reason to hope. It’s at this point, that we come face to face with J The Good Shepherd and Savior. Christ JESUS! Much to our amazement, we soon discover that it is HE who has choreographed our steps and stops all along. More astonishing, we realize that while we have been slipping and sliding all over the place, searching for the promised land of contentment and solace, God has been right with us, waiting for us to acknowledge our intimate need for something (SOMEONE) greater than self!

Fortunately for many of us, that’s when we discover personally JESUS CHRIST! DESERT GRACE!

SELAH!

Pause, Ponder, Pray & Praiz!

 Ann Caffee