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The Shell Around Us

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Recently when the wind blew some trees down across a trail near where I live, I went out the next day to clear them away. When I arrived one was still partially standing, leaning up against another tree, so I cut it down with the chainsaw and used the tractor to drag it away.

After clearing away all three of the trees, I was picking up the broken branches and clearing the area when I noticed a pretty deep hole in the ground caused by one of the trunks of the tree as it fell. This hole was several inches deep, and looking into it I noticed what looked like a bowl in the bottom. “Hmm, that’s weird,” I thought as I took the toe of my boot and tried to dig it out. I was startled as it moved; it was a turtle! I guess he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, because that tree had landed right on top of him and pushed him several inches into the ground. I was afraid he was hurt or his shell was cracked, but after carefully digging him out and putting him to the side, a few minutes later he poked out his legs and head and ambled off into the woods.

As I continued with my work I thought about the turtle and the Christian walk. During the storm the turtle was protected from the weather and from the fallen oak tree. He wasn’t squashed like a frog or bird because of the protection of his shell.

As followers of Christ we are protected. God’s means of protection includes the Holy Spirit and His holy angels. You can read more about the protection that God gave to Job in Job 1, 2 and Daniel 3.

Think about God’s protection as a shell about you as you read this from Psalm 91:

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do Psalm 91not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. . . If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you up with their hands so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone. . . The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation” (Psalm 91, NLT).

Remember to commit your heart to Christ every single day, and you can rest assured that His protection will surround you as well.

Read more at the source: The Shell Around Us

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Pop-up Windows

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Recently, I began to receive a barrage of pop-up windows on my computer. Every time I logged on to the Internet, I received an arsenal of solicitations that included everything from plastic surgery to refinancing. There was no end to it; it was maddening!

Finally, in desperation, I called the Technology Department, who came to my desktop and “did their magic” to correct the problem. I’m not exactly sure what they did, but it worked! They silenced the pop-ups.

Did you know that God uses pop-up windows? He uses them daily to notify us, to warn us and to direct us. We often refer to God’s pop-ups as our conscience, or that still, small voice of His Holy Spirit.

Throughout the day, pop-ups appear on the lighted screen of our minds. Sometimes they alert us that what we are thinking about or doing is dangerous in some way. Other times they suggest thoughtful or helpful things we can do for others. Sometimes they appear as a source of direction guiding us to make the right decision in a certain situation.

Missing God’s Call

But God’s pop-ups are a bit more subtle than the images that flash across your computer screen. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve brushed them aside as irrelevant, only to discover later that they were from God.

Listening to the voice of God is challenging in a world as noisy as ours, but it is a discipline that can be cultivated. Conversely, His voice can also be silenced.

Today, set aside just a few moments of quiet time to talk to Him, then a few moments more to listen. Silence your mind and observe what you hear. Over time you will be able to distinguish His voice amid the clatter.

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10, NIV).

Read more at the source: Pop-up Windows

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Is Your Soul Thirsty?

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We must have water to survive! Our bodies are more than 70 percent water; to keep them running smoothly we are told to drink eight glasses of water a day. You might survive for weeks without food by living on body reserves, but water is so integral to life—with every function depending on it—that most of us would die after three to four days. To skimp on water intake is to put your body in serious risk of malfunctioning.

To get the most out of your water intake, you should drink two cups before breakfast, two or three between breakfast and lunch, and two or three between lunch and supper. So that it doesn’t interfere with digestion, wait an hour or two after eating and stop about 15 minutes before eating again. And don’t depend on thirst—you need water way before you feel thirsty for it!

What a blessing to have running water in our homes, or go to the local store and buy a bottle! But imagine you’re near Death Valley in the middle of summer. Your car broke down and you have no idea when help might arrive. You drank your last sip of water three hours ago. The desert is so hot that you see water shimmering in the distance, but it’s only a mirage. Or imagine you’ve just hiked 10 strenuous miles, and your mouth is dry and your energy zapped. You reach for your canteen for a refreshing drink, but all the water has leaked out. It will be four more miles before you reach another source. As thirsty as you’d feel in these situations, that’s how thirsty God want you to be for Him!

David drew the corollary that our thirst for water is like our need for God. Pursued by King Saul, David cried, “O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Ps. 63:1, NIV).

Our world is cut off from God by sin—a true desert in the midst of the universe. Are you aware of your critical need of spiritual water? The next time you take a refreshing drink of pure, cool water, consider also your soul thirst. How can you quench it? The answer is in Revelation 22:17: “Let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely!” Drink in spiritual water throughout the day—don’t wait until you’re thirsty.

Have you gotten your drink of living water yet? Come to Jesus, the source of the water of life, and let Him fill you to overflowing!

Read more at the source: Is Your Soul Thirsty?

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

He Cries; I Do Not

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During a program at church, or the intense scene in a film, I now end up passing a tissue to my husband. I can still feel my own tears brimming at the edge of my eyes, however, I usually can stay emotionally composed. Yet, I remember the old days when just reading Hallmark cards in a store reduced me to a puddle.

Years past menopause, I find life much more even and constant. Sometimes I am perplexed that what used to cause me to cry, doesn’t get much of a tear. I note, “That used to make me cry.” It is as though something has been turned off. And my spouse caught it and now he is one who cries.

Such is the emotional role reversal that comes to many couples with mid-life and beyond. Those hormones that helped provide our younger identities, have waned and our emotional responses are different. I am not quite as concerned with nurturing and nest-tending. My spouse causes me some amusement with his new hobby of watching litters of puppies grow up on Internet camera websites, along with watching baseball games. Most of all, I am thankful for his increased interest in all things spiritual and strengthening family ties. I appreciate the new mellowness. I hope he finds that even though I might be a bit more assertive, I am not as likely to sink into fits of melancholy. I know he agrees that this older version of me is not as rigid and controlling as my younger self.

A dear elder saint in my church encouraged me one day by saying that if couples will covenant to have patience, commitment and prayer (with exceptions for abuse), “marriage gets sweeter at the end.” We need those who are ahead of us on the journey.

There are advantages to advancing chronology and anniversaries. I am settling into a few good things and the values that mean the most to me. I have stories to share and lessons that have been learned. I have claimed Joel 2:25, 26 (NIV), “I will repay you for the years the locust have eaten…and you will praise the name of the Lord your God who has worked wonders for you.”

Read more at the source: He Cries; I Do Not

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

Love Month

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If months had themes, July would go down in history for me as “love month.” For one, the text of our Bible study at church has been First John, which uses the word “love” more times than the hippie manifesto.

Secondly, I’ve been working on my seminar “Love in the Last Days” for a presentation next month. Last but not least, I had my family reunion.

Eleven people slept in my three-bedroom house. There were uncles puzzled into beds too short for them, mothers on pullouts, cousins strewn on the floor. Meals were equally freeform, whether tailgating at a New Jersey beach or having a Sunday morning waffle extravaganza on paper plates. The greatest challenge was organizing and directing the activities, which had to be spontaneously planned according to the weather. Although we hit the beaches, a couple restaurants and some tourist sites, the high point for me was probably playing Cranium with my nephews Shawn and Gavin. Isn’t it telling that the most memorable activities are often free?

As the relatives gradually departed, the house fell into a contrasting silence. That silence will swell to deafening when the girls go back to school. People are a terrible inconvenience, but life—and our house—is quite empty without them. The wise man said, “Where no oxen are, the crib is clean,” Proverbs 14:4. I’ll take oxen and dirt.

What’s my point? Simply that we are designed for connection. It’s as if people are born with one-sided Velcro on their hearts, capable of adhering to others. No! It’s more than that, because Velcro doesn’t hurt or hunger. It’s that we’re made in God’s image, and “God is love,” 1 John 4:18. If All-sufficiency can long for connection, then His creation all the more. Unfortunately, many human relationships fail, leaving this hunger unsatisfied. Our essential selfishness folds us inward like shriveled wineskins, reducing capacity and rendering relationships either non-existent or dysfunctional.

But there’s hope. The Scriptures reveal a God who can connect with the unconnected. Regardless of how wrong our human relationships have gone; regardless of the depths of our isolation or the death-grip of our human conflicts, we can at any point turn to Him and know that we are loved. I don’t know of another worldview that has this to offer.

Read more at the source: Love Month

Article excerpt posted on en.intercer.net from Spiritual applications.

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