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The Sovereign Lord who helps me…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 50:2a …Was my arm too short to deliver you? Do I lack the strength to rescue you?…
I am guilty of doubting. If I’m honest, I’m guilty of it much more often than I’d care to admit. Mark 9:24, “I do believe; help my unbelief” is a verse I feel deeply.
Isaiah 50:2b …By a mere rebuke I dry up the sea, I turn rivers into a desert; their fish rot for lack of water and die of thirst.
But as I ponder the what and the why of my struggles with belief and trust, I see my issue comes down to control again. It’s not that I don’t trust God to act, it is that I want Him to act in a very specific way. I want Him to fix it according to my plans. That’s where my problem lies.
Isaiah 50:7 Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced….
Lord, Forgive me for my insane need to micromanage the God of all creation. Forgive me that I don’t just want You to make a way where I see no way, but I want You to follow my step-by-step guide. Thank You that You are with me always, that You are making a way, even if it looks nothing like I had planned or imagined. Draw me closer. Help me to trust unconditionally, even when I don’t understand, even when it is not what I would have planned. Thank You for Your sovereignty and love. Amen.
Isaiah 50:9 It is the Sovereign Lord who helps me. Who will condemn me?
Have a blessed day.
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Reasoning together…. (devo reflection)

Isaiah 1:18a “Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord….
Several translations use the wording “let us reason together” instead of “let us settle the matter.” That seems an important distinction to me. God wants us to make the best choice for our lives, but He has given us the free will to choose and the reason and intellect to make the right choice. So why do we often still choose wrong? Are we idiots? Gluttons for punishment? So wrapped up in hedonistic pleasure that even when God is the obvious choice, we still choose vice?
Isaiah 1:18b …“Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”
I wonder if part of the problem is disbelief (which boils down to lack of trust. Jesus, Help me.) It is difficult to fathom that a garment dripping scarlet could ever be white as snow again. But this offer is given to all—Saint and sinner, rich and poor, worldly and sheltered. We just have to trust and believe. Such simple concepts. So difficult to put into practice.
Isaiah 1:19 If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land…
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for Your mercy and compassion. Your offer seems too good to be true. You seem too compassionate to be real. “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Draw me closer. Amen.
Isaiah 1:20 …but if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.”
Have a blessed day.
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And what does the LORD require of you? (devo reflection)

1 Chron 9:1 …and Judah was carried away captive to Babylon for their disobedience. (WEB)
God is pretty clear in His word about how we are to act and how we are to treat others. Mark 12:30-31 states the greatest commandment as: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…and…Love your neighbor as yourself.” Micah 6:8 adds: And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
1 Chron 9:1 …and, behold, they were written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah, who were carried away to Babylon for their transgressions. (AKJV)
Can you imagine if we fully put these verses into practice, if we were fully obedient to God’s commands for living? In one of the most prolific “me first” places in the world, can you imagine if we treated our neighbors as we treat ourselves? Sadly, it is much easier to see disobedience to theses commands, and with the stress of teaching in a global pandemic, I’m looking squarely at myself when I say that. I’m absolutely guilty. So many are.
1 Chron 9:1 …and Judah was carried away to Babylon because of their unfaithfulness. (NHEB)
Lord, Thank You for this day and this scripture. Thank You for the reminder of Your commands. Help us to turn our selfishness into Your selflessness. Help us to champion others with the same vigor with which we claim our own rights and privileges. Help us to live first for You, then to be Your hands and feet to others. Help us to turn from our disobedience. Draw us closer. Amen.
1 Chron 9:1 …And Judah was taken into exile to Babylon because of their breach of faith. (ESV)
Have a blessed day

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An interesting opportunity during this pandemic…. (devo reflection)

Deut 17:1 Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that had any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to Him.
A sacrifice is not a sacrifice if it doesn’t cost you anything on a personal level. If I am cleaning out and giving things to charity, then my giving them to you instead does not constitute sacrifice. God wants our best. It’s got to cost us something to be a worthy sacrifice.
Mark 12:41-42 …Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
I think we are afforded an interesting opportunity during this pandemic to offer to God a sacrifice of praise (Heb 13:15). Times are tough, there is no disputing that fact. So to earnestly praise God, to rejoice in Him in the midst of the chaos and confusion, that is a worthy sacrifice. 
Mark 12:43 Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others.”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reminder that You don’t want our excesses, You want our best, our first fruits, and You are so worthy, Lord. Help us, especially now, to offer You a sacrifice of praise. Draw us closer. Amen.
Mark 12:44 “They gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Have a blessed day.

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Perfect love…. (devo reflection)

Deut 6:5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
I am a deeply, fiercely, unconditionally loved child of God. He loves me as much on my worse day as He does on my best day. His love, His presence, His mercy and grace are limitless and without condition. I am unwaveringly thankful.
Deut 4:29 But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
He asks that same deep, fierce, unconditional love of me for Him. He wants me to love Him, to seek Him, with all that I am and all that I have. He wants me to be as steadfast in my devotion to Him in my trials as I am in my praise of Him in my triumphs. Some days I do pretty well at unwavering love. Some days I have to give myself plenty of grace, remind myself of His unconditional love, and try again to love Him without limits, without whining, without fear.
Matt 22:37 Jesus declared, “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for Your clear example of perfect love. Thank You that You understand my flawed humanity, that You show me such undeserved grace and mercy as I fumble through this life. Thank You for loving me as completely on my worse day as You do on my best day. Thank You for understanding my deep love for You, even when I am bitter or afraid. Draw me closer. Always. Amen.
Mark 12:30 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Have a blessed day.

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Nothing is too hard…. (devo reflection)

Numbers 17:1-2 The LORD said to Moses, “Speak to the Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their ancestral tribes.”
The Lord not only made dead wood bud in this chapter, a feat in and of itself, but he took a staff, dead wood, and made it sprout, bud, blossom, AND produce almonds. He brought forth life from death. This chapter brought to mind Jeremiah 32:17 “Ah, Sovereign LORD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for You.”
Numbers 17:5 “The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the Israelites.”
“Nothing is too hard for You.” I say it. I see it. But do I really live that belief? When I think about all that I am praying about, praying for, worrying about, do I put the trust in God that I profess? Do I leave my burdens at His feet, in His care, not worrying about the outcome because I know without a doubt that NOTHING is too hard for Him?
Numbers 17:7 Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the covenant law.
Precious Savior, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reminder of Your sovereignty. You know my heart, Lord. You know that I trust You, that I believe You, that I believe IN You. I don’t know why I struggle so to leave my burdens at Your feet but I KNOW I can trust You with them. “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Amen.
Numbers 17:8 The next day Moses entered the tent and saw that Aaron’s staff, which represented the tribe of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds.
Have a blessed day.

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God Himself will provide…. (devo reflection)

Gen 22:2 Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there….”
Genesis 22 has always been troubling to me, and while it still is, I am able to see it through slightly different eyes this morning. God has been building Abraham into a man of great faith. It has been at times a slow and painful process, but step by step, Abraham has become more faithful until we reach this chapter and Abraham doesn’t even balk at God’s direction because he knows that somehow God will make a way. 
Gen 22:3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and loaded his donkey….
The example Abraham seems to be providing me here is to trust that God will provide. Even when He seems to ask the impossible, trust Him. Even when what’s occurring has the power to rip out your heart, trust God—His love for you, His love for those you love, His sovereign plan, His eternal promise. Even when the way is dark and frightening and you feel utterly helpless, trust God. He will provide. 
Gen 22:6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife….
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for new eyes to see Abraham’s response to Your call. Thank You for Your fierce love and for making a way where there seems to be no way. Thank You that I can place my loved ones in Your hands, knowing You will provide a way and that I don’t have to see or understand Your ways in advance for You to work. I believe; help my unbelief (Mark 9:24). Amen.
Gen 22:8 Abraham answered, “God Himself will provide….”
Have a blessed day. 

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Frustrated with my lack of faith…. (devo reflection)

Gen 15:1 After this, the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”
Father Abraham is another stalwart of faith whom I have placed on an unintended pedestal. Gen 15 shows his continued struggles (and victories) as he learns to believe and trust God. Commentary posits “The faith that made Abram righteous wasn’t so much believing IN God…as it was BELIEVING God.”
Gen 15:2 But Abram said, “Sovereign LORD, what can You give me since I remain childless….”
That is a struggle that I know well, the struggle that causes me to wrestle with my own faith. I absolutely believe IN God, and I want desperately to BELIEVE His promises, but my doubts, fears, and anxieties plague me. Just like Abram, who asks God, “…how can I be sure…” I want assurances, and sometimes God just needs me to trust Him. “I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).
Gen 15:5 He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars….So shall your offspring be.”
Lord, Thank You for this day, for this scripture, for this reassurance. I wrestle with doubt, fear, and anxiety way more than I should, which causes me more doubt, fear, and anxiety. I realized this morning that I am always just a bit afraid that You will get so frustrated with my lack of faith that You will deem me unredeemable, but that is not Your way. Thank You for Your fierce love. Thank You for Your reassurances to Abram and to me. I believe in You deeply. Help me to believe just as deeply in Your promises for me. Draw me closer. Amen.
Gen 15:6 Abram believed the LORD, and He credited it to him as righteousness.
Have a blessed day.