No Excuses

“The Lord has made known His salvation; He has revealed His righteousness in the sight of the nations. He has remembered His lovingkindness and His faithfulness to the house of Israel; all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Psalm 98:2-3

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God,” Romans 1:18-21a

He will return and some will want to argue they never heard, but He shouts through is creation and most of all He whispers through His children. Enjoy your weekend.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for the women you know this week who do so much and sometimes stand alone.

Long List

“Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the soul of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones; and give thanks to His holy name.” Psalm 97:10-12

“For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power, and avoid such men as these.” II Timothy 3:2-5

When we think of “being good,” we think we are good if we don’t murder or steal; but there are many lists in Scripture meant to show us that avoiding some sins is not enough, because we still do others – and just one unconfessed sin in our life is enough to break our clear communication with the Father. Just consider this list in II Timothy. It helps us remember our need of the Savior every moment of every day.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for the women you know this week who do so much and sometimes stand alone.

GREAT !

“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples. For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;” Psalm 96:1-4a

“For the Lord is great beyond description, and greatly to be praised.” New Living Translation

“For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be reverently feared and worshiped above all [so-called] gods." Amplified Bible

For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods.” New International Version

Over and over, with our daily lives, those around us, all that surrounds us whether real or perceived; we can trust in one thing and that is the almighty and everlasting, loving and omniscient greatness of our God, who acts for His purposes in our world and in our lives for the best.

“’For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.’” Jeremiah 29:11-

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for the women you know this week who do so much and sometimes stand alone.

Grumbling Start

“Come let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand. Today, if you would hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah.” Psalm 95:6-8a

“Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, ‘Give us water that we may drink.’ And Moses said to them, ‘Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?’—And he named the place, ‘Massah and Meribah because of the quarrel of the sons of Israel, and because they tested the Lord saying, ‘Is the Lord among us, or not?’” Exodus 17:2 & 7

We all are weak enough to want things our way; to trust our own judgment. We also fall to the temptation to “know” what God wants for us. God’s plan is perfect and even when EVERYTHING seems wrong, He has not looked away for a moment and forgotten what is going on. He is watching to see the attitude of our hearts regarding Him.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for the women you know this week who do so much and sometimes stand alone.

Stand behind Me

“Who will stand up for against evildoers? Who will take his stand for me against those who do wickedness? If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have dwelt in the abode of silence. If I should say, ‘My foot has slipped,’ Thy lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up. When my anxious thoughts multiply within me, Thy consolations delight my soul. Can a throne of destruction be allied with Thee, one which devises mischief by decree? They band themselves together against the life of the righteous, and condemn the innocent to death. But the Lord has been my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge, and He has brought back their wickedness upon them, and will destroy them in their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them.” Psalm 94:16-23

When my Dad was working, one of his golden rules was to always stand behind him when he was busy. This way, I would be out of the way of hammers or saws or other tools he might be using and he would always know where I was. In the same way, the Lord wants us to be out of His way as He deals with those who do evil. Think about it.

“Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:17-19

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for the women you know this week who do so much and sometimes stand alone.

Awe Thanks!

“The Lord reigns, He is clothed with majesty; the Lord has clothed and girded himself with strength; indeed the world is firmly established, it will not be moved. Thy throne is established from of old; Thou art from everlasting. The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves. More than the sounds of many waters, than the mighty breakers of the sea, the Lord on high is mighty. Thy testimonies are fully confirmed; holiness benefits Thy house, O Lord, forevermore.” Psalm 93

I didn’t see the ocean till I was about 30. After a ten hour drive we reached a place near Miami and parked on a long pier. My friends went for directions to our destination. I walked around stretching from the long drive. Then I heard it. The pounding waves. I walked to the platform edge and peered into the dusk to watch the waves roll into the sand. The greatness and extensiveness of that power made me unconsciously step back and I began to pray in Thanksgiving for the wonder of His majesty. Enjoy your holiday and think of the ocean today.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for my sweetest friend, Doris as she makes more new adjustments to being without her life companion, Owen.

Not Over Yet!

“The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree, he will grow like a cedar in Lebanon, planted in the house of the Lord. They will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still yield fruit in old age; they shall be full of sat and very green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no uprightness in Him.” Psalm 92:12-15

As we see years passing over us there are many surprises we face, including how things change with friends, parents, others we care about, places we love, the world in general. Perhaps we even feel we don’t have as much a ministry as we used to have. Yet, God preserves His children in their ministry with a mysterious vigor for the work of His plan.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for my sweetest friend, Doris as she makes more new adjustments to being without her life companion, Owen.

Your Foot Too!

“He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; -- a thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not approach you. – For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways. They will bear you up in their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Psalm 91:4-5, 7, 11-12

When we think of this passage, we think of this promise only to Jesus and hear it in the temptation verses (in Matthew 4), but note this was a promise for you too. Today as things crowd you remember He promised to be with you and sends His angels to camp about you.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for my sweetest friend, Doris as she makes more new adjustments to being without her life companion, Owen.

Seventy or eighty, then...

“As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labour and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away.” Psalm 90:10

“Vanity of vanities.’ says the Preacher, ‘Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.’ What advantage does man have in all his work which he does under the sun? – There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur, there will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later still.” Ecclesiastes 1:2-3, 11

Sometimes in our daily lives we can forget that our time is short and none of us knows whether we will reach the 70 or 80 years the Lord spoke about in the Psalms. But we do know He has work for us to do here and there will be judgment of how we have used our time.

“And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” Romans 9:27

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

Light please...

“The heavens are Thine, the earth also is Thine; the world and all it contains, Thou hast founded them. The north and the south, Thou has created them; Tabor and Hermon shout for joy at Thy name. Thou hast a strong arm; Thy hand is mighty, Thy right hand is exalted. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Thy throne; lovingkindness and truth go before Thee. How blessed are the people who know the joyful sound! O Lord they walk in the light of Thy countenance.” Psalm 89:11-15

Some friends and I were talking about light and dark. Dark is the absence of light. It only takes one tiny spark of light to dispel the darkness, yet a tiny spark of darkness only looks dark by contrast to the light. We need more light!

“Again therefore Jesus spoke with them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life.’” John 8:12

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

Spiritual Breathing

“Will Thy wonders be made known in the darkness? And Thy righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? But I, O Lord, have cried out to Thee for help, and in the morning my prayer comes before Thee.” Psalm 88:12-13

"And after He had sent the multitudes away, He went up to the mountains by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone." Matthew 14:23

It’s very quiet in the morning when I have quiet time with my Father. Early in my Christian life someone shared how important it was to start each day by spiritual breathing ("inhaling" God's Word and "exhaling" your heart in prayer). What you can find is how wise and loving your Father is. His Word teaches you every time you open it. Enjoy your weekend my friends.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

Ticking

“The Lord shall count when He registers the peoples, ‘this one was born there.’ Then those who sing as well as those who play the flutes shall say, ‘All my springs of joy are in you.’” Psalm 87:6-7

“’But when the Son on Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another; as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’’” Matthew 25:31-34

God has a plan and it is to reach the lost because one day there will be no more reaching out. He will appear and those on His left…will have no future. Can you sense His clock ticking down….?

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for David and Adrian and their health problems.

For John B

“Incline Thine ear, O Lord, and answer me; for I am afflicted and needy. Do preserve my soul, for I am a godly man; O Thou my God, save Thy servant who trusts in Thee. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to Thee I cry all day long. Make glad the soul of Thy servant, for to Thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul. For Thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon Thee. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; and give heed to the voice of my supplications!” Psalm 86:1-6

I was newly arrived in Australia and had made a fast and enduring friend with a gentleman named, John B. He introduced me to lorikeets in huge flocks, sharing a taxi with a stranger, Telecom, lamingtons, Operation World and pumpkin soup. He was a lay preacher who loved the Lord. One evening he took me to his church to hear him preach on Romans 8:29-30 (but not about predestination, he explained). This passage in Psalms was what the Lord put on my heart as he spoke. John is still a friend. Isn’t God wonderful!

“A friend loves at all times,” Proverbs 17:17

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for David and Adrian and their health problems.

What is good...

“Wilt Thou not Thyself revive us again, that Thy people may rejoice in Thee? And grant us Thy salvation. I will hear what God the Lord will say; for He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; but let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land. Lovingkindness and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. Truth spring from the earth; and righteousness looks down from heaven. Indeed the Lord will give us what is good;” Psalm 85:6-12a

Do you ever get tired, really tired, bone tired? God gives us signals to help us slow down so we can listen more closely to Him. Can all the rushing and doing more than ever before actually crowd Him out? When it does just remember there is a great prayer for that:

“Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit,” Psalm 51:12

He longs for you to take time to remember the day of your salvation frequently because He knows when you do, you hear Him more carefully. His lovingkindness lasts forever! Amen

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Please pray for David and Adrian and their health problems.

Can We?

“For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness, for the Lord God is a sun and Shield; the Lord gives grace and glory; no good thing does Hi withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, how blessed is the man who trusts in Thee!” Psalm 84:9-12

Trust is a big concept for most of us. The word means to have a belief, confidence, reliance on the truth, goodness, character, power, ability, etc., of someone or something. One of my best lifetime friends, Adrian Stokes has a favourite verse in Scripture about this. It is:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Yet this verse goes on because like every promise there is a condition:

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil, it will be healing to your body, and refreshment to your bones.” Proverbs 3:7=8

Can we trust Him?

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

Silent Fighting

“O God, do not remain quiet; do not be silent and, O God, do not be still. For, behold, Thine enemies make an uproar; and those who hate Thee have exalted themselves. They make shrewd plans against Thy people, and conspire together against Thy treasured ones.” Psalm 83:1-2

“The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent.” Exodus 14:14

John Milton, a 17th century, English poet wrote: “They also serve who only stand and wait.” And that is a very powerful statement. Think about it. So many times we want to DO something – ANYTHING! To fix it, to make it all better, to hurry up the results, to “prevent a disaster”. As if the Lord doesn’t have a clue what’s happening in His world. Sometimes -- in fact, more times than not, it is better to wait on Him.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might, He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:28-31

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Assignment: Pick one couple you have been praying for this week and call them or send them a hand written card encouraging their love of the Lord and each other.

Just Measure

“God takes His stand in His own congregation; He judges in the midst of the rulers. How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked? Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked. They do not know nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.” Psalm 82:1-7

“’You shall have a full and just weight; you shall have a full and just measure, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.” Deuteronomy 25:15

Prejudice, discrimination, favoritism -- all create defeat in the world and in our Body of believers’ gatherings.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Pray for Tim and Barb, Carla and Paul and all the couples you know this week, that the Lord will build the love in their families and that they will be blessed and strengthened for all their patience and hope and love – especially for those who seem to give little in return.

Watching A Child

“’But My people did not listen to My voice; and Israel did not obey Me. So I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices. Oh that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways! I would quickly subdue their enemies, and turn My hand against their adversaries. Those who hate the Lord would pretend obedience to Him; and their time of punishment would be forever. But I would feed you with the finest of the wheat; and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.’” Psalm 81:11-16

Ever watch a child trying to do something in their determined, sometimes stubborn way that you know they can’t do and you know you can for them? You wait. You watch. Then you offer to help. Most times you get one of two responses (depending on how long or seemingly successful they have been with their struggle to that point): “I can do it myself!’ or “Here do it! I can’t!” Now think about God watching you.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Pray for Tim and Barb, Carla and Paul and all the couples you know this week, that the Lord will build the love in their families and that they will be blessed and strengthened for all their patience and hope and love – especially for those who seem to give little in return.

Is He trustworthy?

“O Lord God of hosts, how long wilt Thou be angry with the prayer of Thy people? Thou hast fed them with the bread of tears, and Thou hast made them to drink tears in large measure. Thou dost make us an object of contention to our neighbors; and our enemies laugh among themselves. O God of hosts, restore us, and cause Thy face to shine upon us and we will be saved.” Psalm 80:4-7

“’If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blasting fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.’” Daniel 3:17-18

The hardest thing we do in our lives is to trust God when are sure we know what is right or when we want a specific solution or conclusion to something happening around us or in our own lives. That is when we get to exercise trust.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

PS: Pray for Tim and Barb, Carla and Paul and all the couples you know this week, that the Lord will build the love in their families and that they will be blessed and strengthened for all their patience and hope and love – especially with those who seem to give little in return.

How to argue with God

"Do not remember the iniquities of our forefathers against us; let Thy compassion come quickly to meet us; for we are brought very low. Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Thy name; and deliver us, and forgive our sins for Thy name’s sake. Why should the nations say, ‘Where is their God?’” Psalm 79:8-9

“Then Moses entreated the Lord his God, and said, ‘O Lord, why doth Thine anger burn against Thy people whom Thou hast brought out from the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, saying, ‘With evil intent He brought them out to kill them in the mountains and to destroy them from the face of the earth’? Turn from Thy burning anger and change Thy mind about doing harm to Thy people.” Exodus 32:11-12

In Job there is that classic start of Chapter 38: “Who are you to answer back to God…” You see, you can argue with God all you want. You can rant and rave against His hand in your life, you can mope and be sad or depressed. You can even pretend to praise Him when you are grumpy inside (the fake it till you make it approach).

But Scripture shows us how to argue with God: just remind Him of the above two passages and ask for His will in the situation, always keeping in mind that whether He moves to act in the way you think best or not, He will move to do the best for His purposes and because of His amazing, omniscient love of you.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene

Sleeping Giant

“Then the Lord awoke as if from sleep, like a warrior overcome by wine. And He drove His adversaries backward; He put on them an everlasting reproach. He also rejected the tent of Joseph, and did not choose the tribe of Ephraim, but choose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved. And He built His sanctuary like the heights, like the earth which He has founded forever. He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from the care of the ewes with suckling lambs He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them with his skillful hands.” Psalm 78:65-72

What a picture the world has of our Lord – as if He is asleep from too much wine. But God does not sleep; He watches (and I’m sure He weeps for what He knows must happen before the end He is orchestrating) and hopes in you and me to keep reminding others in whatever way He has shown us to share that there is hope and love; that there will be a last day and judgment. This is our responsibility you know. What a privilege to be His! Enjoy your weekend.

Run to God's Word. Take care. Your servant & friend in Christ, Darlene