“Siri, where is the nearest gas station?”

“Alexa, where can I rent a tux nearby?”

We live in an information age where all we have to do is ask our nearest smart device for help. We have our own personal machines that give us directions, find us new places for food and entertainment, and answer questions that make life less complicated.

If only Alexa could answer questions like How should I resolve this conflict with my relatives? or Can you help me not to fall apart emotionally over this tragedy? or Who can I turn to to rescue me from this mess? or How can I have the inner character to deal with the things life throws at me? or the greatest question of all What will happen when I die or someone close to me does? 

Siri and Alexa fall short when it comes to our deepest human needs. A Facebook post draws many hearts and promises of prayer, but seldom comes close to offering the guidance we need in those times of confusion or devastation.

So what’s a girl to do on this Journey through life when tough times come?

We have a personal navigator available to us. In fact, if we are a child of the King, this navigator is very personal, He lives inside us. First Corintians 6:19 tells us:

“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?” 

We have a helper for The Journey, our own personal Siri, the Holy Spirit. One who has all the answers, every time. And One who has implanted within us things to help us before we ever ask – things like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

You say, “But I have no patience.” I beg to differ with you. As a child of God with the Holy Spirit living in you, there are within each of us these fruit listed above. Our problem is we haven’t bothered to nourish and water these traits. We ignore the Spirit’s promptings and impatiently or hatefully or greedily push on ahead instead of acting on the gentle tuggings of His Spirit within. The fruit sits inside our heart of hearts with the Holy Spirit shriveled and unused. We need to become as quick at accessing the Holy Spirit as we are at accessing Alexa or info on our smart phones. Romans 8:5 reminds us of this truth:

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.”

At times on our Journey we feel weak and helpless. We wander in indecision, doubt or fear. Later on in Romans 8 God’s Word says,

“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

We are not alone! We have a helper – a strong helper. We aren’t left to wander in our confusion and unanswered questions. Not sure of the direction to take? Ask God. Not sure you can handle the situation? Ask God. Not sure you even know what to pray? His Spirit will step in and pray for us. How many times have I only been able to choke out the simple prayer, “Lord! Help me. Please!” And that opened the door for the Spirit to do the rest. Oswald Chambers says, “the Holy spirit Himself prays prayers in us which we cannot utter ourselves. … He expresses for us the unutterable.” (My Utmost For His Highest, Nov. 8)

God’s Spirit dwells in us. Is he an honored guest in your world or a forgotten stranger holed up in a back room?

I love what Paul has to say about the Holy Spirit of God in 1 Corinthians 2:10-16:

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 

God’s Spirit searches us.

He knows the thoughts of God and reveals them to us. (Wow!)

Through Him we have the mind of Christ.

As you head out on your Journey of life today, don’t forget to access your personal navigator. Listen to Him closely. Trust His directions. He will guide your Journey even when the road ahead seems unclear. And He’ll answer questions and meet needs along the way.

Enjoy the Journey!

Have you ever noticed that there sure is a lot of coming and going in the Gospels? Jesus came to the crowd. He came to Capernaum. He went to a solitary place. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to Golgotha. He called the disciples to “Come!” And he told them to “Go” sell their possessions and give to the poor and to “Go” make other disciples.

Sometimes our journey of life gets hectic. We feel like all we are doing is coming and going. My Mama used to say she was so busy she “met herself coming and going.” But in our comings and goings from day-to-day we can have purpose. We can be like Jesus.

What can we learn from Jesus’ comings and goings.

Jesus went TO places, but He went FOR the people. The Bible documents Jesus traveling to many towns and regions of the countryside: Jerusalem, Bethsaida, Samaria, Galilee, Genneseret, mountainsides, the Sea of Galilee. In each place He went, scripture reveals more to us about His interactions with the people He encountered rather than about the random daily things He did. We don’t know where he spent his nights or what he ate or if He and the disciples ever found a big field and played ball together just for fun. We see him healing and teaching and driving out demons and talking with the hurting people He met.

In our lives, as we come and go, are we more focused on the tasks at hand – get the kids to soccer, buy the groceries, have the oil changed in the car – or have we learned yet that life is about the people we encounter on the journey? Our Father loves hurting people, whether it’s us or a friend or a stranger. He will put His children in the right place at the right time to meet very specific needs. Are we even aware? Or are we so busy being on our way to work or on our way to school or on our way to church that we overlook the lonely, the sick, the hurting, and the desperate around us? Are we more like the compassionate Samaritan on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho, or, on a typical day, do we very much resemble the Priest or the Levite who was too busy and distracted to help a wounded man?

Jesus invited people to “Come” and commanded them to “Go.” Notice how the disciples were gently invited to come along with Jesus and learn from Him and allow Him to change them into fishers of men. “Come.” He calls us as well. Come. Gently, patiently, often in a whisper. Come. Early in the morning stillness. Come. Amidst the confused hustle and bustle of life. Come. In the midst of the raging storm. Come. He calls us as much for our good as for His purposes, because His purposes are for our good! We shortchange ourselves and miss out on an opportunity to learn and grow and join with Christ in His healing work here on earth when we ignore the call to come to Him.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

As gently as Jesus calls us to come, He is equally firm about His command to “Go.” Jesus commanded a rich man to go sell his possessions and give to the poor. (Matthew 19:21) To an expert of the Mosaic law He said go and show mercy. (Luke 10:37) To the woman at the well He told her to go face Her past sin and come to Him to quench her heart’s thirst. (John 4:16) To the woman condemned by man He offered free-dom from condemnation and the challenge to “go and sin no more.” (John 8:11) And to all His disciples, then and now, He commands us to…

“Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20 

Let us respond to His invitation to “Come!” and obey His command to “Go!”

Jesus took time to go to a solitary place to pray. Throughout the Gospels we see Jesus pulling aside to pray. As Jesus faced the toughest moment of His life He pulled away to pray alone. He went to the Garden of Gethsemane, left His disciples behind, and prayed about the trials He faced. Many of our most difficult times will feel very lonely. Our Father is there for us in those moments, just as He was for Jesus, for us to come to Him in prayer.

The crowds get wearying. The demands of life leave us frazzled. Work and family and school and commitments pull us in a dozen different directions. We too need to pull away to a solitary place to pray. If Jesus needed to, then we need to exponentially more so. We don’t need to pull away to social media or to TV or to a glass of wine or to friends even – we need to pull away, alone, to our Father and pour out our hearts to Him in prayer and listen to what He has to pour out to us! That is where true refreshing of the soul resides.

“And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” Mark 1:35

Jesus went to Golgotha for you and me. He made the greatest sacrifice of all time. He went to the cross and lay down His life for us.

As we come and go and mingle with friends, family, acquaintances, and strangers from day-to-day Jesus will call us to lay down our lives as well. We probably won’t be called upon to physically die for someone today, but it will sometimes feel like dying to do the compassionate things He asks us to do. That is what dying to self is all about. We lay down our rights and our plans and our wishes to go to that one in need. To come up to someone we don’t know well and offer to pray. To share the good news of Jesus as we go throughout this journey of life.

Are you tired of your rat race of coming and going? It’s time to give in to your Master who says “Come to me and I will give you rest.” It’s time to find strength and refreshment in Him. Not only in His gentle “Come,” but in being obedient to His command to “Go!’

A testimony by guest author Alecia Singleton

No one wants to face trials, but out of trials comes a triumph. God is ever faithful and He keeps showing himself strong. Psalm 46:1 sticks out in my mind.

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

I had been sick, but thought it would go away.

I was having dizzy spells that first started mild and progressed over time. The dizziness became so bad that it did not matter if I was sitting, standing or laying down, I felt like everything was spinning. I was sick beyond sick. I did not see an end in sight.

I was first told to go to the ER. They were thinking that it was my heart, however, my heart was fine. I had gone to my primary doctor and they ran many tests and all came back normal.

I went back to see my primary doctor and there was another doctor seeing me, because my doctor was busy. This doctor asked if anyone had checked my thyroid? I said no and she proceeded to order a full thyroid screening. The results came back showing an under-active thyroid. I was thanking God that we finally had an answer. But my next thought was, what is an under-active thyroid and is it treatable? Thankfully, this is a treatable disorder, but the other part to this, it also could be cancerous.

I was blessed in the aspect that I had no cancer. They began to treat the thyroid condition with medication, but I was told that the medication that I was on could eventually cause problems with my liver and that I needed to decide if I wanted to have surgery to remove the thyroid and be on meds for the rest of my life or allow them to perform a radiation treatment on the thyroid. I opted to have the surgery, because there were too many what ifs about the radiation treatment.

I was referred to see a surgeon. During the consultation with the surgeon, he asked if I sing and I said yes, and his next words were, “I have to let you know, when the surgery is over, you will not be able to sing again.” I spoke with authority letting him know that God blessed me with my voice and I believe when this is over, I will be able to sing again. The surgeon said, “If you are able to sing, you will not be able to sing loud or high.”

I had my Thyroid surgery on March 16, 2005, and the surgery went fine. I received confirmation, no cancer. My voice was raspy, but I expected that right after surgery, but as time went on, my voice was still raspy.

Three months went by and my voice was still raspy. The devil brought it back to me what the surgeon said that I would not be able to sing again. I said God you have got this. I began to pray the word of God over me from Hebrews 13:21:

“Now may the God of peace… equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

I could sing, but my voice would just cut off. I had to continue to trust God and believe His promises. I had to tell God that I made a declaration to the surgeon that I would be able to sing and that His Word told me that I would not be put to shame. One year later, my voice was still not back to normal, but it was much better. I began to sing to the glory of God. I told God that if He allowed my voice to come back, that I would always glorify him.

I am here to tell you that God is so faithful, He met me at my point of need. I knew what I could hear and I knew it was not right, but God, in his time, He healed my voice and I do not take my voice for granted. I know the power of God through the testing of my faith. When you see and hear me sing, I am not just saying words, I am singing, because I have experienced Gods hand at work in my life. I will always sing to the glory of God.

Alecia

by Joni Shankles

I admit it.
I am afraid of thunderstorms.

Growing up and living in tornado country, I am an experienced weather watcher.

Let me clarify. I’m not brave enough to go out and actually watch storms. I mean watch in the sense of heightened awareness, of being on guard. I’m better characterized as a weather listener. For me, thunder is an audible signal that danger looms. Where there is thunder, there is lightning. And if the storm is severe, thunder warns me that tornado winds are possible. Better check my weather radar app.

I hide my fear pretty well.
Except that I had bicycle helmets in our tornado closet twenty years before the weather experts began recommending them. Getting trapped in our outside entrance basement with two kids under two years old, watching a tree fall against the door – let’s just say I respect the power of storms.

Psalm 29 is giving me a new perspective.

David issues an invitation for all to ascribe, or give credit, to the LORD his glory and strength, and to worship the LORD “in the splendor of his holiness.” To help worshipers understand God’s power over all creation, David uses the imagery of a storm.

David compares thunder to the “voice of the LORD”, an audible reminder of God’s power and majesty.

The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters
The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic. (v. 3-4)

David compares the “voice of the LORD” to the intensity of lightning, and to the power of winds in a storm to shake, twist, and break trees.

The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. (v. 5)

The voice of the LORD strikes with flashes of lightning.
The voice of the LORD shakes the desert…
The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple, all cry, “Glory!” (v. 7-9)

David is saying: When you hear thunder, when you see lightning, when you see the power of stormy winds, it is the voice of the LORD inviting you to worship, to cry, “Glory!”

This is a game changer for me.
Thunder as the voice of God, not the voice of doom.
Thunder as an invitation to worship, not as a trigger for fear.

Psalm 29 reminds me that God is more powerful than any storm. It reminds me that God reigns over all creation, even thunder, lightning, and wind.

“The LORD is enthroned as King forever.” (v. 10)

And the psalm closes with a promise I can cling to whenever storms arise.

The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace. (v. 11)

For now, I live in tornado country. Storms will happen.

Psalm 29 reminds me that I can be prepared, but I don’t have to be afraid.
I can hear God’s voice when thunder rolls.
And when I hear it, I can choose to worship.

Father, I give you the glory due your name. You are enthroned as King forever. Your power is greater than any storm. Help me to hear your voice in the thunder. Let worship be my response to storms. When storm winds blow, thank you for the gift of your strength and the blessing of your peace. Amen.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

The Preamble to our U.S. Constittution is such an inspiring and noble statement of intent. Our forefathers who had dealt with tyrannical control sought to create a lasting and worthwhile means of government.

Today that new nation they established is probably not exactly what they thought it would be. I guess it just shows that We the good People of America may not be as good as was hoped. We the People of 2018 exemplify the antithesis of the Preamble: injustice, turbulence, self-focus, degradation, and enslavement to sins by our own choice.

As a science minded person, I see our founding father’s work as a giant experiment that we are still observing 200 years later. And what does that experiment reveal?

As noble as We the People would like to think we are, we have succumbed to the slippery slope of sin. We have slipped further than we thought possible, and there is no end in sight. Our greed, selfishness, and immorality have yielded a rotten fruit.

We the People cannot rescue ourselves. For years we’ve hoped to turn the decline around: new Presidents, new political parties in control, new laws, new social programs, protests, marches. All our best intentions have failed because we are flawed people, sinners in need of a savior. We need Gandalf to ride in on his white horse and rescue us.

Suicide rates are at an all time high. Despair permeates our precious United States of America. Looking through human eyes we see a bleak picture.

Where is hope to be found?

Psalm 33:18-22 – “But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.”

The situation is not bleak when you look at it through the correct lens – the lens of scripture. Scripture tells us we can’t rescue ourselves. It tells us Jesus is our Savior. It tells us God loves us No Matter What. It tells us we are never too far gone, that Father God will forgive anyone who repents and asks for forgiveness. It tells us that we are His Beloved.

When We the People turn our eyes to heaven, seek God’s ways, and live obediently we find hope. We find unconditional love. We find a rescuer. Not as a nation, but as invdividuals created uiquely by God.

The change begins with me not we. Am I willing? Are you? Willing to lay down self and choose God’s ways? To obediently follow, when it goes against the norm of our society?  To become a loving servant and follow in the steps of our Savior?

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20