Renewing Your Spirit

Rocky Paths of Life

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.”  Ps 119:105

We often view life as a path, and if we have a relationship with God, He will direct us along that path. We view the path of life with God as a smooth, walking path through beautiful evergreens, and sweet smelling flowers. When life becomes rocky, difficult and even unmanageable, we think we’ve gone astray from the smooth walking path.  In reality, we have not gone astray.  It is on that rocky, thorn-covered path that we feel the Lord walking with us.  He has allowed that part of the path to be filled with huge rocks which are difficult to pass through, but He is there in front of us still guiding us along. I picture Him with arm stretched backwards to grab hold of my hand and guide or pull me along.  And often, I pull my hand away and say, “I can do it.” Then, I reach a precipice or an unstable part of the path and finally look up.  There is His hand outstretched waiting for me.

One of the best ways to see His hand waiting for you is to be in His Word.  His Word will guide you through the rocky times of life to give you hope and direction. The more you are in His Word, the more you will see Him guiding and helping you. Hold on to the Hand that guides you.  He is always there waiting, with arm outstretched, and He will never let you fall.

God Bless America

“Mom! Mom!  Come here and see the pictures Uncle Eric sent me!” my son said as he dragged me into his room.  There on the wall, hung every which way, were the pictures that his “uncle” had sent him.  They were of the helicopters he flew, the places he had been, and planes he had flown.  Besides serving our country faithfully, our friend, Eric, had instilled in my son a love of patriotism, country, and service.  To this day, my children call him “Uncle Eric,” and that’s who he will always be to them.  They worried when he was sent to Iraq and Afghanistan, and were relieved when they heard he was home. He will always be a hero to them, and we dedicate this devotional to the service of all the men and women who are fighting for our country today.

We don’t know what it’s like to live day-to-day with bombs exploding in our neighborhoods.  We don’t have friends and family who died because they rode the bus to work this morning and it exploded when it went into the city.  We don’t have to live in fear of repercussion because we believe in Jesus Christ and not the state mandated religion.  On this day where we celebrate our freedom to speak freely, worship freely, and live in peace in a democratic country. Make sure you take time to thank God for our freedom, and our military men and women for their sacrifice.

God Bless America and God Bless Our Troops!