Got Wisdom?

Posted on October 5, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.         Proverbs 13:12 (The Message)

A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit dries up the bones.           Proverbs 17:22 (HCSB)

Do you read Proverbs? It is the book in the Bible that is stuffed full of wisdom. Almost every verse has a “nugget” of wisdom. So why am I not reading in this book at least every week? Good question!

Wisdom is accumulated knowledge, good sense, insight, and good judgment. What words come to mind when I think of wisdom? Do certain people who are or have been in my life come to mind? What made them wise? If they are still in my life, do I spend time with them? Geography means nothing in this day and time. Cell phones and Internet make access to wise people that God puts into my life possible even if they live in another country.

James 1:5 gives me a promise from God that if I need wisdom, God will give it generously. How does God give me wisdom? He speaks His wisdom in our prayer time. He speaks His wisdom to me through His Word, the Bible. He speaks His wisdom through teachers, preachers, and His friends that He has given me. He has even spoke wisdom to me through my young grandchildren. A child will look you right in the eyes and speak wisdom!

Jesus said that wisdom is known by the fruit of her actions (Matthew 11:19). I can learn wisdom by the outcome of events, conversations, and even reading and prayer time. If I come away from prayer with strength, encouragement, and loving God more – then I was wise to be in that prayer. That may seem obvious, but I have been in prayer meetings that left me exhausted, confused, and that is not a place I need to revisit. I have been around people that habitually leave me tired and wore out. I do not need to spend time with those people on a regular basis. And if this is the way I feel in the church I attend – I surely need to re-evaluate that commitment!

Colossians reminds me that Jesus has all the “treasures of wisdom and knowledge”. The more time I spend with Jesus, the closer that our relationship becomes, the more wisdom I will receive. It’s like rubbing up against a freshly painted wall, I will come away with some of Jesus’ wisdom.

Proverbs has 31 chapters in it. How many days in a month? 30 or 31, right? What a great “coincidence”! I can read a chapter a day. Even if I read ½ a chapter a day, I will glean good words that will help me, strengthen me, and help me to walk a better path in my life.

[Moses said,] “Look, I have taught you statutes and ordinances as the LORD my God has commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to possess. Carefully follow [them], for this will [show] your wisdom and understanding in the eyes of the peoples. When they hear about all these statutes, they will say, ‘This great nation is indeed a wise and understanding people.’” Deuteronomy 4:5-6 (HCSB)

The acceptance of wisdom begins with me but there is a bigger picture here. A “nation” of people who seek God for His wisdom and understanding can create a great nation of wise and understanding people. This is not about being exclusive but being inclusive. Others desire what I have because what I have attracts them. God desires that all will accept Him and have eternal life (1 Timothy 2:4). Wisdom.

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Grace in the Old Testament

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

“Therefore, house of Israel, I will judge each one of you according to his ways.” [This is] the declaration of the Lord GOD . “Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so they will not be a stumbling block that causes your punishment. Throw off all the transgressions you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. Why should you die, house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in anyone’s death.” [This is] the declaration of the Lord GOD . “So repent and live!”               Ezekiel 18:30-32 (HCSB)

Did you ever think about God’s grace when you are reading in the Old Testament? My friend, Alden Thompson, is about to release the 5th edition of his book, Who’s Afraid of the Old Testament God? and he got me reading and thinking about God in the Old Testament more than anyone I know. This passage in Ezekile leapt out at me during my Sabbath study this week.

I will judge you. God is the only one I would want to judge me. That’s good news and bad news. God is the only one who knows my true heart. He sees every dark corner I try to keep so I have a place to hide “secret sins”. Because dark is just like light to God (Psalm 139:11-12), I can’t hide a sin. His Light brings my sin forward and He says “We will deal with this. Choose to ignore and die a little more or repent.”

Repent. Turn away from what trips me up, dulls my senses, and distances me from the One that I desire more than anyone else. Over and over, God entreats me to become holy – become like Him. I think I can’t. And it is true, I cannot turn with my own strength. It’s like trying to turn a car without power steering. Some of us reading this are old enough to remember driving such a car. Parallel parking was a workout when there was no power steering. It took two arms. Now I can turn the wheel with one finger. Get the power!

Get a new heart and new spirit. At the start of a new school year a new ball season, or new job, it’s wonderful to have a new outfit to being fresh. God says when I turn from my old sin, that He will forgive and with that forgiveness comes a new me. Many may think that this “newness” only happens once, when they commit to believe in Jesus, but here God promises before Jesus became real in my world that “new” comes with repenting. Turning away from the old sin brings a new fresh outpouring of God into my life. My heart, my spirit, the very essence of who I am becomes new.

God wants me new and strong, not worn out like an old pair of shoes. That’s His unconditional love, called grace.

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Mighty God

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these stories, they knew that Jesus was talking about them.         Matthew 21:45 (CEV)

Lectionery Texts: Exodus 20:1-20, Psalm 19, Philippians, 3:1-14, Matthew 21:33-44

This weekend was beautiful here along the Gulf Coast. The sun was bright in a blue sky that had puffy white clouds. The temperatures were cool enough to open up the windows and sleep under a quilt. My husband and I sat out on our porch as we read and studied these passages together. We had a rough week so this was a wonderful, refreshing time. The Scripture spoke well in this setting.

Our LORD gave us Ten Commandments. Did God do that to show me who rules? Yes. Does that make me bristle with rebellion? It should make me rest in the knowledge that I don’t have to figure out life for myself and have every answer right. God gave me commandments because He knew they were right. If He was unsure, He would have called them “suggestions”.

Forgive my hidden faults. God’s grace began in the Old Testament as He gave a sacrifice for any sins you forgot! (Leviticus 5:17-19) There have been times when I felt a “distance” from God and I wasn’t sure why. I wanted to be closer but it’s like I had a rope around my waist holding me back. Well, God knew the problem and so I just said, “LORD, I am sorry for whatever is holding me back. I don’t want it. I release any hold that I have and ask you to set me free!” And He did.

So I move on. There was a season in my life when, in my job, I met many who had recently been released from jail. The first 12 months after someone is released are difficult. Most job applications ask you if you have been incarcerated in the past 12 months. A “yes” will almost guarantee you a spot on the “reject” pile of applications. It makes for a reasonable excuse to return to crime if you are trying to provide for your family.

God’s forgiveness has no “parole” or “probation” period. God’s forgiveness moves my sin to the “never happened” place in His Kingdom. Repentance means the chains fall off and I can run on in the race I have been given with unhampered steps. I can even reach out a hand to bring others along.

Jesus came to bring us along. He showed us how to be free from the chains of sin and tell others about His freedom. The church leaders rejected Him for that. But they couldn’t defeat my Mighty LORD.

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God’s Temple

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

[reprinted with permission from Daily Devotions of Ordinary People-Extraordinary God – Jody Neufeld Energion Publications, 2004.]

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies.    Psalm 84:1 (NLT)

When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, the Redeemer of my life, He came to dwell in me. His Holy Spirit became a part of me. I suspect the writer of Psalm 84 was not talking about me or even himself when he exclaimed that God’s home was “LOVELY”. However, Scripture tells us that God lives within us. Hmm…I wonder what the ‘dwelling’ looks like?

What is in the ‘Living Room’ of my life? Do I live like God is a part of my day-to-day life? The TV I watch, the movies I see, the jokes I laugh at, and do I walk that life with my children and spouse?

How about the ‘Kitchen’? Do I “cook up” good stuff in my spirit, my soul? Do I mix pleasing portions of personal Bible study, private and corporate worship and private and corporate prayer?

Finally brothers,

whatever is true,

whatever is honorable,

whatever is just,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is commendable—

if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things.

Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.               Philippians 4:8-9 (HCSB

What happens in my bedroom, including the closet? What is my relationship with God? I can be totally honest here because this is the place where NOBODY sees – except Him.

Then Job replied to the Lord:

“I know that you can do anything, and no one can stop you.
You asked, ‘Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorance?’
It is I—and I was talking about things I knew nothing about, things far too wonderful for me.
You said, ‘Listen and I will speak! I have some questions for you, and you must answer them.’
I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes.
I take back everything I said, and I sit in dust and ashes to show my repentance.”              Job 42:1-6 (NLT)

Not to be indelicate, but what about the bathroom? Have my past sins that I have repented and are covered by Jesus’ Blood from the cross truly been flushed away? Or do I continue to revisit them and the stench affects every part of my ‘dwelling’?

I am the one who cut a path through the mighty ocean.

I sent an army to chase you with chariots and horses; now they lie dead, unable to move.

They are like an oil lamp with the flame snuffed out.

The LORD said:

Forget what happened long ago! Don’t think about the past.

I am creating something new.

There it is! Do you see it?

I have put roads in deserts, streams in thirsty lands.            Isaiah 43:16-19 (CEV)

And finally, there is my front porch and yard. Is it beautiful and fragrant with good fruit and flowers? Or does it look deserted like no one lives there any more? Whether prophet or not, I will be known by my fruit.

[Jesus said,] “You’ll recognize them by their fruit.…”            Matthew 7:16 (HCSB)

I look around my physical dwelling and place and I consider how much time and effort I spend in keeping that ‘up’ and cleaned and repaired. How does that balance with the time and effort I put into my spiritual dwelling that GOD lives in?!!?

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Three Days in the Dark

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

The LORD sent a big fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights.   Jonah 1:17 (CEV)

When I read a Bible passage I try to put myself into the story. It’s a little difficult to see myself inside an Orca or Humpback whale. However, I used to have a closet under a staircase that I can imagine myself, with the light off, in that space. Three days. That would be a very long time in that space, wouldn’t it? I definitely think that God would have my attention if that happened to me.

If I read through Jonah’s prayer while he was in the whale, what does it tell me he learned?

God will allow me to be swept by some big waves. That can be a difficult lesson to accept. But God wants me to learn. And He wants me to come closer to Him. What does a child do when they walk into a big, unfamiliar place? They press in closer to their parents. Just as a child is overwhelmed by a stadium or an auditorium, a parent is not only physically bigger but they know that the place is just concrete and wood; nothing scary. Creator God has the same perspective on anything that seems huge to me. I can press up close to my LORD. He’s my Rock, my Fortress, my Deliverer, my strong Tower.

God will hear me and answer when I call to Him. God promises His response. God speaks His love for me and calls me His child. If you aren’t sure about that, then spend some time on a word study for “promise”, “love”, “child”, “Father”. If you don’t have a little concordance in the back of your Bible, go to www.Biblegateway.com . I can spend 15 minutes, an hour or several days on a study. I come away from the study more connected and in a stronger, more peaceful place in my relationship with Jesus.

Keep my eyes on God, not the waves. Peter succinctly shows me in his experience stepping out of the boat and into the waves that keeping my eyes on Jesus is how to walk (Matthew 14:22-33). What good does it do for me to stare at the “giant wave” in my life? Does wringing my hands make it better? When I am beat by high waves of situations, what helps me is to cry out to God. Tears may flow and, because I am so stubborn, it may take some time, but Jesus is still going to be there with me, talking it out and drying my tears. And then I step out of the boat and follow Jesus across the waves of my life.

Jesus doesn’t lie. He tells me that the cost of following Him involves sacrifice. It involves commitment. But He also tells me and shows me that I won’t be alone. Hmmm. Was Jonah alone? I don’t think so.

Jonah was sent to deliver a message to a city. He didn’t want to deliver it because he made the judgment that the city deserved to be destroyed. Jonah did not have his eyes and focus where it belonged. He was taking God’s job. So when the king and the entire city repented and God forgave them, Jonah was not happy about how his circumstances came out. Now that sounds familiar! From God’s position, He can see the big picture in my life. It can be scary and frustrating to follow without being able to see where I am going. Trust. Faith. More time with Jesus = More faith and trust in Jesus. Let’s step out into the Light!

 

 

 

 

 

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This God’s Army

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.        2 Timothy 4:7 (HCSB)

I have often heard this describe someone at their funeral. And I guess it is appropriate as our the race in this world won’t be finished until then. Right?

But I would like to hear Jesus whisper the other two points of this passage sooner than later. I have fought the good fight. I have kept the faith.

What is God’s view of a “good fight”? First, I must align myself with the “good guys”. That’s God’s team. His team hates wickedness (Psalm 45:7) and sin (Psalm 5:5) and evil (Psalm 97:10). The team hates all who hate God (Psalm 139:21). The team loves “good” which means we love all that has to do with God.

Paul reminds me (2 Corinthians 10, take time to read that chapter today) that I am in God’s Army. I signed up the night that I gave my life to Jesus. When I made that commitment, Satan declared me his enemy and he doesn’t take prisoners. He only destroys. I can learn how to fight the good fight or I can become collateral kill. There is no neutral ground. Friend of God = enemy of Satan.

I fight with the weapons given to me through the Holy Spirit. Jesus shows me by His example how to use the weapons. He shows me how to use discernment and compassion and mercy and grace. With the power of the Spirit, I corral my wandering thoughts and give Him total power over them. I don’t know about you but this is the key to my ability to fight in God’s Army. My own thoughts incapacitate me and do more damage than the enemy may ever attempt. In asking for the Holy Spirit’s covering and Jesus’ example to obey, I am so weak – I am strong in Jesus! OOO-RAH! (Marine yell)

Keeping the faith may seem so – noble. Until I read Hebrews 11 and take the time to truly read the stories of those great icons of faith. They were just like me. Weak. Less than perfect as they made poor choices and even tried to lie to God about their choices. They weren’t extraordinary – God was! God is!

Fighting the good fight, keeping the faith, finishing the race is not because I am great or even special. It is because God loved me so much to pursue me and I said, “Yes”. He shows me how to accomplish the rest. Jesus shows me that I cannot “cruise” through this race. I must put forth the effort to follow Him. Choose Jesus every day. It’s a really good thing that is the truth of my life in His Army or I would be a washout.

Dear friends, don’t let this one thing escape you: with the Lord one day is like 1,000 years, and 1,000 years like one day. The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

But the Day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that [day] the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, [it is clear] what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness as you wait for and earnestly desire the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be on fire and be dissolved, and the elements will melt with the heat. But based on His promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness will dwell.            2 Peter 3:8-13 (HCSB)

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Watch out for the Leaven!

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

[By Henry Neufeld, Reprinted from October 14, 2008]

14And they forgot to bring bread, so that they didn’t have even one loaf with them in the boat. 15And he gave them an order, saying, “Look! See that you keep away from the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” 16So they were considering it among themselves, “It’s because we don’t have bread.” 17But Jesus knew about it and said, “Why are you thinking that it’s because you don’t have bread? Have you not yet understood? Do you still have hardened hearts?”      Mark 8:14-17 (HN)

Leaven is an interesting thing. Elsewhere, Jesus used it as an illustration of the kingdom of God (Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:21). The key here is that you put just a little bit in, and it has a huge impact all around.

What we often fail to understand about this is that the “little bit” that we put in can be something good added to a bad situation, or it can be something bad added to a good situation. It doesn’t take very much to change a situation for good or for evil, provided it is applied at the right moment. The encouraging thing is that a bad situation can often be improved this way. The discouraging thing is that we have to be very careful that our good activities are not polluted by some small amount of nastiness.

We tend to think of temptation as a frontal attack. We’re ready to resist that. Of course, I won’t spread a false rumor. Of course, I won’t have sex with someone other than my spouse. But the devil doesn’t approach things that way. He just tries for a little bit of leaven. You would resist spreading a false rumor intended to harm, but what about a story that is hurtful, but true, told in the wrong place? You would not have sex with someone other than your spouse, but what about making an inappropriate comment so that others will hear, and might think that fidelity is not that important to you?

That’s leaven. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day didn’t start out trying to create a legalistic system. They started with God’s law. Jesus himself told the crowds to do as they said (Matthew 23:1-12). The leaven wasn’t that they were Pharisees, zealous for God’s law. Jesus accused them (and we should be particular that it was particular ones) of being hypocrites, not of being fundamentally wrong.

It’s easy to get leavened. I was commenting in a discussion recently that liberal churches have their temptation—it’s to become enablers. They have great compassion for the sinner, but the temptation is to just keep on having compassion and never find a way of healing. The temptation of conservative churches is to become critics. They recognize the danger of sin, but the devil’s temptation is to join sin and sinner and condemn, rather than heal. Since I call myself moderate, let me note that the devil has a special attack just for me—apathy, based on self-satisfaction. I’m OK, because I’ve avoided those other sins, and if I just wait long enough somebody else will solve the problem.

None of these temptations goes head on. Nobody says outright, “Let’s let the sinners all die in their sin.” But the result is the same. A little leaven, targeted precisely, was introduced, and good intentions produced bad results.

 

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Whom Do You Fear?

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence, but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, [enabling you] both to will and to act for His good purpose.       Philippians 2:12-13 (HCSB)

Lectionery texts: Exodus 17:1-7, Psalm 78:1-4, 12-16, Matthew 21:23-32 Philippians 2:1-13

To think about who I fear is not a place I want to stay for any period of time. On the one hand, it brings up memories that I don’t like to think about. It’s in the past. I’ve forgiven. I’m moving on. Secondly, when I fear someone, I am giving them some control over my life. I don’t like being out of control. Whether speaking spiritually or in the natural, if I think I have total control over my life – I’m delusional.

I hope that everyone reading these devotionals will take time during the week to read these lectionery texts. All of God’s Scriptures are good (2 Timothy 3:16) but these are really good, my friends, because they are challenging and they are saying things I really don’t want to hear or think about.

I can challenge God. The Old Testament is filled with stories of the Israelites complaining, whining, and challenging. As a perfect parent, God is not going to allow me as His child to be undisciplined. And so if I have not learned that my Father will love me more than I can imagine and provide me with all I need and discipline me when I need it, well then there will be more lessons until I do learn. God is not a super-vending machine that spits out whatever I ask. God will say “No” and He will allow me to suffer the consequences of my choices. He wants so much for me.

Once I begin to grasp the extravagance of the gift that I have been given, a relationship with God through Jesus that will last forever, there is birthed a desire in my heart to share that gift with others. My children and grandchildren are the first ones that I want to share in this gift. I want to tell them what God has done for thousands of years. I want to tell them what He has done in my life. I want them to grab on to what a relationship with Him can mean in their life. I want to be open and clear about the whole picture. God has more love for them than they can imagine. They can trust Him and so obey Him. I want them to learn about “holy fear”, which is the reverence and awareness of their Creator God that is sealed in love.

In Matthew’s story, I see Jesus being questioned by church leadership. Jesus had a compassionate heart for the “lost sheep” who had been led astray by manipulative, self-serving church leaders. He had a different attitude for those who had studied God’s Word and used it for their own agendas. Jesus tells those who question His authority that He has nothing for their closed hearts. He shocks them by saying that He has much to say, to give to, the “sinners” that they so callously reject. Jesus makes it clear that those who want to change and embrace a new life that He has promises for them to fulfill their life abundantly.

Let us take time today to consider the power and overwhelming might of our LORD. Let us acknowledge the “holy fear” that brings us to our knees before Him. Think about what God has done in your life. Think about how small you are in the universe and yet the Creator of that same universe calls you “daughter” and “son” without hesitation.

“This is the one I esteem: he who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word.”           Isaiah 66:2 (NIV)

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Holy Spirit Courage

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.       1 Corinthians 16:13-14 (NLT)

I have been reading and meditating a lot this week about courage. When I was a child, I had a book that was called something like “My Favorite Bible Stories”. The stories of Samuel and David, Samson, Esther, and Peter were told as if they had great courage, the very early versions of superheroes! But they weren’t superheroes. They were flawed, weak humans like me and you.

Tuesday I mentioned a book I was reading, Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor by Genelle Guzman-McMillan. I have finished it now and it autobiography/biography book that I have read this year. This young woman has no delusions of grandeur about her own courage or part in the events of 9/11. Like most survivors, she is left with the question of “Why me?”. The answer she believes that has been revealed to her by the Holy Spirit is to take her experiences to encourage others when faced with seemingly crushing circumstances in this life. She has learned that the same LORD who rolled away the stone on Resurrection morning can also push aside our despair. Our Father who has made a way for us to come near to Him and live forever with Him can also speak truth and courage into days that are clouded with questions and uncertainty.

J. Lee Grady also brought a story, How A Brave Pastor is Fighting Child Slavery, of courage into my reading time this week as he shared about Rev. Bruce Ladebu, a Pennsylvania pastor who travels thousands of miles to Central Asia to pay ransoms or just plain intimidate slave owners who abuse, rape, and kill children who are enslaved in factories. Rev. Ladebu, with wisdom and foresight, brings the children into Christian orphanages where they are schooled and, with God’s help, adopted.

Courage isn’t the absence of fear but deciding that something is more important. Is not the teachings of Jesus Christ, the sharing of those teachings, and putting those teachings into practice more important than anything else? Isn’t that what it means to die to Christ (Colossians 3:3)?

 

 

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You Shall Know the Truth…

Posted on September 21, 2011 by Jody Neufeld

Please, God, no more yelling, no more trips to the woodshed.
Treat me nice for a change; I’m so starved for affection.

Can’t you see I’m black-and-blue, beat up badly in bones and soul?
God, how long will it take for you to let up?

Break in, God, and break up this fight;
if you love me at all, get me out of here.
I’m no good to you dead, am I?
I can’t sing in your choir if I’m buried in some tomb!

I’m tired of all this—so tired.

My bed has been floating forty days and nights
On the flood of my tears.
My mattress is soaked, soggy with tears.
The sockets of my eyes are black holes; nearly blind, I squint and grope.

Get out of here, you Devil’s crew: at last God has heard my sobs.
My requests have all been granted, my prayers are answered.

Cowards, my enemies disappear.
Disgraced, they turn tail and run.                 Psalm 6 (The Message)

There may be some who are reading this today and you aren’t liking the translation. The Message is a paraphrase and my husband, who knows much more about translations than I do, tells me that The Message is a “little loose” on its accuracy. But I like to use it for a resource as many times the writer expresses the emotion of my heart when I connect with the passage. So if you want to read Psalm 6 from your own favorite Bible translation, then do so. Henry also says, “The best Bible translation is the one that you actually read!”

The writer of this psalm could come right on into my world. There are days when I do feel as if God is allowing me to be beat up. I mean I am seeking His will and spending time with Him – and my life is one struggle after another. It does feel like I am “fighting”. I want God to break up this fight in my life and get me out of this season and into His season of joy and peace.

I have had days when I just wanted to give up. Being a disciple of Jesus was just too hard. I felt I was going to die trying! How can I praise God if I am dead in my spirit??!!

And let’s get to the little, yipping Chihuahua that comes after me – depression. Depression tries with just a little twist of the truth to convince me that problems are huge and too big to be overcome. The tears come and the Pity Party is ON!

One the reasons to talk this all out with God or journal it down with Him is that it brings the situation into focus. It makes it more clear and less emotional.

When I invite God into the Pity Party, I know that God is Creator and there is no problem too big for Him! I know that His love for me is unfailing. I know His promises are the truth. I know that He will bring me through today because He has brought me through all my yesterdays. And I know that He is my Hope in all the tomorrows.

God breaks up that destructive party and that little, yipping voice in my head is silenced in the presence of God. “If you will listen to My teaching then you shall know My truth, Jody, and it shall set you free!” (John 8:31-32)

 

 

 

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