Weekly Spiritual Meditations - July 28

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"Always, He will watch over us and comfort us." --Ernest Holmes

Get some exercise today, walk with God.

God always comes to us when we search for Him.

God always was, God always is, God always will be.

Since each new day is uncharted territory, we need to rely on God to guide us through it.

God can be trusted even when we can't predict the outcome.

Sometimes our role is simply to plant the seed and trust God to bring the harvest.

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WATERING A PATH Author Unknown
A young peasant had two water cans which were attached to a yoke. Each day he put the yoke over his shoulders and went down to the river, filled the cans, and walked back to his modest hut. The water can on the right side of the yoke was fine and sturdy; when he arrived home it was always full. But the can on the left had a crack in it. By the time the man arrived home, half the water was usually gone.
The water can always felt inferior to his partner. He was ashamed that he was cracked and wasn't pulling his weight. One day the water can spoke. He turned to the man and apologized for being defective.
The peasant smiled gently and said, "Did you think I didn't know that you had a crack, and water dripped from you? Look at the path from the river to my hut. Do you see all the beautiful flowers that are growing on the one side of the path? Those are the flowers that I planted there, that you watered every day as I walked home from the river."
Broken or not. Strong or weak. Everything and everyone serves God's purpose.

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Miracle in the Mailbox by Bobbie Bostick
My husband was in the hospital, our bills were piling up… how would I ever make it?
Many years have passed, but I’ll never forget that day in 1976, when I pulled two ivory envelopes from my mailbox. One, the phone bill. The other, a letter from my old friend Buz, who was due to visit me and my husband Clint the following week. Bad news first, I thought, walking into the house.
I tore the phone bill open. The amount made me cringe. $138.37–about $600 in today’s dollars. Back then, we simply couldn’t afford that.
Earlier that month, my husband, Clint, had been badly injured in a head-on collision with a drunk driver. He was still in the ICU, suffering from a broken collarbone, ribs and leg. His face looked like a jigsaw puzzle pieced back together.
When I wasn’t at the hospital, I was glued to the phone, calling our friends and family scattered across the country to update them on Clint’s condition. His mom and four sisters in Michigan. His cousins in California. And, of course, Buz in Tennessee. No wonder our bill was so high.
Clint had a long road to recovery ahead of him. The medical expenses were piling up, not to mention our mortgage payments. What was I going to do about this phone bill... about everything?
At least Buz would be in town soon. I could use some support from a friend. I ripped open his letter, wondering why he’d written. I’d just talked to him to help him finalize his travel arrangements.
“Dear Bobbie,” the letter began. “I know now why the Lord didn’t let me make the trip to Orlando…”
What? Buz had cancelled his flight? Why? I read on…
“I find myself waking up at night thinking of you folks, and pray myself back to sleep. I have a tremendous yearning to be with Clint and you, but prayer will have to do for now. I don’t argue with the Lord and you don’t either…”
“He has told me to send you the price of my ticket for whatever cause you might need,” Buz wrote. “I have no idea what your financial condition is–but it’s not my business—it’s His!”
I shook the envelope. Inside was a check. The second I saw it, I ran to the phone and dialed Buz’s number. I didn’t worry about the cost.
The check was made out to Clint and me, for exactly $138.37.

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Walking in Faith by Guðný Einarsdóttir-Pearson
Did God really care about my favorite pair of red shoes?
I stood crookedly in the middle of High Street, one hand holding onto my six-year-old daughter, the other clutching my busted shoe. We’d been enjoying a beautiful summer day shopping in Stevenage, a town 40 minutes from our home in southeastern England. Until I stepped off the curb and stumbled on the uneven pavement. I didn’t fall…but the sole of my shoe had torn off the heel. What now? I couldn’t walk around barefoot!
My daughter had laughed that morning when she saw my shoes, battered and frayed. Sure, they’d seen better days. But they were my favorite. Bright red, patent leather, peep-toe wedges with a four-inch heel. The kind movie stars wore in the fifties. I couldn’t just throw them away, not without a replacement. Before we left that day, I said a prayer—“Lord, lead me to the right pair!” It sounded absurd, but if God counted the hairs on my head, surely he cared about my shoes.
Clearly not. I’d known my right heel was loose, but thought I’d fixed it with superglue. It turned out I wasn’t fit to be a cobbler. I limped over to the sidewalk, wondering how I’d ever get back to our car.
“Mum, look!” my daughter said. She pointed at the brick building I’d stumbled in front of—a charity shop. We ducked inside. I hobbled past the racks of musty clothes towards the shelves of discolored, mismatched shoes. I examined a pair of mammoth-sized sneakers missing laces. They seemed like the best I could hope for.
“How about these?” My daughter pulled out a torn box from the bottom shelf. I gasped. Slip-on wedges in cherry red. They looked almost brand new, as glamorous as my old ones. Too good to be true? And the price? The same amount of change in my wallet. I slipped them on—a perfect fit! I made my purchase, tossed my old shoes in the trash bin, and walked back to the car, quite pleased with my lucky find.
It wasn’t until my daughter and I got home that I took the sandals off and noticed the brand name engraved on the soles in faded sliver, just barely visible: Faith.

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SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD
I heard about a group of Geography students who studied the Seven Wonders of the World. At the end of that section, they students were asked to list what they each considered to be the Seven Wonders of the World. Though there was some disagreement, the following got the most votes: Egypt's Great Pyramid, the Taj Mahal, the Grand Canyon, the Panama Canal, the Empire State Building, St. Peter's Basilica and China's Great Wall.
While gathering the votes, the teacher noted that one student, a quiet girl, hadn't turned in her paper yet. So she asked the girl if she was having trouble with her list. She replied, "Yes, a little. I couldn't quite make up my mind because there were so many."
The teacher said, "Well, tell us what you have, and maybe we can help."
The girl read, "I think the Seven Wonders of the World are to touch and to taste, to see and to hear . . . " She hesitated a little, "and then to run and to laugh and to love."
It is far too easy for us to look at the exploits of man and refer to them as "wonders" while we overlook all that God has done, regarding them as merely "ordinary." May you be reminded today of those things which are truly wondrous.
"I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds.....Who is so great a God as our God? You are the God who does wonders." (Psalm 77:11-14a)
Praise be to "the God who does wonders"! Have a great day! Alan Smith

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Just Another Tuesday By Julianna Morlet
"He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor." Proverbs 22:9 (NKJV)
I woke up at 5 a.m., hit my snooze button, dragged myself out of my warm sheets and started my normal-every-Tuesday-morning-routine. I drove to Starbucks, swapped the typical weather jokes with my favorite barista, ordered my grande coffee and bagel, and walked out the glass door.
What wasn't routine was the scraggly teenage boy I ran into on my way to my truck. He was asking for something. Though I didn't clearly hear him, I assumed it was money.
I told him I was sorry but I didn't have any, and continued on.
He didn't ask again and he didn't pester me. But something in my head did. Did he ask for money or food?
Quickly, I spun around and asked, "Do you need food?" His reply was so innocent and affirmative. I held out my goodie bag. "Here ya go, a toasted bagel with cream cheese made just for you." He smiled so big, I thought his lip ring was gonna pop out.
I didn't think anything of it until I got in the truck and started pulling away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the boy peeling open the cream cheese, carefully and joyfully, like it was Christmas morning.
On my drive to the office, I wept like a broken-hearted mother.
I didn't know this boy. Had no idea what kind of trouble or circumstances got him to the streets, but I did know he was someone's son. And if my son were out on the streets, asking for food at 6:30 in the morning, I'd want that busy-looking girl to stop and give him her bagel.
Almost a month later, my mother forwarded me an email she had received from a woman in her Bible study. It read:
"Hi Alma, Viola told me she read Julianna's blog which talked about giving a hungry teenage boy her bagel. Viola wondered if it was my son Kyle because of the lip ring Julianna mentioned. I was overwhelmed with emotion and gratitude for her compassion. He was hungry and she gave him something to eat. I have attached a picture of Kyle to show Julianna to see if he is the one she fed that morning. If not, I know there is another mother out there that would be very grateful for her compassion if she knew."
I scrolled down to see the face of the boy and gasped as my eyes instantly filled with tears. It was him! The boy had a name and it was Kyle. But more than that, he had a mother. And now she knew someone had taken care of her son, even if it was just a small meal.
We are not all called to mission fields far away. We are not all called to pastor a church or lead a women's Bible study. However there is one thing we are all called to do as God's people: we're all called to love - to stop, to be aware of the hurting around us, and to have compassion. We are called to share our bread with the poor.
The Lord asks us to care. He calls us to be on the lookout for those who need our time and kindness. And yes, our bagel and cream cheese too.
"Dear Lord, give me Your heart of compassion and Your eyes to see the needs of others around me. Break my heart today, for the things that break Yours and show me how You can use me to make it right. No matter how big or small. In Jesus' Name, Amen."

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A teacher once told each of her students to bring a clear plastic bag and a sack of potatoes to school. For every person they refuse to forgive in their life's experience, they chose a potato, wrote on it the name and date, and put it in the plastic bag. Some of their bags were quite heavy.
They were then told to carry this bag with them everywhere for one week, putting it beside their bed at night, on the car seat when driving,
next to their desk at work.
The hassle of lugging this around with them made it clear what a weight they were carrying spiritually, and how they had to pay attention to it all the time to not forget and keep leaving it in embarrassing places.
Naturally, the condition of the potatoes deteriorated to a nasty smelly slime. This was a great metaphor for the price we pay for keeping our pain and heavy negativity.
Forgiveness is a not a gift we give to the other person, rather, God's gift to us. --Author Unknown
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Matthew 6:12

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I Asked and God Gave...
I asked for strength and God gave me difficulties to make me strong.
I asked for wisdom and God gave me problems to solve.
I asked for prosperity and God gave me brawn and brains to work.
I asked for courage and God gave me dangers to overcome.
I asked for patience and God placed me in situations where I was forced to wait.
I asked for love and God gave me troubled people to help.
I asked for favors and God gave me opportunities.
I received nothing I wanted; I received everything I needed.
My prayers have all been answered.
--Author Unknown

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SMILES
God put this smile upon my face.
He also gave me His redeeming grace.
I feel so very good inside
Because in my heart, He does abide.
It makes me happy when I smile.
I feel joy within all the while.
May others see Christ in me.
More like Him, I desire to be.
Every day I love Him more.
He draws me closer than before.
God grant His smile each day.
May I help others find their way.
--Evelyn D. Putnam

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Look For The Lessons
Sometimes in the pain & adversity of our trials
we consume ourselves with one thought,
Of how in the world we can escape from it
and the heartache the trial has brought.
But perhaps a better way to focus ourselves
would be to look for the lessons it contains.
For the lessons God sends us are most surely there
woven into the fibers of pain.
How else do we learn compassion for others
if not through our own severed hearts.
For brokenness is a gift the Father will bless
to prove He is doing His part.
No time of affliction is ever gone to waste
if we learn from the comfort God gives.
And when we share that comfort...grace & power is seen
and God gets glory in the life that we live.
Those times of desperation when we fall down before Him
and beseech Him with our own desperate cries,
Somehow and some way make us notice desperate people
because we see them through experienced eyes.
Heartache and adversity teach us and mold us
for they are the "textbook" God tenderly chooses,
To reveal prices lessons of wisdom and compassion
to the children He blesses and uses.
--Sheila Gosney

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Have faith in God," Jesus answered. "I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Mark 11:22-25

"The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame." For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:8-13

Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12

Freely you have received, freely give. Matthew 10:8

Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Jesus said, "Apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Someone will say, "One person has faith, another has actions." My answer is, "Show me how anyone can have faith without actions. I will show you my faith by my actions." James 2:18

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. Revelation 3:20

For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 2 Corinthians 5:14-17

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Sleep Like a Baby by Stacy Edwards
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. — Galatians 6:9
Gideon came to the Jordan and crossed over, he and the 300 men who were with him, exhausted yet pursuing. — Judges 8:4 ESV
Whoever coined the phrase “sleep like a baby” clearly never had one wake them up every two hours for nights on end. Having a newborn in your home makes you understand all those tired moms on social media. You begin to realize that coffee is a necessity and showering is a luxury. Words like sleep, tired, and drained do not seem to do justice to how you feel.
A new baby in the house brings absolute exhaustion but also the ability to keep going. A God-given endurance seems to accompany the bone weariness, enabling a new mom or dad to be exhausted yet continue to do the things that need to be done.
Whether it’s taking care of a newborn or an ailing parent, working extra hours to make ends meet, or trying to get through the day, life can be exhausting.
Gideon knew a thing or two about physical exhaustion. He and his men had been engaged in battle, and Gideon himself described his troops as “worn out” (Judges 8:5). Gideon had overcome a great amount of fear and, in obedience to God’s commands, set out to conquer the very enemy he had been hiding from when God came to him. Once Gideon chose to be a part of what God was doing, there was no stopping him.
Sometimes, perhaps even often, God will call us to do hard things. At times we’ll be physically and emotionally weary. We must decide on the front end that, even in our exhaustion, we’ll continue to pursue the will of God.
There’s no shame in being tired. We can know that God gives strength to the weary and power to the weak (Isaiah 40:29). We can also know that if we’ll continue pursuing Him, we’ll reap the reward of those who don’t give up (Galatians 6:9).
There are times when I grow weary, Lord. In those moments, give me the strength I need to continue pursuing You so I can be counted among those who didn’t give up.
Your Turn: In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells us what to do when we’re tired — go to Him. Partner with Him instead of trying to do it all by ourselves. He is where we find our rest!

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SERENITY PRAYER
God grant me the Serentiy to accept
the things I cannot change
Courage to change the things i can;
And wisdom to know the difference.
Living One Day At A Time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to Peace;
Taking as He did, this World as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right if
I surrender to His will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this Life and
Supremely Happy with Him,
Forever in the Next.
--Reinhold Neibuhr (1926)

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Read Through The Bible
Psalm 74
1 O God, why hast thou cast us off for ever? why doth thine anger smoke against the sheep of thy pasture? 2 Remember thy congregation, which thou hast purchased of old; the rod of thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed; this mount Zion, wherein thou hast dwelt. 3 Lift up thy feet unto the perpetual desolations; even all that the enemy hath done wickedly in the sanctuary. 4 Thine enemies roar in the midst of thy congregations; they set up their ensigns for signs. 5 A man was famous according as he had lifted up axes upon the thick trees. 6 But now they break down the carved work thereof at once with axes and hammers. 7 They have cast fire into thy sanctuary, they have defiled by casting down the dwelling place of thy name to the ground. 8 They said in their hearts, Let us destroy them together: they have burned up all the synagogues of God in the land. 9 We see not our signs: there is no more any prophet: neither is there among us any that knoweth how long. 10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever? 11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom. 12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth. 13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters. 14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness. 15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers. 16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun. 17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter. 18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O Lord, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name. 19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever. 20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty. 21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name. 22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily. 23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.

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"Dear God, I have never thanked you for my thorns. I have thanked you a thousand times for my roses, but never once for my thorns. Teach me the glory of the cross I bear; teach me the value of my thorns. Show me that I have climbed closer to you along the path of pain. Show me that, through my tears, the colors of your rainbow look much more brilliant." --Author Unknown

Wherever you are in life, whatever you've done, you can begin again. If you do not have Jesus in your life and wish to ask Jesus into your life please go to this link now to do so: http://www.bluidkiti.com/forums/showthread.php?t=130 .
Jesus is calling you to live a life that matters.