It’s Cold Outside! (Sabbatical Post)

November 14th, 2015 dsisler

 

The past few days have been amazing! We’ve had snow, blizzard conditions, sunshine, a snow moon, cold temperatures and some beautiful scenery. However, with all the blowing snow and cold, I opted to stay indoors. I had remained indoors since last Friday…until last night.

 

???????????????????????????????My husband and I decided to run out to grab a bite to eat. So we bundled up and headed out. We rarely go to fast food joints, but we had heard of a sandwich we wanted to try.

 

We pulled into this local burger place and there were only two other cars in the parking lot, obviously belonging to the restaurant staff. There were no patrons in the restaurant except us. It was us and us alone.

 

After we ordered, the young man gave us a little number to place on our table and he said he would bring our food out. As we sat down, I chuckled and said, “Do you think he would have trouble finding us?”

 

It was a quiet dinner.

 

Do you ever feel lonely? I know that I do. Especially when I’m shut away from friends or fellow believers due to weather conditions. Someone mentioned recently how young mothers feel isolated when their children are ill. Loneliness can be an issue and we need to keep our eyes open for those who are lonely and then act.

 

So what are we to do when we feel lonely?

 

I believe it might be an opportunity to draw closer to God. Being holed up in my home for days on end are difficult for me, but pulling out God’s Word to read or a Bible study to work on draws me out of loneliness. Prayer time enriches my life. Meditation on God’s words allows God to work on and through me. God will always be my closest Companion. I pray you can say the same.

 

I also believe we have been given technology to keep us from becoming too lonely and isolated. Phones, computers, email, Facebook, and many more advances will keep us connected with others and stop the symptoms of loneliness. Pick up that phone and call a special friend. Check to see what family and friends are up to. Don’t isolate yourself emotionally just because you must be isolated physically.

 

If you are feeling lonely today, I offer some of God’s Word to encourage you. I pray they will lead and guide you to reach out to offset that feeling of loneliness.

 

“The news about him (Jesus) spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:15-16 – NIV)

 

“Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted.” (Psalm 25:16 – NIV)

 

“The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.” (1Timothy 5:5 – NIV)

 

“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 15:18 – NIV)

 

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 18:20b – NIV)

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 14:5 – NIV)

 

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures,

He leads me beside quiet waters,

He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23 – NIV)

 

Please remember, God will never have trouble finding you!

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

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Standing on the Promises (Sabbatical Post)

November 13th, 2015 dsisler

 

Do you remember that old hymn? I certainly do. However, as I sang it in years past, I am certain that I never fully understood the whole message. I probably didn’t really sing the words of this hymn. The message that not only does God keep His promises, but we can stand firm in knowing that He keeps His promises. Take a look at these lyrics.

 

???????????????????????????????Standing on the Promises

 

Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
through eternal ages let his praises ring;
glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
standing on the promises of God.

 

 

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
by the living Word of God I shall prevail,
standing on the promises of God.

 

Standing on the promises of Christ the Lord,
bound to him eternally by love’s strong cord,
overcoming daily with the Spirit’s sword,
standing on the promises of God.

 

Standing on the promises I cannot fall,
listening every moment to the Spirit’s call,
resting in my Savior as my all in all,
standing on the promises of God.
 

Refrain:
Standing, standing,
standing on the promises of Christ my Savior;
standing, standing,
I’m standing on the promises of God.[i]

 

Wow! What powerful words! Is there a line that speaks to you today? There were a few for me.

 

I’m working through a Bible study on prayer walking and at one point the author reminded me, “What God promises, He performs.”[ii] I don’t know about you, but I know there have been some of God’s promises that I’ve simply overlooked. Perhaps even ignored. But why? Why would we possibly do that?

 

Because if we ask for His promises to be fulfilled within us, then it’s time for us to go to work. We must do something with that fulfilled promise and that something means giving of ourselves.

 

Just think of what I’ve missed! Maybe you’ve missed it too! So today let me offer a few of the ideas from the short two pages of this book on God’s promises. See if you come to a different understanding as I have.

 

According to 2 Peter 1:3-4, we know God has given us promises. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”

 

Yes, promises, but this verse points out that they are great and precious.

 

So what are some of the promises we’ve missed along the way or haven’t completely accepted? Let’s look at a few.

 

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 – NIV)

 

“Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4 – NIV)

 

“Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” (Psalm 55:22 – NIV)

 

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” (Psalm 119:105 – NIV)

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 – NIV)

 

“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lamentations 3:22-23 – NIV)

 

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:25-26 – NIV)

 

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10 – NIV)

 

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” (John 14:26 – NIV)

 

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8 – NIV)

 

“Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:16 – NIV)

 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5 – NIV)

 

There are plenty more where these came from…if you think you need more, just open God’s Word and allow Him to show them to you. You’ll be amazed.

 

Now, take a look at this paragraph from Randy Sprinkle.

 

“Prayer according to His promises is not only prayer according to His will, it is also already-being-answered prayer. As followers of Jesus, every promise to us carries an assured yes as we ask in faith (2 Corinthians 1:20).”[iii]

 

When we pray God’s promises, we are assured of a “yes.” How thrilling it is to receive His promises!

 

Promises made in this world sometimes disappoint, but God’s promises are always kept. Are always sure. Are always true. They are never disappointing.

 

Are you standing on God’s promises today?

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

[i] Standing on the Promises, Words & Music: R. Kel­so Car­ter, in Prom­is­es of Per­fect Love, by John Swe­ney and Kel­so Car­ter (Phil­a­del­phia, Penn­syl­van­ia: John J. Hood, 1886

[ii] Follow Me, Randy Sprinkle, New Hope Publishers, 2001, pg. 54.

[iii] Follow Me, Randy Sprinkle, New Hope Publishers, 2001, pg. 55.

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The Heart of the Matter (Sabbatical Post)

November 12th, 2015 dsisler

 

I’ve done a bit of redecorating. Actually, I just moved one object, but what an object it is. I’ve had my husband’s grandfather’s ladder in my family room with quilts over it since we moved into this house. I love the look and it’s always been an eye appealing corner.

 

However, there are splinters the size of embroidery needles attached to this ladder. With grandkids galore, I now felt the necessity to move this ladder for their safety. My dilemma was where to move it.

 

After much deliberation, my decision was to place it on top of the hutch in the living room. It would accompany an old window frame and the pair would bring life to an otherwise bland looking wall.

 

You see, my living room walls are 17 feet high. They are the original color of the entire house…slightly off white…and something I’ve wanted to change from the beginning. But they are 17 foot high ceilings. It would take scaffolding to do the job and that’s just something we’ve opted to neglect.

 

So my goal has been to move my décor up in this large open space. But this was by far my biggest challenge. Remember the ladder has large splinters. The weight of the quilts make the ladder very awkward to move. The hutch stands 6 foot high.

 

Our biggest fear was that the ladder would come tumbling down off the top of the hutch. We had to secure the ladder to keep that from happening.

 

After much deliberation, a piece of board was screwed into the top of the hutch to rest the bottom of the ladder on. It should, no it will hold the ladder in place. Short of an earthquake (which is not completely out of the question here in Colorado), the ladder has found its new home.

 

This may seem like an extreme idea. An idea that might have seemed impossible to some. There were moments I had my doubts, but in the end, I knew it was the perfect location for this piece of family history.

 

I’m not the only one with extreme ideas. God had a few of His own and His Son, Jesus brought some of those extreme ideas to life.

 

While in the Old Testament God presented commandments to His people, Jesus presented a new covenant in the New Testament, and Jesus took this covenant to a new level.

 

Jesus said that even if you felt hatred or anger toward another, you were committing murder (Matthew 5:21-22).

 

Jesus spoke of the thought of another was adultery (Matthew 5:27-30).

 

Jesus taught in Matthew 6:21 (NIV) about our hearts and treasure. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

 

Jesus preached that it was the state of their hearts that was sinful. In Mark 7:20-23 (NIV), we read these words of Jesus. “What comes out of a man is what makes him unclean. For from within, out of men’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and make a man unclean.”

 

I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I believe this pretty much clears it up for us. According to Jesus, it isn’t just our actions that are sinful, our thoughts and what we harbor in our hearts can be sinful as well.

 

Perhaps this is why Jesus tells us the state of His heart in Matthew 11:29 (NIV). “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

 

As we allow our hearts to be more like Christ’s heart, our words and our actions, as well as our motives are shifted dramatically. Our sinful hearts no longer have dominion. The gentle and humble heart of Christ is reflected through us.

 

Paul encouraged the Colossian Church with his words in Colossians 3:1 (NIV). “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”

 

As we set our hearts on heaven and God’s kingdom, our love for God and others is more visible. 1 Timothy 1:5 (NIV) says, “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” All of our actions must be accompanied by love.

 

And as we set our hearts on things above, we also find strength. “May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.” (1 Thessalonians 3:13 – NIV)

 

And we find encouragement. “May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (2 Thessalonians 2:17 – NIV)

 

And we find direction. “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” (2 Thessalonians 3:5 – NIV)

 

It is a heart thing. But we are not on this journey of transforming our hearts on our own. Jesus is with us through the entire transformation. And what a dramatic change. Not just one that we see, but one that the world sees as well. For if we do not share this transformation with others, it is useless (James 2:14).

 

I am excited that as I sit at my desk, I can see the new home of my ladder bearing the weight of its quilts. It is a new focal point and one where my eyes will be drawn frequently.

 

I am also excited that the eyes of my heart have a focal point. It is Jesus and the hope and glorious inheritance I have found in Him.

 

“I pray also that they eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:18-19 – NIV)

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

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Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy (Sabbatical Post)

November 11th, 2015 dsisler

 

Today is a special day in our family. It is my grandson Percy’s second birthday. So because we all so happy today, I’d like to share some happy verses of Scripture with you. Nothing really to say about them, but just to remind one another of what God says about happiness.

 

Balloon Parade 2014 (11)“May the righteous be glad and rejoice before God; may they be happy and joyful.” (Psalm 68:3 – NIV)

 

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.” (Proverbs 15:13 – NIV)

 

“I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.” (Ecclesiastes 3:12 – NIV)

 

“When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other.” (Ecclesiastes 7:14a – NIV)

 

“Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.” (James 5:13b – NIV)

 

I know that not everyone reading this blog is happy today. There are some who are ill, some who are angry, some who are sad, some who are confused, some who really don’t know what to feel.

 

For anyone who isn’t facing a happy day today, let me finish by sharing a passage from the Book of James. Perhaps you’ll find some comfort in his words.

 

“Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” (James 5:13-16 – NIV)

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

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You’re Kidding? (Sabbatical Post)

November 10th, 2015 dsisler

 

You’re kidding? Two words in my word arsenal that I use a lot. Typically for something that really is unbelievable. Something just too difficult to believe is true. My Mom uses this phrase too. I’ve heard it many times from her throughout my life.

 

I believe I used this phrase two times yesterday alone and each was in relation to my grandchildren. One has croup again and another was off to the emergency room with a possible broken elbow. Oh, I know children get hurt and get sick, but it seems like this school year has been nothing but sickness for these young ones. I guess I’ve blocked that part out of my memory in regard to my own children.

 

While we may hear of unbelievable events or unbelievable things that happen in our lives, there is one thing we can depend on and know that it is true. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit breath truth into our unbelievable world. While Jesus was on earth, His words were truth. The Bible speaks God’s truth. Our hearts are filled with the truth of the Holy Spirit.

 

But today, let’s take a look at Jesus words and see what truths He spoke to mankind.

 

Perhaps you recognize these words. “Verily I say unto you.” This is the King James Version language for “I tell you the truth” or “You can believe what I say.” If you are around my age, these might have been the words you memorized in relation to some of Jesus’ words. But if we look at these same passages in the New International Version, Jesus’ words are translated “I tell you the truth.”

 

That makes a lot more sense to me.

 

So let’s look at some of Jesus’ truthful statements and see what He has to offer us today.

 

In the Book of Matthew, Jesus is recorded saying “I tell you the truth” 29 times.

 

In the Book of Mark, “I tell you the truth” is recorded 13 times.

 

Luke uses these words 8 times.

 

And John records “I tell you the truth” 25 times.

 

We can only believe that Jesus told the truth by the number of times He assured those listening as He spoke 2,000 years ago and He tells us today. We can believe what Jesus said. We can hold Him to His word.

 

When Jesus met with Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus used this phrase three times during the conversation. Take a look at what Jesus truthfully told Nicodemus.

 

“I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3 – NIV)

 

“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.” (John 3:5 – NIV)

 

“I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.” (John 3:11 – NIV)

 

Jesus clearly told Nicodemus and He tells us how to enter God’s kingdom. But He also tells us that there will be those who will not accept this as truth. The only way to enter God’s kingdom is to be born again of water and the Spirit.

 

In John 8:58 (NIV), Jesus declares Himself to be God by using God’s own words. “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was born, I am!”

 

Do you recall God’s words? In Exodus 3:14, God told Abraham to tell the people that “I am” sent him. The people hearing Jesus in that moment knew exactly what He was saying. He was God. And if Jesus said it, we can believe it.

 

And then during the last night with His disciples, Jesus spoke yet more truths to this group of men. He truthfully told them that He would be betrayed and denied. And we know that these events occurred.

 

But Jesus also made a statement to encourage these men. In John 13:20 (NIV), Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I sent accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

 

You see, the disciples would go on without Jesus in their midst and they would continue to teach and preach His truths to others. And in the process, others would believe. He assured them of that. Through the Holy Spirit, these men would become great leaders of the early church and the Gospel would spread throughout the known world.

 

I believe something else we can understand from this is that it is a whole package deal. We cannot just believe bits and pieces of God’s message. We must believe and accept it all. We must accept it completely as truth. God’s truth.

 

Perhaps there were some in Jesus’ day after hearing His message said, “You’re kidding?” But Jesus never told an untruth. His words were filled to the top and overflowed with truth. You can believe it.

 

I don’t know what might happen today, but it’s quite possible that I will use the phrase, “You’re kidding?” today. But what I do know is that I can hold onto God’s Word, Jesus’ message, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance as my truth. They will continue to lead me throughout my day in their truth, just as they have done for years.

 

I pray that your day is filled with love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control.

 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance,

 

Donna

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  • About Me

  • "I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18-19

  • I am a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother. I lived in the beautiful state of Colorado for 20 years where I found great inspiration for my novels and devotional writings. Currently living in Jacksonville, Florida.

  • I am passionate about helping women find their way to Jesus through Bible study, teaching, speaking, inspirational writing and creative Bible journaling.

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    In September 2012 I went to SE Asia on a service trip. For more information, check out preachitclearly.blogspot.com.

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