The Daily Walk

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 1 - God’s Network

by Gail Rodgers
It was the wee hours of the morning. I sat by myself in the waiting room of the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit. Other family members were taking their turn by the bed inside.

Our plans for the week had taken a sudden, unexpected turn with one phone call. We drove through the night snowstorm to be by the bedside of a dying parent. I sat tired and restless, the magazines on the table held little interest. World news on the television felt insignificant in this moment.
The busy waiting room was almost empty now. Only two other women remained. Their conversation was easily overheard. One was reading Bible verses to the other and they were talking of God’s strength and peace in their own time of crisis.
I listened; refreshed in my own heart by the verses they shared. Finally I got up and went across to them. “I can tell you love the same Jesus I do”, I said to them. For the next little while we talked, not as strangers, but as friends. We prayed with each other and for each other in our separate situations…and our hearts were comforted.
The waiting room began to fill again. My new friends were called to speak with a doctor. As I settled back in my chair I was aware of God’s gentle care in putting His children around me. I thought of a Bible verse.
“So in Christ we who are many form one body and each member belongs to all the others.” Romans 12:5
What a thought! We, as Christians belong to one another. In this moment of crisis, God carved out a few quiet moments to allow that belonging to be experienced. His comfort and peace were so real as He allowed His children to connect so He could touch our hearts when we most needed it.
As a Christian you are a part of God’s network. You belong to other believers and they belong to you. Watch today for opportunities to be a part of God’s network. Ask Him to bring others of the family of God into your path to encourage… and to be encouraged by.
Its how He brings strength to His children so we can be comforted and encouraged and show the watching world around us that it makes such a difference to know Him!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that nothing in my day or my life goes unnoticed by You! Thank you that You have given us each other as believers. Give me a greater sense today of being a part of the family of God. Use me, in Your great network, to touch or to be touched by a brother or sister in the faith.
In Jesus strong name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 2 - Carried by Prayer

by Gail Rodgers
After nearly a month away from home I arrived back to find several messages from people I had not heard from in months. They said, “You’ve just been on my mind this last while and I called to tell you I have been praying for you.”

I was amazed again at the care of God! I marveled at the peace that had encompassed the last several weeks and knew we had been carried by prayer. These friends did not know that our family was in the midst of burying my father-in-law and comforting Grandma. But they had prayed…and we had felt it.
An old, blind lady once told me, “Where prayer focuses, God’s power falls.” If you feel alone today in your circumstances, know that God will be bringing you to the minds of other believers to be lifted up in prayer.
Know that those strong, persistent thoughts you have for another can often be God’s prompting you to pray for that person. Don’t worry if you haven’t been in touch or if you don’t even know what to pray. God knows! God works through our prayers and gives His Holy Spirit to pray when we don’t have the words.
“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 with groans that words cannot express.” Romans 8:26
Be alert when someone is on your mind for no apparent reason. Pray for them. You may well be one of those called to carry that person in prayer though a difficult time. And know that God will do the same for you when you are in need. Carried by prayer…it’s one of the ways He works in the lives of His children.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that You work through our prayers. Spur me on to pray for those who come unexpectedly to my mind today. Thank you that You will also bring me to the mind of others in my times of need. Help me to appreciate the wonderful privilege of praying for another even when I don’t know what to pray. How amazing that Your Spirit joins us in deep prayer. Thank you that our prayers for one another carry us when we cannot manage alone. How wonderfully You provide this strength for us, Your children.
With thanksgiving I pray in Jesus name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 3 - A Safe Place to Live

by Gail Rodgers
The boxes were piled high and the Twin Otter aircraft was at the dock waiting to be loaded. We were moving south from our isolated northern location. As a bush-pilot’s wife, moving was familiar to me.

I had grown used to making our home in unconventional places… an un-modern cabin, a mobile home where the pillows froze to the wall and even in the top of a hangar.
And here I was, being asked to move again…to another unconventional place. This time the invitation came in God’s Word. It stood out to me as I read it…
“He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Psalm 91:1 & 2
Oh, I already knew God and visited with Him regularly but I sensed this was different. I thought about what it might mean to take up residence in God’s shelter. Not just to have little visits there now and then, but to actually live there daily. To make His presence my dwelling place and to completely trust Him with my life.
Living there gives me the privilege of resting in His shadow every day. There I have a refuge. God is the fort around my heart and I can rest trusting in Him. Yes, this is where I want to live! You are invited to live here too. Don’t live another day out in the cold of worry and fear.
Ask Him to manage your mind and guard your heart today. As His child you have an open invitation to live here… every day.
Ask the Almighty God to take the concerns of your heart and bring peace to your soul and daily guidance to your steps. When fear or uncertainty threatens to overtake your heart, remind yourself where you live. Ask God to help you rest your worried mind. Ask Him to be the fortress around your heart, giving you peace in place of anxiousness. Ask Him to help you simply trust Him to hold you steady. It’s the safest place to live! Your Refuge!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that I can know You in a personal way. Forgive me for the times when I keep You at a distance and worry my way through my day. Thank you for Your offer of a dwelling place. A safe place to bring my heart. Today I want to feel Your presence with me. I ask You to shelter my heart and bring rest to my mind. Give me wisdom and guidance in the things that I can change in my life. Help me to trust You to keep me sheltered and calm in the things I have no control over. Help me to rest here today.
You are my Almighty God and I trust you with my life.
In Jesus strong name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 4 - Fruit in Season

by Gail Rodgers
New kinds of fresh fruit began showing up on the grocery store shelves this week. Fruit that has been out of season for months is back!

The Bible says that “peace” is one of the “fruits of the Spirit”. Sometimes it feels as if that fruit goes out of season too. As the realities of war came into my living room this week via the media, I thought of that fruit of the Spirit. As the images and stories paraded across the TV screen I could feel my own sense of peace fading and I share in the anxious thoughts of many across the world.
I turned my attention to God’s Word to see again what He has to say about this fruit called peace. I discovered afresh that His peace is never out of season. His peace is one that is offered to our hearts. But how do we pick this fruit? How do we have this peace in the middle of such troubling news? Listen to what Jesus says.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” John 14:27
I was reminded that His peace is a gift. It won’t be found in conventional places or in ways the world offers. It is something directed to the heart and it replaces fear and anxiousness.
This fruit is available all the time. It is never out of season. To pick this fruit, to have this peace, I need to take action. I need to ask God to quiet my heart. I need to pray for those in charge in these troubled days. I need to pray for those who suffer and for those hurt and confused and angry. I need to ask God to take the unease in my own heart and replace it with His gift of peace. I need to share the peace He gives me as I go through my day. This may mean offering to pray together with another who is worried.
Sometimes when the storm rages and the sea of life is not calm, the mighty hand of God comes in, by our invitation, and simply calms us. The peace of heart that comes from the Holy Spirit is a mystery. In the middle of the storm He brings a calm that can be explained no other way than by His divine care. We receive it in order to share it.
Ask God today for His fruit of peace in your heart and mind. Ask Him for an opportunity to share that fruit with those around you who need His peace in their heart today too.
prayer & reflection

Heavenly Father,
Today our hearts are heavy with the reality of war in our world. Please give Your divine peace to our hearts and to our minds. Remind us to pray for others and with others as we look to You for peace in our hearts and also in our world. We ask you to be with those whose responsibilities, emotions and thoughts are overwhelmed with the weight of it all.
Grant Your strength, wisdom and Your peace in the name of Jesus we pray,
Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 5 - Kneading Truth

by Gail Rodgers
The sticky dough gradually became firm as I kneaded in the flour. It became manageable as the flour disappeared. I couldn’t help but think that, in a similar way, God kneads His truths into my life.

Life gets sticky at times with unanswered questions and unmet needs. Our natural tendency seems to be to begin doubting our God. Our trust in Him begins to slip before we even know it.
God’s Word gives us truths that can be kneaded into our lives like flour into bread; truths that keep the consistency of our faith strong even in the midst of question marks. Listen to this promise from God to you…
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
When our own best thinking and understanding fails to eliminate the question marks from our lives, our wholehearted trust can falter. Left alone in the quandaries of life we can drift from our God, thinking He doesn’t care.
Because God knows us and understands how overwhelming life can be, He instructs us. He not only tells us to quit trying to figure everything out ourselves and to trust Him completely…but He actually tells us how.
He says to acknowledge Him in all your ways. Simply put that means to talk with Him about everything. “Lord, I don’t understand this unanswered situation in my life but today I ask you to guide my way. Today I acknowledge You as my God in whom I trust and look to You to direct my path this very day.”
And God begins to knead His truth into your life. As you acknowledge Him in every step and in every detail, your trust grows.
As your trust grows your dependence on needing to understand it all fades and quiet peace takes the place of desperate clamoring.
Inviting Him into all your ways throughout the day moves you from faltering faith to whole hearted trust and to an expectation of His promise to make the path straight.
prayer & reflection

Heavenly Father,
I confess my trust in Your guidance falters with the unanswered questions in my life. Forgive my doubt. Help me to quit striving so hard to figure it all out and to simply invite you today into each thought, each conversation and each decision. I acknowledge You as my trustworthy God and the guide of my life.
In the strong name of Jesus I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 6 - Choosers

by Gail Rodgers
The radio played as I drove home sifting through the thoughts of my day. Suddenly a quote caught my attention. I missed who it was credited to but it was good. “No one is born a winner or looser, but each one is born a chooser”.

“How true”, I thought as I maneuvered through the traffic. I was a chooser…in every area of my life. Oh, I may not always choose my circumstances, but I would always be in charge of choosing my responses to those circumstances.
God gently nudged my heart and I began to think about some of the thoughts I was choosing to entertain about circumstances in my day. He reminded me that a response in life always begins with a thought. Some of my thoughts toward people and circumstances in my day were rather negative, critical and impatient. Left alone these thoughts would surely spiral me down and impact my responses in the same way. The choice was mine. God’s Word came to my mind.
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5b
God is so good to remind us that we need to take stock of our thoughts. Thoughts are the seeds in our lives that result in actions and responses. We choose to let them stay or to take them captive and throw them out.
I realized the events of the day were sowing seeds in my mind and heart of things I did not want growing in my life. God used that quote on the radio to remind me that I was a chooser. I knew the kind of responses I wanted in my life and these thoughts would not get me there.
God’s Holy Spirit is our helper. He draws us on to be what we, in our own strength, cannot be. He helps us toss aside the seeds that would bear sour fruit if left unattended.
Where are your thoughts today? Be aware of what you are choosing to dwell on from your day or even your yesterday. Seeds always grow up and bear fruit. Paying attention to what parades through your mind puts you in a pro-active position. Before thoughts of irritation and frustration grow into angry, bitter roots, choose to ask God’s Holy Spirit to help you take those thoughts captive and to respond to your circumstances with His grace and love and His wisdom.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that You have equipped me with Your Holy Spirit to live day by day. Today I ask You to help me take captive thoughts that will spiral me down and cause me to react in ways I don’t want to. Help me to remember I am a chooser. Where I have neglected to choose in the past and roots have grown that I wish hadn’t, help me to have wisdom to know now how to weed them out. I look to You today to help me tend the seeds that come into my heart and mind and to choose what I will let grow.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 7 - How to Forgive

by Gail Rodgers
“How do you forgive someone?” Tears filled her eyes as she asked this question and told me how she had tried and tried to forgive, yet the pain just wouldn’t go away.

Forgiveness is not forgetting. It is a crisis of your will…a choice you make. It is not something you do for the sake of the other person. You forgive for your own sake. It is not an issue between you and the offender; it is between you and God.
Yet many come back, as this dear lady did, to say, “I thought I forgave, but the hurt is still there.”
When you have truly let the person who hurt you off your hook, leaving them to God and you find the pain still remains, there is something you can do. It doesn’t mean your forgiveness has not been sincere.
Our emotions get damaged when we get hurt. Often in forgiving we fail to acknowledge the damage that has occurred in our emotions. God is the great Healer and our Redeemer who buys back the damaged goods and restores them.
Go to God and tell Him that you have forgiven your offender. Tell God how the offense made you feel. Ask Him to take the shame of the incident and resulting lies you began to believe about yourself that you were unwanted, unlovable, foolish, shameful, or unacceptable. Be honest.
Tell God you accept His love and the filling of the Holy Spirit and give all those damaged emotions to Him, asking Him to heal them. Unhealed emotions can become a filter through which we put the daily experiences of life, and unhealed hurt can grow.
The Holy Spirit brings the oil of healing to your soul. Sometimes it happens immediately and sometimes it occurs over time as you acknowledge the lies you believed about yourself..
God tells us in His Word…
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” Isaiah 61:1
Be a prisoner no longer! Turn to the Healer of your heart.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
I thank you for Your wonderful forgiveness extended to me. I extend that same forgiveness to my offender. Now as I release my damaged emotions to You, I ask that Your grace will lavish my heart with Your healing. Thank you that You have shown me the lies I began to believe about myself. Thank you that You are my Great Redeemer who redeems my wounded spirit.
In Jesus’ strong name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 8 - Trust Issues

by Gail Rodgers
She was six and eager to read to her brother. The 23rd Psalm was written on a card and as she read, I smiled…

“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures, He roasteth my soul…”
The simple error of reading “roasteth” instead of “restoreth” caught my attention. “That’s actually the way we view God at times”, I thought. Life can heat up with problems and frustrations. Sometimes we begin to see God as one who is roasting our soul, rather than the loving God who seeks to restore our soul.
The day to day challenges can weary us and cause our trust in our loving God to falter. We can begin to loose sight of Him as a God who always has our best interests at heart. When we begin to look just at our circumstances, our God begins to look small. When we look to our God as our source of strength, our circumstances tend to fall into perspective.
The difference, between seeing our God as trustworthy and ready to restore or seeing Him as unconcerned and uncaring, is in our eye sight. It is in the way the eyes of our heart see.
God knows our tendency to look at things through the wrong lens. He encourages us in His Word. Listen…
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may


know the hope to which He has called you
know the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and
know His incomparably great power for us who believe!”

Ephesians 1:18&19
Ask God today to open the eyes of your heart so you may see Him in new ways. He promises to be your hope, your supply and your power. If your trust in God has begun to falter, ask Him today to change your eyesight. Ask Him to help you see Him as He is, a loving God who always has your best interests at heart…a God who can be trusted to restore whatever is lost or broken or hurting in your soul.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Forgive me for the times I have not seen You as trustworthy with my life. I thank you that you have my best interest at heart. Today I ask that you will open the eyes of my heart so I will see the hope You offer me, the supply of Your inheritance for me and the power You promise me. I trust You with my life and my circumstances. Restore my soul today and refresh me in the knowledge of your trustworthiness.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 9 - Ripples

by Gail Rodgers
I stood on the shore of the lake and watched the kids throw rocks into the water. Whole fistfuls of pebbles or stones flew through the air. Each one hit the water with the same result…ripples. Ripples that circled out and intersected with the other ripples, ripples that went far beyond the spot where each stone landed.

This image of the ripples never fails to bring the same thought to my mind over and over. Small as each pebble is, not one touches the water without these resulting ripples.
We are like the pebble. No matter how influential or insignificant we see ourselves, we each send out ripples that circle out further than we might ever dream.
Words and deeds of kindness or cruelty, gentleness or abrasiveness, generosity or greed, all ripple out and touch other lives far beyond the boundaries we think they go. Our families, co-workers, neighbors, and even strangers are often touched by an act or a word of ours that we never dreamt would get that far.
My husband is good at skipping rocks across the water. The kids count the skips; the more the better. Sometimes we think we too can skip through life, independent, not touching others, hurrying on without time to stop and be concerned about anyone else. The inevitable ripples still flow out.
We do influence, we do touch others, even when we are not aware of it. God even reminds us of our ripples…
“…you be an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12
As you go through your day today be reminded that you are sending out ripples. You have no idea how far they go. Ask your Heavenly Father to help you bring His heart of love and grace into your setting and be conscious of the ripples you are sending out.
prayer & reflection

Heavenly Father,
I sometimes forget that I am an influence in the places I walk each day. Help me today to be aware of the ripples I send out with my words and conversations and even with my tones. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today so that the ripples from my words and actions touch and encircle those around me with strength and encouragement. Help me to be an example of love and faith and purity today because You have placed me in this very spot to bring Your love to the people around me.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 10 - Hold the Rope

by Gail Rodgers
The float plane looked small as it bobbed up and down on the wind chopped lake. Slowly it inched its way to the dock. The pilot knew that a sharp turn in this kind of a wind could easily capsize the plane.

Often I’ve watched this scene as a plane will almost reach the wave pounded dock, only to have the merciless wind gust it right on past. On such days it helps if someone is there and ready to catch the rope the pilot throws out to draw him to the anchor.
The scene on the choppy waters is actually much like life. So many are buffeted by the storms of life, some are drifting and in danger of capsizing. All around us we see relationship struggles, unemployment and waves of all descriptions tossing about those we are in touch with each day. We often feel the waves crashing in our own lives.
There is one thing we can do for each other as these scenes play out in our lives. We can “hold the rope”. We can be the go-between that can help draw a troubled heart to God who is the anchor that will hold through the buffeting storms.
Holding the rope may mean practical help, it may mean sharing how God can help those who call on Him, but holding the rope also means praying. Praying is the greatest gift we can give one another. While one is consumed with the storm around her, the other can hold her before God in prayer. God tells us it makes a difference…
“…Pray for each other…The earnest prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
Where prayer focuses, God’s power falls! I’ve seen it proven over and over as I have prayed for others and as others have prayed for me.
Often we can’t change one little circumstance, but God has chosen to work through our prayers. When we pray He can change circumstances. He heals and gives strength.
Today when you encounter someone who is bearing a heavy load and struggling to keep afloat, “hold the rope” for her; pray for her and let her know that you are. If you are in a storm yourself be open about asking someone to hold you up in prayer. It will make a difference!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you so much for the privilege of prayer! Help me to remember that I can hold the rope for someone today by praying for them as they buffet the waves in their life. Use me to help draw them to You, the anchor in life. Remind others to pray for me today too, Lord as I navigate my own choppy waters. Use us in each others lives today.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 11 - Fast Food

by Gail Rodgers
We were moving and it was hectic. It was easiest to get “take out” or stop by McDonalds. Then we walked into a home of some friends and the roast beef smelled wonderful. The fast food had filled the need of the moment but the roast beef and potatoes were so much more satisfying.

We all know the slow slide our bodies take when we “fast food” it too much; the little extra bulk here and the sluggishness there. It’s not hard to make the connection between input and results.
The same effect is true in our Spirits. We often try to “fast food” it as Christians with our spiritual diet. Oh we get some nutrition from our verse for the day, our quick reading and our prayer on the way out the door. But often our hearts hunger for the “roast beef” and we don’t even recognize it.
Sluggishness sets into the soul too when we neglect good nutrition too long. Are you finding the telltale little bulges of unrest in your soul? Maybe some deposits of anger or irritation? Are lack of peace and impatience beginning to show a slow slide in your spirit?
“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter2:2 & 3
Examine your spiritual diet today. Fast food is great for those crazy days once in awhile but if it is your steady diet your soul will be malnourished.
God longs to feed your soul. When He does your soul will find a satisfaction that will keep you going back. He provides a meal you don’t want to miss.
How to you find spiritual nutrition when you only know the way to “McDonalds”?


Put a CD of Christian music in your car.
Read your Bible and ask God to speak to you by His Holy Spirit.
Get to a good worship service and ask His presence to touch your heart.
Take some time to pray alone and just listen.
Get into a Bible study group or find a Christian friend to talk with.
Go for a walk and pray

Take responsibility for your spiritual condition. Real satisfaction awaits you as you crave pure spiritual food. Ask God to help you hunger for Him in new ways. He has a feast for those who linger with Him.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Today I ask that You will rekindle my hunger for You. I pray that You will lead me in new ways of knowing You. I ask that You will help me take the time to grow up in my spiritual tastes. Thank you for the nutrition You have provided in spiritual fast food, but help me to desire more. I know you have a feast for those who take the time to come. May I be one of them.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 12 - Remember

by Gail Rodgers
Beth purchased the chocolate bunnies and headed to the parking lot. Company was coming and she still needed to get groceries and clean. She made a mental note to get extra eggs for the kids to color.

It was Easter. They wouldn’t likely get to church. Her mental check list went on. She knew she was too busy, but she squeezed God in where she could.
I’m sure God knew how easy it would be for us to do just that. He actually provides a regular reminder for us. He calls us to take part in Communion and with good reason.
“Do this in remembrance of me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” 1 Corinthians 11: 26
In the business of “doing life” we often forget just what is actually proclaimed by Jesus’ death and His resurrection. It can so easily slip to the background of life and we can find ourselves living in dryness of soul, with divided hearts and sometimes with powerless, defeated lives.
Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. That’s why He calls us to regularly remember Him; to keep proclaiming, in our individual lives, the truth of what His death on the cross means to us each day. Proclaim it out loud…right now…


I proclaim I am forgiven (Thank you Lord! You alone know how I need You)
I proclaim I am loved (Thank you Lord that Your love is unconditional!)
I proclaim I am cleansed (Thank you Lord that my past is now behind me!)
I proclaim that by His grace I have all that I need (Thank you Lord for your undeserved grace and mercy to help me in my time of need!)

Do you believe it? The very same power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead is the same power that will be at work in your life as you believe and proclaim these truths. Welcome the celebration at the Communion table this Easter. Have your heart refreshed with forgiveness and wholeness as you believe the truth of what God says about you, His child.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Amaze my heart today with the truth of these proclamations. Thank you for the hope Easter revives in my heart! Fill me with Your Spirit and let Your resurrection power flow in new ways in my life. Help me to remember the power, in Your death and resurrection, that is mine every day. Help me to grow into all You have planned for me to be and to do.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 13 - I Don't Know What To Do

by Gail Rodgers
Megan had decisions to make that would affect her family and her career path. The pros and cons could be weighed either way and no clear cut direction could be seen. She did not know what to do. Confusion and anxiousness weighed her down.

Her email brought an unexpected note from a friend.. “You are on my mind and in my prayers this week. As I read my Bible today it seemed I should share this verse with you”...
“We are asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding…being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience ...joyfully giving thanks to the Father.” Col.1:9-12
Tears came to Megan’s eyes as she read this verse. God was assuring her He would fill her with the knowledge of His will through spiritual wisdom and understanding. Could she trust Him with the question marks of her life?
The Holy Spirit used this verse to renew her confidence that God would direct her. Megan felt new hope that God would navigate her through the question marks. With new focus she began to commit each decision, each day to God.
As the month passed Megan felt God truly directing her path and showing her His will through an understanding that she knew came from His heart. She felt herself being strengthened by God’s mighty power.
If you have a decision to make and don’t know which way to turn…ask God for spiritual wisdom and understanding. It goes beyond the pro and con lists we make for ourselves. His desire for you is to be fruitful and to grow in your knowledge of God.
Give Him the question mark you are searching out today and truly trust Him to guide you. Pray about every aspect of your decision. Keep God in the center of your focus and do not neglect reading His Word and asking Him to guide you through it. He will keep His word and will give you patience and endurance as you wait on Him.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
I don’t know what to do. I thank you for Your promise of guidance. Help me today to trust my future and my plans to You. Help me today to lean on Your patience and endurance. Lead me in paths that will bring growth in my knowledge of You. Give me spiritual wisdom and understanding that goes beyond my own thinking.
I thank you in the strong name of Jesus, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 14 - Two Kinds of Unforgiveness

by Gail Rodgers
Dorothy had been deeply wounded. The pain was engrained in her soul and she was reminded of it almost daily. She wished she could forgive, she even tried to but somehow she just didn’t know how to get there.

Sheri, on the other hand, dug in her heels in and bristled at the thought of forgiveness. She felt no one could understand the deep pain that had wounded her heart and she believed she could never forgive.Quite simply, she did not even want to.
If you struggle with a deep offense in your heart, do a quick check and see what kind of unforgiveness you are harboring. It can be toxic to your soul.
The first kind is found in the heart of one who has had a very real offense committed again her. She would forgive if she could but the deep pain keeps her from getting there.
Imagine your heart as a home. The home looks tidy from all obvious appearances but in one room unforgiveness is stuffed away. At times the whole house is permeated with the offensiveness.
If this is you and you don’t want this but don’t know how to get rid of it, simply tell God you want to give Him the “key” to that room in your “heart home”. As you submit this area to God you are acknowledging your trust in Him. You are agreeing to have Him clean it up and to go with you into that room in God’s time and holding His hand.
It is a willingness to begin the journey of forgiveness with God’s help. He will do an amazing job of house cleaning that will make your heart rejoice.
On the other hand is the unwilling heart. Although it is humanly understandable that one might rebel against forgiveness the result is simply not worth it. Your whole life can become affected as the toxins of anger and mistrust permeate through your “heart home”.
Refusing to forgive is like holding rebellion in your heart. God speaks about such things in His Word;
“Rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft and stubborness as the sin of idolatry.” 1 Samuel 15:23
As Christians we would never consider getting involved in witchcraft, yet the rebellion of a heart in unforgiveness can open the same kinds of doors in our lives. Willful unforgiveness, with no openness to begin the journey of forgiveness, can allow the enemy of your soul to stake a claim. Give God the key today. He can be trusted with the journey to bring your heart to wholeness.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that You understand my pain and my inability to forgive. I need your help. Today I submit to You the key to that room in my heart that holds unforgiveness. I declare my trust in You today to hold my hand and help me journey to forgiveness and wholeness. Thank you for Your unconditional love to me.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 15 - Your Heritage

by Gail Rodgers
Dust drifted up from the old suitcase as we opened it. Dusty papers, old pictures, brittle birth certificates and worn out pages of family history notes rustled in the morning air.

My Dad came for a visit bringing the old suitcase that had held the family archives for years. We poured over them, sorting them out and making a map of our history.
“Who cares, Mom? Why bother?” asked one of my kids. But it was good. It gave me a sense of my roots and a knowledge of where I came from.
Regardless of our individual family histories, as Christians you and I belong to the same family of believers. God spells out the family archives for all of us as His children so we have a sense of our roots and a knowledge of belonging.
Hebrews chapter 11 lists our spiritual ancestors who inspire us with their faith.


Abraham who heard God say “go” and he went, not knowing his destination;
Noah who prepared for a flood while the sun shone and the people laughed;
Joseph who trusted his God even when his family deserted him and he found himself in a strange land;
Moses who believed God to part the Red Sea so the people had a way to safety where there was no way;
Joshua who obeyed the “off the wall” instructions to march around the city of Jericho with lanterns and captured it by faith without a battle.

It is so important to recall and be encouraged by those who have gone before us. It helps us to keep our feet from getting tangled in things that distract. (Chapter 12) It helps us keep our eyes focused on Jesus as we run the course HE has marked out for each of us individuals.
“Consider the outcome of their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Hebrews 13:7 & 8
Take a moment to thank God for your spiritual family archives. Be encouraged in your circumstance today that you follow this same Jesus who never changes. He will be as faithful to you today as He was to our forefathers.
Keep your focus…walk by faith. You have a powerful heritage!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you today for the confidence that the God of yesterday is still the God of today. Remind me of this as I go through my day and as I trust you in the hard spots. Thank you that I belong to this family of believers; that this history is my history. Help me today to walk by faith and to keep my eyes focused on Your strength. I love You Lord. Please keep my feet from being entangled in the distractions of my day.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 16 - Where is my Day Planner?

by Gail Rodgers
The engine made a strange sound and then my van coasted to a stop. It would not start. I had appointments to get to and a busy day ahead of me. I waited anxiously for the tow truck. What an annoying interruption! Probably a costly one too!

By noon I was back home, my van was in for major repairs and the tight schedule on my Day Planner was in disarray.
As I walked to the mailbox it occurred to me that God was aware of this change in my day. I talked with Him as I walked. “Lord, this is not what I had planned today. There is a list on my kitchen counter of things needing done at home too but…I wonder…do You have something in mind that You want me to do right now?”
My neighbor popped into my mind.” I should go see her”, I thought. Then I wondered, “Is that God telling me to or just my own thoughts?”
I thought about it…if it was God then He had an agenda. If it was just my thoughts than I would have a quick cup of tea and get back to my “to do” list.
I walked over and knocked. My neighbor nearly fell into my arms for a hug! She was going through a very difficult time. We had tea. We talked and cried and I prayed with her before I left.
As I walked home my heart sang. What a lesson! God knew my neighbor needed a hug today and He let me be His hands and arms. I knew He had brushed aside the busy plans on my Day Planner because He had something He needed done. My plans were good ones…but His plan to touch a heart was better.
As I headed up my driveway I felt good…and I realized there was a fulfilled feeling within my heart that no amount of check marks on that “to do” list could have ever come close to. God reminded me of a verse in the Bible…
“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Today I place my Day Planner in Your hands. You know all the things I think must get done. But I want to do the stuff You have prepared for me to do. You have made me a unique package in order to accomplish what You created me to do. I know therein lies the fulfillment I long for. May my heart be quick to respond to Your quiet nudgings to do things I might not have penciled in. Replace my breathless running with the quiet confidence that You can be trusted with my Day Planner… and with my life. Thank you.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

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The Daily Walk Part 17 - Plans Gone Astray

by Gail Rodgers
She called distraught. She had been hoping to get this job. Her cell phone plan had changed this week and with it her number. The old number had been on that resume. They hadn’t been able to reach her and the opportunity went to another.

I listened to her lament and blame herself for the oversight. My heart went out to her.
Then the Holy Spirit nudged my mind with a verse. She got her Bible and we read it together…
“Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
What confidence in the midst of disappointment! God has a purpose for your life. Your very best thinking is often not quite what God has in mind.
Trust Him with your life. When good things happen…rejoice! When things happen that cause you to wonder where He is, trust His plan, even in the dark. When things happen that seem devastating, invite Him in to redeem your life and direct you to His purposes.


He is a God who is familiar with bringing beauty out of ashes.
He is a God who is familiar with all your ways.
He is a God who loves you and has a purpose for you that will fulfill your longing.
He is a God who can be trusted.

Trust Him today with your plans.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Forgive me when I don’t trust you with my life. When I can’t figure it out I want to blame you. Remind me today that You have a purpose for me. Remind me today to trust You to work Your purpose in my life. I know it will be beyond anything I could have planned on my own. Redeem the devastating parts and bring your beauty out of my ash heap. I declare my trust in You, my faithful God, today!
In Jesus strong name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 18 - Morning & Evening

by Gail Rodgers
Trudy’s heart was feeling dry. She remembered times when her walk with God had seemed so much closer…and she realized she missed it. She thought about it as she ran through her early morning shower. She hadn’t even realized her heart was slipping away from God until she began to notice the emptiness.

Once you have known God’s fullness in your heart, the emptiness is hard to settle for.
Life had just become so busy somehow. There had been changes in her life…and with those changes had come slow erosion in her personal walk with God. Oh, she still got to church with her family on Sundays. By all outward appearances she looked intact as a good Christian…but her heart was parched.
As she reached for her curling iron she recalled how she used to take time every morning to lay her day out before God. She used to ask for His help and direction in every area. And it had made such a difference too.
At night she would recount the day and the help God had given her. She asked Him to make her conscious of His presence with her. She had been so aware then of His faithfulness.
Trudy put the cereal out for the kids and grabbed a piece of toast. In her heart she determined to come back to that again. She’d start right now.
Gathering the kids around the breakfast table she asked for God’s help in this day for each one of them. She asked for help to trust Him in every detail. She asked God to remind them tonight to share how God had shown His faithfulness through the day.
She set her Bible out on her bedside table. Yes, she knew where the well was when her soul was parched. She would make a change and consciously build that relationship with God that she knew would fill the growing emptiness she had been feeling.
As she stepped out the door she was aware of a sense of expectation in her heart, and she knew…this was where she wanted to live, in God’s presence.
“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3
prayer & reflection

Dear Father God,
I’m sorry I have been running so fast that I have pushed You to the fringe of my life. Today I ask that You would help me and guide me; slow me down and show me the way to walk today in every situation. Fill me with an expectation of what You will do and who You will touch through me today. Remind me tonight to recount Your faithfulness. I want to have you fill the emptiness in my soul today.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 19 - Holiness

by Gail Rodgers
The preacher was talking about “holy living”. Sharon yawned. It made her think of quiet monasteries. Surely “holiness” could not to be expected in this day and age! She dismissed the word as old and musty and the sermon as irrelevant.

Before going to sleep Sharon opened her Bible. Tonight she would read a quick Psalm. Verse 6 of Psalm 51 jumped out at her.
“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” Psalm 51
The Holy Spirit shone His light into her heart. Suddenly, with clarity, she understood what holiness was. God was whispering to her heart. “Holiness is truth in the inner parts.”
She hadn’t expected God to really speak to her heart tonight. The inner parts were the places no one else saw…only God. This was where her true attitudes lived, this was where she hid the words that sprang to her mind when she was angry, this was where the justifications of her little white lies were tucked away.
Sharon had recently asked God to help her become “whole” as she struggled with some issues in her life. She had had no idea that “wholeness” comes through “holiness”.
Sharon knew she needed God’s wisdom to teach her in these hidden places. A new desire for holiness sprang up in her heart. With the light of God’s Spirit shining on these hidden areas Sharon knew she wanted to live differently.
What a revelation. God had so gently taken her heart and drawn her on toward wholeness. Never again would she see “holiness” as musty and irrelevant.
She asked God to forgive her for the hidden things in her heart. With His help she would begin telling the truth in her inner part. She thanked Him for showing her the true meaning of a holy life. She asked Him to bring His wisdom into the places where attitudes, words and integrity were hidden issues that were silently robbing her of all God wanted to do in and through her. Holiness…the pathway to wholeness!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Today I want to thank You that You never leave me alone. You always draw me on in my walk with You. Thank you for showing me that holiness is simply “truth in the inner parts.” Today I invite you to penetrate my inner parts and reveal to me the areas where You want to free me from hidden thoughts, words, attitudes, and integrity issues only I know about. I need Your wisdom in these places as I journey on to wholeness. hank you for the light of Your Holy Spirit in my heart.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 20 - What to Wear

by Gail Rodgers
She stood in front of the full length mirror satisfied with her look. The new clothes were fun to wear and she felt good in them. With everything in place she was out the door.

As women we can tend to spend a lot of time in front of the mirror. It’s important to us that when we go out we look just right. God cares about how I cloth myself too. Oh He doesn’t care if it’s the red dress or the black pants, but His Word does tell us what to put on. Listen…
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience…” Col. 3:12
Imagine the difference we would see in our lives if we got up in the morning and as we dressed we consciously put on these five pieces of spiritual clothing. God tells us the outcome would be peace ruling in our hearts.
Why don’t you try it and see for yourself. God’s Word is not only like a mirror that reflects back how we should look, but it is also provides us with the actual garments.
prayer & reflection

Dear Father God,
Today I want to clothe myself in your garments and experience the peace that can rule in my heart.
I put on compassion today. By your Holy Spirit give me a caring heart toward those whose lives touch mine today.
I put on kindness today too. Father, my day gets busy and people irritate me on the road, in the office and in my home. Give me a heart today that responds kindly where sandpaper relationships rub.
Help me to wear humility today, which is simply a consciousness of You as my Source so my confidence rests in You, not in myself throughout this day.
May I wear gentleness today. Let my voice, my tones, my interactions with people be firm where they must, but always with a gentle spirit in my heart.
Give me the garment of your patience. I am so often impatient. Help me today to remember how patient You are with me as You lead me on in walking with you. May I extend that same grace to those around me.
Father, thank you that You provide what I need. Pour your love into me today so that I may have it to give away. Give me a thankful outlook and let your peace rule in my heart as I choose to dress Your way today.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 21 - Make Your Deposit

by Gail Rodgers
Shelly spent a lot of time and energy thinking about herself and her needs. The needs of others were often an intrusion and a frustration. She felt that she just needed to find herself right now.

It’s true that there are times in life when we need to catch our breath and regroup after change has come our way. But God cautions us not to stay there.
In these busy days we live in we often feel tempted to back away from people and keep as much of our lives to ourselves as possible.
Sometimes a deep loneliness in our spirit develops as we try to cocoon ourselves.
God invites you to deposit your life into His hands or His account. He wants to use your life to touch others and bring you fulfillment in the process.
He says…
“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:39
God created you as a package that is uniquely you. He put gifts and ideas and passions into you that He wants to bring back to the surface to be used by Him to touch others.
This is where you will find your greatest fulfillment…in letting the God who created you work through your uniqueness to touch others.
Be careful not to spend your days just in “finding yourself”.
Deposit your life into God’s account for Him to spend in ways that will amaze you and bless you as He uses you to do just what He created you to do.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Sometimes I feel wearied by people and all their needs and demands. Thank you that You have created me uniquely. Thank you that when I put myself in Your hands You will use my uniqueness to touch some other life… and I will be blessed. Today I deposit my life in Your account believing, that as I spend my life for Your sake, I will actually find myself. Thank you for Your amazing grace that can use me as I am today because You will flow through me. Fill me now with Your Holy Spirit so I may walk today in Your plans for me.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 22 - Respond or React

by Gail Rodgers
Susan yelled at the kids. She didn’t like doing it but it seemed to be happening a lot lately. She sat down for a cup of coffee after supper. A Bible verse on the back of a magazine that was with today’s mail caught her eye.

“A soft answer turns away anger but harsh words stir it up.” (Prov. 15:1)
She thought about her own responses lately. She knew she often used the stirring spoon of harsh words and raised voice and needed help to put a soft response in its place. She knew she needed to be firm at times but with a gentleness that God could give her.
We need to keep our focus on modeling Christian character, yet we are all dealing with daily life and its challenges too.
Here is a simple exercise that can help us move from “reacting” in our own lives and circumstances to “responding” in the character of Jesus.
Grab a child’s hoola-hoop, stand in the middle of it and hold it around your waist. There…that circle that surrounds you represents your area of control. It is your own thoughts, your feelings, your ideas, your passions, your decisions, your words, all that you are responsible for.
Now envision a second larger circle outside the hoola hoop. This is the circle that represents other people’s thoughts, emotions, decisions, passions, ideas and words. You have no control here, only influence.
Think about what’s been happening this week inside your hoola-hoop. Have you been reacting to life’s pressures with the stirring spoon of harsh words, raised voice or angry tones? Are thoughts or emotions spiraling you down?
Invite Jesus into the areas of life where reactions are abrasive. He will give His strength where yours is weak. Then you will be less inclined to reach into the next hoola-hoop and try to control the decisions, ideas, words and feelings of others. You will be more aware of the gentle influence you can have when you “respond” with Jesus’ help rather than “react” in your own sandpaper humanness. (Gal.5:22)
Tend carefully what is happening in your hoola-hoop and be less concerned about what is going on in others. It will enable you to walk in a freshness of spirit that will impact and influence all your relationships.
Turn your reactions into chosen responses by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 23 - Coming Apart

by Gail Rodgers
I looked at the calendar…less than 3 weeks until company from overseas arrives for the summer. Friends and family are also scheduled to visit the visitors in our home. The painter just phoned and will be over this morning. The “to do” list is long and the days seem short.

I feel a nudge in my soul and an old familiar Bible verse plays over in my mind…
“Jesus said to his followers, “Come apart with me to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31
I knew the nudge well. It was the Holy Spirit reminding me, yet again, to accept the invitation of Jesus to “Come apart with me to a quiet place”.
I knew I needed to. I found some quiet moments to get away with Jesus to listen to His heart. It is when I stop and take His invitation to “come apart from the noise and frantic pace, to a quiet place” that I can hear His still, small voice and find out what is on His heart for me.
It is a time to let Him listen to my heart as well. Some times even words fail us and we know He can simply listen to our heart.
It is probably the most basic principle of the Christian walk yet we often need to be reminded.
Over the years I have learned that to “come apart with Him to a quiet place” is indeed the thing that keeps me from coming apart.
Today make some time to “come apart” with Him before you just simply come apart.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that You know me better than I know myself. Thank you that You listen to my heart. Today may I find some quiet moments to “come apart with You” so we can hear each other’s heart and I can gain Your perspective on my day. Father, help me during the days of summer, when life’s rhythm changes for a few months, to keep You in focus and keep my heart connected with Yours. Thank you for calling me today.
In Jesus” name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 24 - Dad's Imprint on Your Heart

by Gail Rodgers
He was 80 and old. My friend was 50 and still mad at him. He had made mistakes in raising her. She could recount them well, and she did as her fingers curled tightly around the invisible handle of the baggage she had carried for so long.

Dads don’t always get it right. If you are a daughter you know that well already. Some Dads even get it terribly wrong. Sometimes things happen to daughters that never, ever should!
Dads leave an imprint on a daughter’s heart that makes a lasting imprint. You are the only one who can decide what to do with what has been imprinted on your heart.
My friend knew she needed to allow God’s healing to flow over her heart and she did…from time to time. She would let God lop off the bitter fruit that sprang from her childhood experience and off she would go. But without the root gone, it always grew back. As she focused on her pain and her dad’s inadequacies she became twisted in a knot. Her yesterday of life began to rule her today.
God doesn’t want His daughters to live that way. He wants to begin a work in your heart that will bring healing and wholeness where wounding and scars are now. Father God wants to re-write the Dad chapter of your life and show you how treasured and loved you are as His precious child.
God makes a lasting imprint on a daughter’s heart that leaves a foot print to follow.
Let this Father’s Day be a change point in your life. If your wounds go deep, talk to a trusted friend and seek God’s help in moving beyond the despair and shame of yesterday.God longs for your heart to be free! He will take you on a journey to wholeness…follow Him there…you can trust Him in this.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
If your Dad was a blessing in your life, tell him so. If he is gone, tell someone about him. Our God of Hope will multiply the blessings of your heritage just as he will also redeem the destruction of the past!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Today I want to ask You to restore the broken places in my life. Sometimes I can’t even get to You because I see my father first and the pain turns me from You, my Heavenly Father. Today I ask that You would not only begin this work of healing in my heart and life, but also carry it on to completion. Thank you that I can look to You as my Heavenly Father. Thank you for Your care for me as Your treasured child.
In the name of Jesus’ I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 25 - Praying or Obeying

by Gail Rodgers
Cathy shared with me how she longed for God to intervene in a certain circumstance in her life. She had been waiting and crying and agonizing before God. But she only felt grieved, disappointed and frustrated at the lack of an answer and God’s seeming silence.

Then God spoke to her heart. She read something in the Bible and a fresh realization hit her. These are the words God used to speak to her.
“Dear brothers, I plead with you to give your bodies to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship”. Romans 12:1
With the sudden clarity that comes when the Holy Spirit sheds his light on the scripture, Cathy knew…as she was pleading with God for an answer to her circumstance, He had been pleading with her to live differently.
She thought about it awhile. God pleading with her! God was waiting for her to present her body as an act of worship to God. How could she do that in a practical way on a busy morning as she headed out the door to work? Just what did it mean?
Cathy remembered God had asked her to do something about a physical habit in her life and she had not bothered. She now recalled how God had been nudging her about her harsh words and critical attitude, but she hung on to it anyway.She knew He wanted her to contact that woman down the hall and have coffee with her but she hadn’t had time. She had been too busy to bother with any of it.
We talked about it later. When we plead with God to do something for us, we expect Him to act. When God pleads with us to give Him ourselves as a living sacrifice, He expects us to act. Yet while we wait for His answer, we seem to believe our part is optional.
Has God asked you to do something that you have pushed to the pack corner of your heart and mind? Are you worshiping Him by offering yourself to Him everyday for His purposes? When God works His purposes out in your life it will bring a fulfillment you never knew possible…because that’s what He created you for! He waits for you.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Please forgive me for the times when I have been praying yet not obeying. Thank you for reminding me that You plead with me and want me to move ahead in my walk with You. You have more in mind for me than just answering the cry of the circumstance in my life. Today I offer myself afresh to you. Show me the ways in which you want me to adjust my habits, my thinking or my actions. I want to worship you today with my whole life.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 26 - So How are You Doing Spiritually

by Gail Rodgers
I had a friend who would ask me, just out of the blue, “How is your soul today, Gail?”

It always took me back a bit and even made me uncomfortable at times. Yet when she moved away, I missed it. It had been the beginning of some great talks and prayer times.
I thought of Jean today as I read this verse,
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 1:3
“Blessed with every spiritual blessing”! She would say, “Are we living there, Gail?”
Let’s ask ourselves that question. Am I living today as one who has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Heavenlies in Christ Jesus?
If you are anything like me, the answer is probably not. Yet it is a promise I can live in because God has done it, He has blessed me this way. But how do I receive spiritual blessing, that walking in the joy of knowing Jesus even when circumstances around me are less than perfect?
The last verse in the same chapter says, “God fills everything in every way.”
The problem is not with God…He promises the blessings and the filling up. Let’s ask ourselves this…Could it be that I limit God in my own life? Could it be that the child-like trust He calls me to have has become too grown up with cynicism and doubt?
The only limit to God’s fullness in our lives is the limit we place on offering our lives back to Him.
Today, open all the windows and doors of your “heart home”. Tell God you don’t want to limit Him in any way in your life. Ask Him to help you sweep out the doubt and cynicism that has created cobwebs in your heart. Ask Him to help you clear out the clutter of a “too busy” life so you can sit with Him and hear His voice. Ask Him to help you to invite Him into every decision. Let Him help you capture thoughts that drag you down and clear them out by replacing them with the truth of God’s Word.
Give Him all that you are so He can fill you and make you all that He created you to be.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that You have promised me “all spiritual blessing” and that you “fill everything in every way”. Today I offer to You all that I have, all that I am and all that I hope to be. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit today.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 27 - Oaks of Righteousness

by Gail Rodgers
Noreen knew God had plucked her life from the ruins. And she was so grateful. When she read Isaiah 61 verses 1 – 3 she knew she was one of those who had been broken hearted and a prisoner in another life style. She knew the power of His love as He bound up her broken heart and brought beauty out of the ashes of her life.

Yes, she was grateful… but still rather timid to step out and do much for God. She still felt so inadequate and sometimes worried about what people would think if they really knew the path she had come.
She read the familiar verses again but this time she saw something more. The Spirit of God opened the eyes of her heart. After the words describing how God binds up the broken hearted and brings beauty out of ashes and joy out of mourning, she read these words that had never penetrated her mind before:
“They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.” Isaiah 61:3b
Wow! Her mind could barely take it in. God said she was an “oak of righteousness”... planted right where she was today… by the Lord… to display God’s splendor and show what He can do in a life that says “Yes” to Him.
She thought awhile about the oak tree; strong, durable, able to weather the storms of time, mighty. Yes, a mighty oak. She didn’t feel very “righteous”, yet someone had just told her that righteousness was simply having a “yes Lord” attitude in all areas of her life. She truly did want Him to permeate every decision and every part of her life.
Noreen got ready for work with a new view of herself and a new purpose in her heart. She would be that mighty oak today, planted just where she was in order to show the splendor of God’s healing touch.
As she headed out the door she breathed a prayer asking God to give her an opportunity today to share the difference He has made in her life. Yes, her broken heart had been touched by God and beauty was beginning to come from the ashes in her life…and she would declare His splendor.
Even though she knew she was still in the process of her healing journey, she caught a glimpse of how God saw her today, and she would walk in it because He had declared it!
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you so much that you see me so differently than I see myself. May I honor You today and display Your splendor in living a changed life by the power of the Holy Spirit!
In Jesus’ name, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 28 - Small Things

by Gail Rodgers
Terry got to her car with all the groceries. Loading them into her trunk she sighed. She had forgotten to take the bag of flour from the bottom of her cart and run it through the check out. The cashier usually asked if there was anything on the bottom of the cart, but not today.

Should she bother to run in and pay for it? Or should she just be thankful she had saved a bit of cash? She decided it was too small an item to worry about. She was too busy to run back anyway. It wouldn’t hurt to overlook it. So on she went with her day.
Small things…little opportunities for our integrity to grow or slow. Small things that most, in many cultures, would just overlook.
Terry was startled when she stopped to read her devotions one day that week. A verse nudged at her heart and she remembered the flour.
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” Luke 16:10
When Terry returned to the grocery store to explain that the flour had not been paid for, the clerk looked at her strangely. Who would bother to come back when they could get away with it?
But Terry knew she wanted God to be able to trust her with anything and the trip back to the store was worth it.
How about you…where are the small things of integrity showing in your life? It could be small items taken home from work; a cashier’s or bank teller’s error gone unnoticed; any number of opportunities arise as we go about our daily business to show us where our line of integrity is. Small things do matter…God says so.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
Thank you that You settle for nothing less than spurring me on to be all You want me to be. Help me today to move my line of integrity up. Help me to be honest in the very small things of everyday life. Father, I want You to be able to trust me with more for Your Kingdom. More influence in others’ lives, more finances for your work, more opportunities to see Your power displayed. May I be faithful in small things today with the help of Your Holy Spirit.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 29 - Distorted

by Gail Rodgers
Susan had wanted the photo to be perfect. But it came back distorted and she realized she had moved at just the wrong moment.

Distortion is subtle. We often don’t know its happening. It’s a bending or twisting out of shape. It can happen in conversations, in creative projects, in paintings and in photos. It often isn’t even noticed at the time.
My husband laid some hardwood floor in our house last week. At one point several rows were down and we noticed an end in one of the boards had twisted out of place and a sharp edge appeared where it should have been smooth. Immediately he reworked the area to remove the distortion. It seemed small but in the overall view it would have distorted the look of the whole floor.
It’s much the same with our hearts. Jagged edges pop up of resentment, anger, negativity, self pity and any number of little things we rationalize away. Left alone they will create a distortion in our hearts that will interfere with the picture God wants to paint of our heart in connection with Him.
Psalm 101:4 says “A perverse heart shall depart from me.”
In the original Hebrew language the word “perverse” means “distorted” and the word “depart” suggests to “sour” or “decline”.
Normally we would never view our Christian hearts as perverse and departing from God.We recoil at the thought! But here we are warned to be careful we don’t let our hearts become distorted. It can cause a heart to become sour and decline away from our God. Distortion is so subtle.
Are you feeling a sourness in your heart? Is there a slight decline away from your God and you are puzzled by it? Ask God today to show you if there is a distortion in your heart that you have allowed to come in by resentment, hurt, or some emotion or circumstance that has caused your trust in your God to falter just a bit. Ask for forgiveness and let God know you want a pure heart so you can see Him undistorted.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
I confess to You that I have allowed distortion of my view of You to creep into my heart by some relational or circumstantial difficulty I have experienced. I recognize my potential for a sour heart that can decline away from You. I don’t want that Lord. I ask that You would forgive my wrong attitude and heal my hurt. May I see You clearly and draw near to You with a pure heart today.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

[bluidkiti]

The Daily Walk Part 30 - Emotions

by Gail Rodgers
Susan felt like a rag doll ...tossed about by a variety of emotions. One minute she was up and the next minute she was down and frustrated. A Bible verse caught her attention that made her think about what was happening.

“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”. Romans 8:14
She realized that as a believer she had been allowing her emotions to drag her around rather than allowing the Spirit of God to lead her through her days.
But just how does one practically apply steps so as not to be caught on an emotional roller-coaster? Pay attention to what is going on in your heart and mind. Acknowledge your emotions. Look at the circumstances or the reasons causing your emotion.
If there is something you can physically do to help your situation then ask for God’s help and do it. If there is nothing you can actually do about your situation, tell God you will trust Him to be your strength and your supplier. Ask Him to give you peace in your heart and direction in your steps. Every weakness you have is an opportunity for God to show His strength in your life.
Today let your emotions be a guide, or a tool, to push you back to your God and His strength in your times of weakness. Catch the downward spiral before you get caught in it. Ask His Spirit to guide you to solutions, to wisdom, to insight, help and strength.
If you are at the bottom of the spiral, tell God you need His help to get up. Ask for His strength to fill your weakness. If you need to talk to a trusted friend to find help and counsel in the journey, then make that call for help.
God wants His children to be led by His Spirit, not dragged by their emotions.
prayer & reflection

Father God,
I thank you that You are there to help me in every step I take throughout this day. I offer my emotions to You and I ask for Your help in managing them and in seeing them as a tool to help me understand what is going on in my heart. I declare that I want to be led by Your Holy Spirit and not tossed about by emotion. Give me understanding and your help as I keep my heart and mind guarded today.
In Jesus name I pray, Amen.