WHEN IT RAINS LOOK FOR THE RAINBOW “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.” – Matthew 5:45 I was running errands this past week in the rain.  While I enjoy the clean air, I will admit that I don’t enjoy road closures due to flooding or damp clothes, because I forgot my umbrella. I was just starting to recount all of the hard things I had endured in recent seasons and on the verge of grumbling, when the Lord interrupted. He reminded me that He hears every word I think — both the spoken and unspoken.  He also reminded me that the rain may not be convenient, but that the water we were being showered with was a blessing from Him to meet our needs in warmer months ahead.   Those simple thoughts caused me to begin to wonder how many things that I encounter that are hard, frustrating or irritating, are actually designed by God to bring a blessing. In retrospect, I could see so many blessings and tiny ...

“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;” – Psalm 34:15 NIV Lord, You are so good!  You are truly our Father in the most marvelous sense of the word.  I lift Your child before You.  Meet them at their point of need.  Throughout this entire journey, there has not even been a split second when Your eye was not upon them with the full range of their fears, concerns, needs, anxieties, hopes and dreams on display before You.  No detail about them has escaped Your careful attention, and Your heart is moved with compassion.   Lord, You are their Great Physician, Provider and their God of all comfort.  Call them into the secret place.  Minister healing to their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs.  Show them how to fan the flames of their faith, stir up theirs gifts (2 Tim 1:6), take their thoughts captive (2 Cor 10:5), cinch down their armor (Eph 6:11) and respond to the tormenting...

Good morning, my friend!  Good morning, Father! “”Everything is permissible for me,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me,” but I will not be mastered by anything.” -  1 Corinthians 6:12 (BSB) Father, we praise You that the Old Covenant has been replaced by the New Covenant, sealed by the blood of Jesus.  Through it we have been given great freedom, grace and liberty.  Coupled with that liberty, however, there is a temptation to exceed the boundaries of wisdom in exercising our freedoms.  It’s sobering to remember that “There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough; look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak.” - Proverbs 14:12-13 MSG .  Our life is not our own.  We have been bought with a price (1 Cor 6:19). Father, I lift my friend before You.  We ask You for wisdom, that the use of their freedoms would not l...

BLIND SPOTS “But who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” – Psalm 19:12-13 NIV Lord, I just had a lengthy conversation with someone who has a blind spot.  They were adamant that they understood what I was saying, but their response told me they didn’t have the remotest clue.  What I was suggesting was beyond their ability to even imagine.  Father, we all have blind spots.  We can’t even imagine what they might be.  Even when they are pointed out by others, we often have difficulty accepting that what is being said is truth.  Our blindness is truly an inability to see. Father, I lift my friend before You.  We ask You to lift the scales from their eyes. Heal their blindness and reveal what they are unable to see.  Expand their minds to create a space where they might receive the seed of the...

BABY STEPS “Do not despise these small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin,“ - Zechariah 4:10 a NLT Father, when starting out in a long journey, it is tempting to become discouraged by the sheer magnitude of what lies before us.  We look at our small beginnings, our tiny, feeble attempts to move in the right direction and often fall prey to the lie that to accomplish the task is impossible.  Whether starting a new diet, a course of study, exercise, fighting an addiction or just cleaning out a closet, it can generally be said that things worth pursuing come at a cost.  Rarely in life do we simply happen upon treasure.   Father, I lift up my dear friend.  Today as they stand on the threshold of a new day, I ask for fresh courage.  I ask that in Your mercy You would replace the memories of struggle and pain from yesterday with a blessed reminder of why they started out on this journey to begin with.  As the brilliant hues ...

“Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” - Psalm 37:4 NIV Lord, we long for so many things.   Many things are our daily bread — those things we need to live in this world.   Along with true needs there are hosts of longings that we host within our hearts.   In the latter use of the verb “host” it relates to providing accommodations or place of lodging for.   In the former, the noun “hosts” can refer to spiritual presences as in the “heavenly host” and the term used to describe a person or entity that plans and organizes events and invites others to come and join. Father, You bring into question if we have provided a place of lodging in our hearts for unsanctified longings — seemingly innocuous guests who have taken up residence within us that invite other unholy hungers and cravings to join with it.  One craving begets another, and before we know it we are buried in the refuse of unrestrained longings that exchange wis...

“I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” - Philippians 4:13. Lord, we have read this verse so many times.   We believe it to be true, but still face regular disappointment with ourselves with the disparity between the truth of Your Word and what we see played out in our lives.   We see a measure of victory, but are in full agreement with Paul who said, “I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate.” - Romans 7:15 NLT. I lift my precious friend before You.  Relying upon our flesh, we can do nothing (John 15:5).  Our willpower and good intentions will only take us so far before out focus fades and our oomph fizzles.  We ask for an outpouring of Your Holy Spirit and a harvest of the fruit Your Spirit.  In the middle of seeing victory in partnering with You, help us to remain aware of our role and fight the temptation, in our excitement, to pull the controls out of Your han...