Short & Sweet: Shadow of His Wings

Be Merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!

For my soul trusts in You;

And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,

Until these calamities have passed by.

I cry out to God Most High,

to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

He will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah

God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

Psalm 57:1-3

David wrote this Psalm while he was fleeing from King Saul. Where did David take refuge? In the shadow of God’s wings. It is very comforting to me to know that I am safe in the very shadow of His wings. Think of it … He is so powerful and holy, His shadow keeps me safe.

What does it truly mean to hide in the shadow of His wings? I was talking this over with God earlier this week. What does hiding in the shadow of Your wings look like? God’s answer came to me: obedience. Obedience leads to protection; it is taking the truth of God’s Word and acting on it. When I am obedient, I follow exactly in the footsteps of Jesus, so close that I walk in His very shadow… the shadow of His wings. When I am in the shadow of His wings, I can live my life boldly and courageously because I know my God has me covered.

What do we do when we are in the shadow of His wings? We continue to live, breath, serve, minister, fight, stand, pray, love, and rejoice.

Action Points:

What calamities are you facing right now? Are you hiding in the shadow of His wings or are you just hiding?
What steps of obedience do you need to take today?
Pray and ask God to help you access the strength and power He has already provided for your victory over this situation.

Life is sweet.

Short & Sweet: Cross My Heart by Mary Kane

Nourishment and refreshment for your soul.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.

Deuteronomy 6: 4-6

“Cross my heart and hope to die.”

When I was in elementary school, the declaration listed above was a very common promise between little girls. After sharing a vital piece of information with a best friend, we would very solemnly draw a cross on our hearts with two fingers, and then pledge to fulfill our cross my heart oath … even to the point of death. Usually these childish cross my heart pledges were made late in the night, between giggles, as we shared our secrets with one another. I look fondly back on these childhood promises; some broken, some kept.

In the book of Deuteronomy, God calls us to make a very solemn promise: a cross your heart kind of promise. He vows to never leave us or forsake us. He takes our sin and our shame. He etches a cross upon our heart and asks us to love Him with all our strength. It is a promise never broken, always kept to the point of death … even death on a cross. Cross His heart and we have hope when we die.

Action Points.

1. Have you asked Jesus to be your Savior? If not, please click on the link below.

2. Is God not just your first priority, but your every priority?

3. What needs to shift so God can be a greater priority?

4. How do you love God with all your heart? All your soul? All your mind?

Accepting Christ

Life is sweet!

Short & Sweet: Paths and Ways by Mary Kane

Nourishment and refreshment for your soul.

Thus says the LORD: “Stand in the ways and see,

And ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it;

Then you will find rest for your souls.

But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’

Jeremiah 6:16

As Christians, we should not be threatened by other religions or world views. God calls us to stand in the ways and see. The word see, in the original Hebrew means, “to observe, to consider, to give attention to, to learn about. This does not mean we should try every “-ism and -ology” before accepting the truth of Christianity. We are to “take a stand” in face of all the other ways and ask for the old paths, where the way is good and walk in it. Be assured, God’s way will bear testing and scrutiny and be found to be absolute truth.

For greater comprehension, please study the following words from our verse in the original language.

Hebrew Words:

ask: in Hebrew sha’al, which means “to enquire carefully, to ask of God.” Our salvation comes from the Lord.

old: in Hebrew owlam, which is defined as “everlasting, evermore, perpetual eternity.” The old is always relevant.

walk: in Hebrew yalak, which translates “a manner of life, a way of living, to die.” Christianity is a spiritual birth to death commitment.

Remember, there are ways, and then there is the good way. Jesus is the Way; the good path. Let’s choose the Way that will last for eternity, with no unpleasant surprises in the end. When we choose His path, we’ll find rest for our souls.

Action Points:

Ask for the good way concerning your current challenge.
How can you walk more closely to Jesus?
If anyone followed the current path of your life, where would it lead?

To start your journey with Jesus, please click on the link below:

Following Jesus

Life is sweet!

Short and Sweet: Nothing but the Truth, by Mary Kane

Nourishment and refreshment for your soul.

“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:1-6

There comes a point in our life when we must make a decision about what we believe about God, heaven, life, and death. Who’s truth will we believe: the world’s, our own, or God’s.

Living by my own truth was a disastrous plan. The world of science did not have a remedy for my massive sin problem (Darwin could not cover my guilt and shame). Then I met Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. His truth became my truth. His way became my way. His life became my life.

Let’s dig a little deeper into our verse.

Way: In Greek hodos, which means properly, a traveled road, a journey, a course of conduct, thinking and living.

Truth: In Greek aletheia, which means “what is true in any matter under consideration, in reality, fact.

Life: in Greek zoe, which translates “life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed …” to be fresh, strong, and efficient. Life only found in Christ, to live as we were created to be.

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Him.

Action Points:

Where do you want to end up?
Is the way you are walking going to get you there?
What is truth? Does truth depend on people or circumstances? What does truth depend on?
Did any of the above definitions impact your heart?

Jesus is the way the truth, and the life. If you know you do not have truth, please click on one of the links below.

Life is sweet.

Short & Sweet: Open Wide, by Mary Kane

Nourishment and refreshment for the soul.

I am the LORD your God,
Who brought you out of the land of Egypt;
Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

Psalm 81:10

God spoke these words to His people, to remind them of all He had done for them. Egypt was a land of slavery, bondage and suffering. Jehovah had delivered His people from Egypt so He could bless them and fill them with His goodness … if they would only open wide. Even though this verse was written to the Hebrew people many years ago, we can apply it to our lives today.

We too can be in bondage, not to Pharaoh, but to our own sinful desires. It’s not God’s will for us to live in bondage to any sin. He came so we can have life and have it abundantly. When we empty ourselves of sin, we make room to be filled by God. How are we to be filled? Open wide. Open wide our hearts, and our lives to be filled by God.

The Hebrew word for fill is male’ which means, to fulfill, to satisfy, to complete, to accomplish. Male’ is an imperfect tense verb which signifies a continuous action. A continual filling. Always more, always wider, always more God. When we are filled with God, we will be able to complete and accomplish many good works for His kingdom.

Open wide! For a little bite, for a little sip? No, for a feast! Taste and see that the Lord is good.

Open wide.

How much God do you want?
How can you open wide to make more room for God?
What is God longing to give you?

Life is sweet!

Short & Sweet: Use It or Lose It, by Mary Kane

Nourishment and refreshment for the soul.

“Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days.” James 5:3

On my earring rack hangs one lonely silver hoop earring. I lost it’s partner three years ago during Christmas play practice. It fell out of my ear, rolled across the floor, and was crushed beyond recognition underneath the size 12 tennis shoe of a 6th grade boy. Since they were sterling silver, I couldn’t bring myself to throw the remaining earring away. I hung the lone hoop back on the rack and forgot about it … until the other day.

I was searching my rack for a fresh pair of spring-like earrings (yes, the snow has finally melted in Michigan), when I spotted a dull black earring, hanging by itself in a dark corner of the rack. What is this? I asked myself as I picked up the dingy earring. As I turned the earring over in my hand, I recognized my long-ago favorite hoop earring, now corroded from neglect and disuse.

All of my other silver earrings gleamed on the rack. What kept them shiny? Not polish, but daily use. Slowly my mind made a connection to a Bible verse from the book of James. If we do not use our gifts and our resources, but let them sit idly on a shelf, they will corrode. They’ll turn black and dingy from disuse, and will eventually disintegrate. Ultimately, no one will benefit from our gifts; they will be a complete loss.

God gives us gifts to bless others, and we reap blessings in return. Let’s dust off our gifts and use them today.

Action Points:

Are your gifts corroded or shiny from daily use?
What do you love to do, and how can you use that gift to serve others?
Find a way to use your gifts to bless someone today.
Ask God to show you your gifts and how to use them for His kingdom.