The Morning Watch

I have this friend. We met several years ago under interesting circumstances. I was planning to drive a couple of hours to meet up with friends for a road trip that would take us to a conference in Idaho, USA. The night we were to leave, my car broke down, and I was going to have to cancel my plans to join them, but I got a phone call from a stranger. This stranger told me she would be coming to pick me up the following morning, leaving her house at 3 a.m. on her birthday, so that I would not miss the conference which she had attended prior, and was so encouraged by. Needless to say, this stranger became a very close friend. Although older and wiser, our hearts were knit together by a mutual love for a mutual Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. We have kept in touch over the years, and recently started meeting at a halfway point, which happens to be the Doughnut Mill in what is known as "Gasoline Alley," near Redeer, AB. At the Doughnut Mill, she orders her usual Chocolate Ecl...

Do you ever have those moments where you’ve been in prayer, seeking the Lord, and then, in the most unexpected places He comforts you with His truth? It happened to me today while at an appointment. I noticed a verse on the wall. Hebrews 11:1. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Have you been there friend? In a place where there seems to be no hope? Abraham and Sarah found themselves there after they were promised a son, and he didn’t seem to be coming, at least on their timetable. But it says that Abraham believed God. The following scripture passage is taken from Romans 4, God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, "So shall your descendants be." And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), ...

"In the multitude of my anxieties within me, Your comforts delight my soul." (Psalm 94:19) His comforts. Indeed, He is the God of all comfort! (2 Corinthians 1:3) The God who gives songs in the night. (Job 35:10) The God who proclaims, "As one whom his mother comforts, so I will comfort you. Comfort, yes, comfort My people!" (Isaiah 66:13; 40:1) The God who invites us to, "Cast all our care (worry, anxiety) on Him, because He cares for us!" (1 Peter 5:7) The God who reminds us that, "His grace is sufficient, and His strength is made perfect in our weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) There is something beautiful and liberating about releasing your burdens to the God of the Universe and allowing Him to take over. It is a human tendency to want to be in control, but how much better to let the Lord take the reigns! He is the Good Shepherd. How sweet to trust Him. I'm learning this as I care for my sister while she fights a life threatenin...

It is only a tiny rosebud, A flower of GOD’s design; But I cannot unfold the petals With these clumsy hands of mine. The secret of unfolding flowers Is not known to such as I. GOD opens this flower so sweetly, When in my hands they fade and die. If I cannot unfold a rosebud, This flower of GOD’s design, Then how can I think I have wisdom To unfold this life of mine? So I’ll trust in Him for His leading Each moment of every day. I will look to Him for His guidance Each step of the pilgrim way. The pathway that lies before me, Only my heavenly Father knows. I’ll trust Him to unfold the moments, Just as He unfolds the rose. -Unknown "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5,6 

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn, to console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified." -Isaiah 61:1-3 Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."  -John 10:10 Come, every soul by sin oppressed,  there's mercy with the Lord;  and he will surely give you rest,  by trusting in his Word.  Only trust him, only trust him,  ...

Then He (Jesus) said to His disciples, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about the body, what you will put on. "Life is more than food, and the body is more than clothing. "Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap, which have neither storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds? "And which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? "If you then are not able to do the least, why are you anxious for the rest? "Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. "If then God so clothes the grass, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will He clothe you, O you of little faith? "And do not seek what you should eat or what you should drink, nor have an anxious mind. "For all these things the nati...

I was doing foot care for a senior lady this afternoon. She is 91 and still lives alone. She told me she has 4 friends who she faithfully calls every morning. They check in on each other. If one is in need, they help each other out. One of these friends is 94, and still lives alone, has a garden, drives, and picks my friend up 3 times a week for exercise classes. Hearing this made me think of the many times the Bible talks about, " One another ." Here are a few of them. How much better our lives would be if we were more connected to each other, looking out for the needs of those around us. Would depression, anxiety, and loneliness be eradicated? "...that there should be no schism in the body, but  that  the members should have the same care for  one   another ." 1 Corinthians 12:25 " ...through love serve  one   another . " Galatians 5:13 " Bear  one   another ’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. " Galatians 6:2 " And be kin...